Torquay United v Eastbourne Borough 13/4/19

[Markh84]

I wish I had waited til after the Woking game as the odds went up to 33-1.

[chardie]

£250 richer!

[Swatcat]

Danny - ''Could be playing Stockport County next season''.

Yes and maybe Wrexham and Notts County and Yeovil - GJ will enjoy that one !

With all respect, that's dizzying stuff after Hungerford, Chippenham and East Thurrock . . . .

[StretfordGull]

Exeter crowd in playoffs 4103 with 270 away

Haha. Wow that really is a damning statistic. You absolutely cannot fault The Yellow Army.

[Minneapolisgull]

What a day! I haven’t been able to get to many games this season due to work but I’m so glad I was there today. Well done to GJ and the boys for an amazing achievement. This one will live long in the memory. On a personal note it’s a double celebration for me as I’m now £650 richer COYY.

Mark congratulations what a day!! Enjoy spending your winnings!!!

[Dave_Pougher]

Bottled it and only put a fiver on £125 richer

Minor bit of Unpleasentness outside the pop upon leaving last night between a youngster and someone who presumed was a steward, anyone know what that was all about?

[desperado]

Feels great to win a league , a fantastic run , to be 10 points off the lead in September and be 10 ahead now takes some doing
Let's push on on and get another promotion next season, it can be done especially with Gary Johnson in charge , momentum is crucial
Thought Frank Vincent was easily the best player on the pitch, would like to see him here next season, might be a good time to have a word with Eddie Howe after their result yesterday.
No reason why we can't do very well next year with 2 or 3 additions.

[YorkshireGully]

Not been on here for a long time due to illness but a Big congratulations to everyone at Torquay COYY a mention to everyone who doubted Reidy you know who you are a special mention to road2league2 who supported my comments and trained with Reidy as a kid getting camper van ready for next season. COYY

[Dave]

Certainty a poor day at the office for our team, but understandable. As we all knew this was the first match where our team could secure the league title, and it was almost like our team had entered the pitch with lead boots on, as time and time again, long balls into the channels, short passes, even lay offs, were over hit, high wide and anything but handsome.

So we get another penalty, looked a tad soft but who cares, and different taker, personally would have said to Reidy keep taking them, only way to get the monkey of missing his last two of his back, is to score one, but the same result awful spot kick missed, but thankfully Connor Evans got the rebound first and nodded home , this would calm the nerves on the pitch, nope, we continued to see a mistake ridden, tension filled performance from our team, as Eastbourne looked far more comfortable in possession and were retaining the ball better than us.

I remember the nostalgic days of people standing on the old popside with their portable radios and bag of batteries desperately trying to gain any news or updates from other important games, but todays world of the internet and smart phones we all have instant access to any news we want, and finally the update we were waiting for Chelmsford have gone 1 up just before half time will this calm the nerves nope it didn't, seemed only to add to them as we're now pole position to win it today.

Our team came out in the second half, and for 10-15 minutes played better, but maybe a fragile situation with both games at 1.0, did tension start to creep in again, as we concede possession cheaply and once again Eastbourne are passing and moving the ball better then us, however with out causing a real constant threat to our goal, finally late in the game a goal update, Chelmsford are 2 up , the crowd reaction leaves the players in no doubt Woking have gone further behind, a win and they're champions, the tension for them went up a notch, some looked a bit panicked in their play, and atmosphere went down, but the moment we 'd hoped for on the terraces came, one good passage of play and Jake Andrews in the right place at the right time slams the ball home, que absolute scenes around the ground, from the players to the kids, the youth, the middle aged even the pensioners , one and all doing their nuts as we know the league and automatic promotion is ours, MacDonald sprinted 3/4's of the pitch to join in and nearly injured himself the process, thankfully after some treatment was ok.

For once TUFC have done it and won it with three games to spare, for once we've done something the easy way, so we get three games to enjoy it now, I'm working Friday, but have Monday off, I have my tickets for St Albans also so will to enjoy two of them.

We all know there's a long road ahead that may not be smooth, but no one should feel the need to do or say anything to take away from this fantastic achievement, seriously let your hair down everyone, if you've got any and enjoy it.

[Nick Potkins]

Disappointed that Sky Sports News have not updated the table to show us as champions. They have a 'P' beside Lincoln already

[Nick Potkins]

Naughty boy of the day, Jake Andrews. He got one he'll of a telling off from Gary Johnson for not listening, shouting back, don't talk to me like that. Clearly then told off at half time, as the players were all laughing about it when coming out for the second half.

[Plainmoor78]

Naughty boy of the day, Jake Andrews. He got one he'll of a telling off from Gary Johnson for not listening, shouting back, don't talk to me like that. Clearly then told off at half time, as the players were all laughing about it when coming out for the second half.

Rollicking did the trick though.

[tomogull]

Hi Chunkygull,

On a day of celebrations, I'm not sure what farce there was at the turnstiles as I thought that things went reasonably smoothly (far better than Boxing Day). If you are referring to the limit on paying entrants we'd been given an allocation of paper tickets as the balance after all the pre match sales had only left a few spaces left. The pop side was limited to what ever number the safety people dictate and we were stuck with that.

We sold out at about 2.30 if my memory is right but we were still letting season ticket and prebooked ticket holders in until the normal time.

Well Gateman - I can categorically say that in all the many years I've been going to Plainmoor, yesterday's dis-organisation was the worst. I and a mate arrived at the Pop Side turnstiles at 2.35 to be told that cash wasn't being accepted at the turnstiles. We had to get tickets from the office. So we went along to join the queue at the office where just two people were dealing with enquiries for Bristow's Bench, Family Stand and Pop Side. As a result, the queue moved very slowly. At 2.45, the steward who was in radio contact with the Pop Side said there were only a limited number of spaces left. He counted back along the queue about 20 or so behind us (and his count also included fans queueing for Stand tickets).

At 2.50, another steward arrived to say that they were now accepting cash again at the PopSide turnstiles. By this time, we were next in the queue so decided to wait for tickets. When we got to the front, we were told there were no tickets left. I explained that the steward had counted back and we were tolds we were okay. I didn't get angry because they were obviously under pressure and doing their best. Anyway, lo and behold, two tickets suddenly became available. We got in just as the players were coming out, so it took us nigh on 25 minutes to get in. No criticism of the office staff nor the stewards who were doing their best in a cranky system that didn't work. So yes - lesson learnt. We shall get tickets beforehand for the Hungerford game.

As for the game itself - no, it wasn't the best of games, but I think the Eastbourne 'keeper and the back four deserve a mention. The two wing backs kept us on our toes all afternoon, and marked Kalala out of the game. Their no. 6 effectively marked Jamie Reid out of the game and the no. 5 kept Saiko Janneh quiet. Mark McGhee had obviously done his homework. Apart from their no. 9, their attack wasn't good and when he went off and the sub came on wearing ankle socks, they weren't much of a threat. The sub was awful. I suspect he must have been the coach driver drafted in to make up the numbers.

Frank Vincent fully deserved MoM. He looked lightweight and nervous in his first appearance for us, but in the subs appearances since he has looked a useful player. I was pleased that Gary Johnson gave him 90 minutes yesterday to show us what a good player he is. I've posted on here before that he reminds me of Eunan O'Kane.

[chunkygull]

Hi Chunkygull,

On a day of celebrations, I'm not sure what farce there was at the turnstiles as I thought that things went reasonably smoothly (far better than Boxing Day). If you are referring to the limit on paying entrants we'd been given an allocation of paper tickets as the balance after all the pre match sales had only left a few spaces left. The pop side was limited to what ever number the safety people dictate and we were stuck with that.

We sold out at about 2.30 if my memory is right but we were still letting season ticket and prebooked ticket holders in until the normal time.

I'm sorry that you were caught by these limits but I suppose that the answer is to buy now for Hungerford if you want to guarantee a place in the pop side.

In fairness Gateman after your reply I must say it wasnt so much the turnstiles that were a farce, it was the organisation getting a ticket. There were people ready to go in and suddenly just before 2.30 the security guys said we couldnt go in without getting a ticket, no cash would be accepted at the turnstile, we had to go to reception and get a ticket. I appreciate the fact tickets were for sale all week, online we were told to get in early, 2.30 is reasonable for Plainmoor, also we were told we could pay at the gate. I do understand why it switched to ticket only though.

The main problems were that there was a mad rush from pop turnstiles to reception then a massive queue, just a window open with one person serving, some had been told cash only so they ran off to a cashpoint only to be told on return it was pay by card and no cash. There were a lot of people in the queue who had paid online and were just collecting, the process was painfully slow, it really needed two points open, one for collections and one for buying . There were a lot of people who werent sure whether they could make the game until yesterday, some not until late in the day, myself included. Thats always going to happen. Anyway after a long wait the word spread that there were no tickets left, you could only get in with cash on the turnstile at the away end. I enjoyed it in the away end to be honest, hope we get to do that again. It was clearly obvious though that the pop was not full.
Like I said, only thing that tainted the day for me was not watching the game on the pop with my dad, however after all the numptys ran on the pitch I made my way to the pop and found him (no I didnt go on the pitch), just in time to get the confirmation of the Woking score, so we had the most important moment.

[culmstockgull]

Not sure when they announced, if they ever they did that the Eastbourne game was going to be ticket only, perhaps I missed it, In the family stand we actually had duplicated tickets for the same seats, two in our row and one in the row behind that I saw, at one stage we had our own security doing a cinema usherettes job trying to put people in the right seats. Torquay should have learnt from the Christmas debacle but they haven't. It is going to be a steep learning curve as we go up and logically the crowds improve. To my mind its not rocket science, you decide well before the game that its ticket only no cash on the day, either buy online which is a surprisingly easy process or queue round the block at a not fit for purpose ticket window. Changing your mind twenty minutes before kick off because you cannot cope is nonsense and causes total confusion and makes us look less than professional.