United 2
(De Silva 10′, Ash 61′)
Tonbridge Angels 1
(Mampolo 59′)
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United secured another valuable three points on Saturday, as The Gulls defeated Tonbridge 2-1 at Plainmoor.
For the second successive home match, Dillon De Silva’s early goal gave United an early advantage, before that was cancelled out just short of the hour mark by Francis Mampolo. Brad Ash struck soon after to put The Gulls back in front though, and that’s the way it stayed until full-time.
United manager Gary Johnson made one enforced change to the side that comprehensively beat Eastbourne on Tuesday night, with Dillon De Silva replacing Callum Dolan in the starting XI, following the latter player’s recall to his parent club, Fleetwood.
It was the visitors who enjoyed the bulk of the early possession, however when The Gulls launched their first attack of the game on the counter in the tenth minute, they made it count.
A crossfield ball under pressure from Brett McGavin found Jack Stobbs on the left wing just short of the halfway line. Stobbs’ instinctive ball up the line was perfectly timed for Collins to latch onto, and after making swift progress down the wing, his delivery to the back-post was bang on the money – with De Silva duly slamming the ball into the net to make it 1-0.
The breakthrough saw Johnson’s men grow in confidence thereafter, as they put their opponents on the back foot for sustained periods.
Collins and Stobbs both tried their luck from outside the box before 20-minute mark was up, however neither effort was quite precise enough to extend Torquay’s lead, with Collins’ shot going straight down the throat of visiting goalkeeper Jonathan Henly, whilst Stobbs’ strike cleared the crossbar.
It’s only fair to add that Tonbridge were continuing to show plenty of promise in attack themselves, and although they were largely limited to a supporting role during the first half-hour, a lengthy spell of ‘olés’ from the Yellow Army was nearly cut short rather abruptly on 26 minutes, as Jordan Higgs’ 25-yarder clipped the top of the woodwork.
The away team certainly took heart from that, and as the match edged towards its halfway point, the Angels created a couple of decent opportunities to level the game up.
In the 43rd minute, a hotly-disputed 20-yard free kick from Jamie Fielding forced Mark Halstead to dive full-length to keep it out, before an goalmouth scramble in injury time forced almost everyone in a yellow shirt to help Halstead ‘mother the goal’ in order to keep the ball out.
A warning sign for Johnson’s men, and the opening minutes of second half saw the two sides exchange chances once more.
A Stobbs foray down the left flank saw the ball diverted away from goal, and although the ball fell kindly to McGavin just outside the area, his effort was too high to trouble Henly.
Scott Wagstaff’s left footer on the edge of the Torquay penalty area flashed wide of the far-post moments later, however Tonbridge did restore parity on 59 minutes.
On a bustling run towards goal, Mampolo’s opportunity gained further momentum due to an unfortunate slip from Stobbs, with the Tonbridge making the most of the stroke of luck by sending a curling effort into the top-corner of the net.
Level terms only lasted two minutes though.
Dylan Crowe, on for Marshall, provided the perfect outlet for Stobbs down the right wing, and after delivering a pin-point ball into the path of Ash eight yards out, the Gulls forward calmly slotted home his eighth of the season to re-establish his team’s lead.
The final half-hour remained closely fought, with United protecting their lead whilst trying to add a clincher, whilst their opponents went all-out to salvage a point.
In truth, clear-cut chances were at a premium, although Johnson’s side had to soak up a fair bit of visiting pressure during the closing stages, which included nine minutes of additional time.
Everyone did their jobs though, and just after the scoreboard ticked into three figures, the final whistle heralded United’s fifth win in seven games, as their challenge at the top of the National League South table continues.
UNITED: 1. Mark Halstead, 4. Tom Lapslie, 6. Ross Marshall (2. Dylan Crowe, 59′), 10. Lewis Collins (30. Ethon Archer, 49′), 11. Brad Ash, 14. Brett McGavin, 17. Dillon De Silva (19. Theo Williams, 71′), 21. Dean Moxey (c), 23. Ollie Tomlinson, 26. Archie Harris, 27. Jack Stobbs.
SUBS NOT USED: 22. Rhys Lovett, 24. Calum Thomas.
Yellow Cards: Marshall 48′, Ash 68′, Williams 78′, McGavin 80′
TONBRIDGE ANGELS: 1. Jonathan Henly, 2. Jamie Fielding, 5. Lewis Gard, 7. Francis Mampolo, 8. Jordan Higgs, 12. Tariq Hinds, 14. Mohammad Dabre (9. Obed Yeboah, 84′), 17. Ethan Sutcliffe, 18. Jordan Greenidge, 19. Jernade Meade, 22. Scott Wagstaff (c) (27. Ansu Janneh, 86′).
SUBS NOT USED: 4. Tom Parkinson, 13. Nathaniel Gibb, 16. Billy French.
Yellow Cards: Higgs 73′
Attendance: 1,850 (78 away)