Torquay United dig in for hard-fought win

More injuries for the Gulls as they race up to fourth in the table

Torquay United produced a memorable fighting performance to take all three points against Weymouth.

It wasn’t that there were lashings of spectacular football to warm the chilly midweek crowd, but there was a never-say-die performance of real grit and determination from a team that just wouldn’t give up.

Already depleted by injuries, the Gulls lost three more players during the course of the evening. First it was Tom Lapslie leaving the field injured in the first half, then Brad Ash succumbing to the effects of a heavy challenge.

And then to add even more woe to the United casualty list, winger Jack Stobbs pulled up with a hamstring injury as he raced away in front of the Popular Side terraces and had to be stretchered off.

Dillon De Silva would have been a ready-made sub on the bench, but Gary Johnson’s decision to replace Stobbs with debutant defender Callum Thomas suggested that De Silva was far from fully over the injury that meant he had to leave the field against Tonbridge Angels early on Saturday.

But Torquay’s last remaining fit players saw out the game and gave their all for three points which lift the Gulls into the top four in National League South.

They took the lead in the fourth minute when they won a free kick 20 yards out and sharpshooter Brett McGavin drove it into the Weymouth net. Ash, who had already crashed one shot against the post,  made it 2-0 against his former club with a neat finish on the half-hour.

Elliot Bolton pulled a goal back for the visitors before the break with a shot from outside the box, but United never looked like giving the game away.

The second half turned into a game of attrition with a referee who was only too willing to stop play at every opportunity. He started brandishing yellow cards and it was only a matter of time before someone saw a second one.

Torquay’s Lewis Collins saw yellow for an innocuous challenge after 72 minutes, and his rage at the injustice of it saw him burst through the Weymouth defence two minutes later before smashing the ball into the roof of the net to make it 3-1.

The unlucky player to complete a full set of cards was Weymouth’s Calvin Brooks, whose 52nd minute yellow was followed by another one - and a red for good measure - after 82 minutes.