Torquay United face tough test without injured skipper

Asa Hall will miss the trip to St Albans after picking up midweek injury

Torquay United manager Gary Johnson will cross swords with the man he once called his own Glenn Hoddle when the Gulls go to St Albans City in National League South on Saturday.

But the Gulls will have to go there without their own talisman - skipper Asa Hall - who is sidelined with a serious ankle injury.

St Albans manager David Noble was part of Johnson’s successful Bristol City squad in the mid-2000s, and the Torquay boss said: “He’s a good manager and he was a really good player - our answer to Glenn Hoddle.”

But catching up with old friends will have to wait until after the final whistle at Clarence Park on Saturday, with Torquay determined to get down to business and carry on the momentum from Tuesday’s stoppage time victory over Chippenham.

Defender Ross Marshall put the Gulls in front with a superb header, and although the dogged visitors levelled the scores and tried to shut the game down, Aaron Jarvis grabbed the winning goal deep into 11 minutes of stoppage time.

The win went some way towards restoring the balance for Gulls fans after a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Worthing at Plainmoor last Saturday.

Now they travel to face the team that only lost out on promotion to the National League last season in the play-off final against Oxford City.

“It will be a really tough game,” said Johnson.

“Their manager was a big player for us at Bristol City. He knows me and I know him. He will have them ready and organised and he’ll want to beat me even though we’re friends.

“We’ve had a good look at St Albans and they’re a dangerous side. They’ve got a system that works for them.”

The Saints left it until the 88th minute to clinch victory at Havant & Waterlooville on Wednesday night, and have started the season with two wins and one defeat so far. They have former Gulls left back Ben Wyatt in their 2023/24 squad.

Torquay will definitely be without skipper Hall for the trip to Hertfordshire, the midfielder having suffered a serious ankle ligament injury during the Chippenham game.The Gulls are already without fellow midfielder Kevin Dawson, and played on Tuesday without injured defenders Dean Moxey and Finley Craske.

Both Ross Marshall and Dan Martin suffered badly with cramp on Tuesday, having played few minutes during their own returns from injury, while all-action midfielder Tom Lapslie took plenty of knocks during the win.