United 3
(Wearne 12′, Little pen 19′, Wright 46′)
Weymouth 0
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Gary Johnson’s side completed a superb week at home, as United ran out 3-0 winners over Weymouth at Plainmoor.
Stephen Wearne gave The Gulls the perfect start, and that early advantage was increased shortly after through Armani Little’s penalty kick. Just after the interval, Danny Wright added further gloss to the scoreline with a third, to round-off an excellent week for the Yellow Army.
Following the midweek demolition of Aldershot, the Gaffer unsurprisingly named the same starting eleven to face Weymouth, with the only change coming on the bench, as Keelan O’Connell replaced Chiori Johnson amongst the replacements.
The match might not have begun with quite the same amount of fireworks as Tuesday, however it only took twelve minutes before United were a goal to the good.
The move itself was simplicity personified, with a searching ball down the left wing giving Wearne something to chase, and after outpacing his opponent with ease, the on-loan winger drove inside the box before sending his right-footed effort low into the far corner of the net.
Having displayed their healthy appetite for goals against Aldershot, Torquay were soon in search of another.
It duly arrived seven minutes later.
A delightful one-two between Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Little sent the latter clear, and after turning his man inside out, a clipping of the United skipper’s legs inside the 18-yard box saw the referee make his easiest decision of the season, as he pointed to the penalty spot.
Having picked himself, leading scorer Little dusted himself down before firing the ball into the back of the net for his eleventh goal of the campaign, despite visiting goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimons’ best efforts – 2-0.
Johnson’s men continued to pile forward rather than sit back on their lead, and just short of the half-hour it was nearly three, as a cleverly worked free-kick 25 yards from goal saw Little feed Stephen Duke McKenna to his left, however on this occasion the QPR loanee saw his dipping right-footer clear the crossbar.
Weymouth did fire a warning shot in the 31st minute though, with Ben Thomson’s diagonal strike from the edge of the D forcing Shaun MacDonald to put a firm hand behind the ball in order to parry it away from danger.
The action soon switched back to the other end though, and with 37 minutes on the clock, a superb counter attack nearly paid off.
Having helped stem a threatening Terras attack, Duke-McKenna showed a devastating turn of pace on the right touchline before switching the ball across to Lemonheigh-Evans on the opposite side of the pitch, with the Welshman jinking inside the penalty area before seeing his cross-shot cannon off the near-upright.
The side from Dorset continued to plug away though, with Thomson forcing MacDonald into another save three minutes before the break, and the United stopper this time choosing to time palm the ball over his bar.
Two up at the break then.
You’ll never have to travel far for a well-versed football fan to tell you what a dangerous lead that is, however The Gulls found the perfect way to deal with that, as they promptly added a third moments after the restart.
A promising foray forward initially seemed to have lost its impetus, however with the visitors hoping the danger had been averted, a right-wing cross was flicked by Lemonheigh-Evans expertly into the path of Wright at the back stick, with the popular target man eagerly nodding home from point-blank range.
Things did quieten down somewhat thereafter, although Weymouth’s efforts to get back into proceedings appeared to be in more hope, than expectation.
A determined backline kept the visitors at bay though, and with time ticking down, Torquay upped the ante once more, as they went in search of taking further action towards their rapidly-improving goal difference.
After breaking his way into the right hand-side of the box, Ben Wynter set about crowning a remarkable individual week with a goal, however Terras stopper Fitzsimons refused to read the script by blocking his near post effort.
Shortly after, a rising drive from substitute Keelan O’Connell had too much on it, as it sailed into the Family Stand behind the goal, and although further chances at both ends came and went, a week which saw Johnson’s charges register seven goals without reply serves as an impressive reminder that there remains everything to play for, with nine left to play.
What a difference a week makes!
United: 37. Shaun MacDonald, 2. Ben Wynter, 4. Tom Lapslie, 7. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 9. Danny Wright (30. Dan Holman, 77′), 10. Armani Little (c), 12. Stephen Wearne, 15. Stephen Duke-McKenna (16. Keelan O’Connell, 72′), 21. Dean Moxey, 27. Opi Edwards (3. Dan Martin, HT), 31. Joe Lewis.
SUBS NOT USED: 1. Mark Halstead, 5. Ali Omar.
Yellow Cards:
Weymouth: 1. Ross Fotzsiminsm 3. Ben greenwood, 5. Ben Morgan (28. Nathan Carlyle, 51′), 6. Tyler Cordner, 7. Brandon Goodship, 9. Ben Thomson (14. Tom Bearwish, 75′), 10. Josh McQuoid (c), 11. Bradley Ash, 17. Aaron Drewe, 23. Cameron Murray, 32. Sean Shields (24. Matt Buse).
SUBS NOT USED: 4. Xander McBurnie, 18. Manasse Mampala.
Yellow Cards: McQuoid 64′
Attendance: 2,538 (145 Away)