Torquay United Fans Forum

I was at Portman rd for the first leg. Remember there was a moment of silence when Rodney Jack slotted in....then in shock "we`ve scored"! Mat Gregg saved a penalty and it felt like we out sung the home fans all night. Great evening.

Not done a match report for quite some time, but here goes;
We set up base camp in the rugby ground and gazed up to see the family stand towering like a monument above us.
Living in Suffolk for a many a year the legs honed on the 7 hills of Torquay have gone somewhat soft. So with trepidation we donned our climbing gear, went to the sign saying away supporters and headed off up an overgrown twisting path. Just like Snowdon you get to the top and find you could have got a train. But here it was a golf buggy for the less mobile.
Still, we were greeted to a warm welcome and the news that the match was likely to be de-segregated as there were only 30 of us.
We were then sent through a high sided walkway like lambs to the slaughter…. but not today.
From the terrace the slope was really noticeable and pretty much all game, players appeared to find it hard to keep the ball in play on the dug out side. Their RB in particular was guilty of kicking the ball out when trying to line it.
The first half was largely frustrating. I may be doing some a disservice but it looked like we lacked confidence. We had 2 free kicks in dangerous positions, one tamely curled to the keeper and the other chipped into the mixer, when it was crying out for a wallop.
I thought our movement up front was lacking on occasion, which made the final ball difficult. We would work hard to win the ball back, get to midfield and Reid especially didn`t offer an outlet for midfield. He seemed to prefer to hold his ground or move away from the ball. He may not be the type of player that gambles or makes runs to create openings, but I like to see front players pointing for a pass to be made and then make an angled run to it. His body language didn`t look positive enough for me. But what can you say against a forward who has a good record now of 3 from 5. But could he create some assists on top of his goals?
When Kalala had the ball out wide it begged for movement ahead of him, but there was nothing, so he would end up going down a blind alley. His head visibly dropped.
We played too many long balls which were easy for the defence, or free kicks that were straight. I like to see a straight pass with an angled run or vice versa, and make the defence turn. Too many balls were sent in the same line as the run, so just ran away from the forward.
A couple of times we looked vulnerable on hopeful through balls and had a few scares but generally the half was quite even but with us looking to play the football.
A lot of players were slipping over, not sure why. You would hope that in the warm up they would have identified which studs to use. I note Davis said after that the pitch was dry, would that be a factor?
So at H-T we swapped ends. This brought back memories when as a school boy I shared my time between the covered comfort of the mini stand and the exposed railway sleepers of the Babbacombe end. Lucky we did as we got a great view of both goals.
Dover came out and played the ball around like they had the birthday boys ranting still ringing in their ears. It didn`t last long though and we had a spell which knocked the stuffing out of the vocal fans and the players.
2 good goals. In contrast to the first half we looked a real threat and created loads of chances. But if there was any criticism it would be that the midfield and forwards appeared to get in each others way at times. I wonder if the formation is suiting some, or may be just that they need time to gel. Edwards was a real threat when he came on and relieved a lot of pressure with some good direct running. Still we are TUFC and you know the last 10 minutes is going to be nervy. Their subs caused us problems, they got the penalty and had 2 free kicks on their right of the box which you felt was going to lead to us throwing it away. But not this time.
Defence generally coped well, more frustrated with the lack of movement ahead of midfield. Would also like to see more shots when given half a chance. But that observation may be affected by the fact I spent all game standing behind the goal we were attacking.
How Dover beat Barnet & Wrexham I don’t know. I guess it shows anyone can beat anyone in this league, apart from Solihull and Woking, at the moment. But how long will that last?
We are a young side, we will have some blips on the way but with GJ in charge if he can’t guide us to at least a play off place, no one can. It looks like another rollercoaster season ahead.
A great result. Well done to the players, GJ, coaches and Dover ground staff for making it a really enjoyable day out.
With a few tweaks, I feel there real hope for the rest of the season.

Purchased blue shirt from pro direct, but had to return as damaged. Looked like the heat process of putting 1899 on the front damaged the material on the back. Didn't hear anything so phoned up and was told I've been given a refund despite asking for an exchange. Was told they have sold out but hope to get another delivery next month. I did ask if I could have a shirt without Thatcher's on the back, as advertised, so not sure if that had anything to do with it. Cost me £3.95 to wear it for 5 minutes, as they don't seemingly refund p&p. Needless to say I won't be using pro direct again

Thanks for reminding me WYG.
Time has passed but it's still very emotional.
Listened to the Wolves away leg on Clubcall.
Probably one of my all time top moments would be looking up at the Wembley scoreboard and seeing Bolton 0 Torquay 1.
It was truly Dreamland, way before the watering down of Wembley. Back then it was massive that little Torquay were playing at Wembley.

Just got my tickets; 430 & 431.
Impressed with the service. Got an email confirming my account followed by etkts within 5 mins.
Well done SCFC.