NL: Torquay United v Guiseley 3pm 3 March 2017

It was a case of deja vu at Plainmoor today after last week's disaster. Torquay blew it again big style just like last week. Like last week, we were 1-0 up and this week we were playing against 10 men for the last 40 minutes as a Guiseley player got shown a second yellow. At that stage Torquay were well in command but should have been more than 1-0 ahead. But again Torquay shot themselves in the foot big style. Two soft goals conceded and Torquay's game went to pieces and they had no reply. Crowd 1,446 with 60 odd from Guiseley, sponsors MOTM deservedly going to the outstanding Luke Young. Youngy playing in an advanced role supporting striker Williams was pulling all the strings with his class and was head and shoulders above anything else in a yellow shirt. The sad thing is that with Torquay destined for Conference South, we will not be seeing that sort of quality next season. Young's vision, work rate, skill and range of passing was a joy to watch. It was noticeable that amongst all the booing at the final whistle from the home fans, a special ovation was given to Luke Young only as he approached the home fans.

The only change today was at right back where Gallifuoco replaced the injured Hodgkiss. This sent alarm bells ringing in my ears as Torquay today were actually starting weaker than last week's capitulation and at least Hodgkiss is a proper right back and shows some good leadership. The game had barely got going when the referee was in distress and hobbled off and the game was held up for 8 minutes. Last week it was Sutton's goalkeeper, this week it was the referee - quite bizarre. The game took a while to get going but Torquay started to create some decent chances. Williams was through but the keeper saved with his legs. Shortly afterwards, Verma smashed a stunning shot from about 25 yards in a central position that hit the post and went in.

With Young instrumental in their moves, Torquay made some decent moves at times. Williams headed against the cross bar from a corner and Sparkes when through brought a decent save from their keeper. Torquay were well on top but there was uncertainty when defending corners. Lathrope came to the rescue in quick succession to save Torquay from corners, one a fine clearance off the line. Moore was staying on his line which did not help matters. Torquay were good value for their interval lead and 2-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the game.

Chances again came begging for Torquay in the second half but mainly poor finishing meant that Torquay did not score the all important second goal. Williams put a good chance over the bar and he was not the only culprit. We were wastful which was a shame as Torquay were playing some good stuff and were creating some clear chances, a rare thing these days. Guiseley's full back lunged in to Sparkes on the wing and got his second yellow and marching orders after 52 minutes with Torquay well in control of the game. Out of the blue on 64 minutes, Guiseley got the better our last defender just outside the box, Moore had come to the edge of the box effectively in no-mans land. The ball got taken past him with ease and slotted in. Poor defending and goalkeeping.
Torquay after the equaliser gradually lost their confidence. Harrad replaced Lathrope but again made absolutely no impact. Then just last week, the visitors took the lead with another soft goal. A free kick was flicked on and finished at close range. Torquay had no response. Chaney came on, he tried hard with the ball but was typically brushed off being too lightweight. Keating had his usual token last 5 minutes. Torquay's game descended into a farce. McGinty miscued into touch a couple of times as panic and uncertainty spread though the team. We had one or two corners but did not make them count. The fans starting getting restless and made their frustrations heard. The final whistle must have been unpleasant for the players (barring Young) and Nicholson with the boos and a chant of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" ringing in their ears.

It's all very sad but no surprise to me. We simply don't have the goal power in the team and today it was only a one-off wonder strike from Verma that we scored from. We did play well until Guiseley scored with some good build up play but we were too wasteful when presented with good chances. Reid in particular was awful with his shooting firing over the away end stand twice in the first half. In the second half Reid had a decent run on goal on the right but lost his footing and beat himself. At the other end, we are always liable to make a mistake in defence especially without Hodgkiss. Moore has got more indecisive and now gets caught in no-mans land. For the second week running this has cost a crucial goal. His kicking is wayward as well, so many of his kicks going out of play or being too weak.

As I said after last week's collapse, I fully expect us to get relegated for the reasons mentioned above. I was pleasantly surprised today when we took the lead and seemed to be coasting to a win. But then our failings again rose their ugly head. The biggest travesty is that in January the club totally failed to strengthen the team after the loss of Blissett and the imminent loss to Fitzpatrick. WE DESERVE TO GO DOWN AND WE WILL GET WHAT WE DESERVE!