Torquay United Dominates AFC Stoneham 6-1 in FA Cup Qualifier
Torquay United swept into the FA Cup third qualifying round with a ruthless 6-1 dismantling of AFC Stoneham – and Jimmy Ball liked what he saw just as much as the scoreline.
The gulf in divisions showed early. It took only six minutes for Torquay to stamp authority on the tie, Callum Morton striking first to settle any hint of an upset before it had a chance to breathe. From there, the Gulls dictated everything: tempo, territory, and tone.
The control turned into comfort nine minutes before the break. Beaumont-Clark stepped up from range and drove in Torquay’s second, a long-distance effort that underlined the visitors’ superiority against opponents from two tiers below in the Isthmian League South Central.
Stoneham refused to fold. Almost straight from the restart, Tom Annetts pulled one back, a quick reply that jolted the home crowd and briefly asked a question of Torquay’s composure.
The response was emphatic.
With half-time looming, Sonny-Blu Lo-Everton took over the tie. On 43 minutes, the midfielder found space on the edge of the box and drilled in Torquay’s third. Deep into stoppage time, he struck again, finishing smartly from a corner to send Ball’s side in 4-1 up and effectively out of sight.
Lo-Everton’s confidence only grew after the interval. Midway through the second half he completed his hat-trick, capping a standout display and stretching the lead to five as Torquay continued to pick their way through a packed Stoneham defence.
Cody Cooke added the final flourish in stoppage time, rounding off the scoring at 6-1 and closing a professional job with a scoreline to match.
Ball’s satisfaction lay less in the margin and more in the mindset.
“Our attitude was good, mentality was good throughout, that's all I wanted really,” he told BBC Radio Devon, stressing standards over spectacle. He had warned his players that the level of the opposition could not dictate their approach.
“I thought that if we did that and did it properly and acted in a professional, humble manner, we would be fine,” he said. “We just made the players aware that of our standards, regardless of who we're playing, when we're playing, what competition we're playing in, we need to come off the pitch proud of ourselves and proud of our output and proud of our performance.”
Torquay’s attacking patterns backed up his words. They shifted the ball, probed, and eventually picked apart the deep, crowded block in front of them.
“Attacking-wise we looked good,” Ball added. “Like I said at the beginning of season, it's hard to beat a team that sits in there very deep and has lots of bodies in there that you've got to navigate, but we did it and we did it quite well today.”
On this evidence, Torquay carry more than just a scoreline into the next round. They carry a standard their manager has no intention of lowering.
