NL: Torquay United v Barrow 3pm 23 April 2016

There was plenty of entertainment today and a bit of a shame Barrow equalized in added time. A draw was probably a fair scoreline. Barrow had the better chances in the 1st. half and led 1-0 but Torquay having made their 3 subs in the 2nd. half took control and seemed to be heading for a win. Anyway, a great atmosphere and a decent crowd of 2,874 with 100 or so from Barrow and everyone went home happy.

Most of the home crowd stayed behind after the match to celebrate the players lap of honour around the perimeter of the pitch. The supporters stayed off the pitch and there were plenty of handshakes exchanged and photos taken and a speech given by Nicholson. I thought it was very sporting that Paul Cox stood by the home dug-out and applauded our lap of honour. I noticed as well at the final whistle Nicholson and Cox had a handshake and big hug so it was good to see everyone ending up on friendly terms after all the trauma that's happened this season.

I thought Barrow looked very strong in the 1st. half. As you would expect from a Paul Cox team, they were strong, pressed the game and were very dangerous from set pieces, long throws included in their armoury. Barrow had countless corners in the 1st. half and it was mainly thanks to Moore, Torquay survived. There were numerous times the ball was in dangerous areas in our box and yet Barrow's goal was from a freak dodgy kick from Moore that hit Exodus on the back and went to their striker. He lobbed Moore beautifully. Torquay did create some decent chances as well at times, the pick being Harrad's audacious lob when their keeper was not in goal from way out that clipped the far post.

Ajala replacing Rees in the 2nd. half gave us more attacking impetus and Ajala did some great tackling as well. Richards scored arguably our goal of the season with an amazing shot from about 30 yards out into the top corner. A couple of minutes earlier I was just remarking to my son how anonymous Richards was! Torquay went up a gear and Chaney who replaced Allen showed delightful skill on the ball. Racchi who replaced Young showed his normal poise on the ball. Torquay's 2nd. goal was a beautifully worked goal. Chaney fed the ball to Butler on the left and his low cross was turned in powerfully by Blissett with a defender on him. Plainmoor erupted again and we were all in party mood. Barrow scored in added time and you have to say that during the whole match they had loads of chances so I cannot complain too much.

Today was a rare opportunity to relax and enjoy ourselves. Today's result was not so important but nevertheless the performance and quality of our goals were proof how far the team has progressed from those horrible dark days a few months ago. And well done to Paul Cox, his recent interview and his attitude today was very touching I thought. He seems an honourable person to me. I feel Barrow will be strong contenders next season.

Couple of points regarding the rules of the game and whether there were applied correctly today by the short and overweight 'ref':

1. If a player 'makes' a tackle with one or more feet with studs showing resulting in the 'defending' player having to jump out of the way to avoid a broken leg - why is that not a foul and/or a card?

2. If the opposing team score and openly celebrate in front of the home fans, is that not 'incitement' and a card should be produced?

Paul Cox - he can stick it up his ar*e.

He might be able to read the prepared script written for him by Cameron & The Remainians, and he might have succeeded in his desire to
get the bust of Churchill removed from the White House, but we didn't let Obama totally spoil our Plainmoor party on Saturday.

With Torbay proudly proclaiming itself as one of the most staunchly pro Brexit regions in Britain, it was no surprise that O'Bomber's threats and scare stories
were met with a two fingered 'Bugger Off Barry' response from locals in the Bay. The unfortunate side effect being that our American goalkeeper, Brendan Moore, who has to go out to walk his dog at least 4 times a day, will have been told on countless occasions just where his President can stick his E.U propaganda message.

Yesterday, poor Brendan couldn't have failed to notice that the few 'USA' USA' chants that could be heard at Plainmoor were far more muted than usual. The anti Obama hostility had clearly transmitted itself to our young keeper, to the extent that he made an uncharacteristic hash of a kick downfield, the ball cannoning off Exodus, and being picked up by Barrow's Tomlinson who executed a perfectly judged lob into our goal which left our American keeper floundering like Obama with a broken autocue.

Things had started off so well. Nathan Smith being presented with the diminutive 'Young Player of the Season' trophy, as well as the much more impressive Player of the Season' shield. If, in addition, there was an 'Individual Piece of Skill' award, then this season it would have been won by Ben Gerring for the shimmy, feint, drag back, and turn, that he performed in the 30th minute of yesterday's game, and which left his confused opponent with tangled legs.


And so we reached half time with the score reading Gulls 0 Obama 1.



Duncan won the 50/50 money by presenting ticket No.09037. While ticket No.09373 enabled Jamie to have three cracks at hitting the crossbar; he succeeded with his final attempt. All the while this was happening, the 'hosemen' waited patiently on the pitch for someone to make the necessary adjustments to the stopcock, allowing them to refresh the Plainmoor turf.


We played some good attacking football again in the early parts of the second half, but still couldn't seem to find a breakthrough. That is until Courtney Richards unleashed another of his specials that threatened to break the Barrow net as he put us level. For those who can't wait for the highlights, I'd recommend a Youtube viewing of the 1978 Holland v Italy clash to get an idea of the power and accuracy of Courtney's long distance shooting. Incidentally, any package calling itself 'highlights' that doesn't feature the Gerring turn, would be criminal.

More stylish combination play lead up to a close range goal from Nathan Blissett to give us the lead, but, just when it felt as though there could only be seconds to go, Cook showed good composure to slot home an equaliser for Barrow. In truth, it was no less than Barrow deserved; they look a very effective team, and our defence, missing the combined talents of Durrell, Nathan Smith, and Cap'n Angus wasn't at it's strongest. Taking that into account, and bearing in mind their limitations, my choice for MOM would have gone to either Ben Gerring or Exodus.

Of course ideally it would have been nice to round off the Plainmoor season with a win. The fact that we didn't had more to do with the White House than the Barrow training ground. Let's take our revenge on June 23rd.

I normally read his posts with a smile on my face as he has his own satirical perspective on events that I would just leave to other members to conclude as to whether some of his connections fit seamlessly into the grand scheme of things. I cannot recall any USA chants yesterday at the game so maybe there is a valid point buried somewhere in there!

I must admit too enjoying alpine joes writings on the forum and like him will vote out on June 23rd not that is anything to do with tufc ,but I must be going totally Mutt and Jeff as I not once heard chants of USA USA yesterday,maybe it's time I got hearing aids