Glen Harrington
1:59pm, Sun 29th Aug 2021
Torquay United vs Woking
Vanarama National League
Monday 30th August 2021
Woking will have the chance to immediately respond to the disappointment of Saturday’s home defeat to FC Halifax Town as they travel to old rivals Torquay United in the National League.
It was a troubling afternoon for Alan Dowson, who blamed poor defending for his side’s 3-2 loss, which came despite the Cards having the better of large portions of the game. Jordan Maguire-Drew and George Oakley, deputising for the injured Inih Effiong, both scored their first goals for the club, but they were always chasing the game after conceding just before and just after the half-time break. The home side also lost Max Kretzschmar, following his brace on the opening day, to a groin injury in the warm-up. Tom Champion deputised in a three-man midfield.
Dowse will have at least been buoyed by the performance of his two substitutes. Birmingham City loanee Kane Thompson-Sommers, making his club debut, and the returning Tyreke Johnson both impressed in the second-half as the hosts pushed for an equaliser. Both players could be in line for a promotion to the starting line-up on Monday. The likes of Jamar Loza and Tommy Block, who haven’t been involved thus far, could also get an opportunity to impress at Plainmoor.
Opposition Watch
Last season’s beaten play-off finalists have endured a challenging summer. Several players key to their success last year have since departed, including goalkeeper Lucas Covolan (Port Vale), defender Kyle Cameron (Notts County), wide midfielder Ben Whitfield (Stockport County), and forward Aaron Nemane (also Notts County). Several squad players, including Matt Buse and Billy Waters, a scorer against the Cards on Saturday, have also moved on.
Nonetheless, veteran manager Gary Johnson has assembled another experienced squad which will be expecting to at least challenge the play-off places. Former Woking loanee Dan Holman has joined to reform his successful striking partnership with Danny Wright – the pairing which was key to Cheltenham Town’s promotion under Johnson in 2016 – whilst they’ve also retained the likes of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, Asa Hall, Ben Wynter, and another ex-Card, Armani Little.
They were given a shock on the opening day, going down 3-1 at home to Altrincham, but responded well on Saturday to claim a hard-fought point at Notts County. Despite losing Ali Omar to an early red card, they took the lead through Wright’s first-half strike, before Kyle Wootton earned a point for the hosts.
Recent Meetings
• Woking
0-2 Torquay United – 20th April 2021, National League
• Torquay United
1-0 Woking – 2nd April 2021, National League
• Woking
1-0 Torquay United – 27th February 2021, FA Trophy Quarter-Final (Loza)
• Torquay United
4-1 Woking – 28th December 2019, National League (Hyde)
• Woking
1-1 Torquay United – 3rd September 2019, National League (Tarpey)
On the Day
Torquay’s home ground is Plainmoor. The postcode is TQ1 3PS.
Tickets are available online and will remain on sale until one hour before kick-off. Woking supporters have been allocated the Wollens Away Terrace and Block A of Bristow’s Bench for this fixture. Tickets for the terrace cost £16 for adults, £14 for concessions, £10 for under-18, free for under-7s. Tickets for the seated area are £18 for adults, £16 for concessions, £10 for under-18s, free for under-7s. There will be no tickets available from the turnstiles on the day. For more information
click here.
The Cards Trust is also running a coach to this game.
Go here to find out more.
