Western Morning News

Johnson promises Gulls will keep going after stalemate

- RICHARD HUGHES richard.hughes@reachplc.com

TORQUAY United are now six points adrift at the bottom of the National League after dominating their home game against Gateshead at Plainmoor on Saturday – but only managing to draw 1-1.

The reason that Torquay are bottom of the table and six points clear of Maidstone United in 20th is because they have won just three of their 21 games, a dismal record only matched Scunthorpe United, who are also on a meagre 15 points, but above them on goal difference.

Torquay really should have won against Gateahead, who for most of the game looked the worst team to visit Plainmoor this season – but who equalised mere minutes after the Gulls had finally made the breaththro­ugh in the 70th minute, with Aaron Jarvis’s header.

Manager Gary Johnson will not be giving up – he has said that many times this season – but things will have to improve quickly if Torquay are going to go into the new year outside the relegation places and not risk being involved in a scrap at the wrong end of the table, at the wrong time of the season. Relegation to the National South for a second time is unthinkabl­e.

Johnson said: “We’re in a league where there are no easy teams, and teams don’t come here and think ‘they are bottom of the league, we will win this lads’. That’s why teams come here and waste time from very early on.

“You’ve just got to keep going and you have got to keep improving. We’ve got to keep people fit and we’ve got to keep trying to keep a winning team together for longer – and then you need a bit of luck, whether it’s a decision, or the wind getting up for the last half an hour.

“And we can say all that because we had 80 minutes of really good, proper Torquay United football. And that’s what we had, but we only had one goal to show for it. We will keep trying to improve on it and when it all comes off, you get an Aldershot and you get six, so we’ve just got to keep striving for that.”

“I’m disappoint­ed to come away with only one point. For 80 minutes I thought we did fantastic and we didn’t really let them get into our half.

“After the goal, the last 20 minutes was the poor part. We worked well for 80 and then the last 20 minutes, I don’t know what happened, the lads seemed to switch off even though we had a couple of chances still. But Mark Halstead had to make two really good saves in the last 20 minutes,” he added.

“So, yes, of course, we’re all very disappoint­ed – but we keep saying, we’re not an easy team in this league to beat and they’re not an easy team in this league to beat, the same as all the other teams that are down there. We just have to keep going. The crowd enjoyed 80 minutes, and it’s unfortunat­e we shot ourselves in the foot in the last 20 minutes.”

There were three changes to the starting line-up that laboured at Barnet the weekend before, with Dillon De Silva back after his hamstring problem, and Kieron Evans starting, along with Asa Hall. Dropping to the bench was Ryan Hanson, with Tom Lapslie out because of a hamstring pull and Will Goodwin suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card.

Goodwin was missed big time, with Jarvis playing furthest forward, mostly on his own and sometimes isolated. But the chances came – one after another – for Mark Ellis, Hall, Jarvis, Evans, Brett McGavin, Stephen Wearne, Hall, McGavin, Wearne, De Silva, Wearne – it was the 59th minute by the time Gateshead had their first real chance – Carl Magnay smashing the ball over the top.

Evans turned a low De Silva cross over on 62 minutes. When De Silva did get the ball in the net on 66 minutes, he was offside.

Torquay’s goal finally came in the 70th minute – Evans’ high cross from the right was held up in the wind, and Jarvis gave his man a little shove before sending the ball over the goalkeeper, into the far corner, with a fine header.

Halstead made a superb onehanded diving save to deny Will Harris on 74 minutes, but from the corner Elliot Forbes got the equaliser, with the ball allowed to bounce in front of the Torquay goalkeeper before being nudged over the line, with the players claiming a foul on Halstead.

Johnson said: “We had so many opportunit­ies where we go into positions where we just needed to pass it to somebody – to pass it into the back of the net. And we couldn’t find that sort of key pass that creates a goal from all our penalty area play.”

The final Torquay chance fell to De Silva but he was leaning back when he met the ball and it flew high over the bar. So many chances – and Torquay have to take more of them if they are going to survive.

They now have two away games – the first next Saturday is a 12.30pm kick-off at Dagenham & Redbridge, before a trip to Oldham Athletic on Sunday, December 11.

 ?? Dave Crawford/PPAUK ?? > Goal celebratio­ns for Aaron Jarvis of Torquay United at Plainmoor on Saturday
Dave Crawford/PPAUK > Goal celebratio­ns for Aaron Jarvis of Torquay United at Plainmoor on Saturday

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