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The Bulls travel to Plainmoor for a League Two match on Boxing Day.
Since last meeting the two sides have been up and down, and down and up. While the Bulls went up and down, the last game of the 2006/7 season had the mid-table Bulls visit the already-relegated Gulls. The goalless draw that day, featuring Jordan Fitzpatrick's only Bulls appearance and future Gull Tim Sills' first taste of the Plainmoor pitch for the Bulls. The draw is king in this fixture, with seven of the last ten meetings ending up in stalemate. It's also one for not a lot of goals, with no side scoring three or more in 13 attempts.
The Gulls go into the Boxing Day clash on an upturn of form after former Bulls trialist Chris Zebroski returned to the club. He went to Torquay in the first place after the Bulls rejected a season long loan move, and went on to score 19 times in their opening Conference season. His return has seen him score four in five games, netting in each of the last three, in a move that has seen Tim Sills again fail to prove his ability at League level. Also in the Gulls side is Chris Hargreaves, one of Graham Turner's first loan signings for the Bulls. In the eleven years since ending his Edgar Street stay he has been dumped out of the League, lost in two Conference play-offs, and finally won promotion at the third attempt. Sound familiar?
For the Bulls the defence will again be in question for the game. After being stripped of defenders to the point of playing debutant Tyler Weir against MK Dons the finally confirmed loss of Darren Dennehy and the departure of Danny Blanchett probably couldn't have come at a worse time. The team as a whole seems to be in something of a state of limbo to the point that if you asked a dozen fans for their best XI you'd get a dozen different answers. Some players will have to prove their worth to avoid being replaced in the January sales, others will have to justify their spots as one eye gets cast on the summer trading with every player out of contract.
Torquay United vs Hereford United, Plainmoor, Saturday 26th December, 3.00pm.
