Oxford head down to
Torquay looking to build on their 100% start to the league campaign.
The yellows went top of the league on goals scored after last week's
2-1
win over Bury, but having been in this position at the same point
last year most fans are all too aware how early in the season we
still are.
It's still an unusual
position for us to be in though, having scored six goals in our
opening two games – we only scored 59 in 46 games last season. That
could all come to an end this afternoon, however, as Torquay's matches
so far this season have all been low-scoring affairs, with 1-1 draws
in the league against Wimbledon and Morecambe sandwiching a 1-0
League Cup defeat to Swindon. Alan Knill typically sets up his sides
to be difficult to break down and it seems that this Torquay team are
no different. Although they've not yet been hitting the net with
tremendous regularity themselves so far, they could be boosted by the
return of Elliot Benyon from a head injury which ruled him out of the
Morecambe game last night. Also possibly returning for the Gulls is
goalkeeper Michael Poke, while young prospect Dan Sullivan could be
one to watch after he made his senior debut last weekend and scored
twice in a friendly against Cheltenham during the week.
As for ourselves, while
Chris Wilder is often criticised for tinkering too much with the
team, it seems he is keen at this stage to keep a settled lineup, so
expect minimal changes from the side which has impressed against Bury
and Portsmouth. Dave Kitson is obviously a doubt after being on the
receiving end of some rough treatment last week but other than that
expect the side to look more or less the same as we've seen in the
last couple of weeks.
The only player likely to
feature with a connection between the two sides is Torquay's Lee
Mansell, who spent one miserable season at the Kassam when the club
was relegated to the Conference, though he was voted player of the
season at the end of it all. Unfortunately for him, Mansell then
suffered relegation to the Conference again the following season with
Torquay, though this time he stuck around and has remained a vital
player for the Gulls ever since, helping them back into the Football
League in 2009. He has featured in all of Torquay's games so far, so
expect to see him once again in midfield for the hosts this time
around.
Torquay boss Alan Knill is
also an old friend of Chris Wilder's. He was manager of Bury while
Wilder was assistant there, so expect a touching reunion this
weekend...
Torquay are always a club
I think of as something of a bogey team, but that's not something
which appears to be backed up by the record books. Oxford are
currently unbeaten against Torquay in the last five meetings between
the two sides. Our last trip to Plainmoor was a happy one, as we came
away with an impressive 3-1 win, though the Gulls held us to a
frustrating 0-0 draw at the Kassam last season.
From the Vaults
Torquay United v Oxford United, 10th December 2005
We've had some great
matches down the years at Torquay, and this was one of the most
spectacular. As mentioned above, the 2005-06 season was not a happy
one for Oxford, but in the opening exchanges of this match everything
finally clicked into place. Eric Sabin was looking a world-beater and
soon bagged himself a brace, while a penalty from Lee Bradbury put
the U's 3-1 up inside the first 20 minutes. Of course it wouldn't
last, and Torquay struck back to reclaim a 3-3 draw. Still we'll
always have this rare moment of genius from Sabin!
Also This Weekend
Fans who get to Torquay
early can catch an Oxford double-header this weekend. The youth team
are also away at Torquay as they look to build on their 3-2 victory
over Swindon on the opening day of the season. The match kicks off at
11am, leaving plenty of time to get to Plainmoor to watch the first
team, so if you can get there don't miss it! The address of the
ground is as follows:
Cullompton
RFC
Speeds Meadow
Cullompton
EX15 1DW
The ladies team
are also in action this weekend as they host Sporting Club Albion
(aka West Brom) of the WPL North in a friendly on Sunday. They
lost
2-0 in a friendly away at Nottingham Forest last weekend, so
they'll be looking for a reaction this time around. Kick-off is 2pm
on Sunday at Roman Way.
Don't forget you can find full fixture lists for ladies, development and youth teams on our
Fixtures page!
Table-toppers Oxford kept their 100%
record intact with a 3-1 win in the wind and rain at Torquay. Deane
Smalley opened the scoring just after half-time with his third of the
season, while James Constable and Asa Hall rounded it off for United.
There was some concerning news on the injury front, however, with
Dave Kitson not recovering from last week's knock in time to feature
and both Alfie Potter and Sean Rigg going off injured early in this
match.
Oxford head down to
Torquay looking to build on their 100% start to the league campaign.
The yellows went top of the league on goals scored after last week's
2-1
win over Bury, but having been in this position at the same point
last year most fans are all too aware how early in the season we
still are.
With
crowds down by an alarming number so far this season (our average
attendance this season is more than 1,000 below last season's
average), Adam
Brown writes of the increasing apathy that he and many others
have been feeling for the club recently.
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.