TT REVIEW

Mark Hirst – @MarkAHirst

A TINY BIT OF PRESSURE RELIEVED

‘We needed it. I needed it’ was the post-match reaction of Jimmy Ball. He clearly knows that many have been calling for the axe to fall. With a quarter of the season gone, the league table doesn’t lie and the bottom half is not where anyone expected the bookies pre-season favourites to be.

There was a sense of trepidation after the meek but entirely predictable defeat at Totton in midweek. The hosts were the ultimate banana skin and anything other than a win was unacceptable – the Swans had picked up only one home point so far. However Jimmy seemed relaxed, particularly enjoying Thriller being played whilst overseeing the pre-game drills.

The ability gap was clear in the first half and the lead should have been bigger at the break than just Matt Jay’s lovely finish. Both Ball and Way were stressing the need to keep the tempo high, expecting W&H to fade, and that’s what eventually happened.

There was a spell in the second half where the hosts were keeping the ball much better than us – it was during this period that Savin made a crucial save from a one-on-one. But two more goals of high quality reemphasised the difference in the teams.

So the heat is turned down, but only marginally. All non-delusional Torquay fans knew afterwards that there wouldn’t be many more straightforward assignments, but it was job done. We now need to kick on – we’ve won back-to-back NLS games only once (Folkestone and Maidenhead) and beaten only one team currently in the top half (Tonbridge). That has to change.

SQUAD NEEDS

Having been pleased to see the restoration of a back 4 and wingers when the team news was announced, the mood then dropped when Taylor Scarff was doing the defensive drills and it emerged Dare Olufunwa had injured a knee. To be fair, the ex Plymouth Parkway man went on to have a solid game. But Olufunwa’s injury compounded the issues we now face.

With Jake Wannell now missing for the next 4 games, any period of absence for Olufunwa would leave the defence seriously short. Tyler Hill seems to be locked in at left back for a while following Kian Jenkins’ foot injury, so central defensive reinforcements must surely be a priority this week.

Whilst we are better stocked in central midfield and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton’s return will be warmly welcomed, do we need a ball winner following the departure of Nash Sundire?

Thankfully the international break covers only one weekend this time, but Guyana have 2 games, so presumably we’ll lose Deon Moore for the Hemel and FA Trophy fixtures. It was a bit of a concern to see him stretching out so much yesterday, both in warm up and during the match. But I’m sure he won’t turn down another trip to the Caribbean. The fact that Jimmy let Westendorf go suggests he’s happy with what we’ve got up front – unless he simply doesn’t want him.

The other area I’ll flag is left wing, where the Angelo Cappello injuries are problematic. The other 3 wingers seem happier on the right, so maybe that’s a position that needs addressing too, unless Callum Morton is asked to play there. I’d rather have a specialist personally.

JBC APPRECIATION

I understood the reasoning for the approach v Maidstone a week earlier. I’ve rarely witnessed a game in such extraordinary conditions and the no-nonsense wingerless 5-3-2 almost paid off. But my heart sank when I saw the same line-up for the Totton game and my fears were realised with an embarrassing performance.

There is not a world where if he is fit and there isn’t a monsoon/gales mix that Jacob Beaumont-Clark shouldn’t be in the starting line-up.

With no experience outside of the academy environment, my reaction to his signing was ‘there’s a big difference between PL2 and NLS’. He had also not had a chance to integrate in pre-season, having been signed in the aftermath of Dylan Morgan’s departure and with Jordan Young’s exit on the horizon – so had big boots to fill.

Thankfully he has taken to this level so well. Defenders at this level hate being run at and JBC needs no introduction to do so. He can score rockets with both feet, so the opposition don’t know whether to send him inside or out. And he’s not a flaky type that needs subbing after 70 minutes.

Apparently he didn’t start at Totton because the pitch was a bit bobbly. Absolute nonsense – play your best players! We aren’t going to have him for very long if we bumble around at this level so enjoy him whilst we can. I’m sure any onlooking scout will be highlighting his name for future reference.

THE OPPOSITION

Having lived in the area for a number of years, I’m no stranger to the Elmbridge Sports Hub – in fact when clocking into the game on the excellent Futbology app, it told me it was my 25th visit to the ground. I never expected to see Torquay play there. It’s possibly the most basic ground at which the Yellow Army have ever visited – but there’s a simple solution to avoid playing at such grounds – get better results!

It wasn’t long ago that the Swans were playing in the Combined Counties League and were taken over by teenage friends, one of whom remains co-owner. They built a strong social media presence (21k YouTube subscribers compared to Torquay’s 9.7k), especially on TikTok. They rose through the leagues and this time a year ago, would have been a real match for us, when miles clear of the Southern Prem. I saw them outclass Tim Sills and Asa Hall led teams, playing some swashbuckling stuff.

However they have never recovered the acrimonious mid season departure of manager Billy Rowley to Yeovil – whilst they held on to win promotion, the squad broke up and I’m not sure any of them remain. They are on their second manager of the season, are in dispute with the local council regarding match day revenues and their run of success has hit a wall. They have recently appointed Neal Ardley as Director of Football, but he’s got a tough job keeping them up – however considering where they came from, it wouldn’t be a failure if they go on to be relegated.

ANOTHER DRAW

The anger hasn’t subsided that we aren’t starting November with an FA Cup First Round tie at home to Leicester and enjoying all the resulting financial benefits. So there’s now a 10-day break, which Jimmy hinted can replicate mini pre-season to work on the things that the players that joined in the last couple of months missed out on.

The next game is the rearranged trip to Hemel Hempstead. The reaction on X to their 5-0 defeat at Billericay on Saturday suggests their fanbase would rather like a new manager sooner rather than later! They’ve picked up one point from the last 4 games and host Maidstone whilst we have the weekend off.

There’s the FA Trophy trip to Horsham, before a return to NLS action v Braintree and Chesham. So the next 3 league games are v 20th, 17th and 21st before hosting draw specialists Chelmsford, who might be unbeaten but are only one point better off than us.

December’s fixtures are potentially very tasty, but we really need to win 3 of the next 4 to get back in the mix by the end of the month.