Concentration Required At Torquay

Lincs. UK Banner Exchange

11th August 2006

Lincoln City undertake the trip to Torquay United on Saturday.

The Imps are hoping to build upon their steady start to the season that has seen them collect four points from a possible six. Unfortunately, both matches have seen Lincoln come close to losing their good work during the closing minutes of the match, and this could prove a real problem tomorrow.

Torquay are among the early pacesetters of League Two, having won both of their matches so far. However, both games have ended as 1-0 victories with the winning goal being scored in the closing minutes, which is why Lincoln City need to be careful.

Torquay have continued their fine form of last season, despite seeing a major squad rebuilding exercise undertaken. Last season, their tally of four wins from their final five unbeaten fixtures secured their Football League status in on of the most dramatic escapes from relegation that the Football League has ever seen.

They have also continued their secure defensive form, which has seen them concede just one goal in their last seven matches. Now keeping goal for Torquay is former Boston United goalkeeper Nathan Abbey. Another familiar face in the Torquay side is striker Lee Thorpe, who spent 5 years at Lincoln City between August 1997 and May 2002, where he scored 66 goals in 229 appearances for The Imps.

Thorpe scored the winner last Saturday, when Torquay defeated Barnet via his late goal. Afterwards, Thorpe declared that "I never really understood how I score goals. I just end up seeing the ball go into the back of the net." Hopefully, Thorpe will only see the Torquay net bulge on Saturday!

Lincoln are likely to stay with their 4-4-2 formation, as striker Danny Bacon has nine stitches in head and remains a doubt. Besides, the 4-4-2 formation proved Lincoln with their first away win of the season when The Imps defeated Hereford United on Tuesday. There would seem little point in tinkering with the formation, although one change could see Ollie Ryan replace Gary Birch on the substitutes' bench. Birch, along with defender Tom Kemp, yesterday joined Conference club Tamworth for a month's loan. Meanwhile, Imps' goalkeeper Ayden Duffy is set to join Stamford on loan.

These two clubs first met on 23rd September 1961 in a Division 3 match that Lincoln lost 3-1 at home. Lincoln City fans will be hoping for a repeat tomorrow of the return fixture of the 1961/62 season that ended as a 4-3 away win for Lincoln City. Please click here for a full historical round-up of the results between these two clubs.

Odds for the match:

Torquay - 5/4
Draw - 9/4
Lincoln City - 15/8

Odds kindly supplied by Sporting Odds, who regularly offer free bets to customers. To ensure that you obtain the freshest offer, you will need to click this link and register immediately - so please return to this page first, if necessary.