Torquay United 2 Enfield Town 1
Report by Andrew Warshaw
Loads of positives to build on. That was the over-riding sentiment following our National League South baptism on the Devon coast.
Torquay may have had the upper hand for large parts of the game but the way we competed, so nearly snatching a point at the death, said everything about the collective effort especially when you consider we were up against a full-time outfit and still have several of our new recruits unavailable.
Indeed, many of the squad had never played together before, some having only just met, so it was a credit to them that they worked so hard for one another.
Having successfully emerged from the dark days of administration, there was an air of expectancy around Plainmoor which made for a wonderful atmosphere.
Only one of Torquay’s starting line-up survived from last season under their new management regime but Town, hoping to become party poopers, stunned the yellow army after just three minutes with our first goal at Step 2.
Joash Nembhard, one of our most effective players on the day, had already planted a free header over the bar when Lewis Taaffe’s superb glancing header from Ollie Knight’s cross (pictured celebrating) sent the 200-plus travelling fans into ecstasy
Our dream start was short-lived but there was a huge element of good fortune about the Gulls’ equaliser on 15 minutes when Matt Carson’s strike, which was going wide, took a deflection off Scott Thomas.
Torquay had already gone close to levelling when skipper Oscar Threlkeld’s half-volley skimmed the bar but now they were in full flow, putting Town under the cosh with winger Omar Mussa pulling the strings.
Bernie Tanner just managed to clear a whipped-in cross to safety before Torquay’s much-touted signing Cody Cooke got his feet in a tangle with the goal gaping.
Town newcomer Ernaldo Krasniqi, perhaps our most accomplished performer on the day, received the softest of bookings for what appeared to be throwing the ball away after a magnificent recovery tackle but the pressure finally told.
On 28 minutes, a dominant Torquay caught Town out with an overload and Carson’s pinpoint cross was headed home by Brad Ash.
Town were now struggling to get out of our own half and Ash almost increased the lead when shooting across goal and narrowly wide. Mussa then skipped past two defenders before firing down the throat of Rhys Forster.
H-T 2-1
With their 4-2-3-1 formation, Town had been too deep in the first half and the management team quickly responded by tweaking into a more attacking shape.
But Torquay again so nearly made it 3-1, first when Tanner superbly blocked Cooke’s point-blank effort, then when Forster reacted superbly to keep out Ash. Torquay also hit the bar and had a goal ruled out for offside.
But with no change to the scoreline, it was Town, with a flurry of substitutions, who finished the stronger against our fully professional hosts.
Only a last-ditch tackle by Sam Dreyer prevented our newest signing, Hisham Kasimu, from restoring parity following a powerful run into the box.
Then, deep into injury time, came our chance to leave with a memorable point as Torquay keeper James Hamon pulled off a double stop from Kasimu, who really looks the part, followed by a goal-saving interception from Jordan Dyer that brought a collective sense of relief around the 3,837-strong crowd.
With Khanya Leshabela’s international clearance still being held up and the likes of Billy Leonard and Jack Smith still not available, there is undoubtedly more to come from Town following a highly creditable opening display.
“They’re a full-time club yet we finished stronger,” said Gavin Macpherson. “We’re missing four of five and we’ve run them to the wire.”
“We were second best in the first half but we went 4-1-3-2 after the break and had a glorious chance at the end. There are obviously things we have to improve on that you can’t away with at Step 2. We had a rotten pre-season all over the shop but there’s a massive amount to build on because we will only get better.”
TOWN: Forster, Tanner, Payne, Thomas (Kasimu, 73), Nembhard, Knight, Youngs (Alves, 87), Folivi ( Beckles-Richards, 82), Taafe (Adjey-Hersey, 61), Krasniqi, Oyenuga (Parcell, 87).