MIDFIELD DUO ENSURE HAPPY HOMECOMING FOR HARGREAVES

Torquay United manager Chris Hargreaves made a winning return to his hometown club Grimsby Town as his Gulls’ side extended their unbeaten run to eight matches thanks to his new central midfield duo Courtney Richards and Luke Young.

First half goals from Richards and Young- their second and third goals for the Gulls respectively- ensured United went into the half-time break with a two goal advantage.

Following the break, a superb rearguard display enabled the Gulls to keep a clean sheet- their third in succession- to retain their position in the Play-off zone.

One pleasing aspect so far in Torquay’s season so far is that their midfield is chipping in with their fair of goals.

Of the 16 league goals that the Gulls have scored so far in the 2014-15 season, nine of them have been scored by the men deployed in the centre of the park.

Skipper Young is now United’s joint top scorer with striker Ryan Bowman, whilst Richards and wide man Courtney Cameron have scored two apiece and summer signings Toby Ajala and Louis Briscoe have managed a solitary strike each.

And let’s not forget that last year’s leading scorer, Jordan Chapell- who managed to find the back of the net five times in the Gulls’ disastrous League Two campaign of 2013-14, is yet to get off the mark.

Next up for Hargreaves’s men are back-to-back home games against Woking and Dover Athletic.

This coming Tuesday the Gulls host Gary Hill’s Cards, who are currently the only unbeaten side in the Vanarama Conference, at Plainmoor before Dover, managed by Chris Kinnear- brother of Joe, visit the English Riviera on Saturday.

If the Gulls’ midfield maestros can find the back of the net in either of those fixtures, then even better.

Torquay United’s goal scorers in the 2014-15 Vanarama Conference campaign to date:

Ryan Bowman & Luke Young - 3

Aaron Downes, Courtney Richards & Courtney Cameron- 2

Toby Ajala, Duane Ofori-Acheampong, & Louis Briscoe- 1

 

 

 

 

 

BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR HARGREAVES AND HIS GULLS

In his next challenge as Torquay United manager, Chris Hargreaves leads his young side back to the place where he started his footballing life: Grimsby Town. 

The Gulls head to Blundell Park on the back of a seven-match unbeaten run, which includes three consecutive wins over Lincoln City, Nuneaton and Chester respectively, and also find themselves in the Play-off zone for the first time in their 2014-15 Vanarama Conference campaign. 

Now the challenge facing United is to keep that record intact at a place which holds many memories for their manager. 

Back in 1988, Hargreaves- now 42- joined the Mariners as an apprentice- after briefly signing schoolboy forms with Everton- and broke into the first team at Blundell Park under the guidance of their then manager, Alan Buckley, at the age of 17 in 1989.

Buckley, who masterminded the Mariners’ rise from the ‘old’ Division Four to the ‘old’ Division Two- similar to the rise enjoyed by Cambridge United under John Beck at the same time, was soon earmarking Hargreaves as potentially being the club’s first £1million player; there were rumours of the late Brian Clough being interested in signing him for Nottingham Forest. 

However, neither the big money move, nor the transfer to the City Ground ever materialised for Hargreaves as he later joined Hull City for £50,000 in 1993 before embarking on a career that saw him appear for West Bromwich Albion, Hereford United, Plymouth Argyle, Northampton Town, Brentford, Oxford United (twice) and Torquay. 

During his two and a half years at Plainmoor as a player, Hargreaves skippered the Gulls to promotion from the Conference in 2009 and now- in 2014- he is attempting to lead Torquay back into the Football League as a manager; and a positive result against his first professional club could go a long way to helping his young side achieve that objective this season. 

For the Mariners, those heady days of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, as well as the late-1990's when Buckley returned for a successful second spell, must seem like a very distant dream as, like the Gulls, they are vying for a return to the Football League having been relegated from League Two at the end of the 2009-10 season. 

Footnote: In March 1996, Hargreaves’s former boot boy, Gary Croft, achieved the title of becoming Grimsby Town’s first £1million player when Blackburn Rovers paid the Mariners £1million for his services. 

Chris Hargreaves at Grimsby Town 1988-1993: 64 appearances, seven goals.

Chris Hargreaves at Torquay United 2007-2010: 121 appearances, ten goals.

PYM AND GRIMES MAKE WINNING BOW FOR YOUNG LIONS

Exeter City duo Christy Pym and Matt Grimes both featured for England Under-20's as they recorded a comprehensive win over their Romanian counterparts at Telford.

The Young Lions, managed by Aidy Boothroyd,  recorded a 6-0 win in front of a crowd of 2,596 and Pym and Grimes both featured in the final ten minutes of the match before re-joining the Grecians' squad for their meeting with Mansfield Town on the Saturday.

Newcastle United's Rolando Aarons opened the scoring in the 54th minute before Norwich City's Josh Murphy added a second on 71 minutes.

Two minutes later, Callum Robinson, of Aston Villa, extended England's lead to three before skipper Nathan Baker, of Chelsea, made it four from the penalty spot in the 78th minute.

Substitute Kwame Thomas, of Derby County, scored the young lion's fifth with five minutes to go, but England weren't finished then as Robinson completed his brace in the 89th minute when he headed home a free-kick from Grimes after he had replaced opening scorer Aarons on 79 minutes.

The experience proved to be a positive one for him as he scored for the Grecians against Mansfield at St James' Park the following day.

FOUR STAR GULLS JOIN CHASING PACK

Torquay United are now just one point outside the Vanarama Conference Play-off zone after recording their biggest win for nearly three years against Nuneaton Town.

The Gulls- inspired by skipper Luke Young- put four goals past the West Midlands outfit without reply to record their first win by a four goal since Martin Ling's then Gulls defeated AFC Wimbledon 4-0 in October 2011.

Young opened the scoring on 21 minutes with a long range effort to open his account for the Gulls, following his summer move from Plymouth Argyle, before he completed his brace eight minutes later with a delicate flick following good work from Duane Ofori-Acheampong.

In the 39th minute, Young turned provider when his corner picked out Australian defender Aaron Downes who headed home to make it 3-0 to the Gulls.

Recalled striker Ryan Bowman extended Torquay's lead to four goals when he connected with a precision pass from Toby Ajala to mark his return from suspension with his second goal of the season in the 58th minute.

It was a welcome victory ahead of two away trips to Chester FC and Grimsby Town, as well as being an emphatic one which also helps to underline Torquay's potential promotion/play-off credentials.

Young's double also takes the tally of goals scored from midfield by Chris Hargreaves's Gulls to eight, as Courtney Cameron has also scored twice so far this season whilst Louis Briscoe and Courtney Richards have managed one apiece.

HARGREAVES' GULLS REMAIN A WORK IN PROGRESS

The names might have changed but -for Torquay United under Chris Hargreaves- the outlook is beginning to look very familiar to the side that Hargreaves himself captained out of the Conference in 2009.

For Wayne Carlisle, read Louis Briscoe; for Nicky Wroe, read Luke Young and for Mustapha Carayol and Danny Stevens, read Courtney Cameron and Jordan Chapell.

Hargreaves's side, like Paul Buckle's side of the 2008-09 campaign, is also blessed with solid defenders in the form Aaron Downes, Angus MacDonald and Krystian Pearce- much in the same way Buckle's squad was with Chris Todd, Chris Robertson and Mark Ellis.

At the start of the season, one of the questions asked by the Gulls' faithful was: 'Where can we find another Tim Sills from?'

That question that has since been answered with the acquisition of Ryan Bowman from York City.


Five games into the regular Conference and Torquay have suffered just one defeat and have kept three clean sheets and, ahead of their trip to Lincoln City tomorrow, Hargreaves' Gulls are currently on a four-match unbeaten run.

Unfortunately that run contains three draws, and whilst drawing a match means you don't suffer defeat, it's better points wise if you win one and lose one.

The signs are positive in what is a notoriously difficult league to escape from, only Shrewsbury Town in 2004, Carlisle United in 2005, Torquay in 2008 and Luton Town in 2010 have reached in the Conference Play-offs in their first season after being relegated from League Two.

At this moment in time, Torquay United under Chris Hargreaves are probably a year or two, or a player or two short of being where they would both like to be. 

GRECIANS' DUO NAMED IN ENGLAND UNDER-20 SQUAD

Exeter City duo Christy Pym and Matt Grimes have been selected in the England Under-20 squad for their forthcoming friendly match with Romania.

Goalkeeper Pym, 19, and midfielder Grimes- also 19- have established themselves as first team regulars for the Grecians during the past year and are the first players that Exeter have produced to be named in a national age group squad.

The pair are amongst the leading talents in the lower divisions, as Pym has been ever present for City this season and Grimes won the club's Player of the Year award last season; he has also been linked with a number of Premier League clubs.

They are joined in the squad, managed by former Watford, Colchester, Coventry and Northampton manager Boothroyd, by Liverpool's Jordon Ibe and Manchester United's James Wilson- as well as former Plymouth Argyle duo Christian Walton and Lloyd Jones, who now play for Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool respectively.

As well as breaking into Paul Tisdale's side, Pym and Grimes also showed that they could compete with the best young talents in the country when they helped the Grecians reach the Quarter Finals of the FA Premier Cup.

The match takes place on Friday 5th September at AFC Telford's Bucks' Head ground.

Squad in Full: 

Goalkeepers: Christy Pym (Exeter City), Christian Walton (Brighton & Hove Albion)

Defenders: Dominic Ball (Tottenham Hotspur), Shay Facey (Manchester City), Lloyd Jones (Liverpool), Fankaty Dabo (Chelsea), Isaac Hayden (Arsenal), Matt Targett (Southampton)

Midfielders: Diego Poyet (West Ham United), Paul Digby (Barnsley), Lewis Baker (Chelsea), John Swift (Rotherham, on loan from Chelsea), Harrison Reed (Southampton), Matty Grimes (Exeter City)

Forwards: Josh Murphy (Norwich City), Callum Robinson (Aston Villa), Jordon Ibe (Liverpool), Rolando Aarons (Newcastle United), James Wilson (Manchester United), Chuba Akpom (Arsenal), Chris Long (Everton),  Kwame Thomas (Derby County).

FORMER DUO LOOKING TO CALL THE SHOTS AGAINST THE GULLS

In their fifth game of their 2014-15 Conference campaign, Torquay United will be facing two of their former players when they host Aldershot Town on Easter Monday.

Ex Gulls Joe Oastler and Damon Lathrope will be lining up for Andy Scott's Shots against the Gulls- just two years on after helping United to reach the League Two Play-off semi-finals under Martin Ling.

The pair were the only two regular outfield players who failed to score for the Gulls during the 2011-12 season, but both proved to be unsung heroes for Ling's men.

Oastler made the right back spot his own, making 51 appearances in all competitions- as part of a defence that kept a club record 20 clean sheets- whilst Lathrope added extra strength to the centre of midfield as a holding player sitting in front of the defence- thus allowing the more attack minded duo of Eunan O'Kane and Lee Mansell to flourish (they scored 18 goals between them: O'Kane scored 5 and Mansell found the back of the net 13 times).

In the end the Gulls remained in contention for automatic promotion right up until the final day of the regular campaign before losing to Cheltenham Town over two legs in the Play-off semis.

The duo are two of 11 former Gulls who will be plying their trade in the Conference this season and who are likely to be facing Chris Hatgreaves' men between now and the end of April.

Ex Torquay United players playing in the 2014-15 Vanarama Conference

Aldershot Town- Damon Lathrope, Joe Oastler

Alfreton Town- Lathaniel Rowe-Turner

Barnet- Charlie MacDonald

Bristol Rovers- Daniel Leadbitter, Lee Mansell

Chester- Kieran Charnock

Eastleigh- Craig Stanley, Chris Todd

Kidderminster Harriers- Kevin Nicholson

Woking- Scott Rendell