NL: Torquay United v Guiseley 3pm 5 September 2015

Beware the ides of Braintree at home last season!

Just watching the Welling v Tranmere and I could have sworn they said that Gary Brabin got promoted or was in the playoffs with Torquay 6 years ago ??

Thanks for that Rob, after picking up a knee injury a couple of years ago, know how tricky and long they take to heal!

I see Quigley is being rested with Malachi getting his first start! Richards picked up an injury in training yesterday so Briscoe to start in the hole behind Fisher and Malachi!

Right, off to the game!

Did not hear the attendance figure but guessed around 1500 today - very worrying - that Cheltenham match really hurt us....

An interesting match where I felt we rode our luck at times and came away thinking a draw was a good result today. The game itself was not without incident and was entertaining to an extent but that bit of quality was sadly lacking at times...

For the first quarter of the match we started slowly and Guiseley dominated. From a corner, Spiess made a very good save from a strong header delivered from a corner and just outside the angle of the six yard box and his reactive hand just got enough on it to deflect it over the bar. Another time, Guiseley were through but shot over the bar when a subtle chip over Spiess would probably had found the net. The main threat did come from set pieces with one free kick cannoning off the right hand post with Spiess well beaten and another just wide of the left hand post. Spiess did have a good half though and smartly got down to a number of through balls, one of which was when their player was clear and he grabbed it off his toes. Directly in front of the match sponsors, it was enough to earn him man of the match later on...

Next, Exodus was to feature strongly in the match for ten minutes. This was after things seemed to be turning with Malachi who had a very good game managed to nick the ball off their player and put Butler through and his cross which was hit hard and low was just agonisingly too hard for Fisher to get on the end of and divert. Malachi then managed to nick the ball in their area and his pass looked to have earned us a penalty as Briscoe seemed to be fouled but the ref ruled a goal kick. From this, Guiseley were able to get possession in our area and although their player had his back to goal and was travelling out of the area, Exodus spied the opportunity to kick the ball but was too slow and hit their player's leg instead for a clear but incredibly soft Penalty which was duly dispatched by Dickinson.

A few minutes later, with had another opportunity for a set piece with an Exodus long throw and after some desperate defending, Exodus was there to bundle the ball home with the lino mercifully keeping his flag down! The match almost changed again when from a cross in, Exodus got their player and the ball mixed up again to scythe him down for an even clearer penalty! However, inexplicable the ref waved play on, no doubt not believing his eyes that anyone who had just given a penalty away a few minutes before could be stupid!!!!

So 1-1 at half time, could we use our good fortune to get that all important win? Unfortunately, not! The game did open up and we had chances but the delivery into the box was not quite there. Fisher once again just eluded a low hit hard cross after sliding in again and Quigley had a storming run that their covering defender was able to just scramble clear which represented our best chances. Guiseley were able to get clear from a long ball to once again hit the inside of the post and somehow stay out! Also a good dipping shot from them only just cleared the bar. Some very late pressure in injury time but it was not meant to be....
!

Paul Cox says 2 points dropped! link with herald match report

Today was the second match I've seen this season, the first being our opening win against Macclesfield. The truth of the matter is that Torquay were fortunate to escape with a point today as Guiseley had the clearer chances throughout the match. I thought Guiseley looked more cohesive and played a better brand of football. I can't say I'm impressed with Paul Cox's style of football thus far. It's primitive stuff launching the ball down the channels in hope than expectation. There's little imagination or flair on show. At least Hurst playing right wingback has quality and I was also impressed with loanee Smith at the back. I like big Exodus at the back for his physical presence and character and also his lethal weapon from his long throws. Sponsors MOTM Speiss had a very good game in goal and saved us from an embarrassing defeat. Crowd a dismal 1,558 with 65 from Guiseley.

Guiseley may have been a tad fortunate winning their penalty but it was no more than they deserved. Before that they had 3 clear chances. Spiess made a fine tip over reaction save, Guisesley hit the woodwork direct from a curling freekick and Guiseley were through on goal but luckily they panicked and messed up the shot. Torquay in contrast offered very little and looked there for the taking. Torquay appeared to be rewarded a penalty from a trip in the box but the referee was instead pointing for a goal kick to be taken. The next minute there was a bit of contact from Exodus in our box, their player went down easily and the referee DID point towards the spot. The penalty was dispatched sending Speiss the wrong way. Torquay equalised through a scruffy goal, there was a scramble in their box and Exodus, our centre half, scored from close range. Oh well a goal is a goal however they go in and we desperately needed that one.

Torquay did improve in the second half and were on top. One or two dangerous crosses came in but no-one was alert enough to finish them. In fact Torquay looked very toothless in attack and in midfield and our wingbacks was our best hope of producing something. Lavelle-Moore showed some decent footwork in beating their players and tried 1 or 2 efforts on goal. Fisher on the otherhand was having a poor game in attack and needs to anticipate more any chances. In midfield new boy Heslop was poor most of the time with erratic passing and Torquay on the whole looked a disjointed mess of a team. Substitute Quidley made a great solo run near the end and his shot was just blocked but the sad truth is that Torquay's moves were all about hope and not expectation. You just hoped they might get another scrappy goal from a set piece. However Guiseley looked certain to score near the end only for the ball to bounce off the inside of the post.

It's a poor standard to watch I'm afraid. Hargreaves might have had his faults but at least there was a chance I would witness some inventiveness in our moves, some flair and the odd well crafted goal. Today there was little quality on show from Torquay, the 3-5-2 formation does not seem to be working as we don't seem to have options going forward and we look vulnerable at the back. Unless we improve our standard there is every chance we will be in for another relegation scrap. Right now we're like a jigsaw puzzle with very few parting fitting together!