Torquay United ‘let down’ by another poor decision

Torquay United were denied a late winner against a stubborn Tonbridge Angels after a dubious offside decision at Plainmoor, with manager Paul Wotton earning a suspension in the process.

The Gulls have been on the receiving end of some dodgy calls already this season but the denial of a winner two minutes from time, when new loan signing Keke Jeffers planted a terrific diving header into the back of the net from a Jordan Young corner, was particularly painful for the boss, who picked up his third booking in the aftermath and a subsequent touchline ban.

In the 88 minutes prior to the ‘big’ moment, United demonstrated plenty of endeavour against a determined opponent but just lacked that cutting edge to breach a steadfast defence.

“I don’t think disappointment is the right word because the players gave everything but we could 100% be better and we lacked quality in the final third,” said Wotton.

“Tonbridge were never going to score but they came with a game plan and fair play to them because they made it difficult for us. The longer the game went on, the fitter we got, we were moving the ball and had loads of entries into their box but we didn’t work their ‘keeper hard enough.

“The players worked themselves into the ground and we are frustrated because we did score a goal. In the Chelmsford game, we scored a goal, same as the Welling game.

“It’s not offside!

“Even watching live, it’s not offside, and I’m getting hugely frustrated and disappointed in key decisions, and then I get booked and I’ve got a ban.

“I do swear too much, it’s a bad habit of mine, but all I said here was ‘it’s not offside, it can’t be offside’. I said it a few times and I get booked.

“The positives are another clean sheet and when the games are tight like that, our set-pieces were poor. It is points dropped and it is really frustrating.

“We kept plugging away to get that chance, we get that chance and a great header from Keke, but we’ve been let down.”

In the opening half-hour in front of another bumper crowd of 3,250, it was fairly stodgy stuff. The only glimpse of goal for United came from an audacious long-range strike by Matt Carson that just whistled over the bar.

A searing move early in the second period offered better hope for the Gulls, Carson rampaging down the left to deliver a lovely cross steered narrowly wide by the arriving Omar Mussa.

The Gulls cranked up the pressure, Dan Hayfield forcing a decent block from Matthew Rowley, as the Yellow Army noise grew in anticipation for that one moment to deliver three more points in the promotion push.

It was a corner from Young, again impressive in the United midfield, that presented Jeffers with his opportunity to grab the headlines. The youngster on loan from Stoke City did his job perfectly but the assistant referee, perhaps not so much!