MATCH VERDICT

Matty Hayward – @MattyHayward96

Matty reports back from Aveley

AVELEY FC 0-1 TORQUAY UNITED – 29.03.25

SUMMARY

You didn’t think it was going to be easy, did you? They made it hard enough, but a third 1-0 away win in a row keeps the plucky yellows well and truly in the fight. Cody Cooke: he’s in your head.

In the first fifteen minutes it looked like it was going to be a hammering. We kept the ball well in their half, shifted it impressively, and asked questions of their back line.

From my vantage point (a bad one; one where you could see everything but the goal), it looked like we’d taken the lead after 20. A cross from Matt Jay on left was side-footed in what appeared to be the right direction by Ozzy Zanzala, but it turned out to be not quite in the right direction enough to open the scoring.

Aveley probed too, though never with a serious cutting edge, and the Yellows went into half time having had a good amount of possession, a good amount of territory, but a bad amount of goals. 0-0.

The second half brought more of the same: attacks and half chances, Torquay definitely dominating, but a foreboding sense that nothing was coming off. Cooke and Mussa replaced Zanzala and Hayfield, and the attack stepped up a gear.

Mussa’s contribution was hit and miss, as we’ve come to expect, but his hit was pivotal to the game. He went round the outside of his full back – something we’d struggled to do all game – and got Jack McDowell his second yellow card.

Eleven against ten, title chasers against rock bottom. Surely, you thought, a winner would come. But, also, you’ve seen worse capitulations.

Then it came. The chance. Jay, Young, Hasani. The ball bouncing around in the box, struck goalwards twice, but cleared off the line. After 80 minutes you’d have been forgiven for thinking that the game, perhaps the title, was slipping away.

Nah. Cody Cooke knew. He insists he’s not a super sub, but he’s making a real habit of scoring key goals off the bench. More penalty area carnage, with Matt Jay at the heart of it, led to Cooke smuggling a shot past the stranded home goalkeeper, and absolute pandemonium in the metal non-stand behind the goal.

Wotton has done his nut about our failure to see games out this season, but we did it excellently today. Mussa got fouled a couple of times, Young took the ball to the corner when a less experienced winger would’ve gone for goal, and we were able to breathe sighs of relief at least 30 seconds before the final whistle blew.

Three 1-0 away wins in a row. The stuff of champions. Maybe.

PLAYER RATINGS

James Hamon – 7: Largely untroubled, but commanding when he needed to be. Also his kit was clearly green, compared to the Aveley custodian’s faded pink affair.

Finley Craske – 7: Genuinely fancied him to score once, maybe twice, today. Looked threatening going forward, and untroubled at the back

Jordan Dyer – 7: Good. Solid. Unfazed generally.

Sam Dreyer – 7: Slightly fazed when he got booked early doors, but he managed that situation so well afterwards, and was our most composed defender on and off the ball.

Jay Foulston – 7: Didn’t have to notice him, really. Couple of nice overlaps.

Dan Hayfield – 6: Asked them some questions, especially just before he got taken off.

Oscar Threlkeld – 7: Was given time on the ball, and – one error aside – used it well. I’d have taken him off when we needed a goal, but I actually think it worked in our favour to have him ticking things over. Completely won the midfield battle.

Will Jenkins-Davies – 6: Similar to Hayfield really. Good industry, but Hasani’s freshness improved us.

Matt Jay – 7: Better when he was moved into the middle. Some lovely touches, but misjudged a good opportunity when 4 on 3. He was practically underneath the goalkeeper when he flicked the ball back to Cooke for the goal.

Offrande Zanzala – 6: Been a warrior since he came in. Held the ball up brilliantly at times, but was also a little off the pace at others

Jordan Young – 7: For most of the second half it felt like Youngy would have to beat them on his own. He got into ‘that position’ – ball at his feet, cutting in from the right, half a yard of space on the edge of the box – a couple of times, and we’ve probably come to expect him to be more clinical, but he’s done it enough this season we can let him off that one

SUBS:

Cody Cooke – 8: He’s in your head. Looks a different man after a bit of a break, and who can blame him? Wasn’t the most emphatic finish in the world, but who cares?!

Lirak Hasani – 7: Great energy, moved the ball really nicely. It’s so so good to have genuine options off the bench

Omar Mussa – 7: When he gets it right, he’s unstoppable. He did that at times today, and got their man sent off. Of course he’s inconsistent – we saw that today too – but on an afternoon that felt big for his Torquay career when another attacking midfielder joined the ranks this week, I think he did a decent job.

Jordan Thomas – 6: Only on for ten minutes, so hard to judge, but offered a bit on the overlap down the right.

https://torquaytalk.com/2025/03/29/tufc-player-ratings-vote-aveley-fc-a/

MAN OF THE MATCH – CODY COOKE

Seems daft giving it to someone who only played forty minutes. But we did everything but score in the first half, then Cody came on and we did everything and scored. I suppose sometimes you need to be good. Sometimes you need to be lucky. Ideally, like Cody Cooke yesterday, you need to be both.

TACTICS

Partly due to my relentless job ruining my body clock, and partly due to an inadequate curtain, I woke up at 6:30am yesterday. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so instead I spent an hour trying to work out what our eleven and bench would be. I felt sure that at least one of the new lads – Manny Ilesanmi or Cameron Ashia – would play a role.

Eight hours later, we learned that neither would. The team and the bench was unchanged. 4-3-3, which became a 4-2-3-1 when Moose came on and Matt Jay scooted over into the number ten role.

Wotton got his subs absolutely spot on. They all improved the team. He deserves great credit for that.

OFFICIALS

Gave Youngy nothing. Felt harsh at times. I’ll take his word for the two yellows: the second one was certainly fair enough. The home side’s tantrum about the goal was unwarranted.

OPPOSITION

I thought Aveley were Quite Bad, to be honest. My accomplished friend and BBC commentator Tom Diamond reckoned they looked threatening, but from behind the goal at the other end they looked quite a lot like a team about to be relegated.

It’s a fairly nice place to drink Guinness and watch football, but I’m in no rush to return, and, with the greatest of respect, I hope we never do.

CONCLUSION

One cup final won. Five to go. We ain’t winning the league on goal difference, so we’ll have to get more points than the rest.

I think we played quite well yesterday. On another day we take one of those early chances and Aveley roll over for a 4-0 belly-tickling. Until about the 80th minute, it always sort of felt like it was coming, then it didn’t feel like it was coming, then it came. Thank the lord.

All that said, I’m quite enthused by the prospect of winning every game 1-0 between now and the end of the season. In fact, I think it’d be absolutely mega, if terrible for our collective tickers. It certainly wouldn’t be boring.