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Post by Swanny on Mar 14, 2009 18:55:50 GMT
A comfortable, impressive win in the end after a bit of a wobble in the first half. Crowd 2,269, about 50 from Barrow including one huge flag, sponsors MOTM goal machine Benyon. I think the line-up took everyone by surprise. Bevan ofcourse in goal, Nicolson LB, Ellis and Hodges CB's with Robertson at RB. So no more Woods in defence after his swift departure, and Mansell on the bench not 100% fit. Another surprise in midfield with Wroe left midfield, Thompson and Hargreaves in the middle with Danny Stevens right wing. Up front surprisingly Sills recalled alongside Benyon.
Torquay made a strong start and the first 10 minutes we were camped in their half. There were some good interchanging of passing that opened up Barrow on more than one occasion. After 4 minutes Thompson threaded the ball through to Wroe, who dribbled the ball a bit, teed himself up, and finished confidently past the keeper from about 12 yards. A perfect start for Torquay. Things went badly wrong on 12 minutes. About 30 yards out on the left Hodges carelessly when in possession hit the ball against a nearby Barrow player who were through on goal on the left. They pulled the ball back into the penalty area and they hit the ball low and hard past Bevan taking a slight deflection on the way. It was alarming how much space Barrow had to finish in the penalty area, and you suddenly felt the loss of Woods who is so good at covering in those situations.
Torquay now lost their early dominance and self- doubts crept into their play. The match became something of a midfield battle and there were few outlets for Torquay. Stevens was the exception who was Torquay's main source of creativity, and it was Stevens vision that setup Torquay's second goal. After a run with the ball about 30 yards out Stevens played a delightful reverse ball through to Benyon clear on goal. And Benyon fully took the opportunity to crash the ball past the keeper. 2-1 at half-time which included 2 really well worked goals from open play.
At 2-1 and some clumsy defending at times I was still a bit on edge. The distribution from defence especially Ellis was poor at times. Barrow offered very little in attack in the second half. There was one freaky incident when a Barrow cross got held up in the wind and fell perfectly for their attacker. However he hit the side netting with a volley.
Tim Sills on 68 minutes put the game beyond Barrow's reach and again it was a beautifully crafted goal. Carlisle had come on for Thompson, with Carlisle going left wing and Wroe joining the injured looking Hargreaves in the middle of midfield. A Carlisle cross on the left was flicked on by Benyon's head right into the patch of Sills at the back post to nod home from a couple of yards. Benyon showed great vision to find Sills. 3-1 and Torquay were enjoying their best spell of the match and I liked the look of Carlisle on the left wing. Carlisle made one great run cutting in from the left and unleashing a beauty that was just parried by their keeper. Stevens had a similiar run and shot just over. There were plenty of raids on Barrow's goal and Wroe was through on the right and cut the ball back but Barrow just cleared. Green came on late for Benyon, and Green had the final say scoring from close range after a bit of a scramble. The ref's assistant flagged for offside but the referee had none of it and awarded the goal. Their keeper kept protesting and Barrow seem to lose their discipline. A wreckless challenge on Robertson (I think or was it Ellis ?) got their player a red card.
So a fine win in the end and it is so reassuring we have such a strong bench to change things around. Plus due to our strong squad a bit of team rotation means that we can use some fresh legs, like today with Stevens, Thompson and Ellis. Stevens took his opportunity well today and Benyon is becoming a really clever player as well as being a deadly finisher. I wasn't expecting to see Sills today so that was a bonus. At the back I will be pleased to see Mansell back at right back and we should then look more solid. I hope we don't miss Woods too much, and I would not be surprised to see Toddy back for the finale. Afterall there is no substitute for experience and Woods had that in abundance.
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tufc01
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Post by tufc01 on Mar 14, 2009 20:18:01 GMT
Great result, good performance and 3 points. You can’t ask for much more than that.
They lined up 4-4-2, with;
Bevan
Robertson Ellis Hodges Nicholson
Thompson Stevens Hargreaves Wroe
Benyon Sills
Although it wasn’t long before Thompson and Stevens swapped with each other.
The first 10 minutes was impressive. We almost scored in the first minute when a clever Sills flick on (oh how we have missed those) put Benyon through one on one with the advancing keeper, but Benyons chip just failed to clear him.
It was barely a minute later that we scored and a decent goal it was. Thompson intercepted a pass mid way in our own half, ran with the ball to the edge of their box, slipped a pass to Wroe who cut inside and beat the keeper from 12 yards.
More pressure from us and you start thinking ‘how many is it going to be?’, I still haven’t learnt my lesson here, because they go and score, with i believe their only shot on goal. A mistake by Hodges (With all the furore around centre halves & contracts, what a week to put in one of your worse performances) let their run to the line and pull it back for his team mate to score. We HAVE to cut out these mistakes if we are going to win this league. Apart from today, we are finding it hard to score so giving goals away will be very costly on the run in.
We also went to pieces for the next 20 minutes and it looked for a while as if Barrow were capable of scoring again, however the next goal settled the nerves. A fine run from Stevens and a neat through ball to Benyon, who was the only one to react, and he slipped it past the keeper. A perfect Benyon goal, the fox in the box sort of goal.
Second half we came out and were straight at them again with a couple more half chances. Carlisle was introduced for Thompson mid way through the second half and almost had an immediate impact. He picked the ball upon the wing cut inside beat 2 men, unleashed a ferocious shot from out side the box that the keeper did well to parry.
It wasn’t long though before we made it 3-1. A cross from Carlisle, a neat flick on from Benyon and a bullet header from Sills, well maybe it rolled down his face and wrong footed the goalie, but a goal never the less. Now it was one way traffic as Barrow tired and we grew in confidence, 6 or 7 wouldn’t have been harsh on them, however the fourth goal was harsh on them. With Green replacing Benyon , he found himself 2 yards offside when he poked the ball past the keeper, the ref gave it, the lino flagged, the Barrow players went nuts, they then got the ref to speak to the lino. I was stood nearby and the ref asked the lino if the ball deflected off the barrow player, which it did on the way through to Green, but he was offside when it did and when the ball was initially played. Anyway the ref overruled the lino and gave the goal. The Barrow goalie was apoplectic and when from the kick off they play went down to our back four the goalie went towards the half way line and gave the lino the winkers sign, not funny but I did laugh, he was lucky not to be booked.
I know these things even themselves out over the season i.e. Benyons goal against FGR ruled out, then Greens effort today ruled OK, both wrong decisions. The problem with that theory is that the FGR decision cost us 2 points, todays game was already done and dusted so didn’t make any difference, apart from the fact that i had a decent bet for 3-1 at 12/1.
The Barrow players were incensed and you could sense a frustrated tackle in the making, sure enough a two footed tackle on Robertson and a fully deserved straight red for their forward.
As i said before it was a good performance, the pluses were;
Wroe played well out wide on the left, seemed to make more of an impact there than he has in the middle recently, although he did drift inside a bit, until the wrath of Paul Buckle saw him back out left. Took his goal very well. He moved back into the centre of midfield when Carlisle came on for Thompson.
Sills another who had a good game, won the headers that had been missing since he has been out. Had that presence up front and got a goal. Makes me feel more confident when he is up front.
Stevens had his best game for a while, slow start but as the game wore on the better he got, great ball through for Benyons goal. Gives the manager a nice decision for next Saturday.
Carlisle impressive when he came on. He looked fresh, great run and shot before he set up Sills goal.
Benyon, worked tirelessly, took his goal well, was given man of the match. It could have been any one of 4 or 5 really.
Hargreaves quiet but steady.
Back four didn’t really have a lot to do. Ellis looked supremely confident throughout as he marshalled them. In fact he looked like the cat that got the cream, not surprisingly. He is still work in progress, a little bit naive but a strong lad who certainly doesn’t mind get his head in there. The future is bright for this lad and FULLY justifies buckles decision regarding the Woods saga.
Hodges was a little off his game today, his mistake for the goal.
Robertson & Ellis got forward for all set pieces and as often as they could.
Bevan picked the ball out of the net and collected a few crosses.
Green, who was asked at half time why he was a sub and replied with a shrug of the shoulders and said he didn’t know why, was keen and lively when he came on. His ball control does leave a bit to be desired but another who is work in progress. One game this season these young lads are all going to click on the same day and we will give someone a real good beating.
Missed the attendance, but they brought about 100 or so, so not a bad show from them.
Credit to Paul Buckle, picked a team that we didn’t really expect. Obviously it suited the opponents and got a well deserved 3 points. Barrow were no great shakes, but also far from the worst side we have seen this season, and they did fade badly in the last 15/20 minutes, but you can only beat what is put in front of you and i was pleased with the performance.
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Post by andygulls on Mar 14, 2009 21:21:58 GMT
Wroe played well out wide on the left, seemed to make more of an impact there than he has in the middle recently, although he did drift inside a bit, until the wrath of Paul Buckle saw him back out left. Took his goal very well. He moved back into the centre of midfield when Carlisle came on for Thompson. Agree with most of this report but have to disagree with this comment. Apart from his goal, where he cut inside in any event, Wroe for me was ineffective on the left. No pace to beat a man and terrible at tracking back defensively. Buckle switched him to centre mid at half time and put Thompson out left. In effect Carlisle then replaced Thommo in a "like for like" swap. As others have said a disjointed first half and a dominant second against a Barrow side that performed away from home in the way their record might suggest. They are a different proposition at home however and we will need to draw on our own excellent away form to get a result in a few weeks time. Difficult to separate Stevens and Benyon for my MOM. Great that 3 of our forwards grabbed a goal. Most results went well for us today and it's really hotting up! |
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Post by Budleigh on Mar 14, 2009 21:25:37 GMT
Bit confused, especially as I was some distance away and didn't really see it, but talking about the sending off to Mark Ellis after the game he was certain it was he who was fouled and even pointed to the area of the leg that he was caught?
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jamie
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Post by jamie on Mar 14, 2009 21:28:09 GMT
Thanks for the write ups people, staying in the middle of nowhere in the campervan so difficult getting info. ( the iPod phone is a wonderful invention though!) sounds like a well deserved win. Crowd about as expected I suppose, am I being slightly naive to hope this improves over the next few weeks given our form?
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Post by jmgull on Mar 14, 2009 21:41:17 GMT
A pleasant, spring like day......4 goals at home, Burton lose again and the chasing pack for the play offs fall further behind us......would have been perfect if the Greeks hadn't fluked another 3 points  Not too much to add to the already excellent match reports from Swangull and Tufc 01.....just an observation or two... We are now seeing last summer's decision to build a squad of 20 odd players that are ALL very capable of performing to a high level in this league start to bear fruit......it bears no resemblance at all to last year, when fresh legs were so obviously needed to maintain our challenge, sadly, the cupboard was bear. The fringe players were the star performers today for me.....Stevens had a very good game, given space he can hurt teams, Barrow couldnt handle him today. Thompson was full of drive in midfield and looked fresh and up for it. Ellis, for what he lacks in distribution more than makes up for it with heart and physical prescence......he attacked his defensive headers like a man possesed, taking out his months of frustration on the ball. Benyon took his goal nicely......a lovely pass from Stevens sure, but it was his great run across the back line that put him in on goal and the finish was clinical. MOM for him was a little generous i felt......Stevens shaded it for me. So 10 games to go...... The home straight is here, the winning post is in sight and Burton who looked "home and hosed" are now finding that every furlong is starting to feel like 2. The chasing pack are closing......we need to finish with a wet sail to catch them. After last seasons dreadful finale......wouldn't it be justice if we got up on the line to force a photo finish for the last game of the season. Gulls...to get there (distance.....a beak)  |
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Post by ohtobeatplainmoor on Mar 14, 2009 22:40:29 GMT
I echo the the thoughts of JM - Robertson, Ellis, Thompson, Stevens all came-in from the "fringes" today and performed excellently today.
Although I would have picked Benyon for MOTM for his all-round contribution, but I think that the contributions from Stevens and Ellis were stand-out performances and I wouldn't have been in disagreement had they been awarded it.
Ellis' performance was aggressive and commanding, he looked extremely sharp after such a lack of first-team football in recent months.
Sills had a dazzling performance as well, Hargreaves was his usual self bt played higher up the pitch than usual (and to excellent efffect) - but then no-one played badly today.
Wroe looked lost for a while (although it was a tidy finish) but I thought he came into the game more and more and I felt that he had more and more of an impact as the game wore-on.
I found the match to be hugely entertaining - some of our attacking play was the best that I have seen for some time (certainly in the BSP). Intelligent possession, incisive passing and some real classy flowing moves meant that 4-1 flattered Barrow come the end.
Carlisle had a fearsome effort on goal after he jinked around about 4 of their players and he looked really lively when he came-on.
It was a decent ref today IMO. He was forced to get the book out when Barrow's legs started to tire and they were lucky to have 10 on the pitch with some hilarious dissent from their keeper and left-back. Thankfully Robertson wasn't injured by the shocking straight-red challenge - it' a shame as he will miss the Cambridge match next week but there was no doubt from the second he flew-in that he was going to have first go with the Radox.
I believe that the Green goal appeared offside at first, but looked like the ball was played to Green by a Barrow player. Still - it was already 3-1, they hadn't managed a decent attack for much of the second half and the game was as good as over - I could have undersood the reaction it if it was 1-1 at the time.
With regards to Barrow as a team, they payed far better than their league position suggested for much of the first 2 thirds of the match, although they faded badly in the final third. Their support (about 110) was just like when we used to get Bury, Rochdale or Halifax down here - not the biggest in terms of numbers but very good voice and spirits.
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tufc01
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Post by tufc01 on Mar 14, 2009 22:58:23 GMT
Another good thing about our result today, and the results around the BSP, is that we are now in a position where we are in control of our own destiny. If you were to assume that everyone wins their games in hand, we are now in a strong position and possibly coming into form at about the right time of the season.
With the exception of hoping that Burton drop 3 more points, we only have to concentrate on our games. We are not relying on 3 or 4 other teams losing. We don't have to keep half an ear on what everyone else is doing, just focus on us getting the 3 points each game, the rest will take care of itself.
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Mar 14, 2009 23:42:33 GMT
Many thanks for the excellent match reports, a real pleasure to read after having to go out tonight, to yet another family party.
I heard the game on the radio and it sounded much as described in your match reports, a good day and with Burton slipping up again things are really starting to look interesting. Toddy seems to be helping our cause so well but I would hope we will soon see him playing in the heart of our defense.
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Mar 15, 2009 7:53:24 GMT
A very enjoyable match for the spectator and the team were loudly applauded off the pitch. Even Stevens, who went down injured with the last kick of the match, deservedly had his own personal round of applause following the players off the field a minute later. I would agree that all the fringe players played well but would have preferred Carlisle to start on the left wing. Stevens and Robertson on the right worked today but could be subject to some pressure from a better placed team. Nice to see Benyon get a goal after starting and with him teeing up Sills header they are forming a nice partnership together! (Quite an intimate goal celebration with each other as well  ) Even with my rose tinted glasses on, was very unsure about the Green goal although it was somewhat academic then in terms of the match. Their keeper really lost it and when it was finally awarded promptly kicked the ball out of the ground and earnt himself a yellow ;D Onwards and up the gulls  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2009 9:09:02 GMT
Well, when I heard the interview on Radio Devon today, I'm certain before the main parts of the interview already quoted that Buckle said the "Sacking of Steve Woods" Thanks for this, Rattz, because it's encouraged me to have a listen to the interview on the BBC Devon site - the part about Steve Woods starts around 19 mins 45 secs of Extra Time (follow link from Listen Again). Quite often Radio Devon blows things up by teasing answers out of polite managers - I've heard it done to Buckle, Tisdale and Sturrock recently - and turning it into a "Paul X speaks out about..." or "Paul Y takes a stand against...." exclusive. Good grief they even had Martyn Rogers "saying" Tivvy could win the FA Trophy. Listen again and he's meekly answering a question where he does everything short of saying it would be impossible for them to win it. This interview is different because Paul Buckle himself starts to steer the topic towards Steve Woods. He desereves credit for this and he - or the club - must have seen the interview as part of the process of announcing Woodsie's departure. Rattz has spotted the awkward moment after which I feel Paul Buckle handles the situation well and gives a fair and reasoned assessment of the situation. Having just heard Radio Devon's 8.20 am sports bulletin - which featured a 15 second soundbite - I'm glad they didn't choose to run it as a "sacking of Steve Woods" story. Meanwhile, some good observations about the performance of certain "squad" players yesterday. I was only checking the programme before kick-off to see how rarely some players have played: Ellis 7+1 sub in the league; Adams 1+2; Brough 1+1. That does seem an expensive luxury but who's to say the title won't be decided on the final day with a last minute Ellis winner followed by Steve Adams clearing off the line? Or might Michael Brough score the winning penalty at Wembley and Toddy win Man of the Match? Yes, I'm sure others are right when they make comments on the benefits of having such a strong squad. There could many twists and turns in the use of players over the next few weeks. It's been so different to last season when we often ventured into the loan market - nine by my reckoning? - and it makes you wonder what the intention is for next season. Same again or a smaller squad with, hopefully, astute use of loan players? To reduce a squad is always hard for a football club especially if the "right" players aren't finishing their contracts at the "right" time. Age, contract length, wage, form, potential, market value - it would make for an excellent allocation of scarce resources case studies in an applied economics textbook (or, indeed, a personnel management handbook). Not easy! |
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cav
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Post by cav on Mar 15, 2009 11:59:27 GMT
The reason Green's goal stood was because the ball cannoned off a Barrow defender leaving him onside (which the referee spotted) but unfortunately the linesman didn't! Hence the flag and the protests!! |
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merse
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Post by merse on Mar 15, 2009 11:59:45 GMT
Well, when I heard the interview on Radio Devon today, I'm certain before the main parts of the interview already quoted that Buckle said the "Sacking of Steve Woods" Paul Buckle himself starts to steer the topic towards Steve Woods. He deserves credit for this and he - or the club - must have seen the interview as part of the process of announcing Woodsie's departure. Rattz has spotted the awkward moment after which I feel Paul Buckle handles the situation well and gives a fair and reasoned assessment of the situation.  There's nothing on there that sounds remotely like the word "sacking" to me, are you sure you didn't mis hear the word "what's happened"?I agree with Bartie, the manager's handled it perfectly correctly and satisfactorily as far as club, player and supporters are concerned. The player wished to force the issue now and got his answer. That was his perogative and the outcome for him, club and supporters is of his volition. Those who wanted a "last hurrah for Woods occasion" should make their point to the player, I don't see why the interests of the club and the very important focus on attaining promotion should take second place to that. Perhaps Mr Woods would care to come back and make the half time draw. In the meantime, with his pay off; I'm sure he could manage a few games for Weymouth or Salisbury to keep himself in the shop window. Right ~ it's a lovely Spring day, I'm off out with the family to enjoy it! |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Mar 15, 2009 13:09:57 GMT
There's nothing on there that sounds remotely like the word "sacking" to me, are you sure you didn't mis hear the word "what's happened"?I heard the interview in the car home and thought Bucks said "what's happened with Woodsie" but listening again I do think he said "the sacking of Woodsie" - it's at 19:53 on the listen again link. A slip of the tongue - easy to say the wrong thing under pressure. Other than that slip, which I didn't even notice on first hearing, I thought Buckle handled the interview very well. |
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Post by andygulls on Mar 15, 2009 13:10:22 GMT
Well I've already been out and enjoyed a wonderful walk on Woodbury Common with my dog. It's taken a long time to clean her up though. ;D
I come back on here for a quick look and find myself agreeing with Merse again. At no time do I hear the word sacking.
That's 3 times in 2 days.......I wonder if there's a stat for that somewhere? ;D ;D
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