Torquay United: February 2011

Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of my Torquay United story.

My previous post was actually in game time Jan 29^th as  there appeared to be no further activity for the month but how wrong I was.

Doncaster Rovers made a bid for Omar Koroma which I immediately rejected but the same day the board over-ruled my decision and he was sold for £350,000. As fas as I was concerned they had just sold our title chances too. I was shocked and devastated. What made matters worse only  £50,000 ended up in the transfers funds. Where did the rest go??

Our first game of the month was in front of a packed house at the Plainmoor Stadium for the visit of Exeter City. New signing Ashley Chambers made a immediate impact as his curling shot was tipped around the post and the resulting corner was headed in by Wiktorski after 17 minutes. We kept the pressure on and 10 minutes later he headed in another from a Nicky Wroe corner. Obika had a great chance to wrap the game up early before half time but his effort pulled off a spectacular save from the Exeter keeper. The visitors were much more aggressive in the second half and a mistake by keeper Scott Bevan allowed them a life line but that’s all it was. Wiktorski had a great chance for a hat-trick but missed from the spot after Chambers was brought down but we got the victory and that’s important.

We stayed at home for the following game against 22^nd place Tranmere which saw the return of Barrowman and Livermore who had both recovered from injury. James Chambers put us ahead after only 3 minutes with an outrageous 35 yard strike from a free kick amd minutes later Ashley Chambers effort went narrowly wide. Barrowman and an excellent one on one chance but failed to score which then set up an attack for Trammere who equalized after 20 minutes. Barrowman had to be taken off at half time and could be possibly out for the rest of the season which is a huge setback. The second half saw us mess around with the ball way too much creating little up front and bad passing eventually contributed to Tranmere’s second goal when they intercepted the ball and broke away to snatch a victory.

Next up was a visit to Charlton and we got off to a terrible start finding ourselves 2-0 down inside 15 minutes as the home sides’ slick passing was just too much for us to cope with. We started to settle down after that horrendous start but once again the front line could not find the killer touch and  it was James Chambers with another spectacular free kick saw us pull one back before half time. Charlton easily controlled the second half leaving us deflated at the end of the game and wondering how we are even going to stay in the play off hunt as we continue this poor form.

Next up was a long trip to Cumbria to face Carlisle and it turned out to be one of  those bore draws though Elliot Benyon’s disallowed goal looked very much onside to me. I had to substitue Benyon and Hooks at half time but thankfully both of them are not seriously injured . We slipped another place in the table and if we don’t start wining soon missing out on post season action is becoming a real  possibility.

We finished up the month at home to Brighton and we took the lead inside 15 minutes as Steve Irwins cross was met first time by Hofbauer on the opposite flank and it flew into the net. Brighton though equalized from a deflected shot off James Chambers 10 minutes later though we restored the lead not long afterwards as Ashley Chambers square ball following a solo run was tapped in by Guidetti for an easy goal. The score remained the same until half time and after the interval poor defending and goalkeeping allowed additional goals for Hofbauer and Guidetti  for a much needed win and three points.

Results at a glance

League Table

Here’s Ashley Chambers who I signed from Leicester City for £14,ooo

March Fixtures

So this really is a rotten time to hit poor form as we have difficult games against play-off contenders as well as the dreaded trip to Southend. I also somehow have to get my strikers to start scoring  too!

Thanks for reading!