League 2: Torquay United vs Chesterfield

[lexusguy]

On a slight aside it was lovely to see Trojan and John Bartlett kiss and make up after the bell altercation last week

[Enzo]

An enthralling game of football at Plainmoor last night in a decent atmosphere. I thought we well below our best in some areas, but gave it a real go against a very impressive Chesterfield side - I wouldn't be surprised to see them go up this year! I too am puzzled by the pre-match watering of the pitch - it is going to cost us sooner or later. It is the same for both sides, but we always seem to make more slips than our opponents. Is it really necessary immediately before kick off. If I wanted to go and watch 'It's a Knockout' then I would do. What next? Get the players to wear sumo suits or something??

Most of my thoughts have been covered by others- Started well enough, very unlucky not to score through Branston and then were overran in midfield leading to Chesterfield dominating until the end of the half. A very frustrating period of play to watch. Our ball retention was awful and we were inviting pressure through poor pass selection or, very often, poor execution. I have never seen us give the ball away through straight forward passes so much in one game. It is no good playing neat triangles around the half way line, getting nowhere and then losing the ball. Too often we were not doing the basics and looking for the slide rule pass.

Bevs kept us in it at times tonight - three top drawer saves in the first half and some vital touches and handling in the second. Amazing to think this was the same keeper as at Burton. We gave it a real go in the Second Half and shaded it - going close on several occasions and looking very dangerous from corners. I thought Branston was superb again all night. Credit must also go to Robertson as well - some decent forwards to mark last night. He does not look pretty and gives away some sill free kicks but he has formed a decent partnership with the Pickler.

I thought Bucks got a few things wrong last night. To start with Eunan in the middle in such a big game against such a decent opposition was wrong in my opinion. Sure, he made a couple of defence splitting passes - However, on the whole he was not strong enough for the position and many of our problems stemmed from being over ran in the middle. I can see the point of this with 15 minutes remaining when we are chasing a game, but last night it did not work. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Eunan and would fit him into the side somehow - last night Oastler seemed to be dropped to allow Billy Kee to play. Another player who I see a lot of potential in - But last night he was dreadful, particularly in the first half. His first touch was shocking - I believe this to be a direct consequence of him being so unfit. As a professional footballer he should be ashamed of his physique. On a night when we needed to be at our absolute best O'Kane, Robinson, Kee were not. I thought Tomlin was one of our better players and was surprised when Bucks took him off. Wrong choice in my opinion.

For a team that has just drawn against a top team to move back into the Play Offs this is a very negative report. Sorry about that - Last night we saw in Chesterfield where we want to be...........and at times our lack of quality showed where we actually are. No disgrace in that and we have an exciting foundation to build upon next season - assuming we have the budget to build and develop on this. There were plenty of positives last night also...............Bevs and the defence stood up to an extreme test pretty well, Zebs was his usual tireless self. He had the beating of their full back. Nicho was targeted again and stuck in there - his dead ball delivery was spot on again. I suspect we have seen a glimpse of the future with the recent late substitutions of LRT for Nicho late on.

At the end of season, this point may prove vital. As it it, I think it confirms my thoughts all season - we are heading the right direction with a decent squad and a decent Manager. Both are still developing and it is no shame for fall short, as I think we will do.

One very final point - well done to the guy who does the HT entertainment. A big improvement this year.

[Southampton Gull]

You're probably right, Mike. I'd say we've been so unlucky at times it's ridiculous, the number of chances we seem to create one way or another only to be foiled by a post or a bar, or a superb save by a keeper. Maybe it's the finishing that's lacking but nobody can deny we're not a good side to watch. I really enjoyed that game last night. For my outlay of fuel for a 300 mile round trip plus ticket I feel I got real value for money, considering there were no goals I'd say that's a pretty fair indictment of how I've felt this season, worth every penny to watch football played like that.

A word about Nico. I thought he was superb last night, I'm surprised not many people have listed him in their top five. The thing he does so well that seems to be overlooked is taking that first touch. He controls the ball so well and how many times does he find a yellow shirt with a pass or a cross? His defending has been very good this season but last night he shone through for me. Quality footballer who has surprised more than a few by managing to step up, eh Yellow?

[yellow]

Fair point SG. I thought he was a complete liability at the start of last season. He has proved me wrong by coming back leaner and meaner. He is still vulnerable to pace, but on the whole the formation and his positional sense have covered that over and so allowed his undoubted ability with the ball to shine through.

On the subject of MOM I thought Tomlin played well last night. Chesterfield had done their homework and generally there were 2 men on him, but I don t recall him wasting the ball (unlike some). I was surprised that PB took him off.

[HRG]

I'm afraid I disagree regarding Tomlin. He worked hard but he kept giving the ball away so feel it was right to take him off. Zebs seemed a little quieter than other times I've seem him play.
All in all though an enjoyable match with a great atmosphere. I followed the sound of the drum and joined in. The brats behind me did my head in but not enough to spoil the evening.

[Plymouth Gull]

Tomlin always seem to dally around on the ball, taking a touch more than needed, and then gets dispossessed. Kee had a poor game, I thought.

Good game though - you can see why Chesterfield are top of the table. Their fans were excellent, all game.

Kudos to Branston for POTY - didn't get my vote, but he would have been 2nd for me.

Stupid pitch invasion, embarrassment.

Also, I like the new home shirt.

[ferrarilover]

Following on from Dave's point about the quality of the football we play. Imagine for a second that the, perfectly legitimate, goal against Vale had been allowed to stand, one of the 100 or so chances v Wycombe went in and that one against the underside of the bar last night did what 99.9999% of other shots such as that one do, and get headed into the roof of the net, rather than the bar. We'd all be saying that we look unstoppable and quite rightly so. There is unlucky, then there is getting struck by lightening, then there is Torquay United this season. I make it 31 strikes of the woodwork now, and not a single one of them has gone in.

Matt.

[stefano]

Following on from Dave's point about the quality of the football we play. Imagine for a second that the, perfectly legitimate, goal against Vale had been allowed to stand, one of the 100 or so chances v Wycombe went in and that one against the underside of the bar last night did what 99.9999% of other shots such as that one do, and get headed into the roof of the net, rather than the bar. We'd all be saying that we look unstoppable and quite rightly so. There is unlucky, then there is getting struck by lightening, then there is Torquay United this season. I make it 31 strikes of the woodwork now, and not a single one of them has gone in.

Matt.

I think that nobody will want to play us in the play-offs including the 'form' team Accrington Stanley. We still have to clinch our place, although even if we had won the afore-mentioned three home games instead of finishing them all as we started at 0-0 we would still only be in 5th position and with only a very unlikely chance of grabbing automatic promotion on the last day. A win (or draw although I think we will win well) at Rotherham will see us with an unbeaten run of 12 games going in to the play-offs with 6 wins and 6 draws. Accrington are slightly better in the form stakes with 17 games unbeaten at the moment with 11 wins and 6 draws, but let's just hope they go in to the play-offs in the wrong frame of mind with a last day defeat at Burton. It does look most likely if we do what is required on the final day that it will be Accrington in the semi-final play offs with us at home first. I would be confident of a single goal margin being enough to put us through and would expect us to get a draw away or even another win on the break as Accrington push forward.

Whatever happens it has been a good season and we have played some delightful football at times, but if we do get to the Old trafford stage none of the potential opponents Wycombe, Shrewsbury, Stevenage, or Gillingham would fancy playing us and we may even enter that game as favourites despite final league positions.

It's nice as well to have standing by the consolation prize for not getting through of games against Argyle, Bristol Rovers, and Swindon Town

[tommygull]

Accrington did outplay us at theirs in my opinion but it was by no way a clear cut win. They won by a single goal on a pitch which they have much more experience on and if we had 11 men for the second half of that game I reckon we could easily have drawn or won it in the end. They were very ordinary.

[ferrarilover]

I seem to remember, Tommo, that they beat us at their place with their only shot on target, against 10 men, on that pitch, and it was a wildly speculative effort which the guy would miss 9999 times in 10000. That pitch has been messed up deliberately (despite dry recent weather, their pitch is more of a mud bath than ever) which is why they have such an impressive home record. One look at the L2 table tells us that they have won just three away matches all season. This is clear demonstration that they get thoroughly outplayed on any occasion when the opposition have the opportunity to play L2 standard football, rather than Evo-Stik league standard hoofball in a puddle of mud.
The remainder of their ground surely cannot be suitable for L1. I went to King's Lynn FC (before they folded owing the taxman the princely sum of £50,000, or 25% of what Mr Rooney earns for 90 minutes work) shortly after their ground was deemed insufficiently well developed to allow them to progress to whichever minute division they were hoping for. They had a large capacity, a nice grandstand, excellent food and toilet facilities, all areas were under cover in case of inclement weather. It was not a building site located in a grim northern shithole, with no toilets and crap food where you stand on a terrace with no roof which wouldn't look out of place in an Indian shanty town.

I don't like Accrington, does it show?

Matt.

[yellowforever]

I seem to remember, Tommo, that they beat us at their place with their only shot on target, against 10 men, on that pitch, and it was a wildly speculative effort which the guy would miss 9999 times in 10000. That pitch has been messed up deliberately (despite dry recent weather, their pitch is more of a mud bath than ever) which is why they have such an impressive home record. One look at the L2 table tells us that they have won just three away matches all season. This is clear demonstration that they get thoroughly outplayed on any occasion when the opposition have the opportunity to play L2 standard football, rather than Evo-Stik league standard hoofball in a puddle of mud.
The remainder of their ground surely cannot be suitable for L1. I went to King's Lynn FC (before they folded owing the taxman the princely sum of £50,000, or 25% of what Mr Rooney earns for 90 minutes work) shortly after their ground was deemed insufficiently well developed to allow them to progress to whichever minute division they were hoping for. They had a large capacity, a nice grandstand, excellent food and toilet facilities, all areas were under cover in case of inclement weather. It was not a building site located in a grim northern shithole, with no toilets and crap food where you stand on a terrace with no roof which wouldn't look out of place in an Indian shanty town.

I don't like Accrington, does it show?

Matt.

Completely agree about all the points there. The one team i would not want to play, should we make the playoffs is Accrington.

[HRG]

Whoever it was who said we'd be better off with Accrington in the final as they wouldn't be able to play on a decent pitch was spot on in my opinion.

[SuperNickyWroe]

lets get to the play offs first............ 8/

[HRG]

We can dream Super.

[stefano]

lets get to the play offs first............ 8/

Don't worry about it! It's pessimists like you that just don't enjoy the odd occasion when we are around the top places