Torquay United are back on their travels this weekend, making the short journey to Somerset to face Ilminster Town Ladies, knowing the title race is likely to be down to just themselves and Marine Academy Plymouth by the end of Sunday afternoon.
Should M.A.P win at second-bottom Bishops Lydeard Ladies, then Sherborne Town Ladies will be mathematically eliminated from the race to top spot!
For United it’s a case of the same again, needing a professional and focused performance to make sure their South West Regional Women’s Premier League promotion push isn’t derailed, or at least severely hampered, by a team further down the table.
An enforced postponement last weekend, means Torquay’s ladies haven’t played for a fortnight, since enjoying a memorable afternoon at Plainmoor on Mother’s Day. But if they can take the level of performance and confidence from that outing on their travels then they should be too strong for Ilminster.
That’s the way it proved just a month ago when the pair met at South Devon College in the reverse fixture as United ran out comfortable 5-1 winners. They were ahead inside five minutes in that contest and were in control throughout, save for when they conceded a second-half penalty.
United’s 4-0 win over Bishops Lydeard at Plainmoor meant back-to-back clean sheets in the league, something they’ve only done once before this campaign, and that’s despite now being on a seven-game win streak in the league. They’ve not had three clean sheets in a row, so surely that’s a goal for Sunday’s trip up the A303.
Ilminster’s home form is OK. They’ve won four of seven at home so far but were soundly beaten at the Archie Gooch Pavilion by both M.A.P and Forest Green Rovers and have yet to face Sherborne there. On paper, 22 goals in those 7 matches looks good, but a dozen of those were against the bottom two.
Aimee Kingdon is their key striker notching thirteen so far this season. United’s defence did a decent job of keeping her in check last month in Paignton and will need to do so again. Ellie Orritt also has her name in the double-figures goal column.
Lucy Solloway continues to lead United’s scoring line, but she’s been overtaken as top league goal scorer by Frampton’s Shannon Francis and Sherborne’s Chloe Snook, so will be eager to add to her tally. Tee Kaptein and Ellie Bishop are both in double figures and they might fancy the ‘golden boot’ with a late scoring surge too!
This is not one of Torquay’s games in hand on M.A.P. but a victory is still vital, and, once again, Yellow Army, if you can make the trip to Ilminster, then just like with the men’s team, YOU can make a difference.
It’s a 2 pm kick-off at the Archie Gooch Pavillion, Canal Way, Ilminster, TA19 9FE.
However, as always, if you can’t make it, you can still listen to live radio commentary online at https://tufcwomen.mixlr.com/events/3947509 and we will be on air from 1.45 pm.