United 3
(Beaumont-Clark 8′, Moore 14′, Jay 83′)
Folkestone 2
(Smith 48′, Thomas 50′)
Torquay United clinched their first home win of the season on Saturday, as Matt Jay’s late winner put paid to Folkestone’s fightback.
After Jacob Beaumont-Clark’s first goal for the club gave United an early lead, Deon Moore followed that up to double The Gulls’ advantage. Two strikes just after the interval from Liam Smith and Donell Thomas wiped that lead out, however, it was Matt Jay who was to have the final say, as his late winner gave the yellows their first home victory of the season.
Gulls boss Jimmy Ball made one change to the side that lost 2-0 at Farnham on Bank Holiday Monday, with new signing Angelo Cappello replacing Jordan Young in the starting line-up.
United made a dream start by taking the lead on eight minutes.
Having dealt with a couple of dangerous Folkestone forays into the box, the action switched up to the other end, where Beaumont-Clark cut in from the flank before sending a delicious left-footed curler into the top corner to send the Yellow Army into raptures.
Ball’s side didn’t take long to build on that lead.
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton’s driving run through the centre of midfield needed with Torquay’s No.10 breaking into the penalty area, and having drawn a couple of defenders with him, Moore was left in acres of space to his right to coolly side-foot the ball home from ten yards.
Two-up at the break, with the men in yellow in full control at that stage.
If the first 45 minutes had started well for United, the second couldn’t have begun in much worse fashion.
Three minutes after the restart, Smith’s back-post header from a corner reduced the arrears, and moments later it was all-square.
In the 50th minute, indecision in the centre of defence gave Thomas as the invitation he needed on the edge of the penalty area, and after wrong-footing Gulls goalkeeper Toby Savin, the ball was past him to make it 2-2.
For a while thereafter, Invicta looked the likelier team to snatch all points, however, it was the hosts who had the composure when it mattered most.
Folkestone glovesman initially did well to come up with a smart parry to keep out Cody Cooke’s stinging low drive, but with Jay perfectly placed inside the box, his first-time finish found the top corner, to turn one point into three.
That goal proved to be enough to seal the deal for United, as they registered their first instalment into what they hoping will be a ‘Super September’.
UNITED: 1. Toby Savin (13. Zak Baker, 76′), 2. Dom Bernard, 3. Tyler Hill, 6. Munashe Sundire, 10. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 11. Jacob Beaumont-Clark (39. Callum Morton, 64′), 14. Deon Moore , 15. Kian Jenkins, 16. Jake Wannell, 17. Angelo Cappello (9. Cody Cooke, 73′), 18. Matt Worthington (c) (27. Matt Jay, 66′).
SUBS NOT USED: 36. Fin Herbert.
Yellow Card: Cappello 67′, Morton 70′, Hill 75′
FOLKESTONE: 1. Ted Collins, 2. Ben Mason, 4. Liam Smith, 5. Jamie Fielding, 6. Kevin Lokko, 8. Alejandro Machado (16. Adam Lovatt, 64′), 10. Donell Thomas, 11. Aaron Cosgrave, 12. Dan Quick (25. Reggie Young, 30′), 30. Alex Woodyard (38. Harvey Kedwell, HT), 39. Joe Piggott.
SUBS NOT USED: 13. Isaac Ajuchi, 7. Devonte West, 17. Euan Mutale, 23. Preston Kedwell.
Yellow Card: Cosgrave 73′
Attendance: ???? (??? away)
