Torquay United’s FA Trophy campaign begins in Buckinghamshire tomorrow, as Gary Johnson’s side take on Southern League Premier Division South side Chesham United.
Not content at just riding high at the top of the National League after 14 games, The Gulls’ boss is adamant that his team will once again be going all-out for victory tomorrow, with a place in the last 32 of non-league football’s premier knockout competition at stake.
“Every game we go into, we try and win the game. That’s important,” said Johnson.
“We’ve done our due diligence on Chesham. I’m sure they will be disappointed that there’s no crowd that can cheer them on, but there will be streaming, which is good, so people will be able to watch the streaming of the game.”
Having won the FA Trophy in 2001/02 whilst manager of Yeovil Town, the Gaffer is ideally placed to recognise the benefits of a successful run in the competition, with a day out at Wembley again awaiting this year’s finalists.
“The Trophy gets more and more important as you start getting through the rounds, and there’s not that many rounds from hereon in.
“At the moment for us, it’s a matter of getting a good result, and a good performance, and going into the Yeovil game full of confidence. We’ve had a really heavy period of games – as everyone has had – there’s a few niggles, so we’ll assess it accordingly.”
The home side secured their place in the Third Round on Tuesday evening, as goals from Steve Brown, Zak Joseph and Dave Pearce gave them a 3-1 away win at Aveley. That result, combined with a promising – albeit shortened – 7th-placed showing in the Southern Premier Division South, means that Torquay will need to be at the top of their game to avoid a cup upset tomorrow.
Torquay are not complete strangers to Saturday’s opponents, with both sides meeting in the same competition five years ago. On that occasion, two first-half Andre Wright goals at The Meadow eventually secured the Trophy progress of Kevin Nicholson’s men at the second attempt, following the goalless draw with The Generals at Plainmoor a few days earlier.
Chesham United will be providing a livestream service for this match, which is available for £8 via their website here. Further information regarding their coverage is also available online here.
Torquay United AFC will once again also be providing commentary of Saturday’s match via Official TUFC Radio.
Buildbase FA Trophy 3rd Round | Chesham United v Torqauy United | 19/12/2020 3pm KO