Big step towards safety as Gulls keep Truro at bay

TORQUAY United helped their cause against the drop to the Southern League a whole lot on Monday night by beating Truro City 2-1 in Gloucester.

This was Truro’s home game, but it had to be played on the artificial at Gloucester City to deal with their backlog of games.

And it was Torquay, with the majority of the 300-plus supporters backing them, who played like the home side to win an all-important three points.

The win put them back up to five points clear of the National League South relegation zone, with just three games to go.

Although Aaron Downes’ team cannot afford to slip up in the remaining games, they are certainly looking more comfortable tonight than they did this morning, after moving up a place to 18th in this, the most daunting of run-ins, after the Gulls were deducted 10 points.

There were two players missing from the last game, and one back on the bench – with Ross Marshall suspended and Kevin Dawson again on the injury list. Ethon Archer was among the substitutes. So coming into the 11 were striker Brad Ash, midfielder Brett McGavin and defender Ollie Tomlinson.

Amazingly, Truro made eight changes to the team that started their 1-1 home draw against Aveley in Gloucester on Saturday.

Ofori-Acheampong was booked inside the first minute for a challenge on Tom Harrison. Not the best of starts for the striker.

Despite that early tackle, it was a fairly tepid start to the game with McGavin shooting wide with a freekick in the 15th minute. OforiAcheampong had a talking to by the referee after another challenge on Harrison. He was replaced by Ethon Archer in the 18th minute.

Torquay, playing in their pink away shirts, went 1-0 up in the 23rd minute when right-back Arkell JudeBoyd found some space on the right, cut inside, and shot past James Hamon in the Truro goal. It was his fifth goal in 13 games for the Gulls for the on-loan Queens Park Rangers player.

The second goal came from a counter-attack, with the final touch being applied by Brad Ash, who got on the end of a Dean Moxey cross after a brilliant ball to the left back by McGavin. Truro didn’t really look like threatening Torquay’s goal at all in the first half.

Truro had a free kick early on in the second half but Will Dean’s ball into the box was too long. Tomlinson had to block a Rocky Neal shot. Dan Sullivan headed the ball against the inside of the post, but the former Torquay trainee was offside.

Torquay grew back into the game however, and looked the more composed of the two teams.

BY RICHARD HUGHES

Archer was played into the box by Will Jenkins Davies but couldn’t shoot the ball past Hamon, who did well to stop the chance. Sullivan shot wide. Ash had a shot blocked on the counter-attack, before Lewis Collins came on in the 73rd minute for Jack Stobbs. Archer should have shot when he was in space in the box but waited to be tackled by Connor Riley-Lowe. Tomlinson, up from the back for a corner, headed straight at Hamon.

With 10 minutes to go, Dominic Johnson-Fisher poked the ball wide as he ran at Mark Halstead. It was a great chance for Truro. Archer hit the ball wide from a Jenkins Davies cross.

Truro began to apply some pressure in the last 10 minutes, with Riley-Lowe heading across goal from a free kick. Dan Ronney smashed the ball high over.

Austen Booth came on for Jenkins Davies as the game entered four minutes of added time, in which there was goalmouth scramble in the Torquay box, but their sheet remained clean – for now. Collins made a wonderful break and should have gone on himself, but fed Ash who shot wide.

Truro got their goal back when Ed Palmer scored with a header from a free kick into the box just a minute from the end. Hamon came up for a late, late free kick - which was taken and wasted, and that was that.