TT REVIEW

Joe Uglow – @Joe_Ugs

Joe reports back from Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED 4-1 HAMPTON & RICHMOND – 10.01.2026

SUMMARY

Torquay lined up for our first fixture of 2026 with Matt Worthington back in the starting line-up after a prolonged period out of the side nursing a problem with his jaw. Matt Jay made way for the ex-skipper, otherwise the side was unchanged. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton pushing further up into the “No.10” position to support Louis Dennis up top.

Torquay started the brighter of the two sides and enjoyed lots of possession, but seemed to lack the final end product despite plenty of neat play with the ball. Hampton & Richmond looked well drilled defensively, as you would expect from an Alan Dowson side, and looked sharp on the break with Junior Dixon and Craig Fasanmade looking particularly dangerous when counter attacking. Probably against the run of play Hampton grabbed the opener. A poor foul from skipper Sam Dreyer gave Hampton a free kick just outside the centre circle. The ball was whipped to the edge of the box, finding the Right-Back Lacey who side footed the ball into the bottom corner to stun an expectant Plainmoor crowd. 0-1 to Hampton! From my view on the popside, it looked potentially saveable, so will be interesting to watch back to see if Hamon could have done better.

Torquay huffed and puffed to get back into the game and whilst enjoying lots of the ball, couldn’t seem to unlock the Hampton defence, that was until the 39th minute. Good work into the box resulted with Thomas lofting a ball to the back post, which couldn’t find a yellow shirt, Dan Hayfield managed to recycle the ball out to Dolan on the edge of the area, he was allowed to cut in on his right foot and he calmly curled it into the far bottom corner! 1-1 & game on!

The remaining 6 minutes petered out with little in the way of goalmouth action and the half time whistle sounded, Torquay looked a little ponderous in their approach, with Worthington & Hayfield guilty of slowing the ball down when moving it fast was the order of the day to break down a stubborn Hampton side, a more clinical second half was needed!

And a clinical second half is what we got!

Eight minutes into the second half after a period of sustained pressure, United got their second. Good work by Jordan Young on the right allowed him to beat his marker and lay the ball off for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton who took one touch and hammered the ball into the top corner, an exquisite finish! 2-1 to Torquay!

On the hour mark Worthington departed the field with Cody Cooke coming on in his place, Dennis slotted back into the “10” and Lo-Everton sat back alongside Hayfield. A couple of minutes later Dolan picked up what looked like a fairly painful injury to his knee, and was replaced by Dylan Morgan.

Morgan was straight into action down the left and after beating his man put a lovely ball over to the far post, it evaded everyone but was picked up by Jordan Young. His initial attempt to cross the ball was blocked and so he opted for plan B; a move that has become synonymous with Youngy… he darted the ball onto his left foot, spotted a gap and hammered the ball into the far corner, the ball was in the back of the net before the keeper even flinched. 3-1 Torquay!

It was all Torquay & chances were aplenty now, Cody Cooke so nearly got in on the action as his header from a Young cross cannoned off the bar and down towards the goal-line, it looked like it may have been over the line but the linesman was unmoved.

We would have to wait until the 92nd minute for the final sucker punch though. A long ball was won by Cooke, releasing Morgan down the left wing, inspired by a rendition of “Walking in a Morgan Wonderland” from the Popside he rolled the ball on to his right foot on the edge of the area and cannoned the ball into the back of the net off of the crossbar & post. 4-1, Game over & a good home performance from the Yellows to kick off 2026!

PLAYER RATINGS

1. HAMON – 6.5: Not a lot to do, would like to see their goal again, I thought he might have done better with it, but that may be a little harsh.

3. FOULSTON – 6.5: Had to be alert to deal with the pacey Fasanmade.

4. DYER – 6.5: Had a slow start but dealt well with Dixon who is difficult to handle.

5. DREYER – 7: Conceded a poor foul which eventually led to Hampton’s goal. Not afraid to get on the ball and bring it out of defence to try and unlock Hampton.

26. THOMAS – 6.5: got forward at will, especially in the second half, allowing an overload which creates that space for Young. Made a cracking run in the first half but his legs seemed to give up on him as he reached the ball, if he’d managed to take it round the keeper he may have got himself a goal.

20. HAYFIELD – 7: Seemed to grow into the game once Worthington was taken off, I’m not sure we need the pair of them in there, and i probably prefer Hayfield’s energy over Worthington if i had to choose.

18. WORTHINGTON – 6: Held on to the ball a bit too long for my liking at times when we needed to move it quickly to unpick Hampton. Will have better games and did okay considering his lengthy period on the sidelines.

24. LO-EVERTON – 8: Not sure I agree with PW’s post-match assessment that SBLE is a “No.10”, i much prefer him in the middle of the park complementing either Hayfield or Worthington, but he did a decent enough job in there. A cracking finish to make it 2-1.

10. DOLAN – 7.5: Beat his man a number of times and put a couple of dangerous crosses in. A lovely calm finish to equalise.

8. YOUNG – 8: Some neat crosses & set pieces, which deserved someone getting on the end of it. Hampton tried to double up on him with little success, a cracking finish for the third, a real trademark Youngy goal.

7. DENNIS – 7: linked the play well, a very talented footballer who’s quick feet are a pleasure to watch at times. Produced a stunning save from their keeper with a long range effort towards the end.

Subs

11. MORGAN – 8: Looked dangerous off the left, had a chance to shoot when through on goal but opted to pass to Cooke instead, 10 minutes later he didn’t make the same mistake, a cracking finish from 20 yards.

9. COOKE – 6.5: Physical presence up top, good to get another half hour under his belt, unlucky with his header cannoning off the bar.

16. PALMER- N/A: Late sub for the injured Jordan Thomas

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – Sonny Blu Lo-Everton

A classy player, linked the play well when playing the “No.10” role, with plenty of industry and energy, slotted back into his typical central midfield role on the hour mark where I feel he looks most comfortable. A fantastic goal at a critical time to send us on our way to victory.

TACTICS

A familiar 4-2-3-1 with Dennis leading the line. Young and Dolan provided the width with Lo-Everton playing in the 10 role, Hayfield and Worthington partnered in the deeper lying midfield positions.

THE OPPOSITION

Fairly limited but defensively stubborn, wouldn’t want to watch them every week as they lacked any sort of spark or creativity going forward, probably explains why only 19 (NINETEEN!) made the journey.

THE OFFICIALS

Can’t remember a decision that i thought they got wrong, went unnoticed which is usually a good sign.

KEY MOMENT

Dolan’s equaliser – plenty of bodies in the box, he could have been forgiven for just smashing it at goal, but he bided his time, spotted a gap and stroked it home, a lovely goal to spark off a goal of the month competition all within one game! Crucial that we went in at the break at least level.

CONCLUSION

Routine win in the end, which to be honest, is what I hoped for and expected arriving at Plainmoor. Tougher tests will lie ahead but a good start to 2026 for the Yellows and hopefully the start of a good run of form as we enter a period of 12 games over the next 2 months.

Three points off the top spot after Worthing lost on the road to Salisbury, are we in a title race? A million billion trillion per cent!