Torquay Utd U13s

Gulls U13's edge a competitive pre- season friendly against Argyle U12's.

On Sunday afternoon (23rd August) Torquay Utd U13's built on their recent experience against academy opposition, in a tournament in Wales, to narrowly come out on the right side of a 4-3 scoreline against a skillful, well organised and game savvy Plymouth Argyle Academy under 12's.

Argyle, hosting at their Marjon's 3G pitch, played excellent football throughout. Their anticipation and intensive press meant that the Gulls had to work extremely hard to stay in the game, especially in central midfield. This impacted on our usual expansive, possession based, passing game and sometimes resulted in longer ball tactics and disjointed passages of play.

There are certainly elements to revisit in how we build from the back, when we quickly look to pass forward and when we choose to recycle or switch the play, to create or exploit space elsewhere.

However, there are also lots of positives to take against quality opposition:

Players filling in for two of our regular wingers put in big shifts and gained valuable experience in the importance of creating and maintaining width.

The team as a whole demonstrated that they can dynamically find different ways to overcome opponents who are managing to contain our passing game.

Today, using our heads became literally that with three of our four goals being headers.

A positive result, lots to help build confidence and lots to learn as new players bed in to the team ethos and style of play.

Torquay United U13s Start Pre-Season with Positive Cardiff Experience

Torquay United Under-13s travelled to Cardiff to compete in the Pro Tournament Cardiff as they began their pre-season campaign, and the young Gulls came away with plenty of positives from a valuable Day of football.

The opening game saw Torquay face the challenge of a professional academy in Cardiff City. Playing 20 minutes of nine-a-side football, the boys showed excellent resilience and competed really well against their academy opposition, eventually going down by just a single goal.

Despite the result, there were opportunities for Torquay to get on the scoresheet themselves, with the boys creating chances but just lacking that final bit of composure to turn them into goals.

Having only returned to training a couple of weeks earlier, and with a number of planned pre-season friendlies cancelled by opposition teams due to insufficient numbers during the summer holidays, the tournament was always going to be a good test of where the squad currently stands.

There were plenty of encouraging signs. The boys showed some slick combinations in possession, while out of possession they worked hard and looked very solid defensively. The organisation, determination and willingness to compete were particularly pleasing.

Going forward, there is still work to do. The squad will need to find their bravery and confidence on the ball again, while continuing to develop their attacking play and decision-making in the final third.

Overall, though, there were some really good things to take from the Cardiff tournament. It was a fantastic experience for the players and an excellent opportunity to test themselves against strong opposition as pre-season gets underway.

There is plenty to build on, and the boys can be extremely proud of their efforts. We’re super proud of them and looking forward to seeing the squad continue to grow as pre-season progresses.

Up next: Plymouth Argyle on Sunday. Another great challenge and another valuable step in the boys' pre-season journey.

Our Fantastic U13s are back at training Monday nights looking to develop further in their football journeys and get back up to speed with the pace of the JPL!⚽️💛💙