TT MATCH VERDICT

Matty Hayward – @MattyHayward96

Matty reports back

SALISBURY FC 0-1 TORQUAY UNITED – NATIONAL LEAGUE SOUTH – 04.10.25

SUMMARY

The A303. Storm Amy’s blustery tail. A – to be polite – patchy start to the season away from home. None of this was a match for Paul Wotton’s courageous Yellows, who came and saw and conquered at the distinctly un-Roman Ray Mac Stadium yesterday afternoon.

The game started with a bang. Callum Dolan – dangerous throughout – broke down the left wing and, when his cross found Matt Worthington, the strawberry blonde skipper can’t have believed his luck. As Salisbury’s Stoneehengian defence assembled around him, he had an age to take a touch and bury his first goal in yellow and blue. One zip.

It should have been more. Squalls and skirmishes made defending difficult, and Torquay took little mercy as they continued on the front foot. Dolan again threatened, first flashing a strike just wide of Will Buse’s bottom corner, then pirouetting into the penalty area with all the dazzle and grace of a Johannes Radebe quickstep. It’s a crying shame that he was eventually crowded out.

It wouldn’t be long before the Gulls added another 0.8 to their xG count (yes, this was a conscious attempt to make winning a penalty sound as boring as possible). Louis Dennis was slipped in behind Salisbury’s left back – a furrow Dennis ploughed all half – and was brought down. Not a stone-waller, but a pretty sturdy (of)fence. Penno.

Jordan Young’s spot kick was weak, though, and Will Buse was able to exorcise some of his family’s penalty demons by making a comfortable save down to his right.

Dennis kept going, and fashioned another excellent chance minutes later. This time, on-loan forward Cian Dillon didn’t quite read the cross and earn himself a tap-in, so the ball dropped again to Worthington. His shot from twelve yards was no more successful than Young’s: it blazed over the bar.

You’d forgive a Torquay fan for being slightly on edge going in at the break only one up. It should’ve been more, and the concern was that the home side would cash in more effectively on the prevailing winds.

But it wasn’t to be. James Hamon made one good save with his foot, but was otherwise untroubled. The second half performance was professional, containing, comfortable, if not exhilarating or high-octane. Frankly, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered.

PLAYER RATINGS

1. HAMON – 8: Only had a couple of saves to make, but made them well. The second half block with his boot was particularly good. Niche spot, but I enjoyed his kicking. He recognised the threat of the wind, so fizzed the ball flat and hard towards the forwards. Back to back cleanos. See Moment Of The Match.

2. AKYEAMPONG – 7: When a player signed a contract extension, you fear they’ll immediately stop playing. That didn’t happen: Akyeampong was Dependenzel until he was taken off with ten to play.

3. FOULSTON – 7: Solid. Good. Looked to pick up a little knock at the end, but wasn’t bad enough to need replacing.

4. DYER – 8: At risk of Awaywinflation, here, I appreciate. But, apart from one lapse between him and his partner allowing Salisbury’s only real chance, he looked solid.

5. DREYER – 8: As above, really. Deserved the cleano. He’ll take Andy Carroll’s dinner money next weekend.

18. WORTHINGTON – 8: A skipper’s performance. Passed the ball well and took his goal calmly. The less said about his composure for his second chance the better.

24. EVERTON- 7: Yep. He’s a good footballer. Looked serene at times in his first non-Bowl start back from injury.

10. DOLAN – 8: My mate. Didn’t look out of place in an unfamiliar position, and did well to get the A for Worthington’s goal. He’s got delightful feet and I, for one, will #AllowTheAliceBand

7. DENNIS – 8: See POTM

8. YOUNG – 7: The poor PK is a rare blot on an otherwise standout campaign so far for the winger. He looked dangerous all first half.

19. DILLON – 6: The Irishman was a surprise selection, and did little wrong on debut. The first half plan was clearly to drop the ball in behind Salisbury’s aging centre halves for the spritely youngster to chase, and he did so. Might’ve had a goal if he’d timed his run better and got on the end of Dennis’ cross. Withdrawn at 50 minutes, but I liked the cut of his jib.

Subs

20. HAYFIELD – 6: He’ll be gutted if he becomes known as The Utility Man, but that was the role he played today. Came on for Dolan and played briefly as a ten, but ended the game as right wing back. Did well.

11. MORGAN – 6: Wotton has got a real selection dilemma on his hands. Now that almost everyone is fit (touch wood), and the attacking pistons are firing, Morgan finds himself consigned to fifteen short minutes. He did really well yesterday, though. His extra legs came on at a crucial time.

27. JAY – 6: No ponytail no problem for MJ. Good to know he’s still in the manager’s thoughts.

9. COOKE – 7: The Bunny Papa must’ve had fire in his belly after being dropped (sorry, “utilised as a finisher”). He battled hard into the wind and did his chances of starting next week no harm at all.

16. PALMER – N/A: His shed’s fucking massive. 1234.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – LOUIS DENNIS

Louis Dennis is Louis Dennis is Louis Dennis. Two weeks off has done him the world of good. He troubled weary Wiltshire legs all afternoon. Having won the penalty with strength and pace, he later skipped past two defenders with one touch and put the ball on a plate for Dillon and Worthington. On another day, we win that 3-0 thanks to two assists from Louis Dennis Bergkamp.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

I’m introducing a new, possibly one-off feature to the match report. Welcome to Moment Of The Match.

After about 70 minutes, Salisbury had their only real spell of threatening Hamon’s goal, and our backline had their only real spell of looking flustered. Cue Operation Shithouse.

After Hamon’s save, his goalkeeping colleague Matt Wonnacott came running down the touchline with an instruction from the bench.

“Hammy! Hammy! Go down!” he shouted, pointing to the floor. Hammy, used to the serene silence of the riverbank, didn’t hear his pal, so us away fans had to get involved.

“Hammy! Hammy! Down!”

He heard. He went down, clutching his calf. The referee clocked this and paused the game, allowing Wotton to get some instructions and refreshments into his players. This practice is, at best, a bit cheeky, and at worst flagrantly amoral. But it was also – and this is crucial – very, very funny. And it worked. More of it, please.

TACTICS

4-2-3-1 again. Back five for the last ten. SBLE a straight swap for Keane Anderson in the centre.

The big surprise was a start, at the first time of asking, for Cian Dillon. The theory goes that a windy game called for someone who’d chase balls in behind, rather than someone who might encourage his defenders to launch a dirty hoofball onto his noggin. In practice, Dillon played well then Cooke did too. It’s fantastic to have options.

THE OPPOSITION

Paul Wotton got a lot right this week, but he got one thing badly wrong. The RayMac is not, by any measure, one of the best grounds at this level. It’s absolutely rubbish. A pretty ropey bar is accompanied by a singular portaloo. The absence of rooved terrace is a major design flaw. I can only imagine that Wotton has a positive impression of the place because they spend all their infrastructure budget on plush furnishings and complementary champagne in the changing rooms.

That said, the Gringo Chicken van is, at least, Europa League Standard footy scran, and the people were extremely friendly.

On the pitch, you can see why Salisbury have had a poor start. Their two surely-not-cheap Summer signings called Matty – Briggs and Taylor – should provide significant experience and attacking thrust, but there was little evidence of it yesterday beyond some huffing and puffing.

THE OFFICIALS

The ref rightly gave our penalty and rightly waved away their appeals.

My favourite character was the assistant on our side who – in the aftermath of very very mild, run-of-the-mill criticism at a decision – turned around to a fan and tried to explain it. Something like “I would’ve flagged if he touched the ball but we let the game flow!” Classic, classic error. You’re not at Soccer Tots now, pal. He got the customary high-pitched “oooooo” from the crowd, and subsequent good-natured ribbing throughout the match.

CONCLUSION

Paul Wotton may well be more chipper in his next presser, and he’s every right to be. Yesterday, we doubled our average points per away game for the season – a statistic that highlights both how poor we’ve been on the road, and how October 3rd is far too soon to be making meaningful conclusions. Nobody has a right to win away from home, but that was about as comprehensive a performance as a 1-0 away win can be, and about that we should be thrilled.