A LAST-GASP equaliser sparked joy for the Devon Academy Under-15s on Saturday as they earned a high-scoring draw against Torquay United in Teignmouth.
Conor, Josh and Luca got the goals for the host club, whose impressive performance in the fourth quarter was enough hand them a share of the points.
"Our tactic was to try and counter-attack throughout the game and let Torquay have the ball," explained Devon U15s coach Neil Last. "We defended well as a unit and limited them to mostly long range efforts.
"We struggled to really create anything and didn’t threaten their goal whatsoever in the first half.
"The third quarter was a little bit better, but again we struggled to keep any sort of pressure in Torquay’s half.
"At the start of the fourth quarter we were 2-0 down, which was a fair reflection on the game to that point. We tweaked the system and went to a 4-4-2 formation, still trying to be compact in the middle and allow Torquay space outside.
"We played a slightly more direct type of football but with the instructions to keep pressure on Torquay's defence when the ball was on their half. The midfielders were also brilliant with their pressing and getting the ball forward.
"We scored two goals in the first 10 minutes to level it up and it became very tense. Torquay scored what I thought would be the winner a minute from time with a great finish from a tight angle.
"But we managed to get one more set-piece in a wide area and threw everyone froward. Luca managed to get his head on the cross from Fin and the ball finished up in the bottom corner.
"A deserved point – maybe not from a possession standpoint, but from a resilient defensive display and brilliant final quarter."
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