FA Trophy Semi-Final 2nd Leg - 15th March 2008
At KitKat Crescent - Att 3,625 (297 Grays)
Report
The Wembley dream is over. Torquay successfully defended the
two-goal advantage they built up in the first leg of this semi-final
with City unable to break down the packed rearguard often enough
to cause too many problems for the Gulls keeper. Despite dominating
for long periods, City failed to create enough chances to win
by enough to turn things round, though a couple of decent penalty
shouts might have seen a different outcome.
Sam Duncum picked up an injury in training on Friday which disrupted
planning. Nicky Wroe
was moved to the wing with Stuart
Elliott coming into central midfield as City lined up in
a 4-4-2. The problem there was that Wroe wasn't the influence
he normally is and City missed his inventiveness in the middle.
Torquay started as they meant to go on - sitting in and protecting
that 2-0 lead. Even when taking corners, there were always four
men back, often marking only one, and after an breezy opening
few minutes, they rarely posed a goal threat to the Minstermen.
The main problem was that City didn't pose much threat either,
though turning round at 0-0 wasn't a complete disaster. The
atmosphere fairly crackled with anticipation during that first
half, but the chances were few and far between. Craig
Farrell nodded wide and Elliott only tested the crowd's
reactions with a long range speculator. Onome
Sodje did have the ball in the net a few minutes before
the break after Farrell's free-kick fell to him, but he'd strayed
offside. Manny
Panther had the first chance of the second period, but he
shanked it horribly.
By this stage, Panther was playing on the left, giving Wroe
space in the middle and pushing Woolford down the right where
his cutting inside onto his left gave Torquay something else
to think about. Panther was withdrawn for Richard
Brodie as City went with three up front and mere moments
had passed when City found a way into the lead. Some nice build-up
play ended with Sodje's shot parried by Martin Rice. Chris Todd
was racing back to get involved and there was precious little
he could do bar stare on in horror as the ball hit him on the
chest and ricocheted back past Rice to put City in front.
It may have got better for City as Woolford
was clearly tripped in the box. The whole City bench went up,
but the referee - who had a poor game - waved play on. Torquay
were pressed further and further back, but City just couldn't
prise an opening. Indeed, the best chance was another one from
the generosity of the Gulls' defence. A headed back-pass wrongfooted
Rice and was heading for the bottom corner, but the keeper recovered
to win the race to the ball slightly ahead of Brodie.
With time running out, David
McGurk was pushed up as an emergency forward and he set
about causing Torquay problems. He might also have been awarded
a penalty as he was felled in the area - less clear cut than
the Woolford incident perhaps, but certainly the like of which
one sees given.
The 10th of May therefore remains a football-free day for City
fans. Trains don't require booking, the young person's railcard
won't need renewing, the deposit on the minibus may well have
been lost. Instead, with 12 games to go, it's still all eyes
towards Wembley, though via the play-offs rather than the FA
Trophy. There's a mountain to climb to even make the top five,
but with the commitment and heart on show here today, it won't
be through lack of effort.
All
information on this website is copyrighted by: Cybernic
Internet Services - Site design, layout and some graphics, York
City Football Club - Text and other graphics, Dave
Potter - Some photos. And any use requires consent from the appropriate
party.
