TALKING POINTS

Thomas Kelly – @tommytufc

Tom discusses the game at Horsham

NEW SIGNINGS

Paul Wotton was able to add to his depleted ranks with- two signings in the form of Luton youngster Josh Philips on loan for 28 days & Trialist A from pre-season, Denzil Akyeampong, signing on a short-term deal.

Both players featured in the game with Philips starting from the outset, displaying some good pace on the left-hand side of the pitch, however overall he found it difficult to impact the game. Denzel brought some physicality and some good control of the ball in place of Jordan Thomas & like Sundire, he also has a long throw in his arsenal.

Of course, there will be talk about his strongly weighted pass to Hamon which I will address shortly, but I felt much more comfortable with him on the pitch and it will be interesting to see whether Paul Wotton has any plans to utilise the full back more in his current short-term deal.

I still feel concerned that our RB area our weakest area in the team. A bit of competition could benefit both.

LACK OF INTENSITY

I always expected a tough game at Horsham. A tight, small compact ground, on 3G, another well run club on the rise after being homeless for 11 years and still reeling off winning the Isthmian League last season. Many of their supporters were proud to see them competing in a league game against a club of our stature and it showed on the pitch as Horsham duly took the game to us and not many in attendance would begrudge that they didn’t deserve the win.

They started strong and chased every ball. We looked lethargic for long periods of the game, especially when in possession. We often chose to go across the pitch rather than forward with it.

I was hoping we would start to go at teams more away from home this season but we somewhat reverted back to type from last season where we struggled to impose ourselves and saw us chasing the game with limited chances at goal. We fell into Horsham’s gameplan, played it long and in truth they looked comfortable throughout the 90 minutes, even when we pushed forward in the last 15 minutes.

With the luxury of being able to travel the day before the game, for whatever reason, we didn’t get going. I wonder if maybe some tweaks need to be made to the way we prepare for these types of games. We seem to start sluggishly, a trait we need to stop if we are serious about promotion this season.

SET PIECES

Quite frankly, it was embarrassing at times watching us go short from a corner or a free kick and needlessly give away possession so cheaply. In the first half especially, Torquay had numerous moments where instead of (quoting Sam Swann), getting it in the mixer, they decided to pass it short and quickly relinquished the opportunity. Even when we did get it in the box, it was easily gathered by Horsham’s keeper.

Jordan Young had a good effort from 25 yards out in the first half that was parried away, but we didn’t threaten enough throughout the 90 minutes which was disappointing to witness.

Get it in the mixer!

UNDERWHELMING PERFORMANCES

When the team sheet was announced, I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw. On paper, it should have been strong enough to have gotten a positive result. On the astro, it was a completely different story.

So many wearing white really struggled to impose themselves into the game. Leaders such as Matt Worthington and Matt Jay had difficult afternoons, poor Cody was feeding off little scraps and was replaced early in the second half. Our defence continued to look shaky all game with Horsham exploiting gaps in the final third.

What was concerning was the apparent lack of communication from the lads on the pitch. It felt very quiet out there and that radiated in the stands as well. The atmosphere was poor but the lads didn’t give anything for us to cheer about.

Standards are higher this season, we have to do better.

ED PALMER

We’ve seen how versatile Ed Palmer has been already this season, with the defender doing a decent job up front away at Maidstone last week and with United again chasing the game, big Ed stepped up when it mattered with a wonderful volley on 88 minutes that looked to have rescued a point for United, assisted by a flick by Crosbie.

It should have earned us an undeserved point.

Should have…..

CONCEDING CHEAP GOALS

Both goals were poor, understatement of the year! It’s difficult to know how different the game would have been had we made it to half time at 0-0. In the final minute of added time, Sam Dreyer concedes a free kick just outside of the box. It looks too close to be whipped over the wall, so you’d expect one or two in the wall to stand their ground. All of them jump and Hamon can’t get across in time to keep the ball out. It’s a soft goal and changes the direction of the game.

Whether you feel the pass to Hamon was over-hit by Denzel or not, Hamon has to clear it first time in my opinion. I’ll have to see it back but I’m afraid that James will have to bear the ultimate responsibility for that one. It’s a shame because he’s had a good start to the season and has had his fair share of critics last season, myself included. It can be a lonely place being a keeper sometimes.

It’s ultimately cost us a point. It would have been a long journey home for everyone, but especially Hammy. He’s a strong lad though and I’m sure will quickly put it behind him. He has enough credit in the bank but we can’t afford another moment like that, especially if we want to win this league.

There were many poor performances out in white let’s not forget!

KEEPING CALM

Torquay losing away to part time sides isn’t something new. In fact, you almost come to expect it! It was a disappointing afternoon in West Sussex for sure for the Yellow Army, but as I said on BBC Radio Devon after the game (thanks for scouting me out Harry Salvidge!), it’s game 4 in a 46 game season. We’ve got 7 points from 12 and a win on Monday will still result in a decent start to the season.

Eastbourne, Dagenham, Maidenhead & Dorking have all had poor starts, Chelmsford haven’t quite kicked on strongly on the road so far. There are no easy games in this league.

Yes it was a poor performance, yes we have some injuries to our best players, yes the Yellow Army have high expectations this season. We are going to lose games of football, it’s all about how you respond to that disappointment. Dover will prove to be another challenging game with the Kent side starting the season really well and finding themselves 2nd in the league.

Calm heads must prevail. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long season.