TT MATCH VERDICT
Ben Wade
Ben reports back from Plainmoor
TORQUAY UNITED 5-1 SLOUGH TOWN – 10.10.2026
SUMMARY
Slough Town came into this game having lost eight, drawn one and won one of their opening matches this season sitting bottom of the NLS. Jimmy Ball named a much-changed eleven with Cody Cooke, Sean Robertson, Dan Hayfield and Harry Shield all starting the match.
It was a strong start from United as Cooke’s pivoting shot and Robertson’s diving header both went close early on. In the minutes that followed, there was limited goalmouth action as the away side stood firm and prevented a Torquay goal. Jacob Beaumont-Clark wriggled his way through and was thwarted by numerous white shirts. Denis Adeniran had been already booked and thought that Cooke should’ve been booked for his late kick. He made his feelings clear to the referee and was sent on his marching orders for a second yellow of dissent in 1st half added time. That shocking moment concluded the first half with The Yellows not posing enough of a threat in the box.
The Yellow Army made two changes at half time though with Callum Morton and Deon Moore replacing Cooke and Robertson at the break. Hayfield’s sliding challenge on Brooks was given as a penalty controversially and former Gull Saikou Janneh converted the spot kick calmly. This prompted Matt Jay to come on for Hayfield on 62 minutes. Just seconds later, Jay found space on the edge of the area and hit a crisp strike into the bottom corner for 1-1. Caleb Roberts made way for Angelo Cappello just shy of 20 minutes left. Immediately, Moore excellently beat his man before crossing it to Cappello whose shot rebounded into the of fellow sub Morton to convert.
Slough being part time (and bottom of the table) showed in the end as the game opened up. They had expertly withstood endless pressure for much of the game but Beaumont-Clark neatly swept the ball into to all but seal the win for TUFC. With five additional minutes announced, United didn’t hold back. Morton laid it off for Luke Browne to coolly finish and score his first goal in yellow and blue. JBC showed off his great dribbling and fired a shot into the near post to make the end score 5-1.
PLAYER RATINGS
1. Toby Savin 6 – Had extremely little to do and was sent the other way for the penalty.
12. Harry Shield 7 – We didn’t see much of him before his injury but he looked great today.
21. Oludare Olufunwa 8 – He dealt with everything absolutely superbly.
26. Luke Browne 8 – Great for him to get a goal and battled well like Olufunwa.
15. Kian Jenkins 7 – Played some lovely balls down the line and did what was needed at the back.
18. Matt Worthington 7 – His drive and movement of the ball was good.
20. Dan Hayfield 7 – As always, a solid shift in the middle of the park.
24. Caleb Roberts 7 – Good energy and movement in the pockets.
23. Sean Robertson 5 – Was caught offside way too often for the half he played.
9. Cody Cooke 6 – His swivelling strike was out of the ground and he didn’t get a lot of opportunities.
11. Jacob Beaumont-Clark 8 – see POTM
Subs
14. Moore 7 – Great ‘pre-assist’!
39. Morton 8 – His amazing sharpness and composure helped to shape out turnaround.
17. Cappello 7 – Got his shot off and was unlucky for the second goal.
6. Sundire 6 – Controlled as he needed to.
27. Jay 7 – His goal gave us the lifeline we desperately needed.
TUFC PLAYER RATINGS VOTE – Slough (h) – TORQUAYTALK
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – JACOB BEAUMONT-CLARK
Jacob Beaumont-Clark is my POTM from today’s game. He isn’t necessarily known for raw pace or sharpness but his ball control and finishing was sublime today.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Callum Morton and Matt Jay get a mention for changing the match and making it comfortable in the end. The centre-back pairing deserve a shoutout for generally keep things tight at the back.
TACTICS
It was a rather odd selection from the off and it didn’t really work. The subs saved us. We played a 4.3.3 with Roberts the highest of the midfield trio.
THE OPPOSITION
A second yellow for dissent in the first half at 0-0 isn’t ideal. They ran their socks off and just couldn’t continue their stubbornness at the end.
THE OFFICIALS
Some slightly interesting decisions from both linos and the referee. The penalty looked very harsh.
CONCLUSION
The emphatic score-line clearly doesn’t tell the whole story, but a great turn around and win in the end!
COYY – Ben
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At last, Mat Jay gets some minutes time on the pitch…I have bee asking for Matt to get on the pitch for some time. He came on and scored a goal… whatever happens, at sometime Matt must be given time on the pitch…
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