1. Torquay United 4 Forest Green Rovers 1, December 26th 2015, Vanarama National League
Twenty one league places separated these two teams who were enjoying contrasting fortunes in the league, with the Gulls in 23rd place and Forest Green in second place.
The Gulls had trailed to a 20th minute strike from former Yeovil Town midfielder Keanu Marsh-Brown, but Tyrone Marsh hit a first half brace to give United the lead. His first effort, which came two minutes after Marsh-Brown’s opener, crept over the line – despite the best efforts of Forest Green keeper Steven Arnold – and was adjudged to have done so by linesman Andrew Ricketts.
He completed his brace in the 37th minute when he headed home a cross from Courtney Richards – following a short corner routine – to give the Gulls the lead.
In the final ten minutes, two late strikes from Durrell Berry - who scored his first goal for the club on 83 minutes - and Wright rounded off the win for the Gulls, as they recorded their first victory in front of their own fans since the opening day of the campaign.
2. Plymouth Argyle 2 Wycombe Wanderers 3, May 9th 2015, League Two Play-off semi final 1st leg
After securing a seventh place finish in the League Two table at the end of the 2014-15 season, Plymouth Argyle embarked on their first Play-off campaign since the 1995-96 campaign against Wycombe Wanderers.
Uncharacteristically, for a team with a fine defensive
record, the Pilgrims found themselves two goals down after the first 25
minutes. The Chairboys took the lead four minutes later when Alfie Mawson
headed a Joe Jacobson corner straight at Pilgrims’ keeper Luke McCormick, who
parried his effort. The ball then rebounded into the path of former Argyle
loanee Paul Hayes who nodded the ball home.
Two minutes later, Anthony O’Connor fired wide for the
Pilgrims after skipper Curtis Nelson flicked a Bobby Reid corner into his path.
Wycombe then doubled their lead on 22 minutes when Steven
Craig chested down a free-kick from Jacobson and Aaron Holloway blasted home
from the edge of the penalty area.
Reuben Reid later had an effort ruled out for offside before
the break, as Argyle trailed 2-0 at the half-time interval. After the re-start, the Chairboys extended their lead to three on 52 minutes when a quick free-kick from Sam Saunders caught the Pilgrims’ backline by surprise and Craig slotted home with a low drive.
With four minutes remaining, substitute Zak Ansah pulled one back for the Pilgrims to reduce their deficit to a single goal with a long range strike.
Then, on 89 minutes, Jason Banton pulled another goal with a speculative strike to ensure that the Pilgrims went into the second leg with only a single goal deficit – buoyed on by a vocal home crowds who were singing Bob Marley’s classic: Three Little Birds.
Argyle lost the second leg at Adams Park 2-1, which proved
to be John Sheridan’s final game in change and Derek Adams was appointed as his
successor. The buoyancy created by that night has been harnessed by Adams, who
has led the Pilgrims to the top of the league at the turn of the year.
3. Yeovil Town Ladies 1 Millwall Lionesses 0, July 19th 2015, Women's Super League Two
Following England’s successful third place finish at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, Yeovil Town Ladies were granted permission to use Huish Park for their first FA Women’s Super League encounter after the mid-season break against Millwall Lionesses.
A record crowd of 722 poured into Huish Park to witness the display – which was also broadcast live on BBC Radio Somerset – to witness a 1-0 victory by the Lady Glovers.
The decisive goal of the match came in the 21st minute when Sarah Wiltshire – who was marking her return to Yeovil, following a spell with Manchester City Women – crossed for Natasha Knapman to slot home for the Lady Glovers.
Yeovil were unlucky not to add to their tally before the half-time break, as Annie Heatherson hit the post and Wiltshire had an effort that crashed against the cross bar, but Knapman’s strike proved to be enough to separate the two sides.
4. Torquay United 1 Macclesfield Town 0, August 7th 2015, Vanarama National League
One of the highlights of Paul Cox’s brief reign in charge as Torquay United manager was the Gulls’ opening day victory over Macclesfield Town.
A second half strike from debutant Alex Fisher, one of nine debutants in the Torquay starting line-up, was enough to clinch all three points for United.
At one stage during the summer, there was a possibility that this match may not have taken place – as there was a realistic chance that United could have folded if the current consortium led by Chairman Dave Phillips hadn’t taken over the running of the club.
What was a new look United displayed an early attacking intent as new loan signing from Premiership new boys Bournemouth Joe Quigley fired wide inside the opening minute.
Three minutes later, the Gulls survived an early scare of their own as Silkmen skipper Danny Whittaker missed the target with a close range effort.
In the 11th minute, Macclesfield almost hit Torquay on the counter attack as Chris Holroyd broke away following a Gulls corner before picking out Whittaker. However, Torquay’s German keeper Fabien Spiess came to their rescue to deny the Silkmen skipper with a smart reflex save.
Macclesfield then began to dominate the game territorially
as Danny Rowe headed a free-kick from Whittaker wide on 19 minutes.
Three minutes before the break, Danny Whitehead tested Spiess
with an angled shot, which the Gulls keeper gathered comfortably.
In the second half, Torquay made a positive start as
Zimbabwean winger Shepherd Murombedzi cut inside before firing over with an
ambitious long range strike.
In the 60th minute, Nathan Smith had a shot blocked on the
line by Macclesfield’s Danny Lewis, which rebounded to substitute Malachi
Lavelle-Moore, who saw his shot turned behind for a corner by Silkmen keeper
Shwan Jalal. From the reulting corner, which taken by Bayan Fenwick, Exodus Geohaghon had a shot blocked, which fell invitingly into the path of Fisher, who turned the ball home to mark his Torquay debut with what proved to be the winning goal.
