JOHNNO’S GULLS ON THE CHARGE
TORQUAY United manager Gary Johnson hailed the defensive resolve of his side as they produced a gritty display to defeat big spending Wrexham.
Skipper Asa Hall’s fourth goal of the season gave the Gulls an eighth minute lead, which they held onto and Johnson was delighted that their hard work in training during the week paid off.
“I thought we defended unbelievably, we defended like trojans and that was important,” said Johnson.
“All week we have been working on defending their corners and defending their throw ins. Throw ins are almost like corners really, if you get them on the money. We also worked on systems and not giving goals away from their set plays.
“In the first half, we had the wind behind us, we had the energy and we created chances and scored our goal.
“We showed bravery, not just from our big un’s, but our little un’s as well.”
His opposite number Phil Parkinson was left to rue the absence of his two leading scorers Paul Mullin and Jordan Davies, as he admitted his side didn’t display enough quality to get back in the game.
“We missed a bit of spark and quality to get back into the game. It wasn’t down to a lack of effort and I thought we deserved a point,” said Parkinson.
“We had moments, but it wasn’t to be. We gave a team who had the crowd behind them the opportunity to take the sting out of the game.”
The Gulls took the lead on eight minutes when Hall nodded home a free-kick from Armani Little with a header at the back post after Stephen Wearne had been felled by Aaron Hayden.
Wrexham threatened an equaliser in the 20th minute as James Jones and Ollie Palmer both saw shots blocked by the United defence, which was superbly marshalled by the returning Joe Lewis and Dean Moxey.
Three minutes before the break, Max Cleworth had a shot deflected behind for a corner for the visitors – as the Gulls went in ahead at the break.
After the break, Dragons skipper, and one-time United captain, Luke Young tested Gulls keeper Shaun MacDonald with a shot from the edge of the area and MacDonald was called upon again to palm away a low strike from distance from Jones.
Palmer then went on a dangerous looking run for the visitors, but fired a tame effort harmlessly wide.
However, United dug deep to secure all three points which leaves them nine points behind the Dragons, who occupy the final playoff spot. STAR MAN: Tom Lapslie (Torquay) ATT: 3,181 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Aji Ajibola