Johnson calm as rivals draw level with beaten Gulls
MANAGER Gary Johnson said that Hartlepool United drawing level on points with Torquay United at the top of the National League ‘might make everybody pick up a little bit’ after yet another disappointing defeat on Saturday.
Hartlepool’s 14th-minute opener by Luke Molyneaux proved enough for the title rivals to close the gap and leaprog Sutton United into second - but Johnson will have been pleased to see Sutton only draw 0-0 at home to Wrexham in the televised evening game, with all three clubs now on the same points.
Torquay remain top with 47 points from 25 games, Sutton are once again second but have played 23 games, while Hartlepool are back in third having played a game more than the Gulls. On paper, it is advantage Sutton, but there is still a third of the season to go and Johnson says Torquay now need to ‘knuckle down’.
Once Hartlepool were ahead, they worked hard to defend their lead and although the Gulls played some good football at times, they couldn’t break through and get an equaliser, let alone anything more. New loan striker
Scott Boden did well up front but looked isolated at times with the final ball missing when the Gulls needed to be clinical at the end of the supply line.
Johnson said: “It might make everybody pick up a little bit. You can’t be complacent when it is this close. Maybe they have got a little bit complacent - I am not sure.
“It is really down to the quality and how much quality you show under pressure. And if you are top of the league you are under pressure, the same as if you are fighting relegation.
“We have been up there for a long time, so maybe we will give someone else a go up there and we can be the challengers. At the moment we just need to knuckle down and keep going and see where it takes us.”
Midfielder Armani Little’s return to the team should have been a massive boost with defender Joe Lewis also back following a game off because of a head knock in the win against Solihull Moors.
Another player to return was goalkeeper Shaun MacDonald, who was suspended for the FA Trophy game at Woking, while up front Boden made his full debut with Billy Waters dropping to the bench.
Torquay had started well but suffered a sucker punch on the break in the 14th minute when a through ball from a counter attack cut the defence in half and Molyneaux placed the ball past MacDonald and into the far corner.
From the edge of the area, Boden shot wide with his left foot on 28 minutes with the ball bobbing about in front of him. Torquay were building their attacks well and the passing was crisp, but there was no end product.
Torquay continued to attack well at the start of the second half and Ben Killip was forced to turn a Connor Lemonheigh-Evans shot around his right-hand post on 50 minutes.
Waters came on for Little to add some weight to the Torquay attack on 58 minutes but by 20 minutes to go there was still no hint that Torquay were going to break through. Lemonheigh-Evans’ shot through a crowd of Hartlepool legs was never going to beat Killip.
With the home game against Aldershot Town tomorrow night having been postponed because of Covid issues in the opponents’ camp, Torquay will be keeping an eye on the games involving Sutton and Hartlepool that night. By the time they go to Boreham Wood on Saturday, they could very well be off the top for the first time since October last year.
RYAN Lowe was adamant that Doncaster Rovers midfielder John Bostock should have been sent-off late in the first half of their 2-1 victory over his Plymouth Argyle side.
The Pilgrims were trailing 1-0 at the time when Bostock, already on a yellow card, brought down striker Niall Ennis and conceded a free-kick.
Skipper Joe Edwards led Argyle appeals to referee Declan Bourne that 29-year-old Bostock should be dismissed for a second bookable offence.
However, Bourne was unmoved and had words with Edwards about the vehement protests.
Bostock was then substituted at half-time by Doncaster caretaker boss Andy Butler to avoid the risk of him being sent-off, with Scott Robertson sent on as his replacement.
Lowe did not claim that Argyle would have won the game had Bostock been dismissed but he felt justice had not been served.
The Argyle manager said: “He should have been sent-off. I think everyone could see. He (Ennis) was bursting at the back line of the defence.
“Look, I know John Bostock very well. I played with him at Sheffield Wednesday and he’s a lovely lad.
“I have just been speaking to him. I don’t want to see anyone get sent-off but, there you go, it’s a second bookable offence.
“He should have been sent-off and he weren’t, hence why they brought him off.”
Lowe added: “I’m not saying we would have won with 10 men, or I wanted the kid sent-off. I just wanted to be done what should have been done.
“I won’t make excuses but it’s a big talking point. The kid should have had two yellow cards.”
Tom anderson gave Doncaster an early lead, which they doubled through Omar Bogle.
Niall Ennis reduced the arrears, but they couldn’t force an equaliser, despite having the chances.