TORQUAY UNITED 2 CHELMSFORD CITY 2

Two goals up in 13 minutes, after a sparkling start by new signing Jordan Young, Torquay United
allowed Chelmsford City to earn a draw in an exciting, often frustrating but full-blooded match at
Plainmoor.

Paul Wotton’s Gulls failed to build on or protect that early lead, given them by goals from Cody
Cooke in the second minute and the livewire Young in the 13th.

Veteran striker Jake Hyde headed City back into the game on the half-hour.
But United, who had what seemed like a good goal disallowed before the interval, had the chances
to put the game to bed.
Young and Omar Mussa both should have wrapped it up midway through the second half.
City duly punished them when their captain Cameron James forced home the equaliser in the 82nd
minute after James Hamon let a low shot slip.
Chelmsford looked like one of the best sides to visit Plainmoor this season, and at least United
preserved their unbeaten home record against them.
From the 2-1 defeat at Hornchurch, in came Young, Mussa and captain Oscar Threlkeld for United.
Midfielder Will Jenkins Davies had not recovered from the hip injury he sustained in Essex.
Wotton had asked for a fast start, after conceding first in the previous three games, and he got it.
The clock had been running less than two minutes when Young set off on a run from halfway.
He went past one man, cut inside on his left foot, had a shot blocked and an alert Cooke buried the
loose ball with a left-foot volley from 12 yards.... 1-0.
Hyde and former Gulls loanee Osman Foyo both should have got on the end of an Oguntayo cross,
but didn’t to United’s relief.
But it was a rare attack by the visitors in the opening stages, and there was soon more joy for
Torquay at the other end.
Young hit a 25-yard screamer which City keeper Woody Williamson tipped over the angle of post
and bar at full stretch.
Then, in the 13th minute, Young struck again.
Chelmsford tried twice to clear a Matt Carson, and when the second half-clearance fell to Young 15
yards out, his left foot drove a powerful shot through a crowded goalmouth and into the net... 2-0.
Young also drove over the bar from a Mussa pass, and after 20 minutes or so Chelmsford had hardly
got out of their own half.
But, and it was a big but, there were underlying problems in midfield, where Threlkeld was visibly
struggling to make an impact, and in some too-casual defending.
Chelmsford got the message and took advantage.
In the 29th minute Brad Williams set up Hyde for a turn and shot which James Hamon did well to
stop low to his right.

A minute later Oguntayo crossed from the left and Hyde directed a clever header back across Hamon
and into the bottom near corner...2-1.
The balance of the game had changed, and Hyde twice went close as the lively Williams took full
advantage of hesitant defending and a sloppy mistake by Jay Foulston.
Wotton was visibly unimpressed on the touchline, and he was no happier – like nearly everyone else
– when what looked like a 3-1 lead was chalked off in the 35th minute.
Sam Dreyer drove the ball home through a forest of legs from another Carson corner, referee Stacey
Pearson signalled a goal before deciding to consult linesman James Welsh under pressure from the
visitors.
After a lengthy chat, Ms Pearson disallowed the goal, although nobody could understand whether
for offside or a foul. She didn’t indicate offside.
The start of the second half was marked by a series of stoppages, some through injuries but several
others as referee Pearson made some puzzling decisions in an increasingly tense atmosphere.
At one point she warned Hamon about time wasting when he’d only just hopped back over the
fence from retrieving the ball.
For once Wotton held off making changes, while City boss Robbie Simpson made several.
At least United kept forcing Chelmsford back, and they had two great chances to stretch their
narrow lead.
In the 70th minute Young drove over on an angle after Cooke and Threlkeld had efforts blocked.
Moments later Mussa did the same, from only ten yards in front of goal.
They felt like costly misses, and so it proved.
In the 82nd minute United failed to pick up or stop Gale’s run into their box, Hamon spilled his low
shot and James drove in the rebound... 2-2.
Lirak Hasani, on for Mussa, had a goalbound shot deflected behind by James as Torquay tried to
respond.
But Chelmsford also pushed for a winner in a frantic finish which saw some desperate defending at
both ends.
Ms Pearson also made Carson her sixth booking of a match she often looked barely able to control.

Torquay United (3-5-2): Hamon; Dyer, Dreyer, Foulston; Craske, Hayfield, Threlkeld, Mussa (Hasani
79), Carson; Young, Cooke; subs not used – Seymour, Ash, Tonks, Moxey.
Booked: Craske 37, Dreyer 63, Cooke 77, Carson 90+1.

Chelmsford City (3-5-2): Williamson; Appiah, James, Gale; Williams, Tamplin (Penney 57/Kalala 61),
Bendle (Hockey 72), Ruff, Oguntayo; Foyo (Eames 90+5), Hyde (Greenidge 87).
Booked: Tamplin 53, James 65.
Referee: Stacey Pearson (Somerset).
Attendance: 3,466 (62 City fans).