Torquay United: November 2010

Hello friends and welcome back to my Torquay United story. Summer is winding down which means last minute staff vacations so it’s busy at work and even busier at home looking after my garden which requires hours and hours of work. Anyway back to the story…

November started off with a 1^st Round FA Cup tie at home to Dagenham & Redditch and we took the lead insdie 20 minutes when Simpson slipped the ball between the central defenders for Irwin to tuck into the corner. Minutes later Simpson took advantage of a defensive mix up in the six yard box and  stuck his foot in to add a second. Constant pressure at the Dagenham end resulted in a third being added when Wiktoski’s header from a corner was headed into the net by a Dagenham player. At the interval I took off Simpson as he picked up a minor knock though that didn’t change anything up front as we kept seeking goals. Eventually we added a fourth as Nicholson rifled home a free kick and late in the game Dagenham picked up a consolation goal.

The following game was a trip to our West Country neighbors Plymouth. We domintaed possesion in what was a less than exciting game though Jay Simspson had the best chance for us but failed to score in a one on one with the Plymouth keeper. When it looked like the game was heading for a draw, left back Nicholson slipped going into a tackle which  allowed enough space for Plymouth to take the lead and win the match for our second loss of the season.

We were back at Plaimoor for our next game against Rochdale and looking to shrug off the defeat aginst Plymouth. John Guidetti got us of to a perfect start latching on to a Wroe through ball and tucking neatly into the corner of the net. Barrowman added a second some 20 minutes later when Steve Irwin’s shot was pushed away by the Rochdale keeper into the path of Barrowman who blasted into the net. In looking for a third we got caught out on a counter attack and so at half time we led 2-1. Rochdale were much more aggressive in the second half but a breakaway by Steve Irwin resulted in a lovely cross to the head of Barrowman who powered it home for his second of the game. We threw Rochdale a lifeline as a result of poor marking but when they went down to 10 men we had the game in the bag and all three points.

Next up was a trip to Stockport and we  took an early lead when Jason Demetriou made a great run down the left flank and his pass found Barrowman who unleashed a typical powerful finish. Stockport replied almost instantly as once again the two central defenders were nowhere to be seen and this is now becoming a real cause for concern. I was expecting a goal fest after such a frantic start but the game played out in the midfield with very few clear cut chances and so we had to settle for just a point.

Going into our FA Cup tie away to Gillingham, assistant manger Shaun North suggested a 4-5-1 formation which is something I have rarely tried with Torquay but followed his advice on this ocassion. The first half was a really dull affair and by the interval I considered switching back to my 4-4-2. However after the break we began to look far more industrious and eventually took the lead as Ryan Carolan headed in from a corner after  69 minutes. That opened the floodgates. A  pass out of the box by goalkeeper Poke to Livermoore who was playing in a very deep DMC role led to him running unobstructed to the other end of the field and hitting a fantastic strike into the roof of the net for the best goal I’ve ever seen. Absolutely sensational! That inspired goal led to two more from Irwin and Komora and propelled us into the Third round  away to Coventry.

The last game of the month was away to Swansea and we took the lead inside 15 minutes after a determined run by Komora ended in a pass to Barrowman who didn’t have to be told twice what to do with it. Swansea hit back late in what turned out to be an uneventful first half heading in from a corner. After the interval Swansea’s Craig Beattie masterminded our downfall  having a hand in the go ahead goal and his shot deflecting off of Scott Bevan to take a 3-1 lead. The introduction of Irwin who I decided not to start suddenly motivated the team and his pace set up Koroma who buried a shot into the net two minutes from time.  The resulting kick off Koroma snatched the ball and his determined run ended in a corner which Irwin took and found Koroma who forced the ball into the net for a valuable point.

Results at a glance

Current League Table

Fixtures

That was probably not my best month since taking over the team though I was pleased with the FA cup result and the fight back against Swansea. Although Jay Simpson was prolific I decided not to pursue keeping him and he’s now returned to Arsenal. I already have some decent firepower up front and any free loan space I have should focus on the central defence as I»ve a huge problem there.

Next month starts with games against Southampton and Millwall and those performances will determine whether we have what it takes to really compete.

Thanks for reading and for those in England and Wales enjoy the Bank Holiday. Canada is next weekend :)