Torquay United vs Bristol Rovers Game (10/3/12 15:00)

[Yellow4life]

Full time! Pleased to get back from 2-0 as we haven't had to do that much this season

[SuperNickyWroe]

sarfend 2-2 accers!

[cambgull]

Accrington equalise!

Scrap the last post, 2 points off 2nd!

[SuperNickyWroe]

very nicely put matey

you know me si......... 8/ =D

[bixieupnorth]

a majestic comeback, well done to the whole team in those last ten minutes and especially manse for his usual heroics!! how important could that point be come may??

[Gulliball]

Get in Mansell! That could be a huge point at the end of the season, and it will keep the confidence in the squad high ahead of the three away trips. Another game ticked off and we're still right in the mix.

[tktufc91]

How important will that late goal prove come the end of the season. With Crawley drawing, Oxford, Cheltenham and Gillingham all losing, we are firmly still in the play-offs and with a game in hand over Cheltenham as well. What a season this is turning out to be. Feels more like a win than a draw but who cares.

THE GULLS ARE GOING UP!!

[Gazzableedsgull]

Well at 2 nil down, I threw the laptop to floor, shouted "FFS", then got my composure back, picked up the Laptop and before i know it up steps Lee Mansell and rallies his troops back in it! felt we could of won this 5-4 according to the commentary. Absolutely fantastic spirit with the boys at the moment. Another Positive is Rene getting a full 90 mins, will do him the world of good i feel and it sounded like we were a much better prospect with Jarvis on the pitch, was this true? Anyway another game gone, another point towards where we all want to be, if someone said to us that after the first 3 games in March we would of been unbeaten with 7 points then we would of all bitten there hand off! This promotion campaign is speeding up, games coming thick and fast, another 7 points from the next 3 would surely at least guarantee a playoff place for us. You never know, we could be sitting second this time next week.

[bengull]

When the fixtures were released in June, this was the match the majority of Torquay United fans would have looked for first. Less than 24 hours after watching his Torquay team lose the League Two Play-Off final with barely a whimper, manager Paul Buckle was installed as the new boss of Bristol Rovers. Over the coming weeks stories broke of a deal being confirmed weeks before the end of the season, and as several of Torquay's first team left to join him and his Rovers revolution, this fixture was always going to be seen as a highly charged grudge match. Buckle was sacked at the Memorial Ground just after the new year with Rovers languishing in the bottom six despite a whole squad's worth of new signings and proudly proclaimed ambitions of taking the league by storm. he failed to endear himself to 'The Gas' faithful in that time and after a whole host of bizarre managerial decisions -confidently warned and predicted by a large number of long suffering Gulls fans- the situation at Bristol was pretty much untenable.

Paul Buckle should be held in high regard at Plainmoor for getting us out of the Blue Square Premier within the two years that relegation parachute payments helped us to do so, one only has to look at that league now to see it is a graveyard of ex-football league clubs, he also oversaw some exciting cup runs and some impressive club records too. However his reign at TQ1 will always be tarnished by how he left the club, he lied to every fan who went to Old Trafford by saying he had made no decision on his future at the club when in fact it had been decided he was leaving weeks before. Some skeptics say that he had no intention of leading Torquay to promotion last season, Torquay's limp display in the Play-Off final would certainly lend credence to this, I guess we might never find out the answer, I don't think Torquay fans could ever forgive this dishonesty.

Bristol Rovers fans were warned of his managerial deffinciencies- bizarre substitutions, playing players out of position, resolving a problem by signing 3 more players- when they gloated about his appointment in June. They merely rejected our claims as sour grapes, but as the season unfolded and with one disasterous result after another, coupled with some outrageous and controverial comments about Bristol Rovers fans, they soon found out that we had seen and done it all before. Although the fixture is not, and should not be, about him, its safe to say his legacy at both clubs will give a massive undertone to today's events.

Much of the sting has been taken out of the fixture since Buckle has been sacked, however some familiar faces will still be in for a hostile welcome on their first return to Plainmoor. Winger Chris Zebroski was interested in going to Bristol from the moment Buckle was appointed, no loyalty for the club who had stuck by him through some difficult times in his career. Craig Stanley stated his enjoyment of playing at Torquay on many an occasion, but joined Bristol instead. Scott Bevan, the tall goalkeeper, had just as many critics as admirers at Plainmoor after a number of errors led to goals being conceded. Most curious of all was pacey winger Mustapha Carayol, who ran down his contract, stating his desire to move nearer to London, only to sign for Lincoln- just 7 miles closer.

Mark McGhee has since taken charge and steadied the rapidly sinking ship without too many changes to the playing staff. Now comfortably mid-table and with improved results, Bristol look like an outside bet to reach the Play-Offs and with the confidence levels of the players and the fans set back to 'unrealistic' today's game promises to be a tough proposition. They will be keen to exact revenge for the 2-1 defeat Torquay handed out to them at the Memorial Stadium back in August, The look of elation and jubilance on all Torquay Fans and Players at the final whistle highlighted what a personal victory it had been for so many.

Torquay come into the fixture after two impressive back-to-back wins, quelling the disappointment of the two defeats at the end of February. Having taken 47 out of a possible 60 points, Torquay are one of the most feared teams in the league, and one of the hardest to beat. our last eight victories have all been by one goal, and the last six by one goal to nil. When Torquay get in the lead, it takes something special to take it away from them. Rene Howe's 10th goal of the season was enough to see off Aldershot on Tuesday night, and hopefully that goal will be the catalyst to see him push on and produce the form he has been threatening at intervals throughout the season. With Danny Stevens ankle injury not as bad as first feared, competition for places will be fierce especially with Ryan Jarvis returning to match fitness, those in possession of the shirt will need to be in top form to stop the little man reclaiming his spot at the first opportunity.

And so to a packed and noisy Plainmoor,on a pleasant, sunny day. Torquay lined up with the tried and trust 4-5-1, Martin Ling springing a surprise and including fit again Danny Stevens on the left wing at the expense of Ryan Jarvis. Physio Damien Davey working wonders once again to get a key man fit after what looked like a serious injury. Bristol Rovers, wearing their black and green away kit, lined up in a traditional 4-4-2 with Bevan, Stanley, Zebrosi and Carayol all starting.

Torquay settled quickly and started the match in scintillating fashion, quickly on the front foot they had Bristol Rovers penned in in their own defensive third. However, unlike Tuesday night they just couldn't force an early breakthrough. Scott Bevan, looking as frenetic and panicked as I remembered him, had to be alert to pull off a fine stop from Damon Lathrope- turning his low drive from outside the box round the post. Torquay created several excellent openings in the initial stages, however the finishing touch could not be applied to any of them. Rene Howe in particular had a great chance, having rounded Bevan, but sadly his momentum had taken the number 9 too wide to force an effort at goal.

That they had not conceded seemed to galvanise Rovers into action and they came back into the contest strongly, Carayol in particular threatening with some dangerous jinking runs, firing his resulting shots just wide on two occasions. Without having anyone outstanding throughout the spine of their team, Rovers were able to keep the ball with ease and hassle Torquay into mistakes with a high pressing game. The match had a lovely ebb and flow approach to it, both teams expressing themselves with crisp passing and free flowing attacks, however there was also an ugly element of aggression bubbling under the surface. In particular, the ex Torquay players- who came in for fierce abuse throughout- felt intent on making their presence felt. One unsavoury incident right in front of the Popside saw Carayol come in high and late on popular full back Kevin Nicholson. It was a nasty premeditated challenge from a wound up player: it deserved more than the caution it garnered. Nicholson was unable to recover despite his best efforts and had to be replaced by Lathaniel Rowe Turner, I think we missed his calmness and distribution of the ball as the match progressed.

As the half looked to be fading out to a hard fought stalemate, Bristol Rovers struck. Matt Harrold collected the ball just past the half way and his speculative 25 yard drive caught a massive deflection, send the ball looping into the top corner, and giving Bobby Olejnik no chance in goal. On balance of play, neither side deserved to be in the lead at half time, but if you subscribe to a shoot on sight policy sometimes you get lucky, perhaps an approach Torquay need to adopt, given their sometime reluctance to shoot.

Into the second half and Bristol grew in confidence, stroking the ball around with freedom, Torquay for the first 20 or so minutes just couldn't get anything to work,
passes became sloppily misplaced and eventually Torquay reverted to a long ball approach, which played into the hands of two towering Gas centre backs. Torquay threw on Atieno and Jarvis in place of Lathrope and Stevens in search of the equaliser, but this attacking approach left them susceptible to the counter attack, an opportunity Zebroski capitalised on with glee. Freed down the right, the ex-Torquay winger ran at a retreating defence and jinked past a helpless Mark Ellis before confidently striking the ball past Olejnik, it was a fine solo effort and the jubilant away end must have thought that was 3 points in the bag.

Torquay are made of stern stuff however, and despite not having been in the game for the majority of the second half it was their resolve and team spirit that got them back into the game. Bevan did well to save from Howe before inspirational leader Lee Mansell fired home the rebound from inside the penalty box. Getting a goal back so quickly after falling two behind not only served to panic Rovers, but to give the home side the belief they could salvage a point, and with 20 minutes to go it was all to play for. A now resurgent Torquay team were attacking the Family Stand in waves and forced a number of corners which got the entire crowd singing, still spine-chilling when everyone joins in. However Torquay could not force the equaliser in this 10 minute spell and Bristol settled again and threw away a glorious chance to win it.

Craig Stanley broke from midfield and was played through on goal cleverly by the striker, the ex-Torquay Loanee's fierce drive went the wrong side of the post and was a massive let off for the Yellows, he really should have scored and settled the match. Torquay lacked a bit of urgency in the final stages, a bit of hesitancy to get the ball forward, even though aerial threat Mark Ellis had joined the attack. The crowd sensed this hesitancy and started to lose a bit of belief that a goal would come, Lee Mansell used a break in play to fire up the crowd, with his war face in full use, he encouraged the crowd to give the team just a little bit more, the crowd responded in noisy fashion.

Some astute forward play from Mark Ellis won a corner right in front of the popside as the volume levels increased, O'Kane's ball in was met by Joe Oastler, who's sweet volley was saved brilliantly by Scott Bevan. The tall man instinctively sticking out his long arm to push the ball destined for the top corner away from danger, was Bevan going to have the final say on what had become a very personal mission as the day unfolded? The answer was an emphatic no as with their next attack Torquay scored the elusive equaliser. Another precise cross from the right was met by Rene Howe who flicked the ball goalwards, over the advancing Bevan, Lee Mansell was judged to get the final touch, smashing it into the net to send two sides of Plainmoor into raptures. An important last minute goal remains one of the biggest thrills of watching your team play and Plainmoor was rocking. We might look back on that goal in May and think it made all the difference.

It was a brilliant comeback from Torquay, when at 2-0 the game looked finished. It is testament to the team spirit and never say die attitude that Torquay were able to find the belief in reserve that they could get back into the game. As the referee blew his whistle to bring a breathless match to a close, a draw felt like a win, more importantly keeping us unbeaten in 3 games and right in the mix as results elsewhere in the division went our way. With three tough away games in the next week coming up ,the mentality of not knowing when they are beaten is a crucial characteristic to have, it will have to be used again more than once before the end of the season if we are to get promoted.

It started as a day I felt keen not to revolve around Buckle, but the encounter nonetheless felt personal due to the ex-Torquay contingent in the Rovers side, so walking away with a draw felt like another very sweet result. Bristol Rovers look a decent side under McGhee, organised and methodical and dangerous on the break. In Zebroski and Carayol they have two very quick players, and today sadly they were both a threat throughout, however the over-riding memory I will have of them after today were the needless aggression when the ball was gone. I think the Playoffs are a little too far out of their reach now, but could emerge as a real force next season, however they will have to learn how to see a game out properly in order to prosper - a skill Torquay have made their benchmark in recent weeks.

[A J]

Well.....I couldnt see us getting anything after it went 2-0 today, but what a fightback!

We were always in the game without playing that well, but we didnt seem to get any luck with second balls and it just felt like one of those days, so a 2-2 draw does feel like a win right now and wont do any harm for our confidence. It also felt good to claw the game back as there were more than a few Gas Heads around me in the Pop Side!

A few things I picked up on, Lathrope and Stevens I thought were either not fully-fit or carrying knocks still. Carayol, typical from him, pace to burn but no real end product and also a shocking tackle on Nicho! Zebroski and Stanley were probably their best players, and Bevan despite some awful kicking and not really commanding his box too well (along with that blonde\ginger centre back) made some cracking saves, if the game had gone on much longer I think we would have had all 3 points!

[bc-gull]

1st half was.. well it was crap, we made 1 or 2 chances... maybe should've had a penalty, but we weren't good enough.

2nd half we started brightly like the first.. but it died down, they got us on the break but almost instantly we brang it back, Bevan tbh made some amazing saves at 2-1 but when the 2nd went in it was amazing.. and we nearly won it to!

Well played 2nd Half!

[Colorado Gull]

The performance itself was pretty poor. Our first touch was nonexistent and we weren't passing the ball as well as we have been lately, but we had plenty of chances at the start and showed urgency. I don't think Ling should have started Stevens, he didn't look 100% fit. Rene Howe really should have scored when he was one on one with Bevan. After that the game started to die down and some sloppy play was being played, we all thought that we would be going into the break all square, Harrold scores from 30 yards out, with a deflection helping it over Bobby's reach.

The 2nd half started like the end of the 1st, not playing too well and when Rovers scored their 2nd I honestly thought it was game over. However, Mark Mcghee made two Buckle substitutions; I like to call them, as he took Rovers best players off (Carayol and Harrold) in the space of 5 minutes. We also made some changes, first of all LRT for Nico in the first half due to a nasty challenge from Muzzy. Danny, who wasn't 100% fit and wasn't causing the Rovers defence any pressure, was replaced by Jarvis. Our third change, was Taiwo for Damon Lathrope. In between this time Mansell scored his first goal. When Harrold went off, we played a little better and pushed men forward. It was still not great and Rovers did have one, three on one break after a Torquay corner, luckily they messed that up. When the game came down to the final minutes, we put men forward and got the equaliser!

It was a poor game, with a poor performance, however when a good side is down, they keep going and going until the final whistle and that's just what we did today and got that all important point!

[portugull]

A superb report bengull. Much appreciated.

[northharrowgull]

Really enjoyed your post Danny and it seemed to encapsulate the Gulls' performances under Martin Ling. Not maybe since our promotion year under Leroy, and let's face it one of the all time best Torquay elevens, have we, in my opinion, had a team that plays with such confidence where even when down we are able to fight back. really look forward to each game now.
COYY!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dave]

Don't think I have been through such a range of emotions at a Torquay game for some time, thought the team started very well, good tempo looked up for it, and they did create a couple of good chances , then frustration as the tempo slipped and we started to look as if we did not really want it enough, so no surprise that Rovers came more and more intot he game, thought there first was unlucky seemed to take a deflection that looped it over Bobby and into the net.

Second half I really expected the team to come full of fight, but they didn't, I actually said to S/G and Scott.B midway through the half, my motm vote was going be Bristol Rovers manager,chairman and team bus driver, becuase no one the Torquay team deserved it.

Every no and again you get a real important moment in agame, and Masell pulling on back so soon, turned this game on it's head,the team woke up and all of a sudden were full of running and the fan's got going, and want a moment when you could see the ball was going loop over Bevan, what a fight back and I now can only well done to all , you sent me and every Gulls fan home happy, and thats what it's all about.