Mid-term report reads relatively well for Torquay United Football Club

After 17 games, with an FA Trophy tie coming up and a fortnight’s break between NL South matches, it’s a good time to assess Torquay United’s season so far and their chances of winning that longed-for promotion.

Successive away wins, at Farnborough and Maidenhead, have not only pushed the Gulls back into the Play-Off positions, but they have lifted the mood of some fans who had started to wonder what to expect from Paul Wotton’s team from one week to the next.

Setbacks, there have been a few.

And the memories of tame away days at Hemel Hempstead, Chesham and Dorking are still with us.

But almost as important as those six points on the road was the fact that they marked three decent performances on the trot.

Yes, United lost at home to leaders Hornchurch (2-1) at the start of this month. There’s no getting away from that result, and it remains to be seen how costly it may be in terms of the title.

But Wotton’s side, still without Cody Cooke up front, did play well and probably deserved a point from the best match seen at Plainmoor so far.

They then backed it up, under considerable pressure, with the Farnborough and Maidenhead wins. That, surely, is the key to the next few months.

In a division which can be so unpredictable, consistency will guarantee success from now on.

One of last Saturday’s most unexpected results was – Farnborough 2 Dorking 0.

Struggling Farnborough had hardly laid a glove on the Gulls last Tuesday night, while Dorking had reeled off wins against United (3-1), Maidenhead, Salisbury and Enfield.

Wanderers were odds-on to keep that run going, yet they lost 2-0 at Cherrywood Road.

There are two big things to remember about where Torquay are now.

First, the injury list which hampered them so badly at the start of the season is easing and, despite the usual bumps and bruises, Wotton’s squad is looking ‘deeper’ with each week that passes.

Second, and just as important for the months ahead, is Wotton’s plan to turn United from last season’s gritty hard-to-beat outfit into a more possession-based side capable of going better than that near-miss.

It’s what everybody wanted him to do.

But it’s not easy to make that change without pots of money, and it can take months, not weeks, to nail it down.

There is an element of risk too, because players at this level can make mistakes which can cost.

But, despite being at home, neither Farnborough nor Maidenhead could get the ball off United for long periods last week.

The longer the season goes on, the better United should become at that, especially as it’s something which runs through all Wotton’s training sessions.

Teams that can pass the ball, and starve opponents of it, always prosper in the second half of the season.

Throw in the fitness of the full-time Gulls, and you should have a winning combination.

Saturday’s Trophy tie at home to Maidstone United is a ‘free hit’.

Of course, after another early FA Cup exit, it would be good to have a run in the Trophy.

But it’s not as if Wotton has a big squad to ‘rotate’, even though he’ll almost certainly make a change or two.

No, more important are the next two league matches, both at home, against Eastbourne Borough and then improving Worthing under the Plainmoor lights on November 25.

Christmas will be upon us before we know it.

And, already, that Boxing Day derby against in-form Weston-super-Mare is looking like one to pull 4,000+ into Plainmoor.