Specsavers
FA Cup (R1)
3:00pm - SaturdaySat 10th NovemberNov 2018
Plainmoor | Att: 2419

Torquay
Torquay United
0 - 1

Woking
Woking

Cards aim to continue FA Cup run

Glen Harrington
12:45pm, Thu 8th Nov 2018
Torquay United vs Woking
The Emirates FA Cup First Round
Saturday 10th November


The Cards will look to reach the second-round proper of the FA Cup for the third season in a row on Saturday as they travel to National League South rivals Torquay United.

Woking have enjoyed a fine recent record in the Cup; during Garry Hill’s final season in charge the Cards defeated this weekend’s opponents Torquay in a replay and comfortably beat Stockport County before going out to then League 2 side Accrington Stanley. Last season, under Anthony Limbrick, the Cards saw off Concord Rangers and, famously, League 1 side Bury before eventually going out to another League 1 side, Peterborough, on a third replay of the campaign.

Alan Dowson will be hoping to add his name to the club’s proud record in the competition by extending this year’s run which has already seen us defeat Tooting & Mitcham United, Kempston Rovers and Welling United. Torquay, with whom we played out a 2-2 draw at the same ground earlier this season, have reached this stage by beating Lymington Town (7-0), Brightlingsea Regent (3-0) and Winchester City (4-1). Managed by Gary Johnson, they currently sit in seventh place in the National League South, with 24 points from 15 games – four points less than the Cards. However, they are unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions.

We are eagerly anticipating a large and vocal travelling support, with three coaches set to travel plus undoubtedly more fans making their way using different routes – we sincerely hope you all enjoy the game and that you can help propel the team to victory!

Woking Team News

For the first time in several weeks it appears that Dowse could have a near full-strength team to pick from so it will be interesting to see if he deviates significantly from the team which drew 2-2 with Chippenham Town last time out.

There has been some speculation that Berti Schotterl could be close to a recall in goal in place of Craig Ross, with the German getting plenty of minutes under his belt this week both in the mid-week friendly against Farnborough and as an emergency stand-in for Dowse’s former club Kingstonian in their 1-1 draw with Tonbridge Angels on Wednesday. In defence, the quartet of Nathan Collier, Josh Casey, Jack Cook and Ben Gerring feels relatively settled, although Ian Gayle should be available again after illness. Charlie Wassmer is now on loan at Leatherhead and won’t feature.

In midfield, Dowse should have Armani Little available again, with the Oxford United loanee an unused substitute in his parent club’s mid-week EFL Trophy win over Wycombe Wanderers. Max Kretzschmar is also pushing for a recall in the more advanced role after scoring twice against Farnborough on Tuesday and, whilst unlikely to feature on Saturday, it appears Christian Jolley is now close to returning to first-team action after a horrible few months out with a potentially career-threatening injury. It will be interesting to see whether any of the above are rushed back this weekend, particularly when academy graduate Charlie Hester-Cook and Nottingham Forest loanee Toby Edser have been doing a fine job of anchoring the midfield, with Greg Luer showing flashes of potential ahead of them.

Up front, Dowse should have a full compliment to pick from, with Nicky Wheeler hopefully recovered from a minor knock which saw him drop down to the bench last weekend and Harvey Bradbury also now back having got the last few minutes for Oxford on Tuesday. Jamar Loza, fresh from his goal scoring exploits last weekend, is also permitted to play having featured for the Cards already in this season’s competition.

Torquay United Team News

The Gulls have a very strong squad to choose from. For last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Billericay Town they went with Shaun MacDonald in goal; a back four of Ben Wynter, former Southampton full-back Ryan Dickson, Frenchman Jean-Yves Koué Niate and Newcastle United academy graduate Kyle Cameron; in midfield was experienced former Northampton and Oxford Untied man Liam Davis and Bristol City loanee Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, whilst a dynamic front four included Ruairi Keating, another exciting French player in Kalvin Lumbombo Kalala, plus two-goal scorer Saikou Janneh, also on loan from Bristol City, managed by Johnson’s son Lee, and Jamie Reid who bagged a brace against the Cards back in September. Former Card Brett Williams came on as a late substitute.

Of the other former Woking players, neither Bobson Bawling or Jason Banton have featured for Johnson’s side for several weeks, with both quickly shipped out on loan following the new manager’s arrival. Bawling has been at Oxford City with Banton now at St Albans City.

On the Day

Plainmoor can be found on Marnham Road, a short walk from Torquay town centre; the postcode is TQ1 3PS - a drive of around three and a half hours from the Laithwaite Community Stadium. The nearest station is Torre Station – around a 20 minute walk from the stadium. Matchday ticket prices range from £13-£15 for adults, depending on the stand, and are £11 for concessions and £7 for under-18s. Those under the age of seven can go for free if accompanied by a paying adult. Away fans are traditionally situated in the Bristol Street Motors away terrace for which tickets can also be bought in advance on the Torquay website.

Next Up

The Cards are back in league action on Wednesday evening when we travel to Gloucester City. That’s followed by another away trip next Saturday when we go to Slough Town. Our next home league game is currently scheduled for the start of December against Dartford.

Cool Kretzschmar sends Gulls out as Woking reign in the rain

Michael Phillips
12:00am, Sat 10th Nov 2018

Torquay United 0 Woking 1
F.A. Cup 1st Round Proper
10th November 2018

A professional and hard-fought Cards' performance saw them through to the F.A. Cup 2nd round in a close battle with Torquay United as Dowse's side managed a narrow victory at a stormy Plainmoor. Following three consecutive home draws, Woking faced a trip to Devon to try and extend their run in the F.A. Cup. Dowse made two changes to the team that grabbed a point in injury time against Chippenham Town last week, Max Kretzschmar (pictured above) and the returning Oxford United loanee Armani Little replacing Greg Luer and Duane Ofori-Acheampong.

Woking lined up in their classic red and white halves to take on the home side, adorned in yellow. Torquay started the brighter of the two teams and it took them less than 60 seconds to force Craig Ross into the first save of the match – blocking Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala’s low shot from a tight angle. The Gulls followed this up with two free kicks and from the second they managed to get the ball into the back of the net. James Andrews' free kick headed back across goal by captain Kyle Cameron and bundled in by Jean-Yves Koue Niate, however, the goal was ruled out for offside.

Woking managed to hit back on the quarter of the hour mark, Kretzschmar getting in behind the Torquay defence and striking a low attempt goal-wards but goalkeeper' Shaun MacDonald did well to divert the ball away to keep the game goalless. Minutes later, Kretzschmar managed to get away a second effort at goal after good play from the Cards but Ryan Dickson did well to block his effort.

After a fast-paced ten-minute period with no real clear cut chances, Torquay stamped their authority back on the match in the 26th minute when the tricky Lumbombo-Kalala made enough space for a good cross from a wide position, attempting to pick out Jamie Reid, but the ball eluded him and the far post, bouncing just wide. Moments later the home side won a free kick just outside the corner mark which eventually ended up at the feet of Andrews who whipped the ball towards the goal and Ross had to be alert to tip the ball behind for another corner which the Cards successfully defended.

Gary Johnson's team continued to pile on the pressure and in the 34th minute produced the best move of the match. Following some neat build-up, Saikou Janneh got clear down the wing and found Ben Wynter on the run and he picked out Lumbombo-Kalala in the area who volleyed at goal only for Ross to turn it away with a spectacular save. Two minutes later and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans was released down the left and found Lumbombo-Kalala, who set out to shoot once again. Ross was quick to get down low to turn the ball away from goal but the ball fell to Reid who somehow shot over from close range as the home side squandered the best opportunity of the match so far.

Woking were still failing to create any clear opportunities despite having a respectable amount of possession and were relying on some last ditch defending from Gerring and Cook and some great goalkeeping from Ross to keep them level. To finish the half there were two more attempts at goal - one from either side. First Lemonheigh-Evans went on a wonderful solo run before firing in a long-range effort which Ross was able to hold while at the other end Jake Hyde managed to get away a low effort from outside the area but it was tame and easy for MacDonald to deal with. Moments after that the referee blew the half time whistle and Dowse would have been happy going into the break with the match goalless.

Half-time: Torquay United 0 Woking 0

The second half began as frantically as most of the first half had been. The Gulls won an early corner and it was met by Janneh at the near post before being cleared off the goal line. Woking responded immediately when 30 seconds later Jamar Loza latched onto a loose ball in behind the home defence and raced into the area. He went tumbling down under the challenge of Niate and the referee pointed to the penalty spot and produced the first yellow card of the match for the Torquay man. Kretzschmar was always going to take the penalty for the Cards and was as reliable as always with the pressure on, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way to put Dowse's men 1-0 up in the 48th minute.

Torquay tried valiantly to get back into the match but were left frustrated by the Woking offside trap and the time taken to take the resulting free kicks. Ten minutes after Woking's opening goal, Janneh was set free down the right-hand side but took one touch too many as he tried to get a clean strike on goal. From a tight angle, he could only manage a fierce attempt into the side netting.

In the 64th minute, Johnson opted to change things around in a bid to get back in the game and brought on Ruairi Keating for Andrews. It almost had the desired effect two minutes later when Reid nipped in ahead of Gerring and Ross to meet a cross from Dickson but his flicked header whistled over the bar. Torquay fans were then left fuming when Janneh picked up the ball inside the area and was clattered into by Gerring but the referee had already stopped play for an earlier foul on Lumbombo-Kalala by Little, who was shown the second yellow card of the match. Two minutes later and his midfielder partner Hester-Cook was also booked for a late challenge.

The team in yellow had plenty of free kicks to put pressure on the Woking defence but the Cards were defending valiantly to keep their lead. In the 78th minute, Lumbombo-Kalala managed to find space for yet another shot at goal but could only watch his curling effort flash just wide of the post off the outside of his right boot. With ten minutes to go, both sides made a substitution for the closing stages, Ian Gayle came on for the cautioned Hester-Cook and ex-Card Brett Williams replaced Janneh. The visitors continued to defend admirably with Torquay fans frustrated with the referee for not reprimanding perceived offences in the Woking penalty area for shirt pulling and then later a foul on Williams. They did however approve of him adding Ross's name into the book for time wasting in the 83rd minute.

As the 323 Woking fans were in full voice urging their team on to victory, Johnson chose to roll the dice one last time giving Olaf Koszela the chance to make a late impact in place of Lumbombo-Kalala. The late action was frantic with Wynter and Kretzschmar both seeing yellow cards for a late tackle and kicking the ball away respectively. One final opportunity fell to the visitors and it would have gone in the net had it not been for some spectacular last ditch defending from Dowse's men. Reid smashed in a low effort and the ball pinged around the penalty area after the rebound had come off Williams at the far post and seemed to be cleared off the line three or four times before finally being smashed upfield and away from danger. Goalkeeper MacDonald ending up in the Woking penalty area for a last-minute corner in the match's tense finale but the Cards stood resolute once again and the final whistle blew following another clearance.

It was a thrilling and frantic cup tie and the home side will feel aggrieved to have lost it having had some great chances but from a Woking perspective it was a brave and professional performance against a strong and rejuvenated side under Johnson. The club now awaits the 2nd Round draw on Monday with much anticipation.

Woking: 1 Craig Ross, 2 Nathan Collier, 3 Josh Casey, 4 Jack Cook, 5 Ben Gerring, 6 Charlie Hester-Cook (19 Ian Gayle 82’), 7 Toby Edser, 8 Armani Little, 9 Jake Hyde, 10 Max Kretzschmar, 11 Jamar Loza.

Unused subs: 12 Duane Ofori-Acheampong, 14 Paul Hodges, 15 Dan Spence, 16 Greg Luer, 17 Nicky Wheeler, 18 Berti Schotterl (GK).

Goals: Kretzschmar (Pen) 48’.

Bookings: Little 70’, Hester-Cook 72’, Ross 83’, Kretzschmar 90’.

Torquay United 1 Shaun MacDonald, 2 Ben Wynter, 3 Liam Davis, 10 Saikou Janneh (9 Brett Williams 82’), 11 Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 15 Jean-Yves Koue Niate, 16 Ryan Dickson, 17 Kyle Cameron, 18 Jake Andrews (7 Ruairi Keating 64’) Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala (21 Olaf Koszela 86’)

Unused subs: 6 Jamie Sendles-White, 13 George Burton (GK), 22 Josh Baxter

Bookings: Niate 47’, Wynter 86’.

Referee: Declan Bourne

Attendance: 2419 (323 Woking Fans)

Man of the Match: Ben Gerring – a towering performance at the heart of the Woking defence
Torquay United LINEUP
1Shaun MacDonald
2Ben Wynter
16Ryan Dickson
17Kyle Cameron
18Jake Andrews ('64)
3Liam Davis
11Connor Lemonheigh-Evans
15Jean-Yves Koue Niate
20Kalvin Lumbombo-Kalala ('87)
10Saikou Janneh ('82)
19Jamie Reid
BENCH
13George Burton
6Jamie Sendles-White
7Ruairi Keating ('64)
9Brett Williams ('82)
21Olaf Koszela ('87)
22Josh Baxter
WOKING LINEUP
1Craig Ross
2Nathan Collier
3Josh Casey
4Jack Cook
5Ben Gerring
6Charlie Hester-Cook ('82)
7Toby Edser
8Armani Little
9Jake Hyde
10Max Kretzschmar
11Jamar Loza
BENCH
12Duane Ofori-Acheampong
14Paul Hodges
15Daniel Spence
16Greg Luer
17Nicky Wheeler
18Berti Schotterl
19Ian Gayle ('82)

Torquay United 0 - 1 Woking | Josh Casey Interview

Torquay 0-1 Woking | FA Cup 1st Round | Dowse Interview

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