High-flying Torquay United fail to fizz

Torquay United 1 Aveley 1

All through the summer the new Torquay United management team has been warning fans that not every match will be a champagne moment.

And there was more Bovril than Bollinger about United’s first draw of the season.

The high-flying Gulls came into the match with a chance to soar away at the top of the table, while Aveley came with just one point from five games so far.

But in the end there was nothing to choose between the two sides after a match which will not make an extended highlights reel.

Finley Craske, Oscar Threlkeld and Brad Ash started for United, having missed out on starting places at Chesham in the Bank holiday victory.

And Torquay started confidently, playing the ball across the back four and looking for openings. But they found Aveley in no mood to give any ground.

Visiting keeper Carey Bloedorn saved well from Ash and Dan Hayfield as Torquay ventured forward, but Aveley had chances of their own, too.

The opening goal came deep in first half stoppage time when Matt Carson cut in from the left for Torquay and curled a cross towards the far post which dropped beyond Bloedorn and into the net.

But if the home fans were hoping that their side would push on and win comfortably after the break, the visitors had other ideas.

On the hour Alex Hernandez curled a peach of a free kick over the Torquay wall and beyond the reach of Gulls keeper James Hamon to make it 1-1.

Late in the game, with substitute Omar Mussa again pulling the strings, Torquay pushed hard for a winning goal. They forced corner after corner, but couldn’t break down Aveley’s back line, and anything less than a draw would have been hard on the visitors.

Torquay go again at home to Chippenham on Tuesday night.