Bromley clash likely to come too soon for Kerr and Warren
GARY Johnson is waiting to see if he will have Gary Warren and Fraser Kerr ready to join the squad at the weekend with both defenders’ injuries meaning they missed the first two games of Torquay United’s season.
Warren was on loan at United from Exeter City for three games last season and signed during the summer, while Kerr joined the club from Hartlepool United. They are both central defenders and both desperately needed - but tomorrow might come too soon for the pair.
The temporary back three of Ben Wyner, Sam Sherring and Kyle Cameron did well to keep a clean sheet in one and a half matches - with the Gulls beating Stockport County 1-0 on day one last Saturday and leading 1-0 through a Sherring header at half time at Eastleigh on Tuesday night.
However, two second-half goals from Ben House meant United returned home without any points after the home side found some space to attack down the left.
Former Exeter City left-back Dean
Moxey, another summer signing, will still be suspended when the Gulls go to Bromley tomorrow - he can also play in the centre - but his three-game ban will be finished by the time Torquay face Chesterfield at home on Tuesday night.
Saturday’s goalscoring midfielder Connor Lemonheigh-Evans limped off holding a hip on Tuesday, and Johnson reports that striker Andrew Nelson is still a couple of weeks away from returning from his injury, so it may still be a couple of games before Johnson has a stronger squad to choose from.
Johnson said: “I was pleased with the result and our performance [against Stockport] because it was active and we were determined not to lose that game.
“Then we had a very good first half on Tuesday and went 1-0 up and looked comfortable - we should have been 3-0 up with the chances that we had.
“In the second half unfortunately we had a few enforced changes and it wasn’t as bright and as good as it was in the first half. And that coincided with their team getting going and getting the energy and oxygen to come at us - because they felt that they could.
“Credit to Eastleigh because they did throw numbers forward. Funnily enough, we still had one or two chances in that second half, but we certainly weren’t as cohesive as we were in the first.”
Johnson said the ‘injury problems are getting better’ but added: “When you get injured players coming back too quickly, you always have to manage them. I would rather talk about injuries after a win because people see it as a bit of an excuse after a loss.
“But we had a team that should have won that second game because they should have just gone on in the same way that they did in the first half.
“The injuries are getting better and we will have a bigger squad to choose from pretty soon.”
Torquay have two home games after Saturday’s visit to Bromley with Chesterfield at Plainmoor on Tuesday followed by the visit of Dover Athletic on Saturday week.
Johnson added: “We are in there with the pack and it is only a couple of games but there are some very good teams in this league and you have got to be on song every week if you are going to get up with the leaders.
“You can’t afford a half here and a half there of not playing well because teams will punish you for that - as we can punish other teams if they drop below their standard.
“I have always said, every team has got it, but it has to be consistent. The most consistent team will end up winning the league.”