Sunday, 20 October 2019

FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS BOREHAM WOOD

1. Torquay United maintain 100% FA Cup record against Boreham Wood.

By seeing off the challenge of Boreham Wood in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round, Torquay United's FA Cup record against the Wood now reads: played two, won two. The Gulls and the Wood previously met in the first round in the 2002-03 season where a brace from Martin Gritton and further efforts from Alex Russell, Jason Fowler and Jo Kuffour sealed a 5-0 win.

2. Jake's fine left peg.

Jake Andrews' fine strike on 26 minutes, which opened the scoring, was his fifth goal of the 2019-20 campaign - since re-joining the Gulls from Bristol City on a permanent basis. After scoring 12 times last season in all competitions, as United clinched the National League South title, Andrews - who turned 22 last Monday - has now almost reached half of that tally already and few would bet against him hitting double figures by the end of the campaign.

3. Late own goal shouldn't diminish Robbie Cundy's fine display.

Robbie Cundy's own goal deep in injury time, when he inadvertently turned a cross from Kane Smith into the back of his own net, set up a nervy finish for the Gulls - but shouldn't diminish Cundy's overall display. As well as making an important block to deny Sorba Thomas on 44 minutes, he also ensured that Wood striker Kabongo Tshimanga - one of the leading scorers in the National League - had an extremely quiet afternoon.

4. Armani Little showed glimpses of his full potential in first 90 minutes.

After being a stand-out performer in pre-season, with stunning free-kicks against Plymouth Argyle and Swansea City Under-23's, big things were expected from Armani Little once the regular campaign got underway. However, injuries have so far prevented him from enjoying a lengthy run in the team. Nevertheless, after getting a full 90 minutes under his belt - playing in the number 10 role just behind Jamie Reid - he showed more than a few glimpses of the form that he showed to help Woking win promotion from National League South with the Gulls. If he continues in this vein then it will only be a matter of time before he adds his solitary goal of the campaign, which he scored earlier in the season against Barnet.

5. A fourth FA Cup win out of five under Johnson.

After going seven years without a win in the FA Cup, United have now won four out of five under Gary Johnson. Their win over Boreham Wood yesterday joins a list of cup scalps under Johnson that now includes Lymington Town, Brightlingsea Regent and Winchester City. With United now going into Monday's draw as ball number 75 - so it will be interesting to see if another name ends up being added to that list in the first round proper.