United continue their pre-season schedule on Tuesday evening, as Devon rivals Plymouth Argyle head to Plainmoor to take on Gary Johnson’s men.
Having played out a creditable draw League Two side Newport County on Saturday, Argyle will no doubt provide The Gulls with another stern test, with The Pilgrims only missing out on a League One play-off place on the final day of last season.
Who’s the Boss?
Following Ryan Lowe’s shock departure last December, it was to his long-time assistant, Steven Schumacher, that the Home Park hierarchy turned in a bid to continue the Greens’ excellent start to the campaign, and it was to his credit that the side maintained their promotion bid right up until the climax of 2021/22.
Steve’s playing days began at Everton, and despite not quite making the grade at Goodison Park, Schumacher went on to make a name for himself as a midfielder of notable repute, representing the likes of Bradford, Crewe, Bury and Fleetwood, amongst others, in a career that lasted over fifteen years.
How have they been doing?
After being relegated to the bottom tier of the Football League in 2018/19, the appointment of former boss Lowe heralded a return to better times, with Plymouth shrugging aside the early curtailment of 2019/20 to bounce back the very next season.
Their return to League One was initially quite testing, however Argyle built on that by establishing themselves as one of the surprise packages in the early 2021/22 tables, before the sudden departure of their boss threatened to derail things somewhat.
Galvanised by the new man at the helm however, Schumacher led his side to within touching distance of the post-season action, with the team dropping out of the top-six in heart-breaking fashion on the last day, as MK Dons left Devon with a convincing 5-0 win.
Player to Watch
From a United perspective, many of the Yellow Army will continue to take more than a glancing interest in young midfielder Adam Randell, due to his starring role in Torquay’s very own promotion near-miss in 2020/21.
With his 42 appearances (2 goals) seeing him named as The Gulls’s Young Player of the Season that term, Plymouth-born Randell followed that up with the same accolade at his hometown club last time out, after a breakthrough season that saw him notch up 31 outings and 1 goal in a green shirt.
Played for Both
Another member of the Plymouth team who aided United’s push for a return to the EFL the season before last is Ryan Law, who enjoyed an eight-game loan spell for Johnson’s men in early 2021.
Growing in stature and confidence in his role at left-back as 2020/21 reached its nerve-shredding finale, Law’s return to his parent club mirrored Randell’s fortunes, as he became a regular member of the Argyle matchday squad, making 22 appearances, as well as opening his goalscoring account for the team with strikes at home to Sheffield Wednesday – and even more memorably – at Birmingham City, where his matchwinner clinched their epic clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Previous Encounter
Things have changed quite a bit since Martin Ling’s promotion-chasing Torquay side secured a 3-1 win over tomorrow’s opponents in November 2011 – the first part of a rare league ‘double’ over the then relegation-threatened Pilgrims.
A goalless first half served as little warning to the action that would follow in the second, as two wonderful strikes from Gulls midfielder Eunan O’Kane saw Plainmoor erupt. Fans favourite Danny Stevens raised the roof by notching a third soon after to seal the points, and although Will Atkinson did notch a late consolation for the visitors, it couldn’t take anything away from a memorable Derby Day success for the hosts.
Ticket Information
Ticketing details will be the same for all of United’s pre-season friendlies at Plainmoor, whilst those unable to make the trip can keep up to date, with full live commentary available on TUFC Radio HERE.
Tickets can be purchased online HERE, in person at the Club Shop between 10am-2pm Tuesday to Friday, or by phoning the Club on 01803 328666 Monday to Friday 10am-2pm.
Prices for our home pre-season fixtures are as follows, and apply to all areas of the ground:
Adult – £10
Concession (65+ / Student) – £8
U18 – £5
U7 (with paying adult) – FREE
Please note that there is a £2 surcharge for all tickets purchased on the day of the game.
All matchday tickets will be fulfilled as e-tickets, with turnstiles at Plainmoor remaining cashless. E-tickets can either be printed off, or alternatively downloaded and stored onto your mobile device, ahead of being scanned at the turnstiles. Supporters requiring assistance are asked to email [email protected] or call the Club on 01803 328666 in the hours listed above.
As a special thank you to Season Ticket holders, those who have purchased a ticket for 2022/23 will be entitled to purchase one match ticket for each of these games with a 50% discount. Season Ticket holders have had their usual seats reserved for these fixtures.
TUAFC v Plymouth Argyle | 19/07/2022 7.45pm KO | Plainmoor, Torquay, TQ1 3PS |