TT MATCH VERDICT

Steve Harris – @steveharris84

Steve reports back

TORQUAY UNITED 1-0 EBBSFLEET UNITED – NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH – 20.09.25

SUMMARY

In addition to keeping their first clean sheet of the campaign, Torquay United made five home league wins out of five as they saw off the challenge of Ebbsfleet United at Plainmoor.

A first half effort from Jordan Young proved to be enough to keep the Gulls’ 100% home record intact – ensuring that they have won their opening five home league encounters for the first time since the 1982-83 season under Bruce Rioch.

Torquay manager Paul Wotton made two changes to the side that bowed out of the FA Cup against AFC Totton as Ed Palmer and Matt Jay dropped to the bench and Louis Dennis and Callum Dolan returned to the starting line-up.

The opening exchanges proved to be a very stop-start affair as Ebbsfleet threatened in the sixth minute when Aaron Cosgrave capitalised on a misplaced clearance from Sam Dreyer, but could only fire a shot that was partially blocked tamely at Torquay keeper James Hamon.

Nevertheless, it was the Gulls who broke the deadlock on 21 minutes when Jay Foulston fed the returning Callum Dolan, and his cross from the left found Young who turned home his sixth of the campaign.

The hosts continued to create chances, forcing two corners in quick succession in the 34th minute without taking full advantage of them.

Two minutes after the re-start, Louis Dennis drew a smart save from Fleet keeper Mark Cousins following good work from Aldershot loanee Keane Anderson.

The Gulls went close again in the 58th minute when Cody Cooke fired straight at Cousins after he was teed up by Dennis.

Ebbsfleet midfielder Toby Edser saw a shot blocked by Torquay skipper Matt Worthington on 69 minutes as the visitors looked to gain a foothold in the game.

Fleet went close again in the 77th minute when Mustapha Olagunju nodded a free-kick from Ben Coker over the bar. Two minutes later, Edser had another effort blocked, this time by Dreyer.

Deep in injury time, Young had the chance to complete a brace and end the match as a contest, but he blasted his shot at Cousins, but they still managed to hold on to win.

PLAYER RATINGS

1. HAMON – 6: Didn’t have a serious save to make throughout the game.

2. AKYEAMPONG – 7: Showed great athleticism and was strong defensively and also got forward to good effect.

3. FOULSTON – 7.5: Was strong defensively and got forward to good effect and had a key role in the build up to the goal.

5. DREYER – 7.5: Aside from his mis-placed pass early on, he produced a performance reminiscent of his imperious best of last season.

4. DYER – 5.5: Solid and dependable.

18. WORTHINGTON – 7: Led by example and made an important block to deny Toby Edser in the second half.

22. ANDERSON- 7: Looked to get on the ball and tried to make things happen.

10. DOLAN – 8: See MOTM

7. DENNIS – 7: Showed more than a few glimpses of quality that the Gulls missed against Totton the week before.

8. YOUNG – 7: Took his goal well and could have put the game to bed late on.

9. COOKE – 7: Worked hard, but didn’t get a lot of change out of a strong Ebbsfleet back three.

Subs

20. HAYFIELD – 6: Aside from a mis-placed pass looked fairly solid.

11. MORGAN – 6: Looked slightly rusty, but made one or two promising runs.

24. EVERTON – 6: Showed one or two decent touches.

14. CARSON – N/A

16. PALMER – N/A

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – CALLUM DOLAN

During his six-match loan spell from Fleetwood Town in 2023-24, Callum Dolan became something of a talisman for the Gulls and his performance against Ebbsfleet was like a throwback to that time. Playing on the left of an attacking three, his cross was turned home by Jordan Young to score United’s goal and, especially in the first half, he looked as though he could make something happen every time he touched the ball. If he can replicate the display that he showed on what was his first appearance of the campaign, he can be a big player for United.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Jay Foulston and Keane Anderson produced arguably their best displays of the campaign as did Sam Dreyer. Denzel Akyeampong is also making the right-back spot his own.

TACTICS

Paul Wotton reverted back to the 4-2-3-1 formation with Louis Dennis resuming his role as a number 10 behind Cody Cooke, with Callum Dolan playing in a slightly unfamiliar role as a left-sided attacker.

THE OPPOSITION

Ebbsfleet set up with a 3-5-2 formation similar to the way that Paul Wotton set the Gulls up with in the early part of the 2024-25 campaign. They will be in and around the top seven this season.

THE OFFICIALS

Referee Matthew Norton infuriated the Yellow Army at times, but went largely under the radar and didn’t make any decisions that could have been a talking point.

CONCLUSION

As Paul Wotton said in his post-match interview United’s performance from a defensive point of view was very reminiscent of last season. However, with arguably a more exciting crop of attacking players at his disposal, the Gulls will be very hard to stop if they can keep the ball out of the net.