FA CUP RD 2: Stockport V Torquay Utd 15th Dec 2009

wroe

Only four?

Bah!

Seriously a cracking result - confidence must now be sky-high. A win at Crewe would make you start to believe we can go on one of those runs.

I'm particularly pleased that we managed to do this with Hargreaves on the bench. We can't expect him to keep playing twice a week and it is very encouraging to see that Thompson seems a very capable deputy. Also good to hear Bevan seemed to be more confident than when I have seen him this season.

Another superb result and performance by the sound of things and when PB's tactics work they work big time and I must admit hes doing it the correct way - always going for the win!

This is another massive, massive boost to the club - the £27k will come in handy - not to mention the gate receipts for another "South Coast Humdinger"! However, I think that it goes well beyond the pure hard cash and immediately tangible benefits that this thrashing (I read a lot of hubris on their messageboard a few weeks ago salivating at round 3 when they drew us so it feels nice to say "thrashed"!!!) has brought us.

I notice that every single player that finished the match tonight other than Charnock (although yes, 3 other loanees started the match!) was with us in the BSP. I think that shows that although there wasn't the sufficient strength in the team without the additions, a slight augmentation (especially pace and acceleration) has really brought things along so well for us in the last few weeks.
This again vindicates Bucks (as if it were needed with the way things are going) and the players that have stayed and also shows how vastly things improve with the right sprinkling of additions.

I'm trying to remind myself not to get too excited (just a little bit!) but to score 9 goals in two games like this is really encouraging and I believe that we will take this form forward.
Like Dave, I believe that we have a real chance to put one over on Brighton after their win here two years ago. I wouldn't bet against us.

Too tired to post a match report, as I need to turn in before getting an early train back to London tomorrow.

The whole team played well tonight, but these were the main points for me:

Benyon was superb tonight. A constant menace, harrying, chasing everything, setting up balls for others and some excellent finishing. Thoroughly deserved his hat-trick, but might consider himself unlucky to have not bagged a fourth. Won't get in the side ahead of Zebs though.

Thomson - pushed Benyon for MOTM, sliced Stockport up almost every time he got the ball. Ended up roaming into the middle of the park, and even swapping with Carlisle for a brief period in the second half. Played with the swagger of a man enjoying his football, but overruled by Nicho when attempting to take on corner duties!

Thompson – excellent performance. Good tackling, intelligent balls and some tricky play in the middle. Brings something different to the midfield from Hargreaves, but the weakness of the tonight’s opposition should be considered when touting him over Hargreaves for future games.

Bevan – good kicking, solid handling and one or two good saves. Not a huge amount of stuff for him to do though really.

Adam Smith - played well in the first half before limping off at HT and replaced by Nicholson, who also played well.

Stockport – a club and side in crisis. Whilst we didn’t give them an inch tonight, they were truly awful. A terrible performance from their keeper and a side who put on such a feeble show that you almost thought they never expected to get anything from the game before it started. Hatters fans will be in despair after seeing that.

Crowd - about 1,600, with about 100 Torquay fans swelled by about 30-50 Macclesfield fans. A strange atmosphere, but you have to feel sorry for Stockport’s fans who really will be wondering how much lower things are likely to get.

Stockport may have been poor in recent games but they gave an in-form Charlton side a real go last weekend.

Crewe will prove a real test for the team but their away form is better than their home form. They recently won at Chesterfield and Barnet but drew 0-0 at home against Lincoln City.