FL2: Torquay Utd v Morecambe 27th Oct 2012

Lingy still mulling over his right back quandary!

www.torquayunited.com/news/article/danny-or-joe-448134.aspx

Pre match optimism reigns, and for good reason. The sun is shining for the first time since Shergar was kidnapped and Lord Lucan disappeared - or at least thats what it feels like and there's an air of confidence about the squad and supporters. Underdogs last Tuesday and clear favourites today with Morcambe missing two or three of their main threats it should be a comfortable three points. Been here before so many times so I will expect the unexpected as usual and won't be to disappointed if it doesn't turn out that way, there's no reason why the opposition should be any weaker and just as Danny Leadbitter came in and did a super job for us they to will have players wanting to make a similar impression.
Still very hopeful of our first sequence of back to back wins since March which in itself shows how inconsistent we have been of late.

Leadbitter starts. Good

Back-to-back (at home). Up to 7th. Meanwhile, Exeter and Plymouth continue their slides. All rosy at the moment

You obviously didn't watch this performance then James.
If this match was a lame horse I would have shot it long before it died of its own accord. Completely bereft of skill, imagination, and worst of all entertainment, It really was that bad I wanted to go home half way through the second half .. Stick it out I did and witnessed one small glimmer of light in the shape of Niall Thompson. Why isn't he starting a few more?
This was the sort of match,when you have been watching the Gulls for 40 + years, where you wonder why you didn't stay at home an catch up with some decorating or go Christmas shopping with the wife. No doubt there will be a few who will disagree ;D. Really cannot be bothered to write report sufice to say that at least three footballs were lost over the top of Bristow's Bench, the half time crossbar challenge was drawn three times and nobody could be arsed to go and have a go, even the 50/50 draw winner didnt bother to collect. It was that sort of afternoon set up perfectly for entertainment after Tuesday night and a beautiful sunny day and an encouraging bonding huddle from the players before KO but there you have it and if Morcambe had had their full complement of forwards available we would more than likely have been stuffed.
Oh well 3 more points towards safety!

A pretty dull game to watch today but as the cliche goes most of us would take a dull 1-0 win anytime for another 3 priceless points. It was bitterly cold at Plainmoor today and a swirling wind must have been difficult for the players to deal with. My immediate problem today was dealing with the freezing cold after having a heavy cold all week. What I discovered today is that it is even colder in the Bristow Bench. I had to sit back a few rows as opposed to our preferred front row. I thought there was a lack of atmosphere amongst the 2,457 fans, only 20 to 30 hardy souls from Morcambe all sat in the Bristow Bench. The Pop Side was pretty quiet without much chanting. Perhaps the crowd was waiting for the performance to get them going which was not forthcoming.

Morcambe started the brighter and should have taken an early lead. A free-kick was floated over, Poke came out and got nowhere near the ball and a header ended up on the roof of the net. A big let-off and Poke got away with that one thankfully. Torquay did their normal patient build up but there was not much space to exploit and it was mainly a midfield battle with few clear-cut chances.

Torquay's goal on 30 minutes came out of the blue. Bodin put through Stevens and for once Torquay got behing Morcambe's defence on the edge of the penalty area on the left. Stevens took it towards the keeper Roche and placed the ball neatly past the keeper off the far post into the net. Morcambe had a couple of decent chances to equalize in the first half. Poke made one excellent diving tip-over save. Bodin summed up his performance in the first half. He showed some great footwork in getting himself into a scoring position in the penalty only to trip over himself and lose the ball! Did he go to the same football academy as Chris McPhee? So 1-0 half-time.

So onto to the second half and we opted to sit in the Family Stand for a bit more warmth and to sit near my vocal friends for some entertainment and banter as there was not too much to get excited about on the pitch. Compared to the Bristow Bench, what a horrible view but at least it was livlier in the crowd compared to the subdued Bristow Bench fans. The game did open up more and Torquay got some decent chances to finish the match off. Bodin had the best of the lot being through on goal 1-on-1 with the keeper without a defender on him. He tried to chip the keeper even though the keeper had not committed himself. It was a tame effort that keeper Roche easily clawed away. A few minutes later Bodin had a great chance to make ammends with a clear sight on goal in the penalty towards our right. This time the ball was hit wildly off target. Thompson later came on for Bodin and a little later Easton on for goalscorer Stevens.

Howe had some good glimpses of the goal but his shooting, although a lot better than Bodin, could not find the target. Howe was replaced by Jarvis near the end. Morcambe gave it their all in the closing stages and there were some tense moments for Torquay as they had some dangerous free-kicks and corners. Much credit has to go to Downes and Saah for dealing with Morcambe's attacks impeccably all afternoon. I like the look of Leadbitter at right back as he offers great pace when going forward.

The funniest part was when Roche went up for a couple of Morcambe's corners in added time and both times he nearly scored. When he ran back into his penalty area he received good applause from Torquay fans in the Family Stand and pretended to be out of breath. It livened up in the main a dull encounter.

Still 3 points and a very healthy looking league position. Today reminded me of last season when we found the knack of winning 1-0 without looking too convincing. It's not a bad knack to find again. My own opinion is that with Lathrope back we are looking nice and solid with Downes and Saah a tower of strength at the back. We have got players who on form can hurt the opposition. It's good to see players like Mansell, Nicholson and Stevens start scoring this season in recent matches. I wonder if it's any coincidence they have started scoring since Lathrope has been back? We cannot leave all the scoring to Rene. I just hope Bodin can start to find his shooting boots as right now it is woeful. We know from last season on loan here he HAS got the ability. If he can it could make a big difference to out hopes this season as he is getting the chances.