Cheltenham Town put one foot in the door of the League Two play-off final with a 2-0 win over Torquay in the first leg but now they have to finish the job at Plainmoor on Thursday night (Cheltenham 6/4, Torquay 9/1 – League Two Promotion 2011/12 Outright).
Goals in each half at Whaddon Road from Jermaine McGlashan and Ben Burgess ensured the Robins head down to the south west with a two-goal cushion, but they cannot simply turn up and dream of Wembley as Torquay will be up for this game – they have to be or any hopes they have of promotion will be quickly dashed.
Torquay (21/20 to win – 90 Minutes) have been struggling for form drastically over recent weeks and the first-leg loss means they come into this must-win game without a victory in six matches – indeed their last win was on April 6 and since then it’s been three wins and three losses.
That poor run ensured Martin Ling’s side missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the regular season and confidence must have ebbed away even further after the first leg.
Goals are going to be the order of the day for the Gulls but they have to do it without their Player of the Year and leading scorer Rene Howe, as the 14-goal striker limped out of the first leg with a hamstring injury and he will miss the Plainmoor game – and it’s also likely he will miss out on Wembley if the Gulls do pull off the improbable.
Taiwo Atieno (6/1 – First Goalscorer) was the man that replaced him in the first leg and will lead the line at Plainmoor but, with only six league goals to his name all campaign, he doesn’t offer quite the potent threat that Howe would.
Club captain Lee Mansell and Danny Stevens are second and third in the top scorers’ list with 11 and eight goals respectively for the Gulls, so they might need to add to their tally to get Torquay through.
For Cheltenham boss Mark Yates it could be decision time. The 4-4-2 they played in the first leg worked perfectly, so he must choose whether to stick with that or the 4-5-1 that has been used bu the Robins on their travels through the regular season.
However, they do not boast an impressive away record and its seven losses from their last eight away from Whaddon Road – something which must spur on Torquay and their fans.
It is three wins in a row for Cheltenham (13/5 to win, draw 12/5 – 90 Minutes) and they boast a good play-off pedigree, with two previous end-of-season campaigns seeing promotion each and every time.
The boss could select on-loan Everton star Luke Garbutt after he missed the first match while, in what could be a real boost, Burgess is fine to play after needing stitches to a head wound at the weekend.
To some degree the first leg advantage, coupled with Torquay’s recent form, means a trip Wembley is Cheltenham’s to lose. The Robins should have enough to hold on a rampaging Gulls outfit, but if the home side manage to get an early goal it will be squeaky-bum time for those away fans and Plainmoor will be rocking.
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