TT PREVIEW

Andy discusses the Terras

TALKING TERRAS

So, Gulls fans, you got that much desired and superb victory at erstwhile leaders, Truro City on Good Friday and now, three days later face a home fixture against a second-bottom and already relegated side without an away league win since early November in your final Plainmoor fixture in front of around 5,000 expectant home fans. What could possibly go wrong?

To be honest, not a lot, but I need to be a little more supportive to my home town club that has been my passion over half a century and focus on some of the few crumbs of comfort gathered from an admittedly wretched season.

With the pressure now off, we’ve been playing some pretty decent stuff of late. Manager Warren Feeney is at last getting a tune out of pretty much the same squad he inherited from Mark Molesley just before Christmas. Also, despite our struggles, we’ve actually fared rather well against the top sides. Of the top eight, all still with promotion aspirations, only Eastbourne Borough have managed to take maximum points off us, with Boreham Wood beaten 2-1 at the Bob Lucas Stadium last month, and Maidstone United, held to a goalless draw in Kent last Saturday week being the most recent teams frustrated by us. The Terras players and fans are at last enjoying some decent football. This was evident in a very entertaining game against Salisbury on Friday in which we scored two wonderful first half goals but were ultimately pegged back to 2-2.

So, The Gulls still have a bit of work to do as we have little else to aim for except to be party-poopers before we return to the relative obscurity of Southern League football that we vacated just six years ago. I know most Torquay fans will be humble enough to recognise the three points isn’t a foregone conclusion but nevertheless the result at Truro will surely ramp up the expectation levels another notch perhaps adding a little more pressure. We can but hope.

As for Weymouth, the relegation we miraculously avoided two seasons ago has finally caught up with us. A rollercoaster six seasons during which we have been promoted and relegated twice and has seen us battling the drop for five successive seasons now – very wearing on the most committed supporter. Although I’m bitterly disappointed, this season’s relegation had an air of inevitability stretching right back to early September after we had inexplicably lost all of our opening seven matches – failing to score in six of them!

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Then we lost both our main attackers, Brandon Goodship and Malachi Linton to injury for three months. We were never likely to recover from that, although there was the odd flicker of hope when we beat fierce rivals, Yeovil Town 2-1 at Huish Park in the FA Trophy, and when we finally recorded our first home win in thumping Welling United 5-1 on 1st February. However, we were not able to follow up and get a run together to haul us out of trouble and it’s only been in the last month or so that we’ve remotely looked like a side that belongs in this league. Never mind, at least we’ve been spared some run-in nervousness!

So, we’ll take the relegation on the chin and try to look forward to some Dorset derbies with Dorchester (if they don’t go up), Wimborne and Poole. Hopefully too we’ll experience the novelty of winning more matches that we lose!

As for this Easter Monday clash – the final gig of our latest farewell tour! – we’ll give it our best shot and hopefully impress the huge crowd we’ll be playing in front of on what will undoubtedly be a special occasion for all. I’m certainly looking forward to it. I suppose you’ll want a prediction, so I’m going to say we’ll make things difficult for you but I’m sure your quality will prevail and you’ll get over the line with a 2-0 win. Cody Cooke will score at least one because I don’t think he’s failed to hit the net against us since he left us in 2021.

Whatever the outcome, I genuinely wish Torquay all the best in their quest for promotion (I think it will have to be via the play-offs) and am glad things have turned around so spectacularly for you all in the last 12 months. Please don’t forget though, Weymouth FC’s little contribution to that last season. I’m still quite proud of that.

All the best and COYT!!! Andy