FAN ZONE
TUST's Chair and TUFC board member, Nick Brodrick's column in this week's Herald Express - updated for the latest news.
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UNITED THANK UNEXPECTED WINS FOR ENFIELD AND WEYMOUTH AS PROMOTION CHARGE CONTINUES
‘PROUDEST MOMENT’ WOTTON HAS PLAY-OFF FINAL HISTORY
FAN MISBEHAVIOUR SPOILS CLUB’S REPUTATION
If you believe football is an unpredictable sport then a couple of results in National South last Saturday would have confirmed this. For Torquay’s promotion prospects were given a major boost by lowly Enfield Town and relegation threatened Weymouth.
Fourth placed Boreham Wood looking for an immediate return to the National League lost 2-1 in Dorset in what was Weymouth’s only third home win of the season.
Meanwhile, second placed Truro City, on a ten game unbeaten run, lost for the first time since January as Enfield came from 2-0 down at half-time to win it with goals deep in stoppage time, 90+5 and 90+7.
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United did their own promotion hopes a power of good with their third consecutive away success and their seventh 1-0 win of the season.
Thank goodness in Paul Wotton we have a level-headed manager who doesn’t get carried away when the team wins or when it loses.
When he was at Truro he took that team into the Southern League Premier South play-off final playing Bracknell Town in Berkshire and was successful taking Truro back in to Step 2.
At last week’s Press Call Wotton was asked about social media comments and although he doesn’t read them he hears about them from third parties. It is amazing that for a small minority his role is questioned.
Go back to May 1st 2023 and that play-off final against Bracknell, who actually play in Sandhurst, and on their journey the Truro team coach broke down meaning the team turned up late.
The match went into added time with both sides locked at 2-2 before Connor Riley-Lowe netted a 90+5 winner.
After Wotton said, “Without a shadow of a doubt it’s the proudest moment of my career.”
With Torquay very much still in with a chance of promotion, automatic or otherwise, might Wotton have another ‘moment’ to add to his CV?
In that promotion season Truro had finished the league season in third with 89 points, one behind Bracknell. Champions that year were Weston-super-Mare.
And in that Truro winning team back in 2023 were James Hamon, Finley Craske and Ed Palmer.
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With Bath City the next visitors to Plainmoor there are 21 points to play for and every moment in every game is going to be important.
Despite Dorking’s Marc White’s claim that neither side deserved any points, an 82nd Jordan Dyer header won it - mind you he had practised a classic header during last Tuesday’s draw with Salisbury but that one would have been a spectacular own goal, thanks to Hamon’s reflexes it wasn’t.
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There was a huge Yellow Army following in Surrey, at least 850, at Dorking but unfortunately there was a moment of madness from one who threw beer over Dorking’s number 5. TUST condemns this kind of behaviour which may well lead to the club facing another FA charge.
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Non-League Crowd Watch: Oldham 8,611, Hartlepool 3,959, Woking 3,281, Yeovil 2,862, Dulwich Hamlet 2,851, Dagenham & Redbridge 2,435, Dorking 2,429.
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United’s Women kept up their automatic promotion hopes with a hard fought 1-0 home win on Sunday. Tee Kaptein’s penalty separated the two teams.
Come the end of the season could there be a double promotion?
The Women’s side next play on Sunday March 30th against Bishops Lydeard at Plainmoor.
Women’s football is growing in numbers as more and more clubs are incorporating teams along side their men’s teams - Taunton Town are the latest looking to run a team for 2025-26.
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They might be bottom of the Championship and went down 2-3 at Home Park on Saturday to Derby County but last Wednesday an amazing 1,401 Green Army were at Portsmouth for Argyle’s first away win.
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If you voted in the FSA’s 3UP Campaign you were amongst 1,980 who did. And the results? 93% voted for three-up, three-down, 87% agree it should be implemented for the 2025-26 season and 77% of fans who support a League 2 club agree three-up, three-down.
We now have to wait for the EFL AGM in June.
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Last week’s question about the new 8 second goalkeeping law coming in for next season produced some interesting comments. These from Paul sum up many fans’ feelings: what happened to the six second rule?
And why pick on keepers when there are plenty of other time wasting dark arts? Like ‘pretend’ head injuries, whole team celebrating a goal in the furthest corner, cynical fouls and then standing in the way to delay the free-kick, taking a thrown-in from the wrong place to be told to re-take it. I’m sure other readers can think of plenty more.
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Any clubs looking for any more signings have until deadline day March 27th.
Asa Hall has started his managerial career at Tiverton with two 0-0 draws and a 2-0 win.
As United welcome Bath City on Non-League Day, the big top seven clash on Saturday is Boreham Wood v Dorking Wanderers and could there be more upsets? Could managerless Welling derail Worthing? Or Salisbury upset Truro? The excitement continues.
COYY!
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