Colchester United 1 Torquay United 0 Third Division Play-Off Final A highly-controversial penalty handed Colchester a place in the Second Division but they were made to work extremely hard for it by a passionate but below-par Torquay. Deprived of automatic promotion by a last-minute goal on the final day of the season, Torquay dominated the second half but were unable to equalise David Gregory's 22nd minute penalty, harshly awarded for handball against Jon Gittens. Steve Forbes, a busy right-midfielder, cut into Torquay's penalty area in pursuit of a bouncing ball. He stretched a leg towards it, toe-poking the ball at oncoming defender Gittens and as the ball bounced off Gittens' flailing arm, referee Mike Fletcher awarded an incredibly mean spot-kick. Gregory, a year older than his brother Neil in Colchester's attack, stroked the penalty home perfectly, off the inside of Matthew Gregg's right-hand post. Justice was possibly levelled when, in the 59th minute, Gregory senior was about to strike what would surely have been the second goal when Paul Gibbs, the tenacious former Colchester left wing-back, clattered into Gregory's shooting leg. No penalty was given but that made it one deserved, one awarded. Torquay had stated brighter but their tiny Carribean winger, Rodney Jack, who had dreamt of scoring twice at Wembley - one for him and one for his Dad - spoilt his speedy runs by disappearing into crowded corners and being unable to provide the crosses the his little-and-large strike partner, Andy McFarlane, required. They paid for not taking advantage of Colchester's nerves. After the penalty, Colchester took control, and Gregory junior showed the ability that made him a First Division player with Ipswich until earlier this season with a fabulous turn around Gittens and a sharp shot that was deflected over the bar. Torquay were left to blast at goal from outside the area, time and time again. Few efforts were on target either side of half-time, although Carl Emberson pulled off one magnificent save on 71 minutes from Gibbs' low drive, getting the slightest of touches to deflect the ball an inch or two past the far post. Gibbs had an unhappy night. Abused throughout by the Colchester fans in the crowd of 19,486 for his desertion to the English Riviera, he shot high and wide a couple of times and was very fortunate to stay on the pitch, having already been one of the eight players booked in a highly physical game, when he trampled all over Mark Sale five minutes from time. Sale should have doubled the lead after 78 minutes when his diving header lacked the power to beat teenager Gregg, but that miss was a half-chance compared to Gittens' howler in first half injury time. The misery of the penalty decision was compounded when he headed Gibbs' free-kick down to fellow centre-half Alex Watson, whose mis-hit shot struck his own player, Robinson, and Gittens side-footed the rebound horribly high over the bar from a yard out. While Colchester streamed forward after the break looking certain to add to their lead, Torquay recovered well but their shots - 13 compared to the Essex team's seven - were often wild and Emberson was rarely tested, with centre-half David Greene superb in front of him. Greene had the unusual job of holding his torn shorts together for a couple of minutes before getting a new pair, within seconds of Jack doing the same! Watson, who played at Wembley in the 1988 Charity Shield for Liverpool, was more accurate with his comments afterwards than he was with his finishing. "I'm devastated," he said. "I thought the penalty was dubious. There's no way it was intentional. I thought we dominated at times but we missed a couple of good chances, myself included." And after 48 matches, that chance of promotion has gone for the Devonians but Colchester can start preparing for Manchester City's visit to Layer Road next season.

MORE THAN PROMOTION AT STAKE FOR CHARLTON   CHARLTON could be struggling to hang onto their much-admired young manager Alan Curbishley if they fail to clinch Premiership status in Monday's play-off final against Sunderland. In terms of matches won, the former West Ham, Aston Villa and Birmingham City midfielder is second only to the legendary Jimmy Seed as the most successful manager in the club's history. But the 40-year-old does not deny that he's wondering what the future holds for him at a club so often referred to as little old Charlton . Curbishley has been at the club for ten years as a player and manager, and played a prominent part in the campaign which took the club back to their traditional home of The Valley in 1992, after their years of ground sharing. His reputation has since risen, paralleling the club's impressive rebuilding plans, to such a high profile that he was a target for Manchester City and Queen's Park Rangers when those clubs hit trouble earlier this season and has also been linked with a return to St Andrews. He only agreed to stay at The Valley after the offer of a new three-year contract and the granting a testimonial match to mark his decade of service. Nobody can question my loyalty, said Curbishley as he prepared his team for the Wembley battle which he insists is more important than any cup final . However, he added: The situation I'm in at the moment is that I'm the manager of the club and I've had to be that because of the problems we've been through over the past ten years. I was warned by previous Charlton manager Lennie Lawrence not to become distracted from the football by all the other aspects of the club, but the way football is changing at the moment, many clubs - including this one - will soon want a manager who is just the manager of the players and that's it. The subtext is that if Curbishley is not allowed to just run the team, and that team is not in the Premiership, then he will be looking for a club that will allow him to have one, the other, or even both.

top