Two points dropped for Torquay United

A crowd of more than 2,000, after defeats to Chelmsford City and Truro City over Christmas, was the brightest aspect of Torquay United’s giveaway 2-2 draw against lowly Eastbourne Borough at Plainmoor.

Gulls manager Gary Johnson saw his side trail in a poor first-half display, take the lead through goals by Dillon De Silva and Will Jenkins Davies and then concede an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage-time.

“It’s two points dropped from the position we were in,” said Johnson.

“It was tight, but their equaliser was offside.

“But they probably deserved a little bit, because they kept going.

“It looked like we were on our way to victory, but the last goal was a bit of a calamity.

“We didn’t have a great first half, but we scored two very good goals in the second with bits of quality that we needed to show more of.

“We didn’t create enough opportunities to win the game.

“We gave the ball away too many times – maybe young lads get a bit nervous when there’s three points at stake, but every game they play, they get a bit more experience.

“We’ve got to be better than we’ve been recently at home, and that’s frustrating.

“I know we’ve dropped out of the Play Offs. We’ve got a chance to make it up – some people might not see that we can do that, but we will.

“We are going to see the job out. I’m going to see the job out.”

Johnson added that he had taken off Lewis Collins (knee) and Ross Marshall (hamstring) with fresh additions to an already crippling injury list.

But he said that both decisions had been made as precautions against more serious damage.