TT PREVIEW

Chris Wade – @tufcchris

DIFFERENT SHAPE SUCCESS

I have talked in these pages before and on Gull’s Eye View about how I don’t believe 3-5-2 is a system that works for us, and in particular with the personal that we have. Last time out at Walton & Hersham, we went back to 4-2-3-1 and it worked very well, in particular with wide players running at full backs. Tegan Finn hasn’t had lots of playing time but came back into the starting eleven and was a real threat down the right flank. With an excellent first touch and dangerous balls in, it feels like he needs to play more. Jacob Beaumont-Clark has shown that he can score goals and hurt opposition with his direct style, but both look more comfortable on the right, so how we fit them both in will be a challenge.

WINS PLEASE!

14^th after 14 games is not where anybody associated with Torquay United hoped to be or wants to be. It’s such a strange record, being unbeaten at home but with 5 draws out of 7, but with 3 wins out of 7 away from home, and 4 really disappointing away defeats. There is no doubt that there is pressure on manager Jimmy Ball, and the 3-0 at Walton did little to change that in the minds of some people. But we need to take that into the next fixture at Hemel Hempstead on Tuesday night. Also without a win at home as Walton where, United need to go there with another positive mindset and get another win. They only way out of this current predicament is to put a string of results together, and that has to continue on Tuesday. The 15^th game can’t be must win, but it just might be for Jimmy Ball.

DEFENSIVE DIFFICULTIES

Another feature of the 14 games so far has been the constant chopping and changing to the starting 11 for a whole number of reasons, and this will continue on Tuesday. Centre back Jake Wannell starts a 4 game ban after his second red card of the season at Totton recently, and it remains to be seen if Dare Olufunwa is fit to start after a late withdrawal at Walton with a knee issue. Taylor Scarff came in and did a good job there and he may well be needed to step up in the coming games and weeks. In this 10 day break between matches, Ball must have been tempted to add to his squad, and there may yet be news ahead of kick off. With Kian Jenkins also struggling, expect to see Tyler Hill continue at left back. It was also good to see Dom Bernard back in the team at Walton, so the battle with young Harry Shield will be an interesting one.

MISSING DEON

It has been wonderful to see Deon Moore selected to play international football for Guyana, and the next international break sees him depart for the next two matches. Whilst it’s great for him and the club, it does leave behind a challenge to fill the void. Cody Cooke has been a regular on the scoresheet again this season and was very impressive as a substitute and a scorer in that win at Walton, so expect to see him start on Tuesday. Callum Morton was also back from a calf issue in that game, so he will be another useful option for Jimmy. There is also an outside chance that Sonny Blu Lo-Everton could be back from a heal issue.

THE OPPOSITION

Hemel Hempstead go into the match on a poor run, with 4 defeats in the last 6 games and only 2 points in that time. It has been an underwhelming start to the season, and United need to ensure that they get the job done and keep them struggling near the foot of the table, starting the match in 20^th place, 4 points outside of the relegation places. The travelling Yellow Army will boost the attendance, as Hemel have the second lowest average attendance of 592, with only our next league opponents Braintree Town having a lower average. Let’s hope the Yellows can deliver another three point boost.