Ball calls on Torquay squad to 'own' play-off semi-final
Jimmy Ball has guided Torquay to five wins from their last six matches
- Published
Torquay United manager Jimmy Ball has called on his players to embrace their National League South play-off semi-final.
The Gulls, who finished the season in third place, take on fourth-placed Dorking Wanderers at Plainmoor on Saturday for a place in next week's final.
The Gulls will be hoping to improve on last season when they were beaten 1-0 by Boreham Wood at the same stage of the play-offs.
Ball's side go into the game having won five of the six matches they have played since drawing 2-2 with Dorking on 24 March.
"Just own it," Ball told BBC Sport.
"Why shy away from what it is? They all know what it is and the stakes that are on hand.
"As coaches and staff we've got to make sure we have covered everything that they may possibly need, and then when you go and put your head on your pillow on Friday night, you've got no regrets of what you've done in a week.
"So far I'm really happy with everything and everything that's been covered and the plan that we're going to have going into it."
Torquay's 2-1 win at Tonbridge Angels last week ensured them a home play-off semi-final
Plainmoor is likely to be sold out for the match as Gulls fans hope their side can take a step closer to returning to the fifth tier.
Ball is confident his side will be able to cope with the pressure of their big game as they try and return to the National League for the first time since 2023.
"I'd get excited if there's 10 people in the ground because I just love competing and I love football," he said.
"It's about controlling what you can control and then obviously at the end of the day players have to perform.
"Once they run on the pitch out it's of my hands, but I've got to go to bed on Friday night safe in the knowledge that I've covered all the aspects and anything they may come up against on the day - that they are aware of it and they have ideas of how they're going to cope with it.
"But ultimately they've got to cope with it. They've got to cope with the day, they've got to cope with the opposition, they've got to cope with the whole lot.
"But why play football if you don't want these days? Why go through a gruelling 46-game season and not want a knockout game at the end of it? Why do that if this isn't what you've been hoping for, this kind of game, this kind of moment?
"Whether it's last game of the season and you've got to win it or it's a play-off game, they're the same games, all or nothing."
