TALKING POINTS

Chris Wade – @tufcchris

Chris discusses the key points

BOUNCEBACKABILITY

One of the key aspects of football, as in life, is the ability to be resolute in face of adversity and bounce back even stronger. This is something that Torquay United have had to show in bundles in the last few weeks. The now National League South league leaders (how nice is that to read by the way), have conceded the first goal and fallen behind in each of the last five matches. The first goal is usually key in every game, and when you are going for the title, needing at least two goals to win every game makes life hard for yourself. But having the ability to do it is also significant. Whilst far from ideal, and it can’t go on and you won’t get away with it all the time, it shows a certain resolve in the squad, a key attribute heading into the closing months of any season.

AWAY FORM

Stick to the process, it’ll turn, I have full belief. These are all things that manager Paul Wotton was saying in those challenging early months of away form. But he wasn’t wrong, was he? Successive victories at Enfield, Hornchurch and Dover, and what could have been at Totton and Bath have seen a real upturn in the return of points on our travels. They have all been different styles of wins, with Enfield seeing a strong second half, Hornchurch a good overall performance and Dover a gritty and resolute performance after a poor first twenty minutes. Winning in different ways is key for a successful team, but those three points at Dover show how we have turned the away form around. That needs to continue at Chippenham on Tuesday.

CENTRE BACK VACANCY

In a strong squad, the defensive area is somewhere we haven’t had lots of cover all season. The back four has largely remained the same in front of James Hamon for much of the season, but the unfortunate hamstring injury to Jordan Dyer will see a slot open in the coming weeks. Ed Palmer came on and was strong at Dover, and topped it off with two assists, including winning the head that Sam Dreyer turned in for the winner. Whether it be him, or perhaps Jay Foulston will shape the structure in the coming busy weeks. Jordan Thomas filled in at left back at times last season, and there are options open to the manager.

LD RETURNS

Another impressive aspect of the last three wins has been that they have all come in the absence of suspended influential forward Louis Dennis. His movement, leadership, and ability to link the play, not to mention his finishing, has been such a key part of the United attack this season, so to have collected nine points in his (controversial, don’t start me again) absence, has been very good. How we fit him back in becomes the key question now he is available again. This is the first of twelve matches between now and the end of March, so rotation and refreshing players will be a key component of Paul’s leadership over the next seven weeks. He is so key to how we play, that having him fresh and strong when we need him will be very important. Seeing the same starting eleven back-to-back will be unlikely in the coming weeks, so it’ll be fascinating to see how we line up on Tuesday.

THE OPPOSITION

United head to Chippenham on Tuesday looking for a fourth consecutive away win. The hosts currently sit bottom of the table having lost their last four matches, conceding fourteen goals in the process. Were football played on paper, you know what I would say. But it is played on muddy grass, and we need to go there with the right attitude and with the right focus. We saw in the first twenty minutes at Dover what a slow start can do, so with a shorter journey and a fast start, we can get ahead of the game in this one. We need to keep the points rolling, and after some favourable results for us at the weekend, this feels like a key time. With so many points to play for in the coming weeks, let’s get cracking with three more on Tuesday night.