FL2: Torquay United v Cheltenham 1st December 2009

...."How are that lot where they are in the league".......an overheard comment from a Cheltenham fan on the way out nicely summed up tonights performance for me.

We had pace and power up front tonight and what a difference! An exhilarating performance.......which could have led to us giving Cheltenham an even heavier "mullering" than we did.

Jake Thomson.......scared them to death every time he got the ball with his brilliant running and blistering pace......he was tremendous, scored a great 3rd goal after yet another mazy run to top off a MOM performance.
He was run close for that award by the 2 strikers.......Zeb just looks so much more natural in a central position and with better finishing could have easily had a hat trick.......his pace and power were more than Cheltenham could cope with. Rendell was perhaps the biggest bonus though, he played the "Sills" role to perfection tonight and some of his touches and lay offs linked the play brilliantly and showed a touch of class.
Defensively we got better as the night wore on.....some slack marking on two or three occasions in the 1st half really should have led to at least one Cheltenham goal........their finishing was thankfully woeful. It will be nice to see Charnock back there for the next game.

Wroe, Hargreaves and Carlisle had the midfield sown up for most of the night as we coasted to victory, shame we didn't top it off with more goals....but with this kind of attacking performance, Cheltenham won't be the last side to take a proper beating at Plainmoor this season.

.....Big corner turned tonight!

Well done the lads. A very handsome win indeed. The small rise up the table is little reward for the hard work and effort put in by the team during October and November to try and reverse the 4 straight defeats in September. We're still some distance from the trees but tonights win is very encouraging against a side who battered Barnet 5-1 last weekend. Good stuff.

In a stark reminder to where we've progressed from I went to see Hayes and Yeading V Eastbourne Borough this evening. H&Y were hopeless, Eastbourne weren't too bad but it ended in a 1-1 draw with Hayes getting a very iffy penalty in injury time. A game watched by about 300 hardy souls and about four Peelers bored out of their tiny minds. It makes Shrewsbury look like some sort of futuristic promise land. Although at least you can park in the club car park for a quid.

What a terrible night at Plainmoor, no I don’t meant the football but the weather, the rain was driving down in a strong swirling wind that forced me and everyone else to stand further back on the popside and not on my normal place behind the front rail.

Bucks got the team selection spot on, the super brilliant Thomson on one wing, they brilliant Carlisle on the other, and Rendell and Zebs up front and when was the last game played when both our strikers scored a goal?

Tonight’s result is no more than the team deserve, game on game that have been improving, playing much better football, but not getting the reward their effort and work rate deserved. Tonight they did and the 2122 fans (104 away fans) who braved the weather also go their reward

Each and every player gave everything and Rendell showed why I have been saying for so long, we need to play him upfront. It’s his ability to play clever passes that bring others into the game. OK a few went astray, but he has not had that much football lately and Bucks needs to stick with Rendell and Zebs upfront together on Saturday.

No player form Cheltenham could live with Tomson, he ran past them like they were not there, yes he maybe have been a bit greedy a few times, but no one could deny him the great goal he scored and he was rightly the sponsors player of the match, but in such conditions, all our players deserved to win it really.

We started the game of brightly with some neat passing and Carlisle was the first to have a pop at goal, but just after that we won the ball in the middle of the park, played the ball out to Tomson who got his head down and ran toward the box, cut inside and hit a shot just wide of the post.

We looked well in control but then Hargreaves made a poor clearance that hit a Cheltenham player and the ball went back toward our box out wide, the winger drilled the ball to the near post and the forward poked the ball just past the post.

Tomson was soon on anther great run and he once again cut inside toward the edge of the middle of the box, made it look like he was going to shoot, but played in Zebs inside the left hand side of the box, Zebs shot across the keeper and a defender toed the ball around the far post.

It was clever play from Rendell that started the move for our first goal, he cleverly played a ball around the corner to Hargreaves, who played it to Zebs feet, just inside the right hand side of the box, Zebs hit a thunderous drive, that clipped the left hand post as it went, in, the shot gave the keeper no chance at all.

Cheltenham won three or four free kicks just outside our box all game, but they were blocked each time by our wall, the first one they got there was a clear foul on Hargreaves on the halfway line, nothing was given and as the ball went toward the edge of our box, Ellis fouled his man.

Poke made a bit of a mess up when he came for one ball and also badly miss kicked a clearance, but he showed why he is highly rated with a great reaction save from a shot by Hayles.

Zebs nearly got a second goal and once again it was the running on Tomson that created the chance, he ran down the wing and cut into the box and played the ball to Zebs whose shot was blocked on the line by a defender, some think it may have gone over the line.

Rendell was also not afraid to have a shot if the chance fell his way, a free kick out wide on the right was played to the edge of the box; Zebs headed it down to Rendell who was outside the box. Rendell hit a good volley but it was always going over, but you knew a second goal was coming soon.

Goal number two came about after dare I say another great run by Tomson, who was again cut inside and was looking to get a shot away, only he got tackled on the edge of the box and ball came back of Tomson and fell at the feet of Rendell just inside the right hand side of the box, who put the ball away nicely.

It was just after the second goal that Poke made a real mess of clearing the ball with his foot, Smith had done so well to win the ball on the edge of our box and if he had not won the ball, the forward would have been on a one to one with Poke, as it was Poke got away with it and I’m sure it was the conditions that had played a large part in the mistake.

Robertson could have made it three nil before the break from a Carlisle cross, but he headed wide of the post and so that was the end of a great first half, but I do wonder if playing the other way in the second half and more into the driving rain, if it would be a game of two half’s.

As it turned out the rain eased as did the wind and only got worse near the end of the second half, but by them all three points were safety in the bag. The third goal made sure of that and what a great goal it was, Zebs played the ball to Tomson who just ran into the box leaving the defenders around him for dead and coolly slotted the ball past the Cheltenham keeper, not more than this young man deserved and surely he will one day play at the very highest level.

Poke had to tip a free kick that was heading into the top corner over his bar, but did not have that much to do in the second half and seemed to make another mistake when a ball came into his near post, but once again he got away with it,

The Torquay players started to enjoy themselves and were playing the ball around in neat triangles and looked very dangerous ever time they played the ball forward. Carlisle did make one poor clearance and the end result was a thumping shot at Pokes gaol, but Ellis threw himself of the ball and he sure felt the force of the shot, but it was a brave block and just what you expect from Ellis.

That’s about it all really, a great night, a great game of football dispite the conditions and three points that were so well deserved, its games like these, on nights like tonight that reminds you just why you are a football fan.

BTW Sorry I didn't get chance to catch up with the rest of the TFF crowd (I bumped in to Jon in No 10s after the game) but since my old man didn't go to the game, I took his season ticket and sat in the main stand.

As a regular at Plainmoor on the popside I stand with a group of current an ex local football referees so we were pleased to note that for once in what seems like a long while we had a reasonable referee last night for what was an excellent game for the Gulls. There were a couple of odd decisions but the game flowed well with no major controversial decisions either way.
It was nice to meet and chat to Dave R on the evening.