Swanny wrote:Another huge 3 points for the Gulls but they certainly did it the hard way after sacrificing a 2 goal lead. All looked rosy at half-time - winning comfortably and deservedly at 2-0. We looked like a transformed side, a cohesive unit, hard working and balanced. Kidderminster looked poor, often giving the ball away in dangerous areas and hardly looked capable of a comeback. However a soft goal conceded with a horrible mis-judgement from Lavercombe (who otherwise had a decent game)and all Torquay's old failings came back. Kidderminster then equalized and looked the better team as Torquay struggled and were uncertain in all areas. Torquay's winner had a touch of fortune about it in a mad scramble from a corner that apparently came of Smith's hand. Crowd just over 2,00 with 150 from Kidderminster, sponsors MOTM going to Racchi who I like the look of. He looks like Hargreaves in his playing days, plays the game intelligently and is a good tidy passer of the ball as well as having a good delivery.
Torquay were camped in Kidderminster half up until they scored on 10 minutes. A corner was half cleared, Smith tried an audacious overhead kick from inside the penalty area, it hit the crossbar, hit the back pedalling keeper's back and went in! It was harsh on Smith to give it as an own goal. Torquay were comfortably in control, Harrad shot wide on the volley with the goal gaping. But Blissett gave the Gulls a 2 goal cushion just before half-time. A deep cross on the left from Rees, Blissett climbed at the far post above a defender, headed the ball downwards that beat their keeper at his near post.
Kidderminster improved in the second half and showed more attacking intent. Torquay still looked reasonably comfortable until following a free-kick, MacDonald was beaten in the air a long way out and there seemed little danger. Lavercombe however was caught in no-mans land as the ball looped over him into the net. Torquay lost their earlier confidence and Kidderminster were on top. Kidderminster's equalizer followed from a break down in a Torquay attack when they hesitated to shoot. Kidderminster broke away and a sweet strike from just outside the box beat Lavercombe low down.
Andre Wright replaced the inconsistent Ajala and made an impact with several dangerous runs down the right as the game evened out. Torquay badly needed a lift and Wright provided an outlet. Butler's in swinging corner caused mayhem and Smith scored our winner apparently with his hand as the ball bounced around the 6 yard box. Torquay got lucky and it was a little harsh on Kidderminster. Chaney came on for Harrad and contributed well by keeping the ball around Kidderminster's corner flag.
So a vital win from a much improved Gulls team. Yes we've giving ourselves a real chance of survival but it's still a tough ask. It's going to be a roller coaster ride but this present team is doing us proud again after many awful months.
brucie wrote:Well that was tense but a good crowd and a blindingly edgy ending. Really we should have gone in four nil up at half time. Ajala missed an absolute sitter and Harrads wasn't a lot better.
We were in total control until Mr Out of Position Lavercombe got it all wrong for their first goal. I didn't see anything of the winner at all but apparently Smith handballed it into the net. For once the luck went with us and the only stat that really matters was Torquay 3 Kidderminster 2.
Personally I would still like to see Andre Wright partnered with Blissett up front.
Added in 7 minutes 8 seconds:
Stupid post of the year award goes to madgull. Easy to put up when we have started winning., If you were so confident why didn't you post that after the Tranmere game then?
Everyone is happy to be proved wrong - perhaps you ought to read the "win the next four games thread"
Ah there it is Brucie doesn't like being called out
Loves it when it's going wrong but being credited with 'predicting' to win the next 4 games
Call it both ways you can then be right 50% of the time
Good first half performance but then out-thought at half time and tactically we didn't know how to get a grip of the game again. However we kept going and Andre Wright came off the bench to give us some impetus again. A massive 3 points for sure but there's still a long way to go and if people like Madgull think we are home and hosed then they are deluded. It is encouraging and with a lot of luck regarding injuries then we could yet survive. Credit to Nico for his recruitment especially Blissett who may be unauthodox but is a real handful.
I enjoyed it at Plainmoor today and I haven't been able to say at for a long time. I don't expect us to win every week but I do expect us to compete, which we did. Long may it continue but our fixture pile up is a massive worry with our wafer thin squad.
Nice to see people getting overly defensive when being called out on their ridiculous assertions of doom You'll note that I posted supporting people saying that it was NOT the apocalypse. Lucy, I haven't saved it til we're safe because it is now obvious that relegation is not, and never was, certain, and that KN and the board DO have a shred of nous between them, which is what the posts amounted to. If something is CERTAIN, it can't change, that's kind of the definition of certain.
I just like pointing out how the mindless slating of the manager, board, players etc was ridiculously out of proportion. Maybe people will be encouraged to engage their brains a little more before they post in future.
Oh, and also: If you don't like being called out on being wrong, don't post and say things are 'certain'.
It's not about tactics or even performance anymore it literally is about getting 3 points, digging in with this current group of players in this shower of shite of a league and not going down to the Conference South. Yeh we were pants at times but do you think NIcho will care? Not a jot!
I have backed NIcho from the start (refer you to this thread: http://www.torquayfans.com/forum/viewto ... f=3&t=8532 - the comment straight after my post is hilarious), not because I thought he'd get us playing pretty football, or he's tactically astute, which he may well be, but because he is a leader, a great speaker and an intelligent man who knows the lower leagues. He needed time to bring in his own players (only Richards remains from the front six at the time of his arrival) and get them showing the desire and commitment he himself shows to this club.
We are not safe, but I don't think there is another manager that was available to us at the time of Cox's departure that would have had this effect on our club. I'm grateful to him and I hope he can continue our upward turn in fortunes and finish the job. If he gets us out of this he can have a job for life as far as I'm concerned!
Next up for me is Halifax but two cup finals before that. COYY!
Hands up all those who thought this great escape was going to be easy! At half-time the players probably thought they'd won the game, and some of them came out for the second half with a degree of complacency. Credit to the team for not giving up and for getting the win.
Kevin Nicholson will ensure that they learn from any shortcomings shown in this game, and they will go into the next game with even more determination. In fact, I should not like to be in the Braintree team facing the Gulls on Tuesday evening.
madgull wrote:Nice to see people getting overly defensive when being called out on their ridiculous assertions of doom You'll note that I posted supporting people saying that it was NOT the apocalypse. Lucy, I haven't saved it til we're safe because it is now obvious that relegation is not, and never was, certain, and that KN and the board DO have a shred of nous between them, which is what the posts amounted to. If something is CERTAIN, it can't change, that's kind of the definition of certain.
I just like pointing out how the mindless slating of the manager, board, players etc was ridiculously out of proportion. Maybe people will be encouraged to engage their brains a little more before they post in future.
Oh, and also: If you don't like being called out on being wrong, don't post and say things are 'certain'.
But they're not wrong... Yet. We all hope they WILL be, but if anyone, especially the team, starts thinking we're there then that won't help. There's 13 Games left, and the last four have given us a chance - but that's it; a chance. There's time for us to finish five points clear of relegation, or time to finish 10 points from safety. Save the gloating and I told you sos for later - we've done nothing yet.
madgull wrote:Nice to see people getting overly defensive when being called out on their ridiculous assertions of doom You'll note that I posted supporting people saying that it was NOT the apocalypse. Lucy, I haven't saved it til we're safe because it is now obvious that relegation is not, and never was, certain, and that KN and the board DO have a shred of nous between them, which is what the posts amounted to. If something is CERTAIN, it can't change, that's kind of the definition of certain.
I just like pointing out how the mindless slating of the manager, board, players etc was ridiculously out of proportion. Maybe people will be encouraged to engage their brains a little more before they post in future.
Oh, and also: If you don't like being called out on being wrong, don't post and say things are 'certain'.
Blue Peter 'I told you so' Badge on it's way no doubt so congrats with that one.
madgull wrote:Nice to see people getting overly defensive when being called out on their ridiculous assertions of doom You'll note that I posted supporting people saying that it was NOT the apocalypse. Lucy, I haven't saved it til we're safe because it is now obvious that relegation is not, and never was, certain, and that KN and the board DO have a shred of nous between them, which is what the posts amounted to. If something is CERTAIN, it can't change, that's kind of the definition of certain.
I just like pointing out how the mindless slating of the manager, board, players etc was ridiculously out of proportion. Maybe people will be encouraged to engage their brains a little more before they post in future.
Oh, and also: If you don't like being called out on being wrong, don't post and say things are 'certain'.
I agree with Brucie and Lucy (and I expect Wivel!)
Supporting Torquay United should come with a health warning. There we were at half time, 2 - 0 up, should have been 4 - 0, in total control and then we almost blew it in the second half. Things are not going well for Toby Ajala at the moment and Courtney Richards was off the pace today. But the rest of the team - full marks. Racchi and Rees have made a hell of a difference in midfield and well done to Sam Chaney when he came on for getting in some good tackles (which Richards wasn't today). Dan Lavercombe made one mistake which led to their first goal but not much mention has been made of a good diving save he made in the first half and an even better save in the second half. As has been said before, you have to have a screw loose to be a 'keeper. Good match report from Swanny again and great support from the Pop Side lads again.
The match was sensibly referee'd although we were probably a tad lucky with our third goal.
I am one of the posters included in Madgull's 'Hall of Shame' but in my defence, I have never criticised Nicho. My concern was that I couldn't see how bringing in players from the likes of Nuneaton and Worcester could help to save us from relegation. I will be more than happy to be proved wrong, but there is a bit more to do yet !
tomogull wrote: Supporting Torquay United should come with a health warning. There we were at half time, 2 - 0 up, should have been 4 - 0, in total control and then we almost blew it in the second half. Things are not going well for Toby Ajala at the moment and Courtney Richards was off the pace today. But the rest of the team - full marks. Racchi and Rees have made a hell of a difference in midfield and well done to Sam Chaney when he came on for getting in some good tackles (which Richards wasn't today). Dan Lavercombe made one mistake which led to their first goal but not much mention has been made of a good diving save he made in the first half and an even better save in the second half. As has been said before, you have to have a screw loose to be a 'keeper. Good match report from Swanny again and great support from the Pop Side lads again.
The match was sensibly referee'd although we were probably a tad lucky with our third goal.
I am one of the posters included in Madgull's 'Hall of Shame' but in my defence, I have never criticised Nicho. My concern was that I couldn't see how bringing in players from the likes of Nuneaton and Worcester could help to save us from relegation. I will be more than happy to be proved wrong, but there is a bit more to do yet !
It's always been a hell of a ride as a fan! ^.^ Also, +10000 points for how to handle gentle ribbbing on the internet
Just gotta keep on playing like we are and fighting for every point. This little run of wins will end, but we mustn't overreact when it does.
Kit_robin wrote:But they're not wrong... Yet. We all hope they WILL be, but if anyone, especially the team, starts thinking we're there then that won't help. There's 13 Games left, and the last four have given us a chance - but that's it; a chance. There's time for us to finish five points clear of relegation, or time to finish 10 points from safety. Save the gloating and I told you sos for later - we've done nothing yet.
Except they are, because as you'll see all the posts I quoted are either saying relegation is a certainty, Nicholson can't manage, or that the board were being naive in their support for him during the transfer window. All of which are patently untrue.
Last edited by madgull on 06 Mar 2016, 09:00, edited 1 time in total.
One observastion about the game. How well did Torquay close that game out. Havnt seen that for a while. well done as it was very professional.
Yes Toby, was excellent on his first game back with us. Seems to be lacking confidence. Hes got the skills but needs to try and work out whats gone wrong. Hope he does
I took a step back yesterday from issuing any criticism against Lavercombe for the first goal, because it's normally met with some backlash, if I think back to Dan's first game of the season v Bromley where he was truly awful, to where he is now, the improvements he's made in confidence, stature and his all round game have been night and day, Dan's done very well and fair play to such a young lad.
I thought the initial mistake for the first goal came from MacDonald, however the keeper is the last line of defence, didn't think it was down to his diving attempt to save the header being poor. To me Dan's start position was 100% the reason he didn't keep the ball out, he was caught in no mans land, once the header was on target he had no hope of getting to it, but he's a very young keeper, with clearly a great attitude, that's why he'll learn.
Just to add, what fans have said in the past whether they'll be proved right or wrong is truly irrelevant, a month ago, we were beaten 0.2 at by Gateshead, think at the time had slipped to 10 points off safety maybe more, and the performance that day was way off giving anyone hope, the team were truly abject in that match, so fans had the right at that time to say it's over, we're down, and show some frustration.
As Kit-Robin says above, right now we've done nothing, we're not safe, we're still in the bottom 4, what's needed is unity, support, hard work from now right until the end of the season, when we're safe, then the debrief can begin.
Last edited by Dave on 06 Mar 2016, 09:14, edited 1 time in total.
I think you are a couple of wins ahead of yourself however I can understand your eagerness to have a little dig at those of us who spoke as we found. You could also argue that our outspokeness assisted with the timely turn around of our fortunes?
When I wrote those comments it was plain for all to see that we lacked Quality, Togetherness, Belief, Leadership and any Rub of the green. We were staring into the abyss with only the assurances of Southampton Gull's, hear say comments (now reclassified as "inside information") that new players we being sought.
I think that we would all admit that KN was a great player for TUFC however due to our current predicament, appointing a rooky manager was a risk we should not and did not need to take at the time.
If, at the end of the season, we find ourselves out of the relegation zone, I am sure that we will all give the Board, Manager, Players and Supporters a pat on the back. As even those of us, who dared to disagree, still turned up on matchdays and supported the team!
Life is like TUFC. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory.
