Tuesday's
disappointing
defeat at the hands of Dagenham more or less killed any sense of
optimism that had been building and with the side now slumped in 18th
place it's not difficult to see why. This weekend's match against
Torquay presents an important opportunity to recover from a poor
performance for both sides, with Torquay also being out of form at
the moment.
The
Gulls went down by a goal to nil against basement side Barnet on
Tuesday and exited the FA Cup in humiliating fashion at home to
Conference North side Harrogate Town (who have already lost
to Oxford City this season). Until then they had been going well
and are still amongst the chasing pack just outside the play-offs.
However, a series of injuries and suspensions have hurt them recently
and they come to the Kassam a much depleted side. Regular goalkeeper
Michael Poke is out injured, with former Exeter and Truro 'keeper
Martin Rice making his Football League debut. In addition, top scorer
Rene Howe is suspended after picking up five bookings with Ryan
Jarvis moving into the centre to replace him.
Our
own injury woes finally seem to be improving at last, though as
we recently warned, simply having a strong side will not
guarantee a good performance. There is positive news on the return
of Michael Duberry, though he obviously won't be ready in time
for this match, though his fellow defender Liam Davis will be
available for selection after making his first appearance of the
season on Tuesday. Question marks remain over Alfie Potter's fitness
after he received a hamstring injury and it seems no final decision
will be made regarding him until the morning of the match.
One
familiar face among the Torquay team is Lee Mansell, who was a member
of the epically shit Oxford side that got relegated from the Football
League in 2006. To be fair to him, he was one of the better players
of that side, but in all honesty that's not saying much. He has,
however, been a success at Torquay and is now in his seventh season
at Plainmoor. Torquay have been something of a bogey side in recent
years, and we have only beaten them once in our last ten attempts.
Last season, there was nothing to separate the two sides, who played out two draws.
Military
personnel are entitled to a 20% discount for this match with valid
military ID.
From the Vaults
Torquay United v Oxford United, 29th November 2008
Darren
Patterson's unhappy reign at Oxford came to an end at Plainmoor after
a disappointing FA Cup 2nd round
defeat to a 10-man Torquay side just weeks after he had declared the
club was in a 'relegation battle'. At the time, the club was 16th
in the Conference.
Oxford's
ladies kick off their FA Cup campaign this weekend as they host
Battersea Ironsides, currently third in the London and South East
Regional League Division One, on Sunday. Last season OULFC reached
the third round of the cup, eventually going out to Manchester City,
and will undoubtedly be hoping to go even further this time. They are
organising a partner club day out for affiliated local teams to boost
the attendance. Kick off is at one o'clock at Roman Way. Meanwhile
the reserves are in league action in the Southern Region Division
One, with a crucial tie away to second-placed Reading Ladies. Victory
on Sunday will extend their lead at the top of the table to ten
points.
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