TON UP FOR MAC

Torquay United goalkeeper Shaun MacDonald celebrated his 100th appearance for the Gulls with a clean sheet, as United held Boreham Wood to a goalless draw. 

It was a well deserved clean sheet for MacDonald, 25, who has established himself not only as United's number one goalkeeper but as one of the most popular members of Gary Johnson's current squad.

One of the United's first signings in the summer of 2018, as then manager Gary Owers looked to build a squad capable of winning promotion from National League South at the first attempt. Newcastle-born MacDonald, who had swapped his native North East for the South West, was one of a number of debutants who featured on the opening day of the 2018-19 season, which saw the Gulls draw 0-0 with Chelmsford City. 

Nine games into his first campaign at Plainmoor, Owers, the manager who had brought MacDonald to Plainmoor, was sacked and within days Johnson was unveiled as his successor.

Initially, MacDonald had shared the goalkeeping duties with Alex Bass, who had joined the Gulls on loan from Portsmouth. However, an injury sustained in United's 2-2 draw with Woking - in what was Johnson's first home game in charge - meant that MacDonald became the Gulls' first choice keeper, as United rose from being 14th in National League South to becoming champions under Johnson. 

He also won the National League South player of the month award for December 2018. 

On United's return to the National League, he started the Gulls' opening game of the campaign - a 2-1 win over Boreham Wood - but then found himself sharing the goalkeeping duties with the Brazilian Lucas Covolan, who Johnson signed in the summer of 2019 from Worthing FC. 

At the end of the 2020-21 season, which saw United miss out on a return to the Football League following their play-off final defeat to Hartlepool United, MacDonald left Plainmoor. He then had trials at a number of clubs, including Hartlepool and Dundee. 

After a spell which saw the Gulls concede 16 times in six matches, Johnson needed to find a new goalkeeper as Mark Halstead sustained concussion and his only other contracted keeper Marcin Brozozowski had only made four senior appearances. 

He quickly turned to MacDonald and he marked his return with a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Southend United on September 18, 2021 - which was secured with a late winner from Connor Lemonheigh-Evans - and his rest, as they say, is history. 

MacDonald also joins a list of goalkeepers from the North East who have served the club well over the years. It's a list that includes John Turner, who can be currently be found behind the bar of the Gulls Nest on matchdays and Kenny Allen who had two spells at Plainmoor between 1983-1986 and 1987-88, and famously came out of retirement to play against Wolves and Bolton Wanderers in the Sherpa Van Trophy in the 1988-89 campaign. 

Shaun MacDonald factfile: 

Date of birth: 26/10/1996

Place of birth: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Previous clubs: Gateshead, Blyth Spartans 

Honours: National League South Player of the Month December 2018, National League South winner 2018-19

SIX TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS BARNET

1. Lemonheigh-Evans at the double.

By netting a first half brace, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans took his goal scoring tally for the 2021-22 season to seven. The former Wales Under-21 midfielder, who was playing as a 'false nine' for Gary Johnson's side, opened the scoring in the ninth minute and doubled the Gulls' advantage on 27 minutes when he turned home a cross from Stephen Duke-McKenna. 

He could have completed his brace three minutes earlier than he did, after being teed up by Stephen Wearne, however he was denied by the reflexes of Barnet keeper Aston Oxenborough. 

Lemonheigh-Evans is now four away from equalling his return for the 2020-21 season, when he found the back of the net 11 times. 

2. Duke-McKenna's assist. 

After opening his goal scoring account in the Gulls' previous fixture against Dover Athletic, Queens Park Rangers loanee Stephen Duke-McKenna was once again one of United's leading performers. 

His cross which was volleyed home by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans must surely rank amongst the best assists ever made by a Torquay United player, as he picked the Welshman out perfectly. 

In the dying minutes of the game he almost found the winner when he fired over from close range, which would have been his second in as many games had it gone in. There is surely more to come from him between now and the end of the campaign. 

3. MacDonald's late save. 

There wasn't really anything that United keeper Shaun MacDonald could have done about either of Barnet's two goals, but he was instrumental in denying them a third late on. 

The Bees were looking to hit the Gulls on the counter attack following a corner in injury time and debutant sub Louis Walsh found himself one on one with MacDonald. However, the United keeper reacted decisively to deny him and the rebound then fell to Walsh's fellow sub who fired over. 

4. Marriott's goal for Barnet was a turning point. 

Adam Marriott's seventh goal of the season on 37 minutes for Barnet proved to be a turning point in the match in more ways than one. Firstly, it gave the Bees something to hold onto going into the half time interval and secondly, should referee Thomas Kirk have stopped play for a head injury to Dean Moxey in the build up to the goal? The re-start following the goal was delayed while United physio Kai Hepworth attended to Moxey's injury, however with no VAR in the National League we will never know what decision it would have made regarding the incident.

5. A sense of de ja vu? 

In their final home game of the regular 2020-21 season, the Gulls surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Barnet - a result which effectively ended United's National League title prospects as Sutton United beat Hartlepool 3-0 the following match to clinch it. 

Only time will tell if United's draw with the Bees in 2021-22 will have had a similar impact on United's hopes of reaching the play-offs. However, the challenge now for the Gulls is to pick themselves and go again against Boreham Wood on Tuesday, who themselves will have an eye of next week's FA Cup fifth round tie against Everton at Goodison Park. 

6. Danny Wright's return. 

The second half was also notable for the introduction of Danny Wright from the subs bench as he continues his return from the injury that he sustained against Solihull Moors last month. It was Wright's second appearance from the bench after he came on against Dover Athletic last week - and hopefully it won't be long before he returns to the starting line-up.  

FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF THE CLASS OF 98 COULD PROPEL JOHNSON'S GULLS INTO PLAY OFFS

If Gary Johnson's Torquay United are to reach the National League play-offs in the 2021-22 season then they could do a lot worse than follow the example of Kevin Hodges' class of 1998 who reached the Third Division play-off final. 

In the 1997-98 season, the team that Hodges had rebuilt in the summer of 1998 spent much of the first half of the campaign in mid-table before finding themselves on the fringes of the promotion race by the turn of the year. 

This was, of course, before a club record run of eight successive wins between January and March 1998 (Shrewsbury 3-0, Hartlepool 1-0, Brighton 4-1, Hull 5-1, Doncaster 1-0, Chester 3-1, Lincoln 3-2, Cardiff 1-0) moved the Gulls firmly amongst the division's front runners; they were still in contention for automatic promotion right up until the final day of the campaign when they lost to Leyton Orient. 

One similarity that can be found between the class of 1997-98 and the present day United is that the responsibility for finding the back of the net is spread evenly amongst the squad. 

While Rodney Jack topped the goal scoring charts with 16 goals to his name and he was followed by the iconic wing-back pairing of Paul Gibbs (10) and Andy Gurney (9). Attacking midfielder Armani Little is currently United's top scorer in 2021-22 with ten and the next on the list is Little's fellow midfield maestro Connor Lemonheigh-Evans with five and centre back Joe Lewis and skipper Asa Hall are next with four apiece. 

However, a major catalyst for United's record breaking run in 1997-98 was the loan signing of Jason Roberts from Wolves, who netted four times during United's eight matching winning sequence and formed a lethal partnership with Jack into the bargain. 

If Johnson can pull another proverbial 'rabbit out of the hat' in the loan market, as he often has done since his arrival at Plainmoor in September 2018, who can have a similiar impact to the one that Roberts had in 1997-98 then United's recent victory over big spending Wtexham could be the start of something very special indeed. 

SIX TALKING POINTS FROM TORQUAY UNITED VERSUS WREXHAM

1. Asa Hall excels at the back. 

Instead of playing in his usual holding midfield role, United skipper Asa Hall was deployed by Gulls manager Gary Johnson as a centre back and Hall took his role like a duck to water. 

The former Oxford United, Shrewsbury and Cheltenham midfielder was deployed in the middle of a back three which consisted of the returning Joe Lewis and Dean Moxey. He was a threat in both boxes, as he won practically everything in the air that Wrexham's attack could throw at him and scored what proved to be the winner when he headed home Armani Little's free-kick at the back post in the eighth minute. 

Hall appeared as a centre back on occasions at his previous club Barrow and this could be his new role going forward for the Gulls. 

2. Joe Lewis and Dean Moxey help keep a clean sheet on their return. 

After missing United's previous two fixtures due to testing positive for Covid-19, Joe Lewis and Dean Moxey both helped the Gulls to keep a clean sheet on their return to the starting line-up. 

In the 20th minute, Lewis made a couple of important blocks to keep James Jones and Ollie Palmer at bay. The duo, along with Hall, brought a level of authority and calmness to United's back line - and they will be key figures for United for the remainder of the campaign. 

3. Starting without a recognised striker. 

While Wrexham named Ollie Palmer in their forward line, who they paid League One side AFC Wimbledon for his services, Torquay started the match without a recognised striker in their starting line-up. You could have been forgiven for thinking that Gary Johnson had named Connor Lemonheigh-Evans as a 'false nine' - but the United midfielder was indeed playing a a central striker with Sunderland loanee Stephen Wearne playing as a 'number 10' behind him. In an era where Pep Guardiola regularly names Phil Foden or Jack Grealish as a central striker for Manchester City - Johnson has shown such tactical flexibility isn't confined to the upper echoleons of club football. 

4. Tom Lapslie was a midfield dynamo. 

With Asa Hall being moved into defence, the defensive midfield responsibilities rested on the shoulder of Tom Lapslie, who was also marking his return to the Gulls' starting line-up. Playing as a screening midfielder in front of the United defence. the former Colchester United man made a number of important of interceptions and blocks, and with the energy levels he showed Wrexham must have felt as though they were facing two of him. 

5. The return of Luke Young. 

On this third return to Plainmoor since he left the Gulls to sign for Wrexham in the summer of 2018, Luke Young captained the Red Dragons after recently agreeing to extend his stay at the Racecourse Ground for another year. Young tested United keeper Shaun MacDonald with a shot on the edge of the area in the 47th minute, which was one of Wrexham's better chances in the match. 

6. The Gulls are now nine points from the play-off zone. 

Yesterday's win now leaves the Gulls nine points off seventh place, the league's final play-off spot, which is occupied by Wrexham. With winnable games to come for United in their next two fixtures against Dover away and at home to Barnet, the Gulls now have the chance to close that gap further before they face Boreham Wood on February 22.

SCHUEY VERSUS TUCHEL

Steven Schumacher

Full name: Steven Thomas Schumacher

Date of Birth: 30th April 1984

Age: 37

Place of Birth: Liverpool

Playing position: central midfielder

Previous clubs: (player) Everton, Carlisle United (loan), Oldham Athletic (loan), Bradford City, Crewe Alexandra, Bury, Fleetwood Town, Stevenage, Southport (manager) Southport (caretaker) Plymouth Argyle

Honours: None

        Thomas Tuchel 

Full name: Thomas Tuchel

Date of Birth: 29th August 1973

Age: 48

Place of Birth: Krumbach, West Germany

Previous clubs: (player) TSV Krumbach, FC Augsburg

(manager) FC Augsburg II, FC Mainz 05, Borussia Dortmund, Paris St Germain, Chelsea

Honours: DFB-Pokal 2015-16 (Borussia Dortmund), Ligue 1 2018-19, 2019-20, Coupe de France 2019-20 Coupe de la Ligue 2019-20, Trophee de Champions 2018, 2019 (Paris St Germain) UEFA Champions League, European Super Cup 2021 (Chelsea)

FA CUP FOURTH ROUND PREVIEW 2021-22

 Chelsea versus Plymouth Argyle

Less than two months into his reign as Plymouth Argyle manager, Steven Schumacher finds himself going head to head with the current Champions League holders Chelsea. 

One-time Everton starlet Schumacher, who succeeded Preston North End bound Ryan Lowe in December 2021, will be picking his managerial wits against Thomas Tuchel. 

The Blues, who trail leaders Manchester City by ten points in the Premier League, will no doubt see the FA Cup as an opportunity to win another major trophy. They also have a Carabao Cup final against Liverpool to look forward to next month. 

Tuchel will probably see their clash with the Pilgrims as a chance to feature a number of their fringe players, including Marcus Bettinelli, Saul Niguez and Timo Werner, as well as youth prospects Lewis Hall and Harvey Vale. 

Argyle midfielder Jordan Houghton will be lining up against the club where he started his career and Panutche Camara could return to the Argyle side after appearing for Guinea-Bissau in the African Cup of Nations. 

The Pilgrims have faced Chelsea's Under-21 side in the EFL Trophy three times in recent years, in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Several faces who featured in those three encounters are set to be involved at Stamford Bridge. Blues winger Callum Hudson-Odoi netted twice in their 2017 encounter and current Argyle first teamers Michael Cooper and Adam Randell appeared in their 2019 meeting.