Woking 4 Torquay United 1
Vanarama National League
28th August 2017

Woking got back to winning ways at home in the National League with a 4-1 victory to maintain their good start at Kingfield. Four brilliant goals from The Cards by Joe Ward, Kane Ferdinand, Charlie Carter and Bobson Bawling comfortably oversaw bottom of the table Torquay United.

Woking welcomed National League strugglers Torquay United to the Laithwaite Community Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday. The visitors brought some of their famous Devon coast sunshine as they looked to get their first win of the season against The Cards. Woking themselves were hoping to maintain an impressive start at Kingfield in the league by making it 3 wins out of 4 at home.

Woking made two changes from the side that lost 1-0 away to Wrexham 48 hours before, with Matt Young and full-debutant Jason Banton replacing Louis Ramsay and Bobson Bawling.

Woking won the first corner of the game 30 seconds in as Effiong bullied his way into the box with the ball eventually finding Nathan Ralph to chip in a cross that was cleared. The corner was headed way off target by Carter. A good bit of skill five minutes later from Banton triggered a flowing move from left to right for The Cards, the onrushing Young mistimed his cross which nearly looped in at the back post.

Torquay lacked chances in the first 10 minutes but Jake Gosling twice tested Ralph down the right wing but the Woking left back was up to the challenge. Torquay managed their first effort on goal in the 12th minute as a dangerous cross in eventually led to a long shot which was well blocked by Richard Orlu.

Woking's weakness from set-pieces was nearly exploited in the 16th minute as Gosling put in another dangerous ball, this time from a corner. The corner was headed inches over Nathan Baxter's bar thanks to a Cards head but it was dangerously close to an own goal. A drinks break shortly followed the corner on what was a balmy Bank Holiday afternoon.

Good pressure from Carter forced another corner for The Cards halfway through the first half. The corner was played short to Chez Issac, whose delicate cross was headed away by the visitors only to Joe Ward 20 yards out from goal. Ward had time to line up a shot and with encouragement from The Cards faithful he let fly for the opening goal. His drilled effort through the crowd with his dangerous left foot flew past Lavercome and into the bottom left-hand corner. It was Ward's 2nd goal since arriving from Brighton in the summer and was Woking's first effort on target.

Ward nearly turned provider six minutes later as a turn of speed and a calm ball into Banton led the latter to cut inside and blaze a powerful effort just over the bar.

32 minutes in and Woking doubled their lead in what was a great team move following Ward's brilliant individual effort. Banton's presence was growing into the game and his brilliant interplay from a throw-in with Kane Ferdinand led to a 2 on 1 situation. Banton and Ferdinand played two quick passes to breeze past the visitors' defence; Banton then cut the ball back to Kane Ferdinand, who was unmarked in the penalty area, Ferdinand still had Lavercombe to beat but he showed a calm head to take a touch and calmly slot it past the Torquay keeper into the bottom right-hand corner. Two brilliant goals in a nine-minute spell looked to have put the Cards in a strong position coming into the break.

It was Torquay who halved the deficit just before half-time; unfortunately for Woking, this was the pick of the bunch. A cross was well dealt with by the Cards defence. However, the ball bobbled to James Gray 35 yards out and the Torquay man took a touch and fired a stunning effort into Nathan Baxter's top right-hand corner. There was nothing the Chelsea loanee could do about it - a goal out of nothing for the visitors to halve the deficit on the stroke of half-time.

The half ironically didn't have many chances but three moments of quality had given Kingfield a good first half of entertainment.

Half-time: Woking 2 Torquay United 1

A long ball just a minute into the first half nearly restored Woking's two -oal lead as the onrushing Offing out-muscled two Torquay defenders to be first in the foot race but he was well prevented by Lavercombe who comfortably smothered the ball.

Woking didn't have to wait too long to restore the two-goal margin, however, as they made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute. Persistent work from Joe Ward allowed him to get to the byline after a great show of strength. Ward looked up to see three onrushing teammates anticipating the cutback. The ball eventually was fizzed into Carter, who made no mistake with his first time finish, providing a deft touch across the Torquay keeper into the bottom corner.

The Cards' confidence was flowing now, as Bawling replaced Banton straight after the goal. Banton's 50 minutes, on the road back from his long-term injury, included a brilliant assist and his was a promising performance. Effiong came close twice before the hour mark and was unlucky to see his shot tipped away by Lavercombe.

Just when you thought the Cards fans weren't treated to enough fantastic goals, substitute Bobson Bawling opened his account for Woking in the 57th minute with another goal of exceptional quality. The ball found Bawling 25 yards out on the right. The winger still had a lot to do but a few step-overs fooled the visitors' defence. He then cut inside and curled a wonderful effort from the edge of the area into the top left-hand corner. It certainly rivalled Gray's thunderbolt for the visitors.

As the visitors' frustrations grew, James Gray was booked for a ferocious challenge on Effiong 65 minutes in. The stoppage in play allowed Nathan Ralph to make way for Louis Ramsay after another solid display.

Bawling's pace added a second wind to The Cards' attack as they looked to put a real gloss on proceedings with 20 minutes to go. Ward's cross found Bawling in the centre and the sub headed inches wide.

The last ten minutes saw Woking inevitably take their foot off the gas and Kane Ferdinand added to his goal by clearing what would have been a second goal for the visitors off the line. Goal scorer Carter was replaced by Millwall loanee, Jamie Philpot.

The game continued its lull towards the end as The Cards made it 3 wins from 4 at home. All five goals were of the highest quality, with Woking finishing the summer with a flurry of goals.

Woking: Nathan Baxter (GK), Matt Young, Nathan Ralph (Louie Ramsay 67'), Josh Staunton, Richard Orlu ©, Chez Isaac, Kane Ferdinand, Charlie Carter (Jamie Philpot 83’), Jason Banton (Bobson Bawling 55'), Joe Ward, Inih Effiong

Goals: Ward 23’, Ferdinand 32', Carter 53', Bawling 57'

Bookings: Staunton, Philpot

Subs not used: Sam Mason, Declan Appau

Torquay: Dan Lavercombe (GK), Sean McGinty, Luke Young ©, Jon-Paul Pittman, Ruairi Keating, Jake Gosling (Andy Haworth 74'), Myles Anderson, Rory Fallon (Jamie Reid 59'), James Gray, Yan Klukowski, Ryan Higgins

Goals: Gray 45'

Subs not used: Neal Osborn (GK), Tallan Mitchell

Attendance: 1,936

Sponsors' MOTM: Chez Isaac: his tenacious work in the middle was vital in a comfortable home win for The Cards.

Referee: Daniel Middleton