TT GROUNDHOPPING

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive looks back at his 24/25 away trips

2024/25 GROUNDHOPPING

FEBRUARY

The shortest month saw plentiful games. Although the defeat at Maidstone saw the winless run extend to four, there were then home wins against Eastbourne and Hornchurch and Matt Jay found his shooting boots, embarking on a run of four goals in consecutive games. What happened away, I hear you ask?

Sat 1 Feb Maidstone United L 0–1, Tue 11 Feb Worthing D 2–2, Sun 16 Feb Marine Academy Plymouth Ladies (cup) L 0–4, Sat 22 Feb Chelmsford City L 2–3, Tue 25 Feb Weston-super-Mare D 1–1

Maidstone: Radio Devon had run out of options. With Mike Bateson’s puppet failing a fitness test, I got a midweek text from the station asking if I might be travelling to Kent on Saturday? Of course I was, and I duly took my place alongside Harry on the gantry at the Gallagher Stadium.

I cannot lie, I loved every minute of it. I made up in enthusiasm and occasional grumpiness what I lacked in tactical knowledge and as 1-0 defeats to bogey-teams go it was really enjoyable. Jordan Dyer’s comeback was cut short by a new setback, and in truth we never threatened going forward. Manny Ilusanmi had his appearance as sub ruined by another cruel injury and a lapse of concentration in defence allowed my man of the match Charlie Seaman time and space to splash his name all over the back pages. For Torquay and the Travel Club it was a day to forget, but Maidstone get decent crowds and if nothing else it was nice to watch a game with some proper atmosphere. There was also daylight for a good while after the final whistle. Spring was on its way…

Worthing: Back to Sussex for the league game against high quality opponents, but with the hope that a stronger Torquay line-up might be able to derail the table toppers with points at stake. Another overnighter for me, and Tom Kelly and I milked the day for all it was worth.

I people-watched on the train, and after a bit of mooching I came across The Cow Shed Bar and Kitchen, which is located across the road from Worthing Pier. Tom arrived and we nipped in for a cider. As you might expect in a seaside town on a chilly February afternoon, our arrival doubled the number of drinkers. If you are the cheerful Torquay fan who walked past the window and waved at us a few times, it was nice to see you. Come in for a pint next time!

After a second scoop, Tom and I decided we would go onto the Pier and film a Torquay Talk preview whilst the light outside was still good and before we got too inebriated. We shot a preview which owed more to Morecambe and Wise than Wotton and Warnock, but I somehow doubt that Hayward and Kelly will be getting their own series any time soon.

After some more apple-based refreshment we headed for supper at the Spoons. My attempt to engage a red and white scarfed local in conversation didn’t go brilliantly. I think he may have been a little deaf, or maybe he didn’t understand my accent, or perhaps he simply didn’t fancy chatting to a couple of 6-pint-deep Yellows! Anyway, he eventually responded to my enquiry about whether he was looking forward to the match by saying: “Oh no mate, I’m just having a pint here before I go off to play darts!”

The game was a belter. Jordan Young’s brilliant free kick and Dan Hayfield’s late through ball which allowed Cody to win and convert an injury time penalty will live long in the memory. It was a decent turnout from the Yellow Army, swelled as ever by fans now living many miles from TQ1.

Tom untied his Proud Gulls flag with some difficulty in the nippy conditions (not helped by wisecracks from me and a friendly steward about never having been in the Boy Scouts). We bumped into Messrs Westcott and Robinson, who very kindly invited us into the inner sanctum for a nightcap. It took all of Michael’s considerable charm to get us past the reluctant doorman but we were soon ignoring the remains of a multi-coloured Swiss Roll buffet in favour of more beer. We were introduced to consortium member Matt Corby, down on the train from London. We were soon joined by Mike Edwards and Paul Wotton, who shared some thoughts on the game: especially two red cards: one given (to Sam Dreyer) and one not (for our penalty)! I later spoke to the referee’s assessor- he looked marvellous for his age- who said he thought Dreyer’s was fair dinkum. As we know, it later got overturned, so it must have been every inch the shocker which Wotts told us it was! There was just time to savour Nottingham Forest’s penalty shootout win at Exeter before ambling back to the hotel, where a late night high tide was whispering up the shingle beach.

The next day brought the very sad news of Tony Bedeau’s passing: RIP Beds.

Marine Academy Plymouth Ladies (Devon Premier Cup): I was starting to get a feeling that the Manadon Sports Hub might have it in for me. A few years ago, what turned out to be a desperately poor Torquay squad had to rely on a last-minute equaliser in a pre-season friendly at Plymouth Parkway, as Josh Gowling chose to live out the twilight of his playing career in yellow (or in fact blue, that night). My car alarm went off and I couldn’t get it to stop for most of the way home. In 2022 I umpired a cricket match there in the pouring rain and my team blamed me for keeping them out there too long (they were right).

Nothing that happened on this chilly Sunday afternoon in 2025 changed my thoughts. How Ray Duffy stayed alive commentating at his picnic table I will never know. He looked frozen to the bone at half time. The result was chilling too, the home side staying on strongly with late goals that turned a narrow defeat into a near rout.

Chelmsford City: Another Saturday, another athletics track. What joy. For the second year in a row the Clarets prevailed, as we contrived to throw away a 2-0 lead. The joy of Matt Jay’s outrageous chip from the centre circle to put us two up was killed by a second half fightback which made the home team look like world beaters and us more like panel beaters. It had all started so well. A convivial train journey saw Simon Robinson join us at Liverpool Street. I always enjoy talking to Simon. He’s good company and is genuinely interested to hear about fans’ experiences, as well as being an ex-pro with a justified fascination for Diego Maradona. He leaned over to me and whispered the news that despite Sam Dreyer getting his red card overturned he wouldn’t be able to play after all because he had been ill overnight. Sometimes, you’d rather not know, would you? I had to keep that quiet amongst the general revelry. Ah well, Sam was back soon enough, and defensive stability would be back with a bang…

Weston: …although we would have to wait a little longer for defensive stability. We rode our luck at Woodspring. A dreadful first half saw us lucky only to be trailing one nil. Jay was right place, right time to snaffle an equaliser, but based on our performance it definitely felt more like a point gained than 2 points lost. There were 800 Yellows in attendance: a phenomenal following again for the John Cleese Derby. We gave Sam Pearson some stick after he chose the Severn over the Bay, and, joyously, the young Welshman bit like an orca at the Seal Sanctuary. This was the game that saw Ozzie Zanzala make his debut, looking lively off the bench after Cody Cooke had his nose rearranged in what journalists might call a sickening clash of heads.

MARCH

Despite a gut-wrenching result against Boreham Wood on the first day of the month (I know, sorry: we’re all trying to get over the playoff too- forget I said anything), March saw the start of a stellar run of away form with memories to last a lifetime. Just look at the four results below! Doesn’t it make your heart sing?

Tue 4 Mar Chippenham Town W 3–1, Sat 8 Mar Tonbridge Angels W 1–0, Sat 15 Mar Dorking Wanderers W 1–0, Sat 29 Mar Aveley W 1–0

Chippenham: A slightly low-key start. I was in two minds about whether to travel, but there wasn’t much on the telly and I was hopeful Chippenham might not smell as bad as it had on my last visit, that glorious title-celebrating day in 2019.

Sure enough, on a clear, crisp full moon night the only smell in the air was coming from the burger van, with just the first faint whiffs of a title charge.

Ozzy Zanzala ran all over Chippenham for the first 15 minutes, Jordan Thomas missed another sitter (sorry Jordan) but his oppo Matty Carson was on hand to convert. We went to sleep for half an hour, allowing the Wiltshire men to draw level, but a cracking second half display saw Ozzie bundle one in at the far end before Matt Jay punished a bizarre goalkeeping error right at the end. It was the first away win for 3 months, and I hurtled home down M4 and 5 in the company of Tony Livesey’s late night show.

Tonbridge: This was a day for my son and I to become very sentimental over the club that we love so very deeply. 51 weeks before, we had howled at the moon as a team we once treated as a joke dismantled our own. That 4-1 defeat was emblematic of the wanton neglect and contempt with which The Petrolhead and his somehow still-in-post Henchman had treated Torquay United. No: I’m never going to stop being angry about that.

Neither should we ever forget what the Bryn Consortium and the Supporters Trust managed to do for our club a few perilous weeks later. They say the darkest hour always comes before dawn. Tonbridge 2024 was certainly dark.

Tonbridge 2025 was fabulous, from start to finish. Before the game, we recreated a photo of the two of us on the river bridge, with battlements in the background and drifts of primroses providing a lovely backdrop.

Then we drank some beer with friends and made our way to the ground.

I am of course writing this through the prism of Jordan Young’s only goal, which turned a lovely day into a glorious one. He had the class to size up his opportunity quicky before rifling a game-winning shot high past despairing keeper and defenders up into the corner where the owl sleeps. It was beautiful. It was another clean sheet. It was 2 away wins in a week!

The ride back to Charing Cross was lubricated by the sweetest of all beverages: the post-victory train can. They had been in fairly short supply throughout the winter. But Spring was here now, and as the sun started to set over South London our thoughts turned to Dorking.

Dorking: The thing about media circuses is that they’re great if you’re trying to get publicity for your club. But you can also end up with a target on your back. Nobody should throw beer at footballers, but Dorking became a grudge match a couple of years ago and I think that rivalry will keep growing. We got the better of them this year but it was really close, and they aren’t going away any time soon.

They’re a decent side, but so were we: and you mess with the Ides of March at your peril. Brilliantly supported again, Torquay outfought the Cocks and banished those Ross Marshall memories with a performance that was 90% grit and 10% ability. It is uncharitable to describe Marc White as a weapon, but I feel no reluctance about calling Jordan Dyer that when it comes to attacking set pieces. He peeled off late and arrived like a train at the back post to send 750 away fans home happy. We were absolutely dancing in the streets of Dorking that night. It was such a good day. With one beer-chucking exception it was a great party, which continued in the carpark with drummers, singers and You Tubers all creating the sort of atmosphere that most clubs at this level can only dream of.

Aveley: When it’s going your way…..

I emerged blinking into the Essex sunlight from the Datford Tunnel just in time to rendezvous with Matty at Rainham station. It was 12.30, and Matty was on the same train as Simon Robinson and Simon’s mate Shaun. Or Sean: I didn’t ask! I gave them a lift to the ground, although despite having driven through Aveley about 10 minutes previously I nearly got us lost. Simon and I compared notes on Napoli and I managed to get us there unscathed. Michael Westcott and his family arrived a few minutes later and proceeded to buy a beer for most Torquay fans in attendance. After a quick game of Lingo (don’t ask) we took our places for a game which was far more nerve-wracking than most of us had expected. Aveley bravely defended all day- and with 10 men for most of the second half. Make no mistake, if we had failed to get the win that would have been Goodnight Irene for the title bid (sorry Rovers fans). It came good eventually: Cody Cook popped up with, ooh, at least 5 minutes to go and poked home the winner. I think relegated Aveley have enjoyed their 2 years in the league (certainly more than we have!) and it seems like a friendly club. I wish them all the luck in the world for next season.

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APRIL

TS Eliot wrote that April is the cruellest month. Speaking of The Wasteland, our next travels took us all the way down to the Truro City Stadium.

Fri 18 Apr Truro City W 1–0, Sat 26 Apr Hemel Hempstead Town W 4–1

Truro: What a season the ~~White Tigers~~ Tinners have had. It’s a phenomenal achievement for them to have won the division up against teams like Borehamwood, Dorking and ourselves.

On Good Friday, in torrential rain which never dampened spirits for a second, we lowered Truro’s colours for a third time with another display of defensive stability and a rapier thrust from Matt Jay. I was right behind it. He picked up the ball from Lirak Hasani and cut through a retreating home defence. The finish was beautiful, giving the keeper no chance and leading to joyous celebrations. Paul Mulhern’s commentary is a beautiful thing, and it was very much a “hang it in the Louvre” moment.

All that remained was The Best Sing-Song Of The Season on the train home. “Oh when the samba rhythms start to play, dance with me, make me sway, Jordan Young is running down the wing, scoring goals, make the Torquay sing!” If we’d won the league we would have sung that song all night. But it doesn’t matter, because we got to sing it all night anyway.

Hemel: I think my son might be a better writer than me. He’s also more of a Torquay fan than I will ever be. He properly kept the faith during the absolute dross of the Nicholson and Owers eras. I remember one night when he persuaded me interrupt a perfectly good holiday to drive to watch Dean Edwards’ side- featuring Shepherd Murombedzi and other luminaries- get outclassed by a bang-average pre-takeover Wrexham team. Losing 4-1 at Chester was another highlight of those times. We were already losing by the time we arrived, but it was the first time I heard “Everybody Bounce” in our away end.

We will bounce back from the disappointing end to this season. This was Matty’s take on Hemel. I guarantee it will perk you up:

“We were in the ground by 2:15pm. While others snaked around a five-a-side pitch, my dad and I found ourselves ushered into an emerging side-queue. This, like everything else at the club on the day, was organised very efficiently. It would’ve been easy for Hemel to take the payday and half-arse the rest, but they got it all basically spot on from what I could see.

The game was the game. Exhilarating. Heartwarming. Initially absolutely crushing. Loud. Cody Cooke, man!! It was enhanced by the joy of standing with surely some of Europe’s funniest men: Cadigan, Baker, Diamond, others whose faces I knew but names I didn’t, whose jokes and songs I gladly joined in with.

The post-match was perhaps the emotional peak. Singing “we’ve got our club back” – towards board members who love and care about Torquay, surrounded by 2000 other people who love and care about Torquay just as much – was truly special. We were still here. Despite everyone – you know who you are. Despite everything. Still here. If anything, we’re enhanced, more engaged, bigger, better, strong, more powerful.

Where the away day really wrote itself into the personal annals of history was sitting at a table with my old man, notorious funnyman and broadcaster Will Taylor, and the best-connected man in the bay, Joe Uglow, it was revealed that the afternoon’s hat-trick hero kept rabbits. House rabbits. This fact, written in plain English in the cold, sober light of day seems… irrelevant? Uninteresting? It may shock you, then, that it formed the basis of pretty much everything we spoke about between 6pm and whenever we were bundled off in Newton.

And we’re still here. It’s definitely possible to be silly on an away day when the football is shit – sometimes it’s a welcome distraction – but Saturday goes down as an absolute all-time great because it was allowed to be. It was great because the company and laughter was great, yes, but also because we were allowed to have fun, because we weren’t dreading the next game, dreading the next press release, dreading the end. Because we’re still here.“

MAY

Sun 4 May Marine Academy Plymouth (league) D 0-0

Last but not least. The Women put themselves in pole position to win their league with a hard-fought but well-deserved point back at Manadon on Sunday. Paul Bastard, Michael Westcott and many others dusted themselves down and showed up on an afternoon when beneath the duvet might have been a more inviting prospect. Not a bit of it. After dominating the first half, we held on to keep the title in our own hands. Two more wins will do it: go get it, ladies!

I also met Phil, a Torquay fan of many decades- his family have been involved since the 1930s. Torquay are still here: so let’s go and do it all again soon!