United 0
Woking 4
(Campbell, 2′, 55′, Ince, 4′, Thompson-Summers 90+4′)
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United succumbed to defeat against Woking at Plainmoor on Monday, in a match that again saw them play the majority of the match with ten men.
An early double from Tahvon Campbell and Rohan Ince gave The Cards an early lead, and when that was followed by a red card for Chiori Johnson midway through the first half, The Gulls were left with a mountain to climb, a task that became insurmountable in the second half, following a second strike from Campbell, and a late fourth from Kane Thompson-Sommers.
Following the excellent point secured at Notts County two days earlier, manager Gary Johnson made two changes to the line-up that started at Meadow Lane, with Dan Martin, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Asa Hall following up their substitute roles in the East Midlands with places in the Gaffer’s starting XI, at the expense of Keelan O’Connell, Tom Lapslie and the suspended Ali Omar.
The game was just two minutes old when the visitors broke through, as a cross from Josh Casey found Campbell on the penalty spot to head home.
Things got even worse just two minutes later, as Campbell this time turned provider for Ince to rise in similar fashion from ten yards to send in a header that eventually squirmed over the goalline, despite Mark Halstead’s best efforts.
That lead was nearly extended further on 13 minutes, after Soloman Nwabuokei’s pass sent Campbell away in space, and when his ball across the face of goal fell to the feet of Ince six yards out, it took a desperate block from a combination of Ben Wynter and Halstead to prevent it from being 0-3.
Jordan Maguire-Drew’s optimistic free-kick from 35 yards over shortly after also went close, although this time it cleared the crossbar, before Joe Lewis came up with a fantastic interception to stop dangerman Campbell’s diagonal strike troubling The Gulls’ overworked goalkeeper with twenty minutes gone.
Just when it looked as though things couldn’t get much worse – they did.
Midfield man Johnson – whose first booking for a seemingly well-timed challenge earlier in the eighth minute looked harsh – received no empathy from the officials following another committed tackle in the 22th minute. A 50/50 challenge between him and Cards skipper Casey was ruled in favour of the visitors, with the resultant yellow card leaving Torquay to contest the majority of a second successive match with ten men.
United responded by doing their best to put their opponents under pressure in the final third, however the numerical disadvantage left them susceptible to the counter attack, and a shot from 15 yards from Maguire-Drew forced Halstead to spread himself to keep things remotely palatable on the half-hour.
A couple of chances started to appear at the other end, however Hall’s header from deep inside enemy territory, followed by Dan Holman’s cross-shot from a narrow angle both went wide of the target, as the match began to edge towards the halfway point.
There were a few more Woking attacks for The Gulls’ backline to repel just before the break, however the men in yellow did just enough to limit the damage until the change of ends.
The opening stages of the second period did at least see Torquay make some in-roads in terms of territory, however the extra man was always liable to present more chances for the visitors on the counter attack, and when Campbell cut inside the box after making swift progress down the left in the 55th minute, his powerful strike proved too much for Halstead, who could only watch as the ball flew past him to put the result beyond doubt.
Skipper Hall tested Craig Ross for the first time just past the hour mark, however his shot from distance was straight at the visiting glovesman, who merely stood his ground to gather.
Chances were exchanged deep inside the box on 68 minutes, as Moussa Diarra arrived in the nick of time to stop substitute Klaidi Lolos firing home on the turn, before Ben Wynter repeated the feat to rob Kyran Lofthouse the chance of adding further gloss to Woking’s afternoon.
The introduction of Gabby Rogers did lift the Yellow Army’s gloom somewhat though, with one jinking run and audacious shot from 25 yards in the 75th minute deserving more than the sight of the crossbar being rattled – Ross was purely a spectator on this occasion.
A brief sojourn upfield from the ever-willing Danny Wright failed to provide a positive sidenote to overwise forgettable occasion for The Gulls, with his shot ending up in the side-netting, before a further twist of the knife was submitted in stoppage time, as Kane Thompson-Sommers fired home from the edge of the box to seal a memorable win for the viistors.
Although a result like this will be difficult for United’s contingent to take, there will be little time for them to lick their wounds, with a trip to Berkshire to take on Maidenhead on Saturday next up on the agenda.
TUFC: 1. Mark Halstead, 2. Ben Wynter, 3. Dan Martin (17. Gabby Rogers, 58′), 7. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans (16. Keelan O’Connell, HT), 8. Asa Hall (c), 9. Danny Wright, 10. Armani Little, 14. Chiori Johnson, 21. Dean Moxey, 30. Dan Holman (19. Klaidi Lolos 58′), 31. Joe Lewis.
SUBS NOT USED: 4. Tom Lapslie, 23. Marcin Brzozowski (GK).
Yellow Card: Hall 53′, Little 61′, Lewis 65′
Yellow Card / Red Card: Johnson 8′, 22′
Woking: 13. Craig Ross, 2. Kyran Lofthouse, 3. Josh Casey, 4. Tom Champion, 5. Joe McNerney, 6. Moussa Diarra, 8. Solomon Nwabuokei, 14. George Oakley, 18. Jordan Maguire-Drew (17. Tarryn Allarakhia, 82′), 19. Tahvon Campbell (11. Tyreke Johnson 86′), 24. Rohan Ince (22. Kane Thompson-Sommers).
SUBS NOT USED: 1. Mark Smith (GK), 7. Jamar Loza.
Attendance: 2,486 (204 away)