Hampton & Richmond 1
(Block 40′)
United 2
(Moxey 54′, Jarvis 69′)
In the face of adversity, ten-man United came from behind to clinch a place in the FA Cup First Round after a gritty 2-1 win at Hampton & Richmond.
After a Tommy Block strike gave the hosts the advantage just before half-time, The Gulls levelled things up just after the interval through Dean Moxey. Things looked bleak when Dillon De Silva received his marching orders just past the hour mark, but Gary Johnson’s men responded manfully to the setback, with Aaron Jarvis heading home minutes later to clinch an eye-catching home tie against League One big-hitters Derby County in Round 1.
With his hand severely tested by in juries, the Gaffer made three changes to the side that produced that remarkable comeback to seal the replay, with Rhys Lovett, Ali Omar and De Silva replacing Mark Halstead, Tom Lapslie and Ben Wyatt in the starting line-up.
The first chance of the game fell the way of United on six minutes, as Shaun Donnellan – the hero of the hour on Saturday – fed Jarvis, who managed to beat a man before finding a sight of goal, however, the effort was into the side-netting.
The two players linked up again shortly after, with Jarvis this time turning provider for Brett McGavin. This time, The Gulls midfielder could sadly only send a header wide of the post.
Johnson’s men were certainly in the ascendancy early on, with a pacy break by Dylan Crowe down the left feeding Asa Hall, but the skipper’s effort was also off-target, as the strike sailed over the crossbar.
Having started dominated the early stages, it was therefore disappointing that United weren’t able to build on that, as they allowed Hampton to edge their way back into proceedings.
Both Ade Shokunbi – then Hall again – missed decent chances in opposing boxes, before a Jake Gray warmed the palms of Lovett on 38 minutes.
Two minutes later though, Lovett was powerless to stop The Beavers talking the lead.
Five minutes before the break, a determined run from Alfy Whittingham saw cut into the area, before his ball across the box was bundled home by Block to give the National League South side the lead.
In the short period thereafter, The Gulls appeared stunned, however just before the break they nearly restored parity through a familiar source.
Donnellan’s drive into the Hampton half saw opponents continue to back off, and with the goal coming into view, the United man made the most of the invitation by sending in a powerful effort that narrowly cleared the crossbar.
Behind at the change of ends.
Compared to the frenetic end to the first 45, it took some time for the second period to scale those heights, however nine minutes after the interval, Torquay were back on level terms.
De Silva – always willing – applied pressure to a short back pass inside the area, leaving home goalkeeper Matteo Salamon with no choice but to pick the loose ball up.
Seizing the opportunity to drag his sise back into proceedings, Moxey drilled home the indirect free-kick to restore parity and it was game on – although not quite, perhaps, as we expected.
Fresh from sparking his side’s pathway back into the game, two bookings within five minutes signalled De Silva’s early departure – the second following what looked to be a trip inside the box.
The referee didn’t agree though, and having just got back on level terms, United were down to ten men and staring down the barrel once again.
Johnson’s side answered another difficult question with an emphatic answer though.
After winning a corner, McGavin – another hero from Saturday – floated a perfect flag-kick onto the head of the rising Jarvis, who beat Salamon to the ball, and planted a firm header into the back of the net.
Now it was suddenly United’s game to lose – but they had no intention of doing that.
The hosts certainly applied the pressure in the remaining twenty minutes or so, but having dealt with so much adversity already, Torquay’s defenders dealt calmly with everything thrown at them, and behind them, Lovett produced two smart interventions to keep their lead intact.
First, in the 75th minute, he saved smartly at the feet of Shokunbi, before, in the dying stages, another crucial stop – this time from Gray – kept their lead intact.
The Beavers had nothing more to give, and after 180 minutes of pure drama, United were through.
A special mention must go to the devoted Yellow Army, whose nerves had certainly been put through the mixer over the course of the two games, but with your support behind them, you can never write this team off.
Hampton & Richmond: 1. Matteo Salamon, 2. Tommy Block, 3. Ruaridh Donaldson (c), 8. Alfy Whittingham, 9. Tommy Wood, 10. Jake Gray, 12. Marcus Sablier (20. Temi Babalola, 69′), 15. Ade Shokunbi (7. Brandon Barzey, 81′), 16. Tommy Davis, 19. Liam Vincent (11. Stefan Ilic, 85′), 22. Ben Shroll.
SUBS NOT USED: 4. Dean Inman, 5. Luis Fernandez, 13. Ollie Davies, 21. Shane Dunne.
United: 22. Rhys Lovett, 2. Dylan Crowe (23. Ollie Tomlinson, 90+2′), 5. Ali Omar, 8. Asa Hall (c), 9. Aaron Jarvis, 14. Brett McGavin, 16. Shaun Donnellan (36. Scott Smith, 90′), 19. Will Goodwin, 21. Dean Moxey (c), 27. Dillon De Silva, 29. Chin Okoli.
SUBS NOT USED: 1. Mark Halstead, 4. Tom Lapslie.
Yellow Cards: Crowe 22′
Yellow Card / Red Card: De Silva 57′, 62′
Attendance: 1,191