Wotton praises Torquay's fighting spirit

Paul Wotton praised his Torquay side’s fighting spirit as they battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Exeter City at Plainmoor.

Josh Magennis’ early strike, coupled with another from Jack Fitzwater, had the Grecians coasting in this latest pre-season fixture.

However, the Gulls refused to concede and in a dramatic finale quarter, they hauled themselves back into the match with a goal from Jordan Dyer, before Fitzwater put into his own net deep into added on time.

Reflecting on the game, the new United boss said: “It was a tough night, I thought Exeter were fantastic. Their movement and their one touch passing was great and I thought they were much sharper than Plymouth at the weekend.

“If I’m being honest, I thought the two goals were unavoidable, a bit like at the weekend, so it’s not like you’ve gone ‘oh my god, what a goal’ because they’ve carved us up. Again, James Hamon hasn’t really had a save to make for all of Exeter’s dominance.

“I’m sure Gary [Caldwell] would be saying so, just because they should have been out of sight at half. The second half we made some changes, a couple were planned, a couple weren’t, but we got closer to people and we were a bit braver on the ball.”

Wotton added: “It’s hard playing against a team who have got the ball for 96 minutes. It’s really hard and it can be soul destroying at times, but our lads kept going and they got rewarded there at the end.

“I know it’s only pre-season, but games like this mean a lot, especially against your local rivals. What I’ve learned tonight is that my players don’t quit and they keep going.”

Although Wotton acknowledges there is still plenty to work on between now and their National League South opener against Enfield Town, he is at last starting to get an idea of who will start that game on August 10.

“I think after tonight I’ve definitely got some more clarity around my starting eleven, which is good. If the game was on Saturday, I’m not sure I would know my team straight off, but I’m getting a little bit more clarity on it all.

“We’ve got a few training sessions to go, a game at the weekend against Tiverton, after which I’ll pick a team I think can beat Enfield.”

‍