A frantic last quarter of an hour at Stonebridge Road brought three goals but saw Torquay fall to their second defeat of the season against Ebbsfleet in today's Blue Square Premier fixture.
Gull's boss Paul Buckle brought back Chris Hargreaves into midfield after missing the last six games through injury and restored Steve Woods to the starting line-up at right back in place of Paul Hinshelwood. Interestingly Ebbsfleet had ex-Gull Chris McPhee playing at right back which probably wasn't where we all thought we would see him start!
The match started slowly but Torquay could have taken the lead via both Chris Zebroski and Tony Bedeau early on. Zebroski nearly finished a run into the penalty area with a goal but his shot was saved. Bedeau really should have scored when he found himself three yards out but his effort was somehow cleared off the line. Ebbsfleet were having some possession of their own but Simon Rayner wasn't being tested unduly and any handling he was forced into was completed with the minimum fuss. The home side were defending a five game unbeaten run and are a well drilled, organised team, but then most sides in this division are as Droylsden proved last weekend at Plainmoor.
There were still chances coming the Gull's way and Tim Sills nearly came close to increasing his goal tally when he picked up on a poor clearance but his 30 yard shot ended up clearing the crossbar. Near the end of the half Lee Phillips pounced onto a bad back pass but his shot from an angle was saved by Cronin. A half where Torquay didn't play their best and, more importantly, missed chances that would eventually come back to haunt them came to an end with the score level.
Torquay have been stronger in nearly all of the second halves they have played so far this season and today was no exception. Lee Phillips must have thought he had scored when he got a foot to a Zebroski cross but could only watch as he steered the ball narrowly wide. The Gulls had much more of the possession and the watching support might just have begun to think a goal was coming....... It was, it just came against the run of play for the home side! A cross from McPhee was met by Luke Moore and his glancing header gave Rayner no chance. United switched to a 4-3-3 formation and went for the equaliser, it wasn't long in coming. Not for the first time this season Torquay scored from a set peice. Another assist from Kevin Nicholson was bent to the far post where Mark Ellis scored his first United goal. One all and all to play for, Torquay certainly weren't going to settle for the draw but it was the home side who caught United on the break to score the winner. Luke Moore had a hand in this goal as well as he set Stacey Long free and he finished low past Rayner. For once Torquay could not find a late goal of their own and the team and supporters began the long journey home after the match deflated but with nothing too catastrophic to report back on.
Paul Buckle gave his thoughts after the game - 'The more chances we missed the more worrying it became. We did most of the running in the second half but fair play to Ebbsfleet they took their chances. We weren't a million miles away today but we couldn't find a finish. We won't be making any major changes just because we lost. It is no disgrace to play the way we did against a well run team with a good manager and lose the match.
