TORQUAY UNITED 0 CITY 4
Rumbelows Cup 2nd Round 1st Leg
26th September 1990
attendance 5,429
Scorers Hendry(6), Allen(20), Harper(47), Beckford(84)
Ref M Bodenham
City Coton, Brightwell, Pointon, Harper, Hendry, Redmond, Ward, Allen, Quinn, Brennan, Heath – Subs Beckford(62), White(unused)
Torquay Howells, Whiston, Uzzell, Lloyd, Elliott, Joyce, Holmes, Smith, Tynan, Saunders, M Loram ursed subs Edwards, Musker
FROM THE PRESS BOX
CLIVE WHITE WRITING IN THE TIMES 27TH SEPTEMBER 1990
In Agatha Christie terms, it was obvious from page one who was going to do the dastardly deed To whom at Plainmoor last night. Torquay United, to put it bluntly were murdered by Manchester City’s sheer class. Heaven knows what the return leg of this Rumbelows Cup second round tie has in store for them at Maine Road in a fortnight’s time.
Torquay’s most famous authoress, whose centenary the Devon seaside resort is celebrating, would have found little mystery in this tale to interest her, other than how Torquay had managed to go eight games unbeaten this season.
But then any comparisons with the First Division club would have been unfair. The injection of cash by Michael Bateson, the new Torquay chairman, this summer meant that the club could afford to bid £60,000 pounds, twice their record transfer fee, for Saunders from Dundee. The Manchester City team, which took the field last night was assembled for £6.75M, and even at that was short of two notable members Reid and White.
Presumably it was felt that on Torquay’s narrow pitch White would be unable to give City any worthwhile width, but it made little difference, City oozed with class. There was no mystery why they had remained unbeaten since the first game of the season.
Quinn and Allen came together at the start of the game for the first time this season, though on this showing, probably not for the last time. Together they ripped the hearts out of the Fourth Division club.
Dave Smith, the Torquay manager told his players to forget the return leg and think of it as a one-off cup tie. It made good sense, given the events of seven years ago in this competition, when against the same opposition Torquay drew the first leg, only to lose the return 6-0. The first result was quickly put beyond them last night, though they may yet have a chance to emulate the second.
The outcome was never in doubt from the sixth minutes when Hendry rose above a static home defence to head home Wards cross.
Any thought of a repetition of Torquay’s feat against Tottenham three seasons ago was banished ruthlessly from the mind by Allen, once of Tottenham, In the 20th minute. Chesting down Harper’s cross, following a galloping right-wing run by the City, sweeper, Allen stumbled through a tackle before recovering to lash the ball past Howells, younger brother of Tottenham’s David.
Loram gave Torquay something to shout about with a near-post header, which flew just wide of Coton’s far post. Other than that, the City goalkeeper was about as busy as a Torquay deckchair attendant in the low season.
Not so Howells. The smartness of the interplay between Brightwell, Allen and Brightwell again, was enough to dazzle him in the 47th minute, even before Harper fired a shot past him with crisp economy.
Torquay rallied briefly after the introduction of both substitutes. But the tie finished with City back on the offensive adding a superfluous, fourth goal through Beckford, a substitute for Quinn.