United 5
(Little, 11′, 90+4′, Lemonheigh-Evans, 14′, 77′, 86′)
Notts County 1
(Wootton 74′)
Match sponsored by:
The Lavy Day
Gary Johnson’s side produced an unforgettable performance in front of a raucous Yellow Army on Saturday, as they thrashed Notts County 5-1 at Plainmoor.
A stunning effort from captain Armani Little got The Gulls off to a flyer, and when Connor Lemonheigh-Evans doubled that advantage shortly after, Torquay’s devoted supporters were able to savour an almost faultless start. A second half goal from Kyle Wootton gave the The Magpies hope, however two more from Lemonheigh-Evans, and another from Little, sealed a stunning victory for the men in yellow.
The Gaffer made one change for the visit of County, with Chiori Johnson’s inclusion at the expense of Opi Edwards being the only amendment to the side that dispatched Weymouth so comfortably two weeks ago.
In comparison to the vibrant atmosphere off the pitch, there was a relatively quiet opening to proceedings on the turf, as both sets of players took a bit of time to size each other up.
The first shot of the game came in the eighth minute, as a run and deflected shot from Lemonheigh-Evans landed to Stephen Duke-McKenna on the ege of the box, however after looking up to set his sights, his rising drive was directed too close to visiting goalkeeper Vítezslav Jaros.
When the breakthrough came three minutes later, it was a thing of beauty.
After finding himself in a promising position on the left of the 18-yard box, Stephen Wearne made the sensible choice to hold onto possession rather head down a dead end. Having played a simple pass back to Little, the decision was handsomely rewarded, as he sent a delicious curling effort into the top left-corner of Jaros’ net.
Not content with that, Torquay went in search of strengthening their lead, and it wasn’t long before their bravery was rewarded.
After a superb right-wing cross from Duke-McKenna narrowly evaded Danny Wright’s back-post lunge, the latter turned provider during the very next attack.
A through ball towards Wright drifted a little too wide for him to harbour hopes of a goal for himself, however after showing all his experience by sending a low ball across the face of goal, Lemonheigh-Evans arrived just in time to make it 2-0.
Ian Burchnall’s side, knowing they had to act or risk being blown away, duly applied some pressure on the Gulls’ backline for the first time in the game.
A couple of timely interventions from Joe Lewis in a packed goalmouth – including a block just in front of the goalline that Shaun MacDonald may have struggled to reach – was evidence of Torquay’s commitment to the cause.
Chances were by no means flowing The Magpies’ way, although Harry Arter did send a curling right-footer away from goal when well placed in the 38th minute.
The pendulum swung back the way of the men in yellow two minutes later, as, on a Lewis close-range pass, Wright forced a near-post tip over with a ferocious shot from a half-cleared corner.
With an additional six minutes indicated in what had become an action-packed first period, the only real point of note during the time saw Wotton initially profiting from some tidy hold-up play from Matt Palmer, before driving wide of MacDonald’s post.
Two goals to the good at the break, and there was to be no lack of incident following the change of ends.
Not wanting to give their opponents any encouragement, the visitors nearly grabbed a pathway back into the match on 51 minutes, as a cross from former Gull Aaron Nemane from the right fell perfectly for fellow substitute Elisha Sam six yards out, yet somehow, the County man fluffed his lines by flicking the ball wide of the left upright.
As the game approached the hour-mark, Johnson’s men served notice of their intent to continuing applying pressure at the other end though, as Tom Lapslie got on the end of a inviting pass from Lemonheigh-Evans, before seeing Jaros gather his near-post shot.
As the clock continued to tick by – far too slow for those of yellow persuasion – the visiting side began to shade the territorial advantage – perhaps unsurprising given the scoreline.
After holding them out for so long though, United’s determined backline was eventually breached in the 74th minute.
A ball into the box found Wootton lurking around the penalty spot, and after working himself space for a shot, an unsighted MacDonald could only watch on as his left-footed effort found the back of the net to reduce the arrears.
Any disappointment at seeing that lead halved was duly put on the back burner moments later though..
Little, who had led his side with distinction all over the pitch, took the battle to Notts once again by making swift progress down the right, and despite a trailing leg on the edge of the box looking like it may end any hopes of a third goal, the recently-capped England C man had the poise and vision to spot Lemonheigh-Evans matching his pursuit upfield, leaving the latter to jink into the box before sending a sublime curler past Jaros, prompting scenes of joy all around Plainmoor.
That joy would soon turn to ecstasy.
With four minutes remaining, despite the laws of football almost demanding that the trailing side should be pinning their opponents back, Johnson’s men broke with tradition as their irrepressible Welshman took ownership of the match ball.
A deep ball from Little was directed to the back post over the head of Wright, leaving Lemonheigh-Evans to chest the ball down and take a touch before drilling his low strike past Jaros’ outstretched hand to make it 4-1.
Game over? Not as far as the home side were concerned.
Little, continuing his own personal torment of The Magpies’s bedraggled defence, stormed towards goal, and despite his surge into the box seeing the ball temporarily taken off his boot, a majestic flick over the advancing glovesman made it five of the very best, and clinch their first league win over County since 1966. That was quite a year that was for club and country, and on this display, who would bet against 2022 following suit.
Before the game, the Gaffer has asked the Yellow Army to match the determination and passion by his players – and how they responded. When the players, supporters and staff unite together like they did at Plainmoor this afternoon, absolutely anything is possible.
United: 37. Shaun MacDonald, 2. Ben Wynter, 4. Tom Lapslie, 7. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 9. Danny Wright, 10. Armani Little (c), 12. Stephen Wearne (3. Dan Martin, 59′), 14. Chiori Johnson (8. Asa Hall, 69′), 15. Stephen Duke-McKenna (16. Keelan O’Connell. 90′), 21. Dean Moxey, 31. Joe Lewis.
SUBS NOT USED: 1. Mark Halstead, 5. Ali Omar.
Yellow Cards: Wynter 27′, Wright 43′, Lapslie 63′, MacDonald 72′, Moxey 76′
Notts County: 13. Vítezslav Jaros, 5. Connell Rawlinson, 9. Kyle Wootton, 16. Dion Kelly-Evans (11. Aaron Nemane, HT), 17. Frank Vincent (19. Elisha Sam HT), 18. Matt Palmer, 20. Rúben Rodrigues, 22. Harry Arter (6. Jim O’Brien, 68′), 23. Adam Chicksen, 24. Alex Lacey, 26. Jayden Richardson.
SUBS NOT USED: 25. Sam Graham, 27. Zak Brunt.
Yellow Cards: Arter 24′, Lacey 61′
Attendance: 3,130 (577 away)