Johnson gets what he wants from Gulls victory
GARY Johnson said he got what he needed from Torquay United when they beat Chesham United on Saturday, but without it being ‘a sharp performance’.
The Gulls took on the Southern League side in Tier Three territory in Buckinghamshire so there were no fans in the ground for the third round tie which was won with a 48th minute Josh Umerah goal.
It was a fabulous cross by Armani Little who played a cheeky one-two with Jake Andrews from a free kick on the left-hand side of the Chesham area. The ball had beaten the goalkeeper Sam Beasant and might have gone in without Umerah’s back post header.
Johnson said: “It wasn’t the exact type of win that I would have wanted - but it was a heavy old ground out there and to be fair to Chesham they kept themselves in it. We had to defend as much as we attacked.
“There were a couple of bits of quality from us but not enough so we have got to make sure that we are ready for Yeovil twice and Weymouth once.
“It’s nice to be in the hat which is what we wanted and we look forward to seeing who we are going to get in the next round. I wouldn’t say it was a sharp performance but we got the result.”
Johnson made five changes to the team that started the 1-0 defeat against Dagenham & Redbridge with Lucas Covolan in goal and Dean Moxey, Billy Waters, Little and Umerah all coming in.
Gary Warren, who was wearing the captain’s armband, was alongside Fraser Kerr in the centre of defence, while Adam Randell played well out of position at right back with Moxey returning from injury at left back.
In midfield, Ben Whitfield was on the right with Jake Andrews on the left, Matt Buse in the middle with Little.
It took just 15 seconds for the Gulls to get a shot on target – Umerah going close. But it turned out to be the only shot on target of the first half – for either team.
Umerah’s goal came at the start of the second half but after that the Gulls’ chances were limited and they had to defend well with Bradley Clayton especially a threat for the home side.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans replaced Little on the hour-mark and Kyle Cameron came on for Moxey on 65 minutes.
Cameron played a great through ball for Waters after his introduction but the striker’s touch was too heavy and the ball ran out of play. Frustrated, Waters smashed the ball into the hoardings and received a yellow card for his efforts.
Covolan was forced to make a great save when a Clayton shot from outside the box was headed for the top corner.
Clayton had another dangerous strike in the 74th minute with the ball going inches wide of the post with Covolan at full stretch.
Truro City remain in the competition after winning their second round game at Concord Rangers 2-1 on Saturday. They play catch-up this week when they go to Oxford City in the third round on Tuesday night - leaving the possibility of a DevonCornwall derby still a mouthwatering prospect. The draw will be announced around 1pm this afternoon.