Torquay United vs Oxford United

[Jeff]

Was getting text updates from mates at the game all afternoon. Initially things were very negative, although by the end it sounded as though the introduction of Kee changed the game. although, when we went 3-3 I never for a second thought we would win it - I was hoping we'd hold out for a draw but deep down had a feeling we'd blow it. Same old story.

Still, the table doesn't make too bad reading. 4 points off the playoffs, but with a game in hand against all the teams immediately above us barring Crewe, who we have at home in 8 days anyway and is therefore possibly our game in hand anyway. Got a big month ahead with games against Crewe and Gillingham at home, and Cheltenham away. So we may be out of the top 7, but its all in our hands if we can get this defeat out of our system and string some form together. Seems like that may be a big ask though based on current form.

[PlainmoorRoar]

We should have switched to 4-4-2 much earlier

Hemmings was useless all game cutting inside leaving us no attack on the left, zebs was cancelled out due to the doubling up on him from craddock and the LB, it took Buckle until we were 3-1 down to do something about it!

The goal to make it 4-3 was poor aswell, I think if ellis hadn't had charged over to help robbo we might have been okay, i wont comment on the Bevan mistake, i actually turned away thinking he had the ball! by what I heard though hes surely had a hand in costing us 3 points in the last 2 games

[drummergull90]

First game for a few months, here are my thoughts...

Tried to post from the game but my iPhone was playing up, much to the amusement of my Dad. Typical.

Anyway first half we were abysmal. One of the poorest displays from a Torquay team I have seen in years. No passion, no direction, no belief. Looked like a bunch of strangers out there. Only bright spark was Eunan, lovely passing and movement all through the game from him today. First goal was a great individual effort, nothing we could have done about it really. They didn't deserve the lead, but then neither did we. Second goal was poor defending from a corner. Same old same old. Then a lovely goal from Elliot, who was brilliant today. It sums up just how much he has improved in recent months, strong, good touch, good finish. Last few minutes of the first half we suddenly woke up and had some purpose, but did not have enough time to make any further impact.

2-1 at HT was about right, probably flattered Oxford but we certainly didn't deserve to lead. Hemmings and Lathrope were completely useless.

Second half we started brightly, few chances but no penetration. Still looking back too often rather than pushing the ball up and exploiting the wings. Zebs caused some mischief, but the surface wasn't doing him any favours. The came the third goal. I still don't know what happened to be honest. Their striker latched on to a through ball, Ellis reacted as if it was offside. Bevs started to come to claim it then went back, striker looked up to the linesman and popped the ball in. Very strange goal indeed. Then Bucks reigned in the changes. Danny replaced the useless Hemmings and Kee came on for the equally ineffectual Lathrope. Suddenly Torquay looked good. We had some purpose, some belief. Billy changed the game, first time I have ever seen him look properly sharp. Did all the work for Elliot's second, and then combined brilliantly with Danny for a deflected goal of his own. Plainmoor went mental, but you never thought we would win the game. We were all over them for the final 10 minutes but couldn't put the ball in the back of the net. It was inevitable that they would score and on 90 minutes they did. Poor defending to blame yet again.

We didn't deserve to win the game, but 3-3 would have been fair.

Player ratings

Bevs- 5. Didn't have a lot to do, but was at fault for the third in my eyes.
Nicho-6. Solid defesnviely, good set pieces on the whole.
Robbo-5. Solid in the air, found it difficult on the ground.
Ellis-7. Cut above the rest of the defense.
Mansell-6. Tried hard.
Zebs-6. Frustrating.
Lathrope-3. Terrible.
Wroe-7. Best performance I have seen from him in ages, particularly in the second half.
Hemmings-2. Send him back. Didn't beat his man once.
O'Kane- 7. Lovely little flicks and passes all game, but still unsure if he is needed at this level.
Benyon- 9. MOTM. Scored two, looked lively. Probably his last game, and played like it was.

Subs
Danny-8. Combined brilliantly with Billy for the goal and looked miles more effective than Hemmings.
Kee-9. Changed the game. Finally putting in the performances we know he can.
Oastler- 6. Looked better than Lathrope.

Crowd were awful today I thought. We really need to do something about the lack of atmosphere. All the singing goes on at the opposite end to the away fans, we seemed to be being outsung the whole game. Pretty depressing.

If we lose Benyon, Buckle and Ellis you can forget about promotion and perhaps even mid table.

[yellow]

If we lose Benyon, Buckle and Ellis you can forget about promotion and perhaps even mid table.

To misquote Oscar Wilde; To lose one asset may be regarded as misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness.

As for PB I am not particularly bothered whether he stays or goes. If he does decide to jump ship then I can t see him lasting very long with the Gasheads... Playing a lone striker at home is not going to endear him to football lovers.

[drummergull90]

Good point. But Benyon is playing well enough to justify being a lone striker as long as the rest of the team are up to scratch. And today they were not. 4-4-2 with Billy Elliot up front today would have worked wonders.

[Plymgull]

Well Bucks said on the radio that he had not been approached by them BUT that he is an ambitious manager and wants to manage at the very top.. He also said he would not be surprised if Benyon was playing in a different shirt come feb.

I know its very unlikely a club like ours can keep such young talent but i would be so happy if we could hold onto Benyon. He is the one player at the moment you can always bet on to score.

[yellowforever]

Absolutely gutted to have missed this game, as games against Oxford are always good fun! Listening to it on the radio however, added a lot of tension and fustration, not just because the commentator was unable to convey any sort of idea to what's going on in the match, but also the emphasis on how ridiculous the goals we let in were, apparently they were our mistakes rather than their guile. It's weird to think that this defence (bar the exclusion of the branston) were the defence that kept so many clean sheets at the end of last season and the start of this one. Mistake and sloppyness seems to have riddled their game, especially Bevan.

The commentator also made a lot of Zebroski's two footed tackle, was it worthy of a red as he was saying?

As for the players/staff that may go, thank you very much Bucks, while i can be found guilty of being impacient at times last season, i can't fault the job you've done turning around the club in the three and a half or so years you've been here. Benners as well, apparently another good game, i'm really pleased for his improvement as a player and being linked to bigger clubs, he certainly deserves it for the effort he has put in, and the patience for when he was a 'super sub' for a while. Ellis and O'Kane; well, i hope their still here, i'm not resigned to losing either yet!

[Plymouthgull]

Very poor from Buckle today regarding the choice of players and tactics. Lathorpe - why? Hemmings - why? One up front - why?
No Kee from the start - why?
Benyon sadly will go - good luck to him. Let's hope the money received is enough to replace him with a striker who can play along ide Key in a 4-4-2 formation!
Oxford were a very ordinary side which makes it all the more disappointing. We are losing too many games at home because of Buckle's tactics - not bothered if he goes - just hope it is sorted out asap.

[SuperNickyWroe]

To misquote Oscar Wilde; To lose one asset may be regarded as misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness.
As for PB I am not particularly bothered whether he stays or goes. If he does decide to jump ship then I can t see him lasting very long with the Gasheads... Playing a lone striker at home is not going to endear him to football lovers.

err, actually yellow me old mate thats three!

[yellowmonkey]

What a dismal display MOTM should have been Ellis as for the rest of them well the term headless chicken comes to mind. Wasnt until Kee and Stevens came on that we played, but it was good to see Plainmoor with a few more faces in the crowd.

[royalgull]

Hemmings why? 1 up front why? - Because it's worked far more often than not probably.

Hemmings is a young kid, think Carayol of 2-3 years ago, he will take time but has shown enough to perservere with. Lathrope was the surprise inclusion, I can only think tiredness for Oastler, he's young as well dont' forget and maybe Bucks thought he'd put in a big shift at HEreford and Lathrope was worth a go?

Still gutted about the result mind.

[Plymouth Gull]

Right then, where to start with all that. As was said previously in the thread, our games with Oxford always seem to have a lot of goals in them, and today was no different.

To start off with the team selection, I now believe that a lone striker is no use at Plainmoor. As effective as it is away from Plainmoor, it doesn't work at home. It's nice to watch, the pretty, quick-tempoed passing game, but there is nowhere near enough penetration. And also, the effectiveness is reduced when teams come and don't attack us. Away from home, the home sides have to attack, which creates more space, but today there wasn't enough. They kept numbers behind the ball at all times, so we had plenty of possession, but no penetration there.

There first goal was out of nothing. Decent effort curled in from the edge of the box. Could have been closed down a bit quicker, but that's clutching at straws. Can't really fault anyone for it. Even at 1-0, I'd say we were on the upper hand, plenty of the ball, but not enough penetration. We had had one off the line early on though, through Ellis.

The second goal was poor defending. A set piece, headed in by Worley, and Midson knocked it over the line from a yard out. Worley had plenty of freedom unfortunately, which was very disappointing. Unfortunately for myself, at 2-0 I thought that was that, so went to the loo, and missed Benyons goal, so can't comment, but apparently it was a good'un.

Again, we pushed, Zebs creating a good chance for himself that was just wide. It wasn't a sitter that people suggested in the game though. He did well to get into the position in the first place, and it was with his weaker left foot, if I recall it right.

So, halftime, bit of a disappointment to be losing. But a goal was vital for us, as had it been 2-0 we'd have been demoralised. Instead, we stood a chance. Or so we thought.

We looked a bit lacklustre for the opening 20 minutes, but as we looked to weather the spell of Oxford possession, we crumbled. Calamitously. I've never seen a goal like it. Ball over the top, no one around, Midson's chasing it, but a fair distance away. Previously in the season, Bevs would have come to claim it. However, not today. Whether he was knocked for 6 by his dodgy errors at Hereford I do not know, but he waited, and delayed leaving his line, which proved costly. Midson ran through, beat Bevs to it and touched it past him. At 3-1 I thought that was it. I thought it'd get worse. Our lack of penetration was poor. Until big Billy Kee entered the fray. A double substitution, seeing Lathrope and Hemmings depart. Instant impact. Kee gets it under his control some way out, charges at the defence. They backed off, and clearly trying to get the better of Ryan Clarke for the 2nd time this season, shoots from distance. Clarke parried, and Benyon beat Worley to the follow up. 2-3. Game on.

Minutes later, a nice move between Nicho, Wroe & Stevens found Kee on the corner of the penalty area. His effort was probably on target, but the deflection looped over Clarkes head, and eventually into the corner. He must like scoring against Oxford. Still, his impact was fantastic. We had the belief. The atmosphere improved no end (not hard considering it was quiet for the rest of the match), and we were dominant. Oxford were struggling to get out of their penalty area. Shots blocked from Wroe, Zebs, Benyon twice, Kee, Stevens. Benyon toe-poked one just wide. Buckle made a somewhat strange decision, replacing the attack-minded O'Kane with the defence-minded Oastler, especially as O'Kane was excellent.

Their winner was as smash-and-grab as they come, really. Clearance out, 3 on 2. Played into Potter, who attracted both our defenders. A neat turn and he nutmegged on of our players as his pass reached Midson, who coolly put it in the corner.

Gutted to lose after that.

Match ratings from where I was:

Bevs - 3 - worst game I've seen him have in a long time. That 3rd goal will take some explaining.
Manse - 5 - lots of running, some dodgy passes though.
Ellis - 9 - rock. Absolute tank. The only player in our squad that could go and play in the Championship right now.
Robbo - 7 - solid. Normally I wince when the balls at his feet, but he looked composed today.
Nicho - 6 - some of his deliveries were poor. Defensively, did okay against Greens pace but Potter seemed to have a bit of freedom.
Zebs - 7 - full of industry, but Craddock and Tonkin doubled up effectively, more so in the second half.
Lathrope - 6 - he knows how to pass a ball 9 times out of 10, sometimes doesn't look where he's passing, but I'm sure that'll come with experience.
Wroe - 7 - decent. put a good shift in.
Hemmings - 5 - good start, but drifted out of the game.
O'Kane - 8 - he seems to be maturing every game. He is the best passer at the club by a mile - like a young Alex Russell. Sometimes on a different wavelength to the rest though.
Benyon - 7 - Good industry, didn't see his first goal. Second was a tap in (surprise!).

Subs:

Oastler - 4 - wasn't his best performance. Gave the ball away for an Oxford counter that could have made it 5-3.
Stevens - 7 - his pace was a struggle for their tired legs. Could have scored a fantastic goal, but Clarke kept it out.
Kee - 9 - Best I've seen him yet. Excellent performance.

[Dave]

Iam not going into the rights and wrongs of starting tatics,and at 3.3 we could have sat back and still lost,as a fan i was delighted to see us press for the winner yes in the end you could say it cost us a point ,however at 1.3 down the game was as good as lost anyway.

moan all you want it was simple,the defensive unit were found wanting Oxford were gifted 3 goals you can not do that and expect to win,the only shock for me is we as ateam have gone from 998 minutes with out conceeding a goal to looking sp powderpuff at the back.

[Fletch]

A very even match with little to choose between the two sides to be honest. I thought we played the neater football of the 2, trying to play a nice passing game on a rather greasy looking pitch. Oxford were good at swarming forward in possession, playing what seemed like a 4-3-2-1 formation to me. Oxford were quite clinical in their finishing, with the help of some hesitant defending at times.
Benners did what he does best and had his shot at 3-3 curled a bit more and gone in, i think we would be celebrating picking up 3 points from a hard fought game, not a bit annoyed at coming away empty handed.
The defence does seem to be a concern at the moment but with no money to spend, we're going to have to use our existing players. Perhaps Charnock will be returning from up north?
There doesnt seem to be any problem at the start of a match, it just seems that panic and brainfarts occur, just when we need them to be consistent for 90 minutes. Mind you, if they were all consistent for 90 minutes each week, they would playing at a higher level. Robbo (out of position at left CB) looked the pick of the back four.
One or two up front is an enigma that shows no sign of being resolved. Both Benners and Billy K play in a similar style. Put either of them along someone like Scotty R and they would be looking at 15 or 20 in a season. Together however, I dont think they're the answer. Thats despite the 2 goals today, a rasping shot from Billy that Benners got on to the rebound and another good effort that got a bit of a wicked deflection off a defender.EoK looked good starting behind Benners and most of his passes worked well with a couple going astray. Nicky W had a good game and I think drummer is being harsh on Lathrope. He seemed good at trying to disrupt Oxford and picked some lovely simple passes to players in space. He hit a few overly ambitious ones as well but so did NW and EoK. Both Zebs and Hemmings were hampered by the surface which was obviously difficult to twist and turn on. It was noticable that Zebs had more joy in the 2nd half being on the popside where the footing looked a bit more secure. Hemmings also had the problem of being very well man marked by their right back (Batt). He was probably the best full back i've seen at Plainmoor this season and i'm suprised he hasnt had played at a higher level (unless this was a one off?). I didnt think EoK needed taking off as the CM still looked OK once we changed to 4-4-2. Oastler looked a bit slow to get up to speed and im not sure bringing a defensive CM on for the last 10 minutes was the right decision (although I can see why in theory). I would still think EoK needs a little bit more size to be an effective starting CM, particularly if playing alongside someone like NW.

Overall, closely matched teams. We had more chances, they were more clinical in finishing theirs. Attack and midfiled ok, defence shakey. Substitutions? 2 out of 3 right, 1 out of 3 wrong (IMO).

[yellow]

err, actually yellow me old mate thats three!

No mistake at all oh Barnsley one.

There are two assets, and then there is Buckle.