Torquay v AFC Wimbledon Match Thread

[eastyorksgull]

well done you gulls,HOWE important was that to the cause,great win

[RussianGull]

Well in yellows, 4 goals and a clean sheet, repeat for the weekend please!

[Southampton Gull]

Well done to Martin WinLing, good on him after all the ridiculous stick that's been thrown his way.

Big well done to Danny as well, more than made me eat my words of late.

[stevegull]

well done you gulls,HOWE important was that to the cause,great win

Howe about stopping these cheap jokes?

[stevegull]

Well done to Martin WinLing, good on him after all the ridiculous stick that's been thrown his way.

Big well done to Danny as well, more than made me eat my words of late.

Yep, good to see Danny performing well, even if it goes against what I (and many others) have been saying about him.

Hopefully play against Hereford confident and COYY

[tufc si]

Yep, good to see Danny performing well, even if it goes against what I (and many others) have been saying about him.

Hopefully play against Hereford confident and COYY

Seems like his confidence is growing and growing at mo and looks like the consistent stint in the starting line-up has worked wonders for him, bout time he came bloody good anyways lol!!

I'm going to bed dead chuffed tonight, please god can we carry it on in to Saturday too!!

[Southampton Gull]

I've been as guilty as anyone where he's concerned Steve, so fair play to him for stepping up with some good performances of late.

[Jeff]

Fantastic result tonight, was hopeful that we could bounce back but didn't expect it to be like that. Did not see a 4-0 win coming at all.

Wimbledon came to us with I believe the joint 3rd best away record in the division, so were no mugs and we turned them over. That to me shows that there is enough in the squad to not just be fodder this season. It also shows that anyone really can beat anyone this season.

At least we can look forward to the Hereford game to an extent. They're form has improved massively of late but the league table doesn't lie - we're above them and should be looking to push on.

Its nice to be a happy TUFC fan for a change

[Tq2Yellow]

Great result, great game, immense game by several players with Ellis determined in defence! O'Kane magic with ball at feet, lots of chasing and harassing by the whole team and Howe leading the line.

And most importantly someone appears to have seen fit to chuck that blinkin horse shoe away!!

Well done lads - you made us proud this evening.

[Father Jack]

Just back on a chilly evening warmed by the display. Best performance this season (and not just because of the result Matt!!)
Saah and Ellis were solid at the back. The midfield worked tirelessly and broke up a lot of play giving the defence an easier time than usual.
Danny was excellent again and offered the most threat going forward. Scored the first to put the Wombles on the back foot and made the third. Eunan's passing was sublime most of the time and he was deservedly sponsors MoM. Suprised the Wombles are up there on that showing. Our midfield dominated them and acted as the springboard for our attacking prowess. The team looked like they were playing for each other for the first time in ages.

[HRG]

It's been a little while since I've contributed on this site since computers have decided that they don't like my house anymore. I'm now reduced to typing on a nintendo 3ds.

Anyhoo, this was a big game for my family as we are split between Torquay and AFC. My mum and dad made the trip but not heard their views yet.

Mostly I'm relieved and hopeful that this result is a sign of a turnaround of our fortunes. I have kept the faith despite being disappointed as I'm sure most of you guys have but have wondered what the hell was happening after the last two results. So a convincing victory is just what was needed. Let us hope it lights a fire within the team and the points keep on coming.

A lovingly abusive text was sent to my dear brother in order to claim the family bragging rights. Good times.

[Dave]

Well done Martin Ling and the team, it's one win i know, however a very important win, when Rene Howe slipped with the goal at his mercy, i thought here we go again, just what happens when you cant buy a win .

However up pops little Danny with a moment of magic, all his own work, yes took a big deflection or appeared to on the way in, they all count, you could see the confidence grow, as we took control of the game, and the pick of the goals was no3 for me, very quick counter attack, and O'kane who looked re-born in this picked out Howe with a pin point cross, followed by a funny moment from the crowd as a lad i know, shouts out "come on Torquay we can still win this"

Second half once the no4 went in, in was job done for the team and with Saturday in mind , the game for fizzled out a bit , but who cares, lots happy faces.

Oh take back anything i have ever said on Ellis and Stevens, both superb tonight.

[AlexGulls]

Nice to get back to winning ways at last and showing what we were capable of. O'Kane was back to his best,Ellis and Saah were solid at the back and Olejnik looked assured in goal when called upon. Stevens is on good form at the minite and got the goal his recent performances have deserved.

We need to build on this now starting on Saturday against Hereford. This result will mean nothing if we dont keep to same same level of performace weve shown were capable of tonight.

[portugull]

What a cracking result! I followed the match on http://www.skysports.com/score_centre" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Just click on Football. It really is brilliant.
I mention this as some folks seem to find access to up to date info difficult. Hope this helps.
Roll on saturday.

[Colorado Gull]

Well what a change we get a victory! What a win it was, 4-0! I have to say AFC Wimbledon weren’t amazing, and we didn’t play amazing either, but it was a huge improvement by the boys in yellow!

A nice part of possession with Oastler, Nico and Oastler link up well. There was a close chance by AFC, but Bobby saved. Bodin was causing trouble up the line, winning a free kick. Bodin played well and showed skill, but at times he showed laziness with wayward passes. Mansell made a rash challenge and a free kick was awarded to AFC. Following that, Wimbledon had a corner, it came in nicely from the corner but Bobby punched it away. A cross came in after, but it was cleared. I thought Ellis headed well and he tracked back with good effect.

A nice passage of play was made causing trouble again, linking well with Howe, Mansell and Danny. A few mistakes were made in the middle of the park. Oastler lost his man a couple of times causing our defence to clear crosses. Nicholson, Danny and Bodin linked up well. Stevens didn’t use his pace when the ball came to him and made a couple of mistakes, giving the ball away. Rene Howe was very frustrating not jumping for balls, or not chasing down loose balls.

Saah was looking a little dodgy at the back, but Eunan was working well in the middle. Ellis looked comfortable at the back and tackled really well. Stevens made a great run using his pace this time but gave it away by trying to give it to Howe. Howe then had a glorious chance, Mansell ran into the box. Lee Mansell shot was deflected, it came to Howe but Rene slipped and blasted it over the bar.

A Wimbledon player was unmarked in the box, luckily he mis- hit the shot and Bobby saved with ease. Nicholson and Danny linked up well; Saah played a great ball to Danny Stevens. Danny then crossed but it was cleared. However Danny should have been further up the wing to cause any sort of trouble for the AFC defenders. Lathrope played very well in the middle, he made a few mistakes but no harm was done.

Pressure by Wimbledon caused our defence to work hard and not let AFC to get through. But holes were being made in the middle, and AFC had a lot of space at times. Oastler had two very careless foul throws. Howe upfront on his own didn’t seem to work and he still didn’t chase down balls.

Then on thirty two minutes Danny Stevens scored! He made a great run; he cut inside and shot home, 1-0! Lathrope made a great interception in the middle of the park, and Bobby looked very good collecting balls fromcrosses. After all this the games possession was fifty- fifty.

Bodin with a nice bit of skill ran at the defence but nothing came from it. Eunan tackled well as well. Howe upfront showed laziness and he had a great chance to score. He first needed to get past two defenders but his touch let him down. Eunan with great work rate chased down a defender he got the ball; he was one on one with the keeper and cleverly scored, 2-0! Just a few minutes later we scored again incredible! Eunan again involved, he ran down the wing and played a fantastic ball to Howe and he scored, 3-0!

The fans went mad, and the Yellow Army summed up the first half pretty well with the song “What the f**k is going on!”

Taiwo Atieno on for Danny Stevens at half time, Danny must have had a knock because he played well in the first half.

AFC had the first attack of the half but Eunan gave the ball to Howe, after Wimbledon’s passage of play, but Howe had no men up with him. After this AFC had a chance to score but Bobby saved with ease again. Lathrope , Mansell and Eunan tackled well at the back. A dangerous cross from the wing by AFC and Bobby had to tip it over. No real danger came from the corner.

Eunan played well with Howe. Howe ran using his strength he was being held, like earlier in the game which I thought should have been a foul. Eunan with a free kick, but it went straight to an AFC player and a corner was awarded to Wimbledon. Later on, Eunan ran into the box he passed it to Taiwo, O’Kane got it back but his shot was blocked. It was all for the taking in the middle of the box, it came out to Howe. Rene with a thunderous strike scored and the ball went into the bottom corner, 4-0!

After the fourth goal we had another great charge by the front men. Eunan skilfully went past two AFC defenders, and then he passed to Bodin who shot wide. After this AFC were on the attack, causing us to concede corners and Nicholson’s man went past him a few times. But when the ball came over Bobby saved with ease again. AFC then had more pressure building, their midfielder shot wide into the side netting, and the Wimbledon fans thought it was in.

I thought Taiwo contributed very little when he came on, he lacked pace, strength and didn’t look interested. He kept passing the ball backwards when we were coming forward. However he did link up with Eunan and headed forward from a goal kick which created another goal scoring opportunity. Howe with strength powered through, he passed to Bodin he shot it came to Eunan but the danger was cleared.

Oastler with a mistake, his man ran through he shot but Bobby was in the right place in the right time again and saved well. Nicholson was playing well, clearing the ball away from danger and tackled well. With a short free kick Nicholson played a one two with Howe and Nicholson’s shot was deflected for a corner. The ball came over to an AFC player from the corner, then Eunan retrieved the ball back and Taiwo was tackled, resulting in a free kick. Sadly that free kick came to nothing.

Bodin on for Mcphee, Billy was not happy about that. AFC played some very dangerous football across their box. Leadbitter then came on for Eunan O’Kane who was rightly awarded the man of the match award.

The possession was about fifty-fifty with about seven minutes to go. When three minutes of stoppage time was signalled, AFC piled on all the pressure to get a goal. But they couldn’t do so, even though it looked like they might because they put a lot of pressure on us. Saah headed well to prevent Wimbledon scoring.

When the final whistle blew, Plainmoor was filed with cheers and United won the game 4-0. And now for the ratings: (out of 10)

Olejnik 9 – Bobby played very well once again, he looked so comfortable and his kicking was good as well.
Oastler 7.5 – I thought Joe had an alright game, he did made a couple of mistakes at the back and didn’t come forward with good effect too much. However he didn’t do anything majorly wrong.
Saah 8 – I thought Saah had a good game. He headed well at the back and cleared danger well. At times he showed his usual self when he had made a few dodgy moments but all in all he played well.
Ellis 8.5 – Mark had a good game, he looked very comfortable at the back and headed well. He tracked back with good effect as well. He also cleared the ball from danger quickly which was good. He is the man needed at the back.
Nicholson 8.5 – Nicho had another good game. He linked up well with the players in front of him. He made a few mistakes at the back but nothing too bad.
Mansell 8.5 – Manse once again put in 100% effort, and played well. He didn’t have the greatest game but he done enough to get a high rating.
Lathrope 9 – I though t Damon had a great game. I haven’t been a fan of Damon but today he shone. He tackled really well and allowed Manse to go forward. He put less pressure on our defence at times and played really well. Well done Damon!
O’Kane 9.5 – My MOTM also he was on fire today. He linked up well with everyone and his goal was top class. He came forward with good effect and also tracked back well. He did make a couple of mistakes, examples of giving the ball away, but that cannot dampen his performance.
Bodin 8.5 – He played well at times on the wing and sometimes showed skill. But he did show laziness and played sloppy passes at times.
Howe 7.5 – Even though he scored with great skill, he did show so much laziness and didn’t jump when balls were in the air. It was frustrating, but he did show class in his goal and strength at times.
Stevens 8 - I thought Danny played very well and was disappointed that he came off. He played well up the wing and scored with skill. H e also linked up well with the players around him.
Atieno 6.5 – He came on at HT and didn’t play too well; he lacked in everything to be honest which was a shame.
Mcphee 5 – He put in effort by running around the pitch at the back defending but didn’t do a lot up front.
Leadbitter 3 –Wasn’t on long enough to be given a proper rating.

We go on to play Hereford at home on Saturday.