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On a summers day in the East Midlands, Torquay took to Sincil Bank to encounter a very strong Lincoln City side who had started their Vanarama Confrence campaign extremely positively, having only dropped 5 points out of a possible 15.
On a warm but blustery afternoon in Lincolnshire the loyal 154 Torquay United fans emerged into the Stacey West Stand.
As soon as the game kicked off it was apparent to the Gulls that the City side were to take the front foot. That was until the eighth minute. Duane Ofori-Acheampong received a chipped ball through from skipper Luke Young and as the giant striker attempted to knock it past the Imps number twenty-three Nat Brown, the centre half put his arms out and denied O’Archie the goal scoring opportunity he so richly deserved. Referee Richard Wigglesworth was hesitant and refused the appeal until his linesman flagged, leading to a straightforward dismissal.
Red Card. Game on.
Despite the one man deposit, seven minutes later Lincoln were straight back to asserting their dominance and after a clumsy challenge in the area by United Centre Half Aaron Downes, the referee blew for a penalty.
Ben Tomlinson had no qualms from the spot and sent Torquay’s Number One Martin Rice the wrong way. 1-0.
Straight from the restart the Gulls side looked hungry and determined to claw their deposit back. It was only thirteen minutes later that the one man difference showed and a sizzling run down the left from Cameron resulted in a low cross to O’Archie, one of which he could hardly miss. The sides were back on level terms.
A ‘cat an mouse’ remainder of the first half persisted. As both teams fought for the lead.
As the second half began it was apparent Hargreaves had addressed his players in the interval, as they came out the blocks looking fresher and motivated. Just 17 minutes after the restart and after a crossbar rattling shot from substitute Toby Ajala, Courtney Richards hit a swerving strike from 25 yards out that rustled in the net, sending a frenzy of joy around the away end.
It was a matter of 10 minutes before united added to there advantage, after half time substitute Jordan Chappell hit the imps on the break and squared the ball to O’Archie, the former Southend mans scuffed shot eventually found the net and sent the United fans into seventh heaven. Ten minutes before the end there was a nasty clash in the Torquay area and it lead to an additional 10 minutes of added time, after the break of Jordan Burrow’s nose. The additional time was dominated by United and a fourth was deserved. However the third was more than accepted as United returned to winning ways.
A fantastic second half performance earned a well deserved victory.
Contributed by Will Taylor.
