League 2: Aldershot Town vs Torquay United

[Plymouth Gull]

Recreation Ground
Tuesday 8th March 2011
KO: 7:45pm

Saturdays second half performance was our best at Plainmoor since playing Bradford off the park in August, in my mind, so I'm hoping thats a turning point as we push on for the final 11 games that remain. It really was a game that showed how we have improved, as Stevenage are no mugs, but we destroyed them. We held our own against Rotherham, a bit lucky on occasions, but nevertheless we didn't lose, against one of the best sides in the league. I think this past 7 days have shown how far we come, so I'm hoping we can continue it tomorrow night. We travel to Aldershot, who we have a good record at since Paul Buckle took over. However, Dean Holdsworth has come in an somewhat steadied the ship at the Rec. It is going to be a tough encounter tomorrow night, but we need to come away with 3 points to continue the pursuit of a top 7 finish.

LAST 5 SEASONS.

2005/06 - Conference - 13th place - 54 points
2006/07 - Conference - 9th place - 65 points
2007/08 - Conference - 1st place - 101 points
2008/09 - League 2 - 15th place - 54 points
2009/10 - League 2 - 6th place - 72 points

Steady but massive progress seems to be the key to Aldershots recent history. They have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in League 2, which (as you can see) is much better than where they were 5 years ago. The 2007/08 season saw the Shots pick up a record points tally for the Blue Square Premier (I believe) and that is still the case now.

HEAD TO HEAD.

Torquay wins - 37
Draws - 16
Aldershot wins - 33 (3 of these were FA Cup games)

We have just edged this head-to-head battle. Only 4 of these games have been since Aldershot were reformed. In the 1990/91 season, we did the double over them, winning 5-0 at Plainmoor and 3-2 at their ground. The 5-0 win was the last time the two clubs met before Aldershot folded. Since the reformation of the club, we have met 5 times, with two wins for Torquay - both at the Rec - and a draw and and two Aldershot wins at Plainmoor. I'm sure nobody needs reminding of that Aldershot win though, which won them the BSP in 2008. They stole 3 points at Plainmoor late on, through Marvin Morgan.

FORM (LAST 6 GAMES).

DDDLDD

Hmm. Draw Specialists spring to mind here. Port Vale are the only side to defeat them in the past 6 games. Macclesfield, Lincoln, Northampton, Gillingham and Wycombe have all drawn against the Shots recently.

PROBABLE LINE UP.

This is the side that lined up against Wycombe on Saturday:

Young

Herd
Jones
Charles
Halls

Morris
Vincenti
Guttridge
McGlashan

Sills
Hylton

Subs: Jaimez-Ruiz, Straker, Fortune, Harding, Small, Jarrett, Medley

PLAYERS TO WATCH.

Two ex-Gulls, Guttridge and Sills, will no doubt be looking to get one over us. Sills will pose a constant threat, but hopefully Branston will look after him for the 90 minutes. Peter Vincenti has scored a few from midfield since joining the Shots, so he will need to be watched.

PREDICTION.

Play like we did in the 2nd half on Saturday and I'm confident.

However, I don't think we will.

Shots 1-0 Gulls

[ferrarilover]

You utter, unmentionable bastard. I have just spent 90 mins doing this thread believing you to be dead or incapacitated, I log in to post it and this bloody thing has turned up. Fine, I shall post my work as a new post and it will be my post and the Lord will like it.

GIT!

Matt.

[ferrarilover]

The Recreation Ground
Tuesday 8th March 2011
KO: 7:45pm

We head off to the home of old foes this midweek for a exciting match against Aldershot Town. We are all familiar with the Shots from our time in the Conference and our recent history with them is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, early excitement and late drama. This is sure to be one of the best atmospheres of the season, if you thought Cheltenham Town was good, wait till you experience this. ALL Gulls fans are urged to attend this match, which could see us move to within 1 point of the playoff places.

GULLS NEWS.

After his more than competent debut against Stevenage at the weekend, expect Ben pink Pringle to start the match. The Herald Express carried a headline and small segment suggesting that Bucks was on the verge of signing a Premier League striker, but at the time of writing, no news has emerged from the club.

LAST 5 SEASONS.

2005/06 - Conference - 13th place - 54 points
2006/07 - Conference - 9th place - 65 points
2007/08 - Conference – 1st place - 101 points – PROMOTED AS CHAMPIONS
2008/09 – League 2 - 15th place - 54 points
2009/10 – League 2 – 6th place - 72 points – LOST IN PLAYOFFS

Wow! What a few seasons that is. Relegated to the Conference where they consolidated with back-to-back mid-table finishes, then went absolutely mental and took that division by storm, as we well know. 101 points is a league record high total in a 46 game season. A decent first season back in L2 yielded a fairly comfortable 15th place finish, then, despite a horrific away record, they made a decent push on and made the L2 playoffs, where they lost out to Rotherham, 3-0 on aggregate.

HEAD TO HEAD.

Torquay wins - 37
Aldershot wins - 33
Draws - 16

OldPedant will tell you that Aldershot Town have only been around since 1992, but I have taken a holistic view and accepted all iterations of Aldershot FC. As shown above, we have a fairly even record versus the Shots both old and new. This season ATFC have drawn 15 matches, a feat unsurpassed by any other Football League side (Reading also have 15). Our recent record against them is similarly patchwork, with neither side being able to muster consecutive wins. Both our meetings in the first Conference season were memorable for differing reasons. The first match up saw us leave The Rec with all three points following a classy 3-0 reverse. We played some super football that day. An early goal from Sillsy crushed their spirit and we never looked back, adding goals from Stevens and Zebroski. It could have been 10, and Aldershot were lucky to get 0. The return fixture was a different story. Coming much later in the season, it was our marker to judge ourselves as automatic promotion contenders. It didn t start well, with on loan Reading keeper Mikkel Anderson coming to almost the halfway line in a calamitous attempt to collect a ball which he was never going to reach. The Shots striker duly nicked it past him, ran on and slammed the ball into an empty net. We equalised through Lee Phillips on the hour, then just when a fair draw was the result, they either won a corner or robbed our right back, laid the ball back to a Shot 25 yards out and he unleashed a Howitzer into the top corner to break yellow hearts and send the 1000 visiting fans into delirium.
They have beaten us at Plainmoor this season, with badass Morgan grabbing a late winner.

FORM (LAST 6 GAMES).

Home: W W D D L D
• Collated: D D D L D D

No wins in 9, no clean sheet in 5, Aldershot are on a slide. Draws at Chesterfield and Wycombe, and at home to Gillingham aren t bad results, but they ll be disappointed to have secured only a single point apiece from matches against AC Northampton, Macclesfield, Morecambe and Lincoln.

PROBABLE LINE UP.

This is the side that took a 2-2 point at the weekend at Adams Park.


• 02 Herd
• 05 Jones
• 06 Charles
• 15 Morris (Straker 60)
• 21 Halls
• 23 Vincenti
• 04 Guttridge
• 17 McGlashan
• 12 Hylton (Jarrett 81)
• 25 Sills (Medley 62)


PLAYERS TO WATCH.
Since the departure of main man Marvin Morgan for a Twitter related misdemeanour (rather ironically, the move to Dagenham and Redbridge probably represents career progression), the Shots have looked very light in front of goal. Their top scorer is Small, with a paltry 5 league goals to his name all season. Another prominent name is Vincenti, a fellow we know from his Conference days, fancies himself as a bit of a nutter and two red cards this season reflects this. Of course, it would be remiss of me to neglect to mention Mr Tim Sills who signed in the January window. He has scored two goals for his beloved Aldershot since his return, it will surprise many readers to learn that neither of these was with his head.

PREDICTION.

I really fancy us for this match. We tore a decent, in form Stevenage to pieces on Saturday and I fancy us to play in a similar manner against lower quality, more direct opposition on Tuesday. If we can get our front three working together and keep it alert and tight at the back, I think we will go on to win this match 3-0 in front of a VERY vocal 400 Gulls fans.

Matt.

[Trojan 67]

You utter, unmentionable bastard. I have just spent 90 mins doing this thread believing you to be dead or incapacitated, I log in to post it and this bloody thing has turned up. Fine, I shall post my work as a new post and it will be my post and the Lord will like it.

GIT!

Matt.

:na: :na: :na:


Top work again from Nick Gull.

I will be at bruv's tomorrow night having dinner and emptying the fridge of beverage. Will listen to the first half there on Radio Devon then walk home and get in for the second half.

No predictions from me, I just hope we win.

[Plymouth Gull]

You utter, unmentionable bastard. I have just spent 90 mins doing this thread believing you to be dead or incapacitated, I log in to post it and this bloody thing has turned up. Fine, I shall post my work as a new post and it will be my post and the Lord will like it.

GIT!

Matt.

90 minutes? Only took me about 40!?!?

Anyway, I did say that I could do this one, on a different thread (meeting place for Aldershot possibly?).

Top effort though, and two are better than one.

:~D

[Jeff]

The Recreation Ground
Tuesday 8th March 2011
KO: 7:45pm

We head off to the home of old foes this midweek for a exciting match against Aldershot Town. We are all familiar with the Shots from our time in the Conference and our recent history with them is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, early excitement and late drama. This is sure to be one of the best atmospheres of the season, if you thought Cheltenham Town was good, wait till you experience this. ALL Gulls fans are urged to attend this match, which could see us move to within 1 point of the playoff places.

GULLS NEWS.

After his more than competent debut against Stevenage at the weekend, expect Ben pink Pringle to start the match. The Herald Express carried a headline and small segment suggesting that Bucks was on the verge of signing a Premier League striker, but at the time of writing, no news has emerged from the club.

LAST 5 SEASONS.

2005/06 - Conference - 13th place - 54 points
2006/07 - Conference - 9th place - 65 points
2007/08 - Conference – 1st place - 101 points – PROMOTED AS CHAMPIONS
2008/09 – League 2 - 15th place - 54 points
2009/10 – League 2 – 6th place - 72 points – LOST IN PLAYOFFS

Wow! What a few seasons that is. Relegated to the Conference where they consolidated with back-to-back mid-table finishes, then went absolutely mental and took that division by storm, as we well know. 101 points is a league record high total in a 46 game season. A decent first season back in L2 yielded a fairly comfortable 15th place finish, then, despite a horrific away record, they made a decent push on and made the L2 playoffs, where they lost out to Rotherham, 3-0 on aggregate.

HEAD TO HEAD.

Torquay wins - 37
Aldershot wins - 33
Draws - 16

OldPedant will tell you that Aldershot Town have only been around since 1992, but I have taken a holistic view and accepted all iterations of Aldershot FC. As shown above, we have a fairly even record versus the Shots both old and new. This season ATFC have drawn 15 matches, a feat unsurpassed by any other Football League side (Reading also have 15). Our recent record against them is similarly patchwork, with neither side being able to muster consecutive wins. Both our meetings in the first Conference season were memorable for differing reasons. The first match up saw us leave The Rec with all three points following a classy 3-0 reverse. We played some super football that day. An early goal from Sillsy crushed their spirit and we never looked back, adding goals from Stevens and Zebroski. It could have been 10, and Aldershot were lucky to get 0. The return fixture was a different story. Coming much later in the season, it was our marker to judge ourselves as automatic promotion contenders. It didn t start well, with on loan Reading keeper Mikkel Anderson coming to almost the halfway line in a calamitous attempt to collect a ball which he was never going to reach. The Shots striker duly nicked it past him, ran on and slammed the ball into an empty net. We equalised through Lee Phillips on the hour, then just when a fair draw was the result, they either won a corner or robbed our right back, laid the ball back to a Shot 25 yards out and he unleashed a Howitzer into the top corner to break yellow hearts and send the 1000 visiting fans into delirium.
They have beaten us at Plainmoor this season, with badass Morgan grabbing a late winner.

FORM (LAST 6 GAMES).

Home: W W D D L D
• Collated: D D D L D D

No wins in 9, no clean sheet in 5, Aldershot are on a slide. Draws at Chesterfield and Wycombe, and at home to Gillingham aren t bad results, but they ll be disappointed to have secured only a single point apiece from matches against AC Northampton, Macclesfield, Morecambe and Lincoln.

PROBABLE LINE UP.

This is the side that took a 2-2 point at the weekend at Adams Park.


• 02 Herd
• 05 Jones
• 06 Charles
• 15 Morris (Straker 60)
• 21 Halls
• 23 Vincenti
• 04 Guttridge
• 17 McGlashan
• 12 Hylton (Jarrett 81)
• 25 Sills (Medley 62)


PLAYERS TO WATCH.
Since the departure of main man Marvin Morgan for a Twitter related misdemeanour (rather ironically, the move to Dagenham and Redbridge probably represents career progression), the Shots have looked very light in front of goal. Their top scorer is Small, with a paltry 5 league goals to his name all season. Another prominent name is Vincenti, a fellow we know from his Conference days, fancies himself as a bit of a nutter and two red cards this season reflects this. Of course, it would be remiss of me to neglect to mention Mr Tim Sills who signed in the January window. He has scored two goals for his beloved Aldershot since his return, it will surprise many readers to learn that neither of these was with his head.

PREDICTION.

I really fancy us for this match. We tore a decent, in form Stevenage to pieces on Saturday and I fancy us to play in a similar manner against lower quality, more direct opposition on Tuesday. If we can get our front three working together and keep it alert and tight at the back, I think we will go on to win this match 3-0 in front of a VERY vocal 400 Gulls fans.

Matt.

Sorry to bring pedantry into the equation, but Aldershot wern't relegated to the conference anytime recently. Once the old club went out of business, the new club found itself promoted to the Conference in 2002? (or something like that).

Otherwise, sterling work from both yourself and NickGull.

I would add Jermaine McGlashan into the dangerman category too. Apparantly quick as sh*t off a shovel, but perhaps a little raw and inconsistent. And Anthony Straker is always a dangerous player - possibly one of the better full-backs in the division. Weak points in my eyes would be their keeper (Jamie Young) and centre backs Darren Jones and Anthony Charles. All capable players on their day and certainly able to decide a match, but on the other side of the coin I've seen countless goals or penalties come from calamitous Jones/Charles/Young errors. I suppose any L2 player is liable to drop a clanger at any given time, but these characters stick in my memory as being regular offenders.

Although we historically do well there and they do better at Plainmoor, at some point something will have to give. Given recent form I think a 1-1 draw is quite likely, probably with us conceding late.

Regardless, I'll be starting work slightly early tomorrow to ensure I don't have a frantic journey from Ipswich to Aldershot. Am supposed to be meeting friends in the crimea so am sure there will be some forum regulars there too! And I'll still compile a match report for those who aren't able to attend.

[Plymouth Gull]

Isn't Charles the big brute who just mashes people off the ball?! Swear he did something a bit dodgy when they were down here. Hmm..

[Jeff]

Isn't Charles the big brute who just mashes people off the ball?! Swear he did something a bit dodgy when they were down here. Hmm..

Fairly big guy, sometimes sporting an affro but that made him a bit obvious so I think he is a bit more conventional now

[Fletch]

We tore a decent, in form Stevenage to pieces on Saturday

I cant help thinking thats somewhat talking Stevenage up somewhat Matt. I thought they were quite poor TBH, even with 11 men. Certainly no better than Stockport or Burton IMO. Same sort of size players as Rotherham, without the skill factor or desire to win though...

[Wisconsin_gull]

3 points in this game and the playoffs will be very real.
Very heartened by the highlights on Gullplayer - I think we will come away with all 3 points

Score : 3-1 .
Losing an early goal, Thompson to equalise before tea and cake at half time and then late goals from Pringle and Branston. Something to relish!
COYY

[ferrarilover]

Fletch, they weren't particularly good on the day, but they came into the match level on points with us and on a run of three straight wins, that is what I meant by decent and in form.

Jeff/all, soooooorrrrryyyyyy, my bad, getting us and them confused in my head. Of course they weren't relegated, quite the opposite, they were promoted to the Conference.

Not sure why we're on such a downer about the result for this match (some of us), we are on a decent enough run ourselves, they are miles below us in the table, we do well at their place, we should be cheered on by a fairly large and VERY vocal support, we look capable of scoring goals, I'm certainly not convinced that the Shots are any better than AC Northampton, Burton or Morecambe (ok, ok, but what are the chances of two added time penners again?)

Matt.

[tktufc91]

My favourite away day of the season.

Not sure what's going to happen tonight, depends which Torquay side turns up. If we can carry on from our second half performance from the weekend, then I have no doubt that we will win by a couple of goals. Otherwise, if we don't play at our best, then maybe a draw, but only because Aldershot can't seem to win these days.

Sills should be well up for this one, hopefully he tries too hard and doesn't really make an impression on the match, although personally I can see him scoring in this one.

Any news on Kee? Heard he was struggling with an ankle injury, if true then switch Robinson up front and put Stevens on the wing. (After Saturdays performance, he deserves to start in my opinion)

Potter
Mansell Robertson Branston Nicholson
O Kane Stanley Pringle Stevens
Robinson Zebroski

Crowd, with the Champions League on, maybe just over 2,000 with 400 supporting the mighty yellows!

Score: 3-1 Gulls!!

[Southampton Gull]

Really looking forward to this now, finished work and relaxing the voice before it gets mistreated tonight

[Neal]

Hi All

as this is my 1st away game of the season, hahaha although its 10mins drive from where i am sitting i will attempt, and i mean attempt to post on here via my Balcberry, a fans eye view of the game.

Be a challenge if not anything else 8-]

[Seventyseven]

Looking forward to this fixture... always a great atmosphere at the Rec.... especially our visit there last season....




Bloody clock at work seems to have stopped.... and let's hope the M25 isn't the usual 'go slow'.... one thing I hate is turning up late for anything... plus between myself and 77 Jnr we've won 4 tickets for tonight's game, so need to get there half hour before kick-off (tall order with our bloody road network) - just hoping that the ticket office will let us transfer them to the away section - if they do, I'll have 2 tickets up for grabs at a very favourable rate.... choose from the following... a) Buy One Get One Free b) Each Ticket Half Price or c) Save 50%!, the choice is yours!