TT REVIEW

Steve reports back on the win at Plainmoor

TORQUAY UNITED 2-1 CHESHAM UNITED – 14.03.2026

SUMMARY

Torquay United made it back-to-back wins as they came from behind to beat Chesham United in a match that saw both sides reduced to ten men. After conceding early on to a Karl Oliyide header, the Gulls hit back as Sonny Fish opened his goalscoring account for the club before Dan Hayfield struck with his first for the season.

With Neil Warnock absent due to a prior commitment, Ronnie Jepson took charge of the side and made one change as Jordan Dyer returned to the starting line-up in place of the injured Munashe Sundire. Will Tizzard moved to right-back as Dyer partnered Ed Palmer in the centre of defence.

Chesham went ahead on two minutes when Oliyide nodded home a Jayden Bennetts corner. The Gulls were largely restricted to half chances until the 34th minute when Sonny Blu Lo-Everton saw a long-range strike palmed behind by Generals keeper Ben Goode.

Two minutes later, Torquay equalised when Fish slotted past Goode to score his first goal for the club after being teed up by Matt Jay.

In the second half, Generals’ striker Mitchell Weiss was denied by a one-handed save from United keeper Seb Stacey on 50 minutes. On 59 minutes, Dylan Morgan was sent through by Jay, but his effort was turned behind by Goode. From the resulting corner from Lo-Everton, Ed Palmer nodded narrowly wide.

Moments later, Chesham were reduced to ten men when Alfie Young saw red for an off the ball incident. In the 65th minute, Fish headed home a corner from Jordan Young, but it was ruled out for a push.

On 72 minutes, Lo-Everton attempted another long range shot which flew wide. Torquay took the lead on 74 minutes as Hayfield turned home a low cross from Morgan to score his first of the campaign.

The hosts later found themselves down to ten when Will Tizzard received two yellow cards in quick succession.

Deep in injury time, Morgan drew a save from Goode before Hayfield made an important block from a corner to deny Chesham a leveller, as the Gulls won their first ever game at Plainmoor against the Generals.

PLAYER RATINGS

15. STACEY – 7.5: Made a number of big saves in the second half to keep Chesham at bay.

3. FOULSTON – 7: Handed the captain’s armband for a second game in a row and appears to be growing into the role.

16. PALMER- 7: Produced the kind of solid and dependable display that we have come to expect from him.

4. DYER – 7: Marked his return from injury with an assured performance at the back.

28. TIZZARD – 5: Playing in an unfamiliar role as right-back, he was having a steady game until his two yellow cards.

20. HAYFIELD – 8: Opened his goal scoring account for the season and made an important block (see key moment) at the end.

24. LO-EVERTON – 8: Worked hard and showed plenty of quality on the ball.

8. YOUNG – 6: Showed glimpses of his ability, but didn’t hit the heights that he has showed he was capable of.

27. JAY – 8.5: See Man of the Match.

11. MORGAN: 7 – Always looked to get forward at every opportunity and looked dangerous throughout.

17. FISH: 7 – Took his goal well and was unlucky not to get a second.

Subs

23. WILSON – N/A: Late sub for Fish.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – MATT JAY

Playing in his preferred position as a number 10 behind the main striker, Matt Jay was a key performer for the Gulls. He provided the assist for Sonny Fish’s equaliser and dropped back into midfield following Will Tizzard’s dismissal and showed a great range of passing, playing almost as a ‘quarter back.’

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Dan Hayfield worked tirelessly throughout after dropping back to fill in at right-back following Will Tizzard’s dismissal and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton showed his quality on the ball. Seb Stacey also deserves a mention for the important saves that he made.

TACTICS

Ronnie Jepson stuck with the tried and trusted 4-2-3-1 formation, which became 4-2-2-1 following Will Tizzard’s dismissal.

THE OPPOSITION

Chesham lined up with a 3-5-2 formation and much was made of their use of the dark arts in the build up to the game. This was reflected by the yellow card issued to goalkeeper Ben Goode for time-wasting on 66 minutes.

THE OFFICIALS

One of the best referees that I’ve seen at Plainmoor for a while and got every big decision right. He was also quick to clamp down on time wasting.

KEY MOMENT

Dan Hayfield’s block on the line in injury time played a massive part in securing victory for the Gulls and denying Chesham a dramatic equaliser.

CONCLUSION

The Gulls once again showed their character to come from behind to win to take the total number of points that they have won in 2025-26 to 24.

United’s victory keeps them in the play-off hunt as they move up to fourth in the table. With the new manager set to be appointed next week, he will be inheriting a squad that have just recorded successive league wins for the first time since late January-early February.