Western Morning News (Saturday)
Top of the table Gulls out to avenge hammering
THE memory of last season’s 6-2 defeat at Yeovil Town will spur on National League leaders Torquay United as they aim to finish 2020 on a high and go into 2021 as promotion favourites.
Torquay are six points clear at the top of the National League and welcome Yeovil to Plainmoor this afternoon after the Somerset club’s difficult start to the season.
Yeovil are 21st in the table with just one win from 11 games, while Monday’s opponents Weymouth are 22nd but manager Gary Johnson will be taking nothing for granted as the Gulls go into this busy period, with three games – Yeovil, Weymouth and Yeovil again next Saturday, January 2 – in a week.
After losing at home to Dagenham & Redbridge, following a draw at King’s Lynn Town, the Gulls won 1-0 in the FA Trophy at Chesham United with Josh Umerah getting the goal. On Monday, the draw handed the team a fourth round tie against either Boreham Wood or Yeovil on Saturday, January 16. That’ll be three games against Yeovil if the Glovers get through in three weeks.
Johnson said: “They are three very important games. Yeovil have hit a little bit of form and neither Yeovil nor Weymouth are bad sides anyway even though they are down the bottom.”
The games against Yeovil have some added Christmas spice because of last season’s games which didn’t go well for the Gulls – they lost 6-2 at Yeovil on Boxing Day and 2-0 in the game at Plainmoor.
“We want to stay top of the league and try and pick up the points,” said Johnson. “No matter who we are playing, there shouldn’t be any extra effort just because it is them – we have got to put in a full effort whether, due respect, we are playing Chesham or somebody in our league.”
Umerah scored the winning goal in the 48th minute in Buckinghamshire but the Southern League side were no pushovers and they had late chances to level the tie which they missed.
In the end, the Gulls did enough and Johnson was able to give some much-needed game time to recently returning players Armani Little and Dean Moxey, and other players like Umerah, Billy Waters, Matt Buse and goalkeeper Lucas Covolan.
And Johnson is hoping to have Sam Sherring back too after the onloan defender missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
Johnson said: “The bigger picture is that we need to keep ourselves clear of the chasing pack. But we are still number one at Christmas.”