F.A. Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg
York City 1 Torquay United 0
Torquay go through 2-1 on aggregate
Torquay put in a brave, battling performance against York City this afternoon to seal a place in the F.A. Trophy final in May. The game was lost 1-0 but United go through 2-1 on aggregate to make a fourth trip to Wembley.
Boss Paul Buckle made two changes to the last line-up against Halifax; Steve Adams returned to the side in place of Matt Hockley while Chris Robertson was selected ahead of Mark Ellis at centre back.
United started the game well enough and restricted York from a blood and thunder beginning to the match. In fact during the first ten minutes there were no defensive emergencies for United and things were looking comfortable enough. The first decent chance fell to Farrell for York who headed wide from a free kick when he could have done better. Almost immediately after, Danny Stevens had a shot blocked on the edge of the penalty area as United gave as good as they got early on. On 18 minutes Lee Phillips came close to giving United the perfect start; Tim Sills hit a good pass out to Lee who cut inside from the left and avoided a couple of challenges before hitting a decent shot which Evans did well to hold low down. Mid-way through the first half and United were looking solid enough at the back and playing without any obvious sign of nerves.
York danger man Woolford was being kept quiet as both sides struggled to break down each others stubborn defence. Chris Hargreaves made a superb sliding challenge to block any chance Farrell had to shoot from the edge of the area and, along with his midfield partner Steve Adams; the United skipper was keeping a firm hand on things in the midfield. As the half drew to a close York tried to up the tempo and were trying to get the ball forward a lot quicker but if anything this suited United as the margin for error on York's passing increased. Level at half-time and a good, solid 45 minutes from the Gulls. Quite an uneventful half in some ways which certainly was appreciated from a Torquay point of view although everyone in the ground was aware of what to expect in the second half from the home side.
It was always unlikely that, with the score level, the second half was going to be anything but a frantic 45 minutes of football. Danny Stevens benefited from a slip at the back from the York defence but his first touch let him down and the chance was lost as United had the better of the early exchanges. United were the better side but just as they looked to have got a hold on matters disaster almost struck; Panther found himself with a golden opportunity for a strike at goal but he hit his shot weakly and the chance was snuffed out by a superb block from Chris Zebroski. York made a tactical substitution and pushed three men up front in an attempt to push United onto the back foot although Tim Sills came close on the hour mark but put the ball over the bar. Just as the travelling United supporters were daring to think about transport to London in May the match was turned on its head; Sodje broke through and produced a fine save from Martin Rice in the United goal, unfortunately the ball deflected away from Rice into the path of Chris Todd who was rushing back to defend, the United centre back couldn't get out of the way quickly enough and the ball ended up in the back of United's net - game on.
The Battle of the Alamo lasted about two and a half hours and that is what the next 27 minutes felt like in this game. Rice held well from a decent strike from Brodie and was looking very confident in his handling. United were trying to get hold of the ball and get some decent possession and should be commended for doing so when the temptation must have been at times to hack the ball anywhere anyhow. Tim Sills was cynically brought down by McGurk in the 73rd minute as the Gulls started to look dangerous on the break and just a minute later from the resultant free kick Kevin Nicholson hit a terrific 40 yard shot that Evans did very well to tip over for a corner. The action now was non-stop with Chris Todd picking up a booking for a challenge on Evans and within a minute Rice was saving point blank from Rowe as United battled to keep their aggregate advantage intact.
In the space of four minutes midway through the second half Lee Mansell got booked, saved his team and possibly should have been sent off. He was yellow carded for dissent just after he had made a goal saving tackle on Woolford and just before he looked to have made a bookable tackle for which Steve Adams was shown a yellow card. It was all happening but one thing was still unchanged - the score - and the final whistle wasn't far away. Roscoe Dsane replaced Tim Sills and watched as Lee Phillips had a chance to wrap things up with 7 minutes left but he couldn't get his shot away as the 'keeper and defenders closed him down. Kaid Mohamed was sent on to replace Phillips soon after and it was no reflection on either Torquay front men that they were replaced, just a need for some fresh legs to help relieve the pressure. A groan from the away end when the fourth official showed four minutes of added on time almost became screams of horror when Chris Todd beat Martin Rice with a back pass that the United 'keeper managed to gather a yard from his goal line. Both sides had given everything and try as they might York could not breakdown the United defence. It shows how determined United were as a defensive unit when York's goal and nearest chance of a second both came from a United player and not themselves! The final whistle was a relief to us all and although a defeat it was a three hour test which United won. Recent results and performances may not have been the best but this will do wonders for the confidence of everyone, not least the players who have made a tremendous effort to get the club back to Wembley. A big well done to Paul, his staff and the players. Wembley here we come!
York City - Evans; Rowe, McGurk, Robinson, Parslow, Purkiss, Elliott, Panther (Brodie 56), Woolford, Sodje, Farrell. Subs not used - Kelly, Craddock, Mimms, Boyes.
United - Rice; Mansell, Todd, Robertson, Nicholson, Stevens, Hargreaves, Adams, Zebroski, Sills (Dsane 79), Phillips (Mohamed 86). Subs not used - Ellis, Hockley, Andersen.
Attendance - 3625 (United support - 297)
