TALKING POINTS

Dom Roman – @DomRoman

Dom discusses the key points

THE TROPHY

The Gulls take a break from league action this weekend, facing familiar foes (and notorious bogey team) Maidstone United at Plainmoor. The last time I previewed a game, we were all feeling down on our luck and needing a boost from United, and credit to PW and team, they delivered, with two away day wins at the titans of Farnborough and Maidenhead! I was so glad we won, not just for our league position, but for the travelling Yellow Army, who had suffered too much disappointment already this season. Their hard earned money was rewarded and suddenly there are positive vibes around as we head towards the unforgiving English winter. Whether you care about the FA Trophy or not, Saturday is a chance to keep that positivity going and I’m sure Paul Wotton will want the team to progress.

TEAM SELECTION

It looks like there will definitely be some changes from the Maidenhead line-up, with Matt Worthington out of the game due to injury and Louis Dennis/Callum Dolan both missing training on Thursday. We’re not blessed with loads of options, but you’d expect Dan Hayfield to come into the line-up, whilst both Dylan Morgan and Sonny Fish could get starts. Otherwise Akyeampong and Palmer could be considered if Wotton wants to change up the defensive back four, but we should be wary of making too many alterations without surrendering the tie to the Stones.

SONNY

Slowly and surely Sonny Fish is working his way back to match sharpness, and the pace he brings to the Torquay United squad is an exciting prospect as we head into the middle part of the season. There is Elliot Benyon vibes with too many offsides, but Fish is a determined player who wants to chase down the opposition and wants to run at defenders. Maybe he can get off the mark at Plainmoor on Saturday. After the injury troubles, it would certainly be a nice moment for the striker.

THE OPPOSITION

George Elokobi’s Maidstone team come to Plainmoor after a very inconsistent start to the season, sitting 10th in the NLS with 26 points from 17 games. After losing out in the play-off final in 24-25 the Stones faithful may have expected more, so it will be interesting to see if they manage to push on as the season progresses. When it comes to playing Torquay United, the Stones so often come up trumps, winning 13 out of 19 games between the two teams, including two back to back wins at Plainmoor in the depths of our last months under the management of Gary Johnson! So maybe we’re due a victory or maybe the Stones curse will continue. Let’s hope for a good game, some fun and a win that takes us a step closer to Wembley!