Torbay 7-3 Gloucester B by Lee Harris
Gloucester arrived at their tour fixture with Torbay in good spirits after spending the evening at their Paignton hotel following visits to Paignton Zoo and Torquay Pier.
However, in a game that was played over three thirds, it was only the final part that saw anything fruitful from the visitors.
The first third finished 4-0 to the homesters. Any thoughts of following on in the same vain as the second half of the reverse fixture earlier in the week were dashed within a minute, when a panicky hit from Mason found its way over Cornwell and into the net.
Gloucester continued to battle, but produced very little when in possession. Torbay took advantage of poor marking at a corner to hit home for two, a lack of a simple clearance helped Mason slot home his second from three yards and good work from Hartmink on the left led to him firing a shot across goal to finish the early rout.
The second third saw a better performance from the visitors - today sporting their new black away kit. Gloucester kept Torbay to long efforts at goal until a lapse in concentration allowed a free Hartmink to run into space, shimmy round two players and hit a shot over Cornwell to make it five.
The final third saw Torbay go 7-0 to the good. A free kick was only parried into the path of Mason who slotted home for his hat trick and a penalty from Turner flattered the Southern outfit somewhat. Gloucester had battled well throughout, but just needed to cut out the inconsistency towards doing the basics.
However, a late surge from the visitors showed what they are capable of when they back themselves in possession. A great ball from the back from Campbell (who was again brilliant) allowed Irvine down the right. A pass inside to Fieldhouse brought about a foul from the defender and Fieldhouse himself followed up with a sweetly struck penalty as a consolation for Gloucester's hard work.
This suddenly woke the Bs up and more good play through the middle saw the ball find its way to Lock. A quick shimmy and a left-foot shot was parried into the path of Taylor who finished calmly to make it two.
A dangerous corner from Arrowsmith came out to Campbell whose long-range, wayward shot flew across the pitch to Inyinbor, who was enjoying his most accomplished game so far. With a touch into the area, a quick-fire shot across goal found its way into the net to make it three goals in five minutes.
As indicated above, the scoreline somewhat flatters the hosts. Inyinbor and Campbell were brilliant at breaking up play against a Torbay team that gave them a real physical challenge. Flatt and Fieldhouse had probably their best games to date, both hassling and frustrating the Torbay backline on numerous occasions.
Hopefully the boys will quickly learn to back themselves from the first whistle, instead of waiting for that first goal to give them the required boost.
Gloucester: Cornwell; Campbell, Irvine, Taylor; Flatt, Arrowsmith, Easterbrook, Fieldhouse; Inyinbor. Subs: Cooper, Lock, Harding.
However, in a game that was played over three thirds, it was only the final part that saw anything fruitful from the visitors.
The first third finished 4-0 to the homesters. Any thoughts of following on in the same vain as the second half of the reverse fixture earlier in the week were dashed within a minute, when a panicky hit from Mason found its way over Cornwell and into the net.
Gloucester continued to battle, but produced very little when in possession. Torbay took advantage of poor marking at a corner to hit home for two, a lack of a simple clearance helped Mason slot home his second from three yards and good work from Hartmink on the left led to him firing a shot across goal to finish the early rout.
The second third saw a better performance from the visitors - today sporting their new black away kit. Gloucester kept Torbay to long efforts at goal until a lapse in concentration allowed a free Hartmink to run into space, shimmy round two players and hit a shot over Cornwell to make it five.
The final third saw Torbay go 7-0 to the good. A free kick was only parried into the path of Mason who slotted home for his hat trick and a penalty from Turner flattered the Southern outfit somewhat. Gloucester had battled well throughout, but just needed to cut out the inconsistency towards doing the basics.
However, a late surge from the visitors showed what they are capable of when they back themselves in possession. A great ball from the back from Campbell (who was again brilliant) allowed Irvine down the right. A pass inside to Fieldhouse brought about a foul from the defender and Fieldhouse himself followed up with a sweetly struck penalty as a consolation for Gloucester's hard work.
This suddenly woke the Bs up and more good play through the middle saw the ball find its way to Lock. A quick shimmy and a left-foot shot was parried into the path of Taylor who finished calmly to make it two.
A dangerous corner from Arrowsmith came out to Campbell whose long-range, wayward shot flew across the pitch to Inyinbor, who was enjoying his most accomplished game so far. With a touch into the area, a quick-fire shot across goal found its way into the net to make it three goals in five minutes.
As indicated above, the scoreline somewhat flatters the hosts. Inyinbor and Campbell were brilliant at breaking up play against a Torbay team that gave them a real physical challenge. Flatt and Fieldhouse had probably their best games to date, both hassling and frustrating the Torbay backline on numerous occasions.
Hopefully the boys will quickly learn to back themselves from the first whistle, instead of waiting for that first goal to give them the required boost.
Gloucester: Cornwell; Campbell, Irvine, Taylor; Flatt, Arrowsmith, Easterbrook, Fieldhouse; Inyinbor. Subs: Cooper, Lock, Harding.
