When something is billed as 'the biggest thing ever seen' - it often only holds that title until something bigger comes along.
That was certainly the case when Torquay United and Exeter City went into what was billed as ‘the most crucial Devon derby of all-time’ in January 2001. Both the Gulls and the Grecians went into this game in the bottom three of the Third Division with the very real threat of relegation to the Conference staring them in the face.
The pair had
previously met at St James Park on Boxing Day, where they played out a 1-1 draw
in which the Gulls snatched a late equaliser through Eifion Williams that cancelled
out Jamie Campbell’s opener for the Grecians.
At the time of their
clash only bottom placed Carlisle United possessed fewer points than either
United or City, and the fear that the loser could be condemned to the
wilderness of non-league football loomed large.
The match started off well for the Gulls,
as their front two of Eifion Williams and Tony Bedeau both went close to
opening the scoring. The match then took a controversial turn in the fifth
minute when Grecians captain Chris Curran was sent off by referee Andy Hall for
a challenge on Torquay’s French midfielder Khalid Chalqi; it had looked as
though Curran had used the elbow.
Torquay were then able to pile the pressure on Exeter as
they made their extra man count. The funniest moment of the game came on the
half hour as Jimmy Aggrey took issue with City’s player-manager Noel Blake over
a challenge on Torquay keeper Ryan Northmore. Blake then ran the full length of
the pitch back to his starting position with a “Who do you think you are?” look
on his face.
Then on the stroke of half time, Exeter player-coach John
Cornforth felled Torquay striker Tony Bedeau in the penalty area; this prompted
referee Hall to point to the penalty spot-kick, a decision that sparked anger
amongst the travelling Exeter Fans.
Torquay skipper Mark Ford had to wait two minutes to take
the penalty, as a minor pitch invasion was subdued. Ford was then able to send
Exeter keeper Arjan Van Heusden the wrong way to give the Gulls the lead. This
enraged Exeter’s travelling support further as around a dozen of their
supporters spilled on to the pitch and later claimed that they were incited by
Ford.
The second half saw Blake pull a muscle in an attempted
challenge on Bedeau and he replaced himself immediately with Mark Burrows. The
second half also saw an increase in the tempo of the game, as Grecians winger
Christian Roberts proved a real handful for Torquay with his electrifying pace
and they found it increasingly harder to make their advantage count against
10-man Grecians.
Torquay had Northmore to thank for a string of good saves as
Kwame Ampadu and Roberts both went close for City; they proved to be vital in
helping keep Torquay in the game.
In the 69th minute, Exeter were rewarded for
their efforts on goal as former Manchester United apprentice Mark Rawlinson
reacted quickest to equalise after Northmore had parried an initial strike from
future Gulls’ manager Paul Buckle.
This sparked an immediate change in the Torquay side as
manager Wes Saunders replaced Bedeau with targetman John Gayle, but the service
to him and fellow striker Williams was worse than it was before.
Saunders made a second substitution by bringing on Paul
Holmes for Robbie Herrera to help counteract the pace of Christian Roberts, but
it was Saunders’ introduction of Kevin Parker in place of Kevin Hill, which
would have the biggest effect on the outcome of the match
Parker was able to latch on to a Mark Ford pass and then
beat two tired Exeter defenders. He tried his luck and it paid handsome
dividends as he snatched a dramatic winner for the Gulls. This then sparked scenes of jubilant
celebrations amongst the Torquay fans, which prompted Parker to remove his
shirt in his goal celebration, as Torquay clinched victory in superb style and the three points took them a step nearer
survival.
Watching that
afternoon in the stands was former Spurs and England defender Steve Perryman,
who had agreed to work with the Grecians as an unpaid football consultant to
assist manager Blake. Perryman was able to steer City away from the drop, but
the Gulls would have to wait until the final day of the campaign to retain
their league status – which they did with the help of another ex-Spurs player
Colin Lee.
Torquay (4-4-2): Ryan Northmore; Steve Tully, Jimmy Aggrey, Lee Russell, Robbie Herrera
(Paul Holmes 81); Khalid Chalqi, Gary Neil, Mark Ford, Kevin Hill (Kevin Parker 89); Eifion Williams, Tony Bedeau (John Gayle 70)
Exeter (4-4-2): Arjan Van Heusden; Neil Whitworth, Chris Curran, Noel Blake
(Mark Burrows 56), Graeme Power; Christian Roberts (Graeme Tomlinson 90), Paul Buckle, John Cornforth (Kwame Ampadu 64), Mark Rawlinson; Paul Read, Steve Flack
Attendance: 4,053
An abridged version of this match and another 49 matches can be found in Torquay United: A History in 50 Matches - which is available here torquayunitedahistoryin50 — Torquay United: A History in 50 Matches
