TT MATCH VERDICT

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive reports back

AFC TOTTON 2-0 TORQUAY UNITED – FA CUP 2ND ROUND QUALIFIER – 13.09.25

SUMMARY

I have started to write this report in a thunderstorm on our way home. We’re still several miles the wrong side of Dorchester. Happily, someone else is driving, leaving me free to ponder another early exit from the FA Cup.

Do I feel heartbroken? No.

Am I, like many fans, bitterly disappointed at the state we find ourselves in, and am I slightly car-sick tapping away on my phone? Yes.

I’m home now, so I’ll just finish off telling you what happened in Hampshire this afternoon. United fielded three centre backs in an attempt to counter Totton’s big, strong strike force of Tony Lee, Malachi Linton and ex-Torquay veteran Scott Rendall.

Torquay played some neat football and Jordan Young could have done better with an early one-on-one, but Totton didn’t stand on ceremony and their more direct approach was more effective all afternoon.

After 10 minutes, Linton rounded James Hamon and only a last-ditch block by Dreyer prevented Totton from taking the lead. The ex- Maidstone striker had to go off injured not long afterwards but Hisham Kishamu was an able replacement.

On 31 minutes, the sky fell in. Home left back Christos Bezelis got the better of Demzel Akeampong, crossing at the second time of asking for Rendell to get in front of his marker at the near post, His adroit header into the far corner gave Hamon no chance… 1-0.

Young fired wide before half time, but it all felt a bit laboured. Cooke battled as always but Jay had a real off-day, whilst Anderson and Worthington comprehensively lost their midfield battle.

Our well-documented injuries meant we could only put six bodies on the bench, and realistically the options to change the game were limited.

A bright spell early in the second half came to naught. Totton’s set pieces were better than ours, and after 65 minutes the game was dead. Centre back Luke Hallett met Luke Tanner’s inswinging corner from close range to double their lead. It was the sort of goal that gives managers migraines….2-0.

The hard truth is that we never looked like getting back into the match, although Jordan Thomas missed one great chance. We were lucky it only finished 2-0, because some alarming gaps began to appear at the back and Kasimu skewed a shot side of an open goal on 71 minutes.

A quiet crowd of only 617 watched the closing stages in something close to silence. Amongst the Torquay contingent the mood was very different from last September in Gloucestershire, Then, there was anger and bemusement. Today was more about disappointment and quiet resignation.

PLAYER RATINGS

1. HAMON – 6: Unusually, in a side that has been outplayed, Hamon had little to do. Beaten by two headers which gave him no chance.

2. AKYEAMPONG – 5: A curate’s egg of a performance. Did play in the Totton half quite often. Fought hard but ultimately lost his duel with Batzelis.

3. FOULSTON – 5: Wasteful in possession. Another worryingly under par performance from the Welshman.

16. PALMER – 6: One of our only attacking threats really. This is not a good thing! Saw a lot of the ball and didn’t mess it up often. Shoved up front for the last 20 minutes again.

5. DREYER – 5: Not good enough when it counted today, notwithstanding one excellent block.

4. DYER – 5.5: Slightly better than Dreyer, but “skinned” by Kasimu, who should have scored.

18. WORTHINGTON – 5: A stinker from the skipper. Gave the ball away far too often. Offered nothing in any attacking sense.

22. ANDERSON- 5.5: Not much better than Worthington. Preferred to Hayfield but hooked as soon as decency allowed.

8. YOUNG – 7.5: Our only outlet. Our only chance to get back into the game. Covered a lot of ground. Mixed bag with set-pieces. One or two decent corners but then we needed a 35 yard screamer he hit his free kick into the two man wall. Summed up the afternoon.

9. COOKE – 6: Probably just about held his own in the weekly wrestling match up top.

27. JAY – 5: Ineffectual. Never got close enough to Cooke to help him, never did anything dangerous when he got the ball.

Subs

20. HAYFIELD – 6.5: Put himself about, but he’s rarely a game-changer.

26. THOMAS – 5.5: Missed a glorious chance soon after his introduction and was then the recipient of an unwarranted volley of abuse from his skipper which- Worthington had tried to find him with a pass which gave him no chance.

14. CARSON – 5.5: It was his cross for the Thomas chance, but nothing else to report.

15. CROSBIE – 5.5: Tried to mix it but realistically he’s a long way off the required standard at the moment.

Unused: Edwards & Wonnacott

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – JORDAN YOUNG

Scotty Rendell. An excellent 96 minutes by the veteran, crowned by a classy header. In the right place at the right time. What he’s lost in hair he retains in ability and a boundless desire to win cheap free kicks!

But to abide by the convention of naming a Torquay player: Jordan Young. Missed an early chance. Shot wide from distance later in the first half. If we were ever going to break through, he would have been the one to do it. Never stopped wanting the ball. Kept trying despite little going right.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS – ED PALMER

Ed Palmer. It’s always Ed Palmer, isn’t it? He was the best of a very poor defensive trio, carried the ball forward well at times and was flagged offside after a darting run which put some of his colleagues to shame.

TACTICS

By the end, we were close to a rabble. The intention had been to play a 3-4-3 but that rapidly became, to my eyes, a 5-2-3.

KEY MOMENT

Jordan Young could have done better with his early chance. This always had the feeling of a game in which (cliché alert) the first goal was going to be critical. A good cross and a canny Rendall header gave Totton an advantage which, in truth, the visitors never looked likely to reverse.

CONCLUSION

Older heads saw this one coming a mile off.

There are plenty of extenuating circumstances. The long-term loss of Sundere- it was made for him today- and the lack of options off the bench because of our ongoing injury tsunami should not be ignored.

But losing is a habit. That’s 5 aways without a win now, and going out of the Cup before Exeter and Plymouth have even started thinking about it is not something we want to start getting used to.

Totton know what they are about. They are a very experienced, physical side who understand what they are good at. They took their chances, we fluffed ours and we missed Louis Dennis like a desert’s missed the rain.