Paul Wotton: ‘One more cup final’

Torquay United poised for final-day dramaIt is going down to the wire in an enthralling National League South season, and Torquay United are just behind pole position leaders Truro City ahead of the final day.The Gulls cruised to a 3-0 win against relegated Weymouth in front of a record crowd at Plainmoor, Jordan Dyer lifting the roof off with an opener inside three minutes.Weymouth battled bravely to hold back the Yellow Army, but second half-goals from Matt Jay and Jay Foulston sealed the win for United, who travel to Hemel Hempstead on Saturday level on points with Truro.The Cornishmen have a two-goal advantage on goal difference and they host St Albans City but, as United boss Paul Wotton always predicted, this could come down to the final five minutes in the quest for automatic promotion.“We had a perfect start, and I thought we were electric in the first 15 minutes, but we didn’t get the second goal,” said Wotton.“In the second half, we did all we could, scored three goals in total and I think that’s our seventh clean sheet in nine games. We’re on a hell of a run of form and now it is set in stone what we’ve got to do next week.“For us to be where we are with a game to go, after the club nearly went out of existence last year and we’ve signed 31 players, it is tremendous to take it down to the last game.“I’m excited, I wish it was tomorrow!“It’s been too tight for too long, and it’s not just us and Truro who can win the league. There’s an awful lot to play for and I’ve said for a long time that it could go down to the last five minutes [of the season], and I could be right.“The early goal settled everyone down and the atmosphere was unbelievable. We were so front-footed and if we got a second goal, we could have gone on and on.“We’ve created umpteen chances and missed some sitters, but the players have given all they’ve got. We picked up a couple of injuries, which is unfortunate, Jordan Dyer and Matt Jay, so we’ll have to assess them.“We looked at the other scores at half-time and knew we would have to score. We played well on the day, did everything we possibly could and I’m very proud of the boys.“There is a tinge of disappointment because I would have liked to score more, which is really obvious to say because we’re two goals down on Truro, but I felt like there were chances for us to score. It was just that final moment of calmness but absolutely no negativity toward the players.”More than 5,500 fans packed into Plainmoor for an awesome atmosphere, and the noise was incredible. The Yellow Army will be pivotal again at Hemel.“I don’t go out on the pitch for the warm-up, but I could hear them in the dressing room, and when we scored, it was goose bumps, and they have a massive part to play next weekend,” added Wotton.“One more cup final!”After the celebrations of a comfortable final home game victory, the club announced winners of the Player of the Season awards.Jordan Young picked up the top prize, while Sam Dreyer won Young Player of the Year. Cody Cooke won the Golden Boot and goalkeeper James Hamon was triumphant in the Ian Twitchin Trophy.“They are very deserving of the awards,” said Wotton. “There has been a lot of stand-out performances this season and it would be wrong of me to single people out, but it is always nice to get personal accolades in football.” ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW