Post by Swanny on Oct 18, 2014 17:50:40 GMT
Another self inflicted defeat I'm afraid in a match that Torquay played very well for long periods but came away with nothing. Last week it was the central defence at fault and the bizarre selection of Richards as centre half. This week it was Martin Rice's turn who is now making a habit of handing goals to the opposition. Even the Grimsby supporters were signing "nice one Ricey....let's have another one". A great game for the neutral but another frustrating giveaway from a Gulls perspective. Crowd 2,353, 250+ from Grimsby, sponsors and Twitter MOTM deservedly going to Luke Young who added another stunner to his collection.
Torquay started fantastically and had chances galore in the first 10 minutes. I lost count of the times Torquay had decent efforts pushed over the bar by their keeper. Bowman had a close range effort kicked off the line. Grimsby had one effort from a header that was parried well from Rice but it was virtually all Torquay but no goal to count for all their early efforts. The game evened out more as the half wore on and on 38 minutes Grimsby took the lead from a quality volley just inside our penalty box that gave Rice no chance. This clearly annoyed Rice and a few minutes later Rice had a verbal at a home supporter for having a go at him for a poor clearance into touch. Young equalized curling a free-kick over the wall into the far corner of the net - another amazing effort. Just when it seemed Torquay had the impetus, Rice had a rush of blood right on half-time rushing to the edge of his area to gather a Grimsby through ball. He did not get there in time and it gave the Grimsby striker an easy task of slotting the ball into an unguarded net. A needless giveaway. It was quite ridiculous that Torquay went in at half-time losing bearing in mind all the chances and corners they had.The referee did not help matters in the first half by not spotting a couple of blatant Grimsby hand balls in their box, not booking any Grimsby players for rash challenges and then booking Torquay players Young and Tonge for trivial challenges - Young is now suspended next week.
Torquay had a very good attitude in the second half and got into Grimsby again. O'Archie replaced the quiet Cameron. O'Archie won a corner and Downes scored heading downwards from a Young delivery on 61 minutes. It was the least Torquay deserved. Again just when Torquay were building up a good head of steam for a winner, Rice again made a hash of things. A Grimsby header was saved low down however Rice carried the ball over his own line. This time there was no coming back. Chapell came on late for Ajala but there was not enough left in the tank for Torquay to pose much of a threat. If anything, Grimsby looked the more likely in the closing stages. There was still plenty of effort to the final whistle but Torquay's countless chances had already come and gone. It was a game Torquay should have comfortably won but instead lost. Sadly this is becoming a habit. There was stunned silence at the final whistle and then a decent applause for the Torquay players by the home support. In many respects it was an excellent performance.
Most outfield players put in very good performances. There was plenty of good movement and skills and plenty of chances created. Our central midfield pairing of Young and Richards looked very strong. Our defence looked solid and our full-backs had decent games. Ajala and Briscoe had their moments of skill. Sadly we did not convert enough chances and Rice's form is now very suspect again. You feel he will give away a soft goal at least one a game. Well today it looked like he was at fault for 2 goals that rocked Troquay out of their rhythm both times and in the end cost us 3 vital points. Surely it is time to give Seabright a chance in goal.
Torquay started fantastically and had chances galore in the first 10 minutes. I lost count of the times Torquay had decent efforts pushed over the bar by their keeper. Bowman had a close range effort kicked off the line. Grimsby had one effort from a header that was parried well from Rice but it was virtually all Torquay but no goal to count for all their early efforts. The game evened out more as the half wore on and on 38 minutes Grimsby took the lead from a quality volley just inside our penalty box that gave Rice no chance. This clearly annoyed Rice and a few minutes later Rice had a verbal at a home supporter for having a go at him for a poor clearance into touch. Young equalized curling a free-kick over the wall into the far corner of the net - another amazing effort. Just when it seemed Torquay had the impetus, Rice had a rush of blood right on half-time rushing to the edge of his area to gather a Grimsby through ball. He did not get there in time and it gave the Grimsby striker an easy task of slotting the ball into an unguarded net. A needless giveaway. It was quite ridiculous that Torquay went in at half-time losing bearing in mind all the chances and corners they had.The referee did not help matters in the first half by not spotting a couple of blatant Grimsby hand balls in their box, not booking any Grimsby players for rash challenges and then booking Torquay players Young and Tonge for trivial challenges - Young is now suspended next week.
Torquay had a very good attitude in the second half and got into Grimsby again. O'Archie replaced the quiet Cameron. O'Archie won a corner and Downes scored heading downwards from a Young delivery on 61 minutes. It was the least Torquay deserved. Again just when Torquay were building up a good head of steam for a winner, Rice again made a hash of things. A Grimsby header was saved low down however Rice carried the ball over his own line. This time there was no coming back. Chapell came on late for Ajala but there was not enough left in the tank for Torquay to pose much of a threat. If anything, Grimsby looked the more likely in the closing stages. There was still plenty of effort to the final whistle but Torquay's countless chances had already come and gone. It was a game Torquay should have comfortably won but instead lost. Sadly this is becoming a habit. There was stunned silence at the final whistle and then a decent applause for the Torquay players by the home support. In many respects it was an excellent performance.
Most outfield players put in very good performances. There was plenty of good movement and skills and plenty of chances created. Our central midfield pairing of Young and Richards looked very strong. Our defence looked solid and our full-backs had decent games. Ajala and Briscoe had their moments of skill. Sadly we did not convert enough chances and Rice's form is now very suspect again. You feel he will give away a soft goal at least one a game. Well today it looked like he was at fault for 2 goals that rocked Troquay out of their rhythm both times and in the end cost us 3 vital points. Surely it is time to give Seabright a chance in goal.
