United 3
(Stobbs 13′, Jude-Boyd 15′, 83′)
Weston-super-Mare 3
(Bastin 27′, Kempster 51′, Reid 87′)
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Roger Lester & Friends
The Gulls and the Seagulls couldn’t be separated on Bank Holiday Monday, as they played out a thrilling draw at Plainmoor.
Early goals from Jack Stobbs and Arkell Jude-Boyd set the stage for an entertaining afternoon, before Jordan Bastin’s strike midway through the first half brought Weston back into the match. When Weston levelled in the opening minutes of the second half through Bailey Kempster, the result was well and truly in the balance, prior to both sides netting again in the dying stages through Jude-Boyd again, and Reuben Reid for Weston, to se the final score pegged at 3-3.
Interim Manager Aaron Downes made one change to the side that went down 3-0 at Yeovil three days ago, with Ross Marshall replacing Austen Booth, with the latter dropping down to the substitutes bench.
United started the match on the front foot, and nearly broke the deadlock with less than three minutes on the clock.
A deflected cross from the right saw Weston goalkeeper Max Harris caught in no man’s land, and although he just about managed to smother Will Jenkins Davies’ effort inside the box, the ball fell kindly to Ethon Archer to his left, only for the winger to send his side-footed effort wide.
That pattern continues for some time after, with Downes’ side forcing the visitors back against their own goal.
The Seagulls’ first foray upfield very nearly proved fruitful however though, with some indecisive clearing of the lines resulting in Kempster seeing his 15-yard strike cleared off the goalline by a well-placed Dean Moxey.
United took the lead on 13 minutes.
Jude-Boyd’s central run allowed Archer to peel off to his left, and with his cross drilled across the edge of the six-yard box, Stobbs was ideally placed to bury his shot into net.
1-0 quickly became 2-0.
This time it a case of scorer-turned-provider, as a right-wing cross from Stobbs found Jude-Boyd in acres of space at the back-post, with the QPR loanee allowed ample time to pick his spot and slot home from just left of the penalty spot.
Just when we were all looking forward to a comfortable afternoon, the side from Somerset announced their arrival into proceedings in the 27th minute.
With the ball finding its way over to the left hand-side of the Torquay penalty area, former Tiverton forward Bastin looked up and rifled a stinging diagonal low drive into the net.
It certainly raised a few nerves, and United’s backline looked a little edgy for a period thereafter.
Just past the hour mark, Robbie Willmott brushed off the attentions of Archer to waltz into the 18-yard box unopposed, with only a smart near-post parry from Mark Halstead preventing an equaliser.
The resulting corner was no more convincing from a Gulls perspective, as a short routine allowed the ball to be worked over to former Plainmoor loanee Reid 15 yards out, and although he didn’t get full purchase on his shot, the effort still required a second goalline clearance of the game from Dean Moxey, who was then relieved to see the ball cannon off Halstead’s legs and go wide – rather than back into the net.’
It was The Seagulls now, rather than The Gulls, that were in full flight up until the halfway point, however the men in yellow held out until the break to preserve their 2-1 lead as they headed to the dressing rooms.
Sadly, it wasn’t too long before the visiting side wiped out the advantage once things got back underway though.
Having already signalled their intent by spending the majority of the first five minutes inside the Torquay half, in the 51st minute, it was all-square.
A low ball from the right may have eluded Reid six yards out, however Kempster was gambling in behind him, and was left with the simple task of prodding into an empty net.
At that stage, the three points were well and truly up for grabs.
Thankfully though, The Gulls steadied the ship.
Halstead did have to come up with a marvellous parry to his left to keep out Dayle Grubb’s shot from 20 yards midway through the second period, before United responded by going within inches of restoring their lead in the 71st minute.
After a left-wing delivery picked out Ross Marshall at the back post, his header back into the danger area saw Brad Ash follow it up with a header of his own, which cannoned off the crossbar before being desperately hacked away.
With eight minutes to go, a moment of fortune – not a frequent visitor to Plainmoor over the past few years – came to United’s aid.
With Jude-Boyd shaking of a knock that had threatened to prematurely end his afternoon only seconds earlier, the on-loan QPR man robbed his opposite number Keiran Thomas, his strike from distance looked set to be rolling harmlessly into ‘keeper Harris’ midrift, before the ball disappeared through his legs and over the goal line behind him.
3-2, but the drama wasn’t over there however.
The lead lasted just five minutes, with Reid holding off a man and twisting this way and that before finally getting his shot away from the edge of the box, and finding the bottom corner.
Both sides now were hell-bent on finding a late, late winner.
Stobbs came closest, with a 22-yarder that struck the crossbar again, however, in the end, it was a point apiece.
UNITED: 1. Mark Halstead, 2. Arkell Jude-Boyd, 4. Tom Lapslie, 6. Ross Marshall, 8. Asa Hall (c), 11. Brad Ash (19. Duane Ofori-Acheampong, 79′), 14. Brett McGavin (10. Lewis Collins, 61′) 18 Will Jenkins Davies, 21. Dean Moxey (3. Ollie Tomlinson, 90+6′), 27. Jack Stobbs, 30. Ethon Archer.
SUBS NOT USED: 22. Rhys Lovett, 5. Austen Booth.
Yellow Card: Lapslie 90+1′
WESTON-SUPER-MARE: 1. Max Harris, 2. Keiran Thomas, 3. Jordan Bastin, 4. Lloyd Humphries, 5. Jason Pope, 6. Raphael Araoye, 7. Robbie Willmott (15. Jacob Cane, 75′), 8. James Dodd, 10. Dayle Grubb (c), 11. Bailey Kempster, 19. Reuben Reid.
SUBS NOT USED: 12. Rex Mannings, 13. Freddie Butchers, 14. Jamie Soule, 16. Marlon Jackson.
Yellow Card: Humphries 66′, Cane 90+5′
Attendance: 3,094 (138 away)