Torquay United must get back in habit of applying the perfect finish
Manager Martin Ling was well aware that he was quoting a cliché when he said: "A week is a long time in football" early in his press conference before Torquay United set out for today's game at Oxford United.
But even Ling, who often quips that every manager has to assume that there's a problem lurking around every corner, could hardly have imagined the sort of week that has just pulled everyone at Plainmoor up short.
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Torquay United
Defeat at home to non-League side Harrogate Town in the FA Cup definitely came as a nasty shock.
Any club then looks forward to the next League match to put things right, and no one could accuse United of not tackling Barnet at Underhill on Tuesday like a team who meant business and were more than capable of delivering it.
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The problem was, and is, that United can't seem to buy a goal at the moment and Barnet, who had to play like the away team for most of Tuesday evening, somehow managed to snatch a 1-0 win.
Blank days against Harrogate and Barnet have been costly enough.
Although Danny Stevens' smart finish was good enough to beat Morecambe 1-0 in the previous game, you have to say that United, for all the spirit and verve they showed against the leaders, overcame Gillingham 2-1 two-and-a-half weeks ago with a Nathan Craig corner that went straight in and a Kevin Nicholson shot which was deflected over the goalkeeper from 30 yards.
In other words, "finishing" is not their strong point at the moment.
They have to run out at Kassam Stadium this afternoon without the one man who has looked like hitting the net on a regular basis, Rene Howe. Of course, it is easy to point the finger at the forwards in these circumstances, and supporters will be watching Howe's deputy Ryan Jarvis and young Billy Bodin, who have both scored three times so far, with special interest to see whether they can do the job.
The only other player to have scored more than once this season is central defender Aaron Downes (three), and United are not going to realise the ambitions they have set themselves this season unless they put that right.
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