Recap
A very late winner gave Torquay the points to move them up to second in the table, and meant that Chesham have now lost all their three home games so far this season. Chesham were the better side in the first half but the red card for Jack Cawley changed the course of the game, although Chesham came so close to taking a point. With Chesham playing their third match in six days, there were a number of changes to the starting eleven – seven in all, including a first appearance of the season for Eoin Casey in defence. Lewis Rolfe made his 200th appearance for the club as a late substitute.
After an even opening Torquay had the first chance in the sixth minute, when Dan Hayfield won the ball just outside the Chesham area and Cody Cooke fired over with only Ben Goode to beat. Chesham’s first chance came nine minutes later, when a free kick was cleared by the visiting defence and Omar Rowe set up Callum Adebiyi who shot straight at keeper James Hamon. Chesham began to take the upper hand, and a long cross from Jack Connors on the right found Callum Adebiyi whose low cross was just ahead of Nathan Minhas. Shortly afterwards Jack Cawley’s header from a Connors corner was just over the bar, but Chesham finally broke through on 35 minutes. Hamon fumbled a long throw from Jack Cawley and the ball dropped to Joe Grant who fired home from ten yards. Chesham continued on the attack with Avan Jones pulling the ball back to Joe Grant who shot high and wide. Torquay had shown little in attack but the course of the game was changed just before half-time. Matt Carson crossed from the left and Ben Goode dropped the ball under no pressure, Finn Tonks lobbed towards goal and Jack Cawley stuck up a hand to knock the ball away. Although it wasn’t certain that the ball was going in, a red card was inevitable and Cody Cooke converted the resulting penalty to level the scores. Chesham had one more chance before the interval, Omar Rowe heading over after good work by Callum Adebiyi on the left.
Jack Connors was sacrificed after half-time to allow Connor Stevens to replace Cawley in defence. In spite of the numerical disadvantage Chesham created the first chance of the second half, when Hamon dropped a cross and Omar Rowe worked a shooting chance but fired just wide. Midway through the half Chesham retook the lead, when Nathan Minhas challenged for a long clearance from Ben Goode and Joe Grant netted with a low drive from just inside the area. The visitors were still posing little threat but equalised five minutes later, a low shot from 30 yards by Dan Hayfield that flew into the corner of the net. Torquay freshened up their attack with a number of substitutes, but Chesham came close to scoring late on when Omar Rowe set up Nathan Minhas for a shot that Hamon blocked with his legs. The visitors had the momentum going into the seven minutes of stoppage time, but Chesham seemed to have seen off the threat until the final seconds, when Brad Ash tucked the ball into the net at the near post following a low cross from Dean Moxey.
Match Report
