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Shrewsbury Town pose big test for high-flying Torquay
Friday 10th February 2012, 2:00PM GMT.
Torquay United boss Martin Ling
Boss Martin Ling admits the acid test has arrived for his Torquay United side as they prepare for their League Two promotion showdown with Shrewsbury Town tomorrow.
Graham Turner’s side make the trip to the English Riviera to take on a Torquay side who have pieced together a sequence of red-hot results since the end of October.
Their last 14 League games have produced 11 victories and only one defeat while, since the turn of the year, last season’s defeated play-off finaists have reeled off five successive victories.
It is a remarkable run of form, not least because the squad which took the Gulls to within 90 minutes of League One football last season was ripped apart in the aftermath of the close season departure of previous boss Paul Buckle to Bristol Rovers.
But pragmatic Ling has sounded a word of caution ahead of the visit of a Town side which now finds itself just one point and one position ahead of tomorrow’s hosts.
“We have had a phenomenal run to get where we are but – and I don’t want to sound like I am knocking us – we have have played five teams in the bottom half of the table recently,” said Ling, reflecting on victories over Plymouth, Macclesfield, Morecambe, Dagenham and Northampton.
“We are ahead of the ball game. Can we expect the next 18 games to be the same as the previous 18? If they are we will probably go up as champions.
“It is the best form I’ve had in my eight years in football management but managers are finicky in these situations because we always expect a problem to crop up around the next corner.
“Our results against the top teams have not been great so far and over the next 18 games I think we have got to play everyone in the top half of the table home or away.
“Shrewsbury are the first step on that ladder. They have definitely got some strengths but we feel there are some weaknesses as well which we will be trying to work on.”
Torquay have wrapped up the signing of young Reading centre half Angus MacDonald on loan from Reading but he is unlikely to start tomorrow.
Instead, in the wake of Chris Robertson’s departure to Preston, Brian Saah is set to make his first appearance since suffering a groin injury on November 19.
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Our weaknesses as Martin Ling puts it, is only evident when we hold back and allow other teams to dictate the tempo, when we’ve been guilty of this we have paid the price, our other is to stand off the ball at times which drops our more physical approach.
However having said that we’ve shown completely the opposite recently, tending to get stuck in early on, meet opposing teams skills with physical presence and turn the game into our own style of play, this unsettled teams like Gillingham and Southend.
There’s definitely more talent in terms of managerial skills in the 2nd division this season, this match will be one that will determine whether we really can compete away from home and score goals when we need them…goal difference being a major factor this season to deciding who might automatically go up or not.
Go at them hard Town, be physical and don’t be afraid to shoot from outside the box, as Collins did against Hereford.
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