The Torquay United Thread

[chavy]

Well, a 2-0 win even with 10 men, will take that. A little dissapointed with the draw, getting Blackpool in the third round. Was rather hoping for one of the Big Three, Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal.

The manager got the sack as well from Oxford !! , I wonder if mutual consent was the official line?

Is it away or home Toadie? It's a bloody well long way to go.......mind you, anywhere is for Torquay !!

[chavy]

87th minute matie....tough luck that

[mrtoad]

87th minute matie....tough luck that

A litlte gutted, but I hope that we can now get on with the main job, which is getting back into the football league.

[rijit]

Whats wrong with the 'lower league thread' guys ??

whoops , sorry I forgot , dont suppose youre eligible!!

A big up to toddy though.

[mrtoad]

Bad result this weekend, 3-0 defeat to Southport in the FA Trophy, although I have to admit I'd much rather they get the points to secure promotion, alyjough I reckon it will be via the play-offs.

[mrtoad]

Only a few moree games to go, and it is rather tight. Hopefully the season will not fall away like last season. A good point at Stevenage with 10 men, so now on to Barrow for a must win game.

[chavy]

Sorry mate but I reckon will be the lottery of the playoffs again !!

[mrtoad]

Tough last game against Burton. Hopefully will make the play-offs.

[chavy]

Tough last game against Burton. Hopefully will make the play-offs.

Have Burton gone up yet ? If so hopefully they'll take the foot off the gas for the last game.

[mrtoad]

Torquay United 2-0 Histon

Torquay took control of their Blue Square Premier play-off semi-final tie as goals from Nicky Wroe and Tim Sills helped beat Histon in the first leg.

Last season's beaten FA Trophy finalists took the lead when Wayne Carlisle set up Wroe, who drilled home from 12 yards.

Sills headed past keeper Joe Welch from Lee Mansell's cross 16 minutes from full-time to double the advantage.

Histon pressed for a reply with Jamie Barker and Midson both going close.

Midson had earlier squandered the visitors' best chance at the start of the second-half as Gulls defender Chris Todd did well to block his shot.

The return leg is at Histon on Monday with the winners to meet either Cambridge or Stevenage in the final.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Torquay: Poke, Mansell, Todd, Robertson, Nicholson, Carlisle, Wroe, Hargreaves, Stevens, Sills, Sturrock (Christie 88). Subs Not Used: Rice, Hodges, Green, Carayol.

Scorers: Wroe (36), Sills (74)

Histon: Welch, Pope (Andrews 52), Oyebanjo, Ada, Gwillim, Knight-Percival, Barker, Langston, Mitchell-King, Murray, Midson. Subs Not Used: Key, Bygrave, Roache, Simpson.

Referee: J Waugh (Sheffield)

Att: 3,737

Hopefully will finish it off.

[chavy]

It's gonna be hard against Cambridge in the final mate !!

[mrtoad]

It's gonna be hard against Cambridge in the final mate !!

Certainly will be, but I reckon we just might do it this time.

[chavy]

It's gonna be hard against Cambridge in the final mate !!

Certainly will be, but I reckon we just might do it this time.

Hmm, Cambridge will be no pushover mate, your men will have to at their best for this one. When is the final anyway?

[ThaiRobert3]

The Wembley final is on Sunday. Cambridge United are on their way back to the league sorry Torquay.

The first goalscorer will be Scott Rendell incidently.

[Kan Win]

If at first you don't succeed...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...ted/8050804.stm

Cambridge United and Torquay United have a lot in common.

They are both known as the Yellows (among other things), for a start.

More significantly, both clubs recently lost their Football League status.

Cambridge were relegated in 2005, while Torquay will be hoping their second season in the Blue Square Premier will be their last.

This time last year, both clubs were appearing in the play-offs and in Wembley finals… and losing.

For Cambridge, they suffered heartache in the 2008 play-off final, when, as firm favourites, they lost out to underdogs Exeter City.

And guess what? Exeter had earlier defeated their Devon neighbours, Torquay, in the play-off semi-final.

Torquay's fans packed Wembley for the FA Trophy final last year

Torquay meanwhile reached Wembley via another route, the FA Trophy final, which they lost 1-0 against Ebbsfleet United.

They now share the hope that 17 May 2009 will prove the turning point, the day when their fortunes at last take a turn for the better.

They face each other in the Blue Square Premier final at Wembley, with the prize for the winners being a much longed for return to the Football League.

Cambridge were runners-up in the Blue Square Premier and beat Stevenage Borough in the play-off semi-final, while Torquay finished fourth and eliminated Histon at the semi-final stage.

They were separated by three points, and Cambridge will go into the final as favourites.

That might suit Torquay who have themselves been favourites on previous occasions and fluffed their lines.

Memories of play-offs past

The Gulls have reached the play-offs on five occasions and have succeeded just once - gloriously, on a warm Wembley night in May 1991.

Their Division Four play-off final against Blackpool was the most exciting game of a topsy-turvy season.

It ended 2-2 after extra-time, and the penalty shoot-out went to sudden death after ending 4-4.

United goalkeeper Gareth Howells made it 5-4, and Blackpool's top scorer that season - Dave Bamber - shot wide, sending Torquay up.

In 1988 United, then under Cyril Knowles, lost out against Swansea City in the play-offs.

They suffered a similar fate in the play-off semi-final against Preston North End in 1995 and in the final at Wembley in 1998, when a penalty earned Colchester United a 1-0 win.

And then there was the Exeter City catastrophe last season.

At home in the play-off semi-final second leg, 20 minutes left to play and 3-1 up on aggregate, they then conceded four goals to lose 5-3.

The nightmare lingers long in the memory.

It's not been all bad

Torquay mourn dropping out the Football League in 2007

When United were relegated two seasons ago, most fans feared the worst - that it just would not be the same, not being in the Football League any more, especially after an uninterrupted run of 80 years.

In fact, it has been quite good fun.

United have been battling at the top of the table, not at the bottom, which is nice.

But should Sunday prove to be their final day in the Blue Square Premier, that would be even better.

Kin h*ell the Stags had uninterrupted run of 87 years. Went down last year and are still there

Good Luck to you and your team Mr. Toad, hope to see you in 2015 then

Up the Stags

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[mrtoad]

The Wembley final is on Sunday. Cambridge United are on their way back to the league sorry Torquay.

The first goalscorer will be Scott Rendell incidently.

Nothing to be sorry for. I'm not going to make any predictions on this one, but it is going to be close.

[alant]

good luck Torquay

[mrtoad]

The Wembley final is on Sunday. Cambridge United are on their way back to the league sorry Torquay.

The first goalscorer will be Scott Rendell incidently.

Good prediction.

Bloody delightede with that, great to see The Gulls back in the league.

[chavy]

Yep, well done the 'Gulls'.

I just hope they sort out those bloody candles passed off as flood lights !!

[mrtoad]

Yep, well done the 'Gulls'.

I just hope they sort out those bloody candles passed off as flood lights !!

No they must remain!!!

[rijit]

Well done the gulls

enjoy, the conference is a bitch of a league to get out of, and imo its getting tougher and tougher!

[mrtoad]

Well done the gulls

enjoy, the conference is a bitch of a league to get out of, and imo its getting tougher and tougher!

Cheers rijit, well done to Exeter as well, who had a great season. Nice to see both clubs looking in so much better shape than they were a few years ago.

[mrtoad]

Well, I seem to have left this thread alone a bit, but it's back out again.

Great start to the season 3 straight wins, no goals conceded - actually that's 10 in a row without conceding if you count last season. As I said to a few of those who know me before the start of the season I thought that Torquay would push hard for promotion, well so far so good.