FL2: Torquay Utd v AFC Wimbledon 1/1/13

This was a desperately disappointing performance and result today and does not bode well for the rest of the season. Torquay are gradually sliding down the table and the squad was very thin on the ground today. That said the team should have performed much better against bottom of the table Wimbledon and Torquay got what they deserved in the end. I really have to question Ling's decisions today as well. There was never a proper threat going forward today and putting Craig again in the right wing did not help. Easton is a defensive midfielder and it seemed a crazy decision in the second half when Craig was substituted for Thompson. It made obvious sense to put Craig in central midfield and take Easton off to add more of an attacking threat. The Bristow Bench booed when Craig was taken off. Crowd 2,618, around 300 to 400 I guess from Wimbledon and it was the first time I've seen the away end open for a while.

There were a couple of firsts for me today. We brought 2 tickets through the turnstiles as usual but we had allocated seats we had to sit in. It turned out we were near the back of the Bristow Bench at the Family Stand end of the pitch. It's the first time I've sat that far back but the view was great and it was a little warmer. The Big Screen made its debut. I thought the quality of the colours and resolution was impressive. It was used for adverts - they were shown thoughout the game. At half-time the Big Screen did show sky sports football scores. Overall I was pretty impressed with it and if it makes money for the club that can only be a good thing. The pitch itself looked dreadful. Towards the Family Stand in front of the dug-out there was heavy sanding and the ball got held up in this area.

Now onto the match and Torquay made a horrible start in conceding after 5 minutes. Over came a cross from Wimbledon on their right when they were not closed down and worse still they scored with a simple header from close range. Fortunately Torquay responded by equalizing within 5 minutes with a bit of a scrambled goal with Mansell scoring from close range after a Stevens shot was saved. Torquay played reasonably well without carving out too many clear-cut chances. Yeoman looked quite lively and had a close of shots. Rene did his usual sterling job of holding the ball up and laying it off well. Torquay seemed in control of the game and at times played some decent moves. However on 33 minutes another bit of lax defending let in Wimbledon clear inside the penalty area and Mitchel-King planted the ball past Poke well into the far corner. This clearly shook Torquay who I don't think really recovered from this second set-back. Any momentum Torquay had seemed to get lost and for the rest of the match Torquay struggled to get going.

Torquay kicked towards the Family Stand in the second half and had to contend with Wimbledon's defence and all the sanded areas in that half. Easton had Torquay's clearest chance when put through well from Yeoman but shot weakly at Wimbledon's 42 year old keeper, Sullivan. Ling made 3 substitutions in the second half. Halpin and Thompson came on for the quiet Stevens and surprisingly Craig in a double substitution which effectively changed both our wingers. Halpin made one good run and low cross on the left but no-one was there to tap the ball in from cllose range. Thompson later on made some of his trademark decent runs on the right. Later on Lathrope replaced Easton - a defensive midfielder replacing a defensive midfielder? It was hardly going to change the course of the match.

In truth Torquay tried but struggled to put any sort of pressure on Wimbledon. Torquay looked so lightweight going forward devoid of ideas against the league's bottom club. It was depressing viewing.

Salvation we thought had come on 90 minutes when Howe headed in a Nicholson corner at the far post. Even so I had an uncomfortable feeling and I would have been reasonably happy with a point. My concerns were confirmed when in added time Downes chopped down a Wimbledon player in the box and a penalty was awarded. Long thumped the penalty down the middle past Poke and out poured loads of Torquay fans.

We sat in the Family Stand in the second half. The Wimbledon directors went mad at the full-time whistle. Good luck to them and some Torquay fans sportingly gave them their best wishes. It was our turn to suffer today. Only some funny banter with goalkeeper Sullivan livened up a depressing second half. As I said good luck to Wimbledon, they are fighting for survival.

As for Torquay, I will be pleased to see Saah return from suspension and hopefully shore up the defence better from lapses as witnessed today. But it is offensively we are so short. We certainly need Bodin and Jarvis back soon and Ling is not helping matters by sticking our most creative midfielder out wide. A bad run in the next few weeks will see us with the bottom pack. There were some unpleasant warning signs today and it was up there with the disastrous FA Cup defeat against Harrogate