Hampton & Richmond 0
United 1
(Cooke 20′)
Cody Cooke’s header sealed a valuable win for The Gulls on Saturday, as United came out on top at The Beveree.
It was Cooke’s first-half strike that settled the destination of the three points, with Paul Wotton’s side moving up to third place in the table after their sixth victory in ten outings.
A fortnight on from the 1-1 home draw with St Albans, manager Wotton made two changes to the starting eleven, with Finn Tonks and Will Jenkins Davies replacing Ed Palmer and Lirak Hasani, with the latter dropping down to the bench.
A low-key start to the game was brought to an end as Torquay took the lead on 20 minutes.
After winning a central free-kick, Matt Carson – fresh from being called up to the Northern Ireland U21 squad – floated an inviting delivery into the box from the left flank, and it was Cooke who sent a terrific header into the back of the net for his third goal of the season to make it 1-0 to The Gulls.
There was nearly further cause for celebration some ten minutes later after Oscar Threlkeld unselfishly played Ben Seymour into space, however on this occasion the former Beaver couldn’t find the find the finish to punish his former employers.
The home side, although enjoying decent spells in possession, couldn’t muster much in front of goal and it was the team in yellow who continued to look the bigger threat as the match headed towards the halfway point.
Cooke was, not for the first time this season proving a real handful for the opposing defence, and after seeing a second strike ruled out for offside, Torquay’s number nine steered another header – from another Carson cross – into home goalkeeper Ted Curd’s palms on 36 minutes.
Wotton’s team continued in search of a second before the break, and although they couldn’t quite manage it, they undoubtedly deserved their lead at the change of ends.
Following the restart, it was largely more of the same, with The Gulls again enjoying the better of the goalscoring chances.
A 52nd minute ball from Tonks saw Hampton’s backline caught out, and it was arguably only the balance of goalscorer Cooke that saved them falling further behind, as United’s dangerman fired wide.
With the game heading into its final quarter, The Beavers began to make some inroads into United’s territorial dominance, although Jake Gray’s promising run ended with a wild shot that cleared the crossbar.
In the 69th minute, an Assistant’s flag denied Torquay doubling their lead for a second time, however on this occasion the decision to rule out substitute Brad Ash’s instinctive finish looked a more controversial one.
That escape for the hosts gave them encouragement, and they certainly enjoyed more of the ball in the closing stages, as The Gulls’ pursuit for a second was tempered with the priority of protecting what they had.
A stoppage-time corner that saw a Hampton header flash narrowly wide was thankfully the closest they came though, as the magnificent Yellow Army were left to celebrate a well-earned, and well-deserved, victory on the road.
There may be no game next Saturday, but it definitely feels better heading into the enforced break on the back of three points!
HAMPTON & RICHMOND: 1. Ted Curd, 2. Billy French, 8. Josh Keeya (3. Kristian Campbell, 70′), 9. James Roberts, 10. Jake Gray, 14. Odei Martin Sorondo (c) (23. Gianni Crichlow, 90+2′), 16. Jack Taylor, 17. Bunmi Babajide (27. Jaden Brissett, 70′), 20. Mauro Vilhete (7. Alex Wall, 78′), 24. Dominic Revan (26. Jerry Wiltshire, 27′), 31. Alfie Williams.
UNITED: 1. James Hamon, 2. Finley Craske (23. Ollie Tomlinson, 80′), 3. Jay Foulston, 5. Sam Dreyer, 9. Ben Seymour (11. Brad Ash, 62′), 14. Matt Carson (21. Dean Moxey, 90+2′), 17. Finn Tonks, 18. Oscar Threlkeld (c), 19. Cody Cooke, 20. Dan Hayfield, 22. Will Jenkins Davies (8. Roddy Collins, 74′).
SUB NOT USED: 7. Lirak Hasani.
Yellow Cards: Collins 84′
Attendance: 1,675 away