Torquay United undone by sloppy start and a lack of cutting edge at Plainmoor

The run of five straight victories in the National League South ended for Torquay United with a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to Tonbridge Angels.

The Gulls fell behind to two goals in a first half that lacked the consistency of recent performances, as United toiled to find their normal rhythm.

After the break, the Gulls controlled possession and pushed Tonbridge deep into their defensive shell, but penetration was absent and manager Paul Wotton conceded it was one of those days when the mountain was too big to climb.

I don’t want to be too critical of the boys but you can’t give teams 2-0 headstarts,” said Wotton. “We got away with it against Worthing but this time we didn’t.

“Fair play to Tonbridge, we knew they would come in with a low block and be very organised. The two goals we conceded are poor and we didn’t start the game properly, didn’t do the fundamentals properly.

“Having said that, we’ve got to be more clinical. You’ve got to be consistent and it’s a wasted opportunity. I’m very disappointed because we got into good areas but only made the ‘keeper make routine saves.

“For their second goal, a long throw goes down the line and we didn’t do the fundamentals right, let them in behind. It was a good hit, but the boy should never have been there, and we were fighting an uphill battle from there.

“We had some glaring opportunities in the first half, our set-pieces weren’t good, which is the consistency I’m talking about. There’s not too much damage done in the league table, but we’ve got to be on it every single week, because if we’re not, you get punished.

“We were a bit wasteful when we got into good areas. In the second half, we played in front of them all the time. With all due respect to Tonbridge, they looked really tired with 15 minutes to go, and I felt it was there for us if we played forward.

“We have to keep going, we’ve played some good stuff, but we didn’t ask enough questions of Tonbridge. It felt like it was constant pressure, but the quality wasn’t quite there for us.”

The Gulls now sit third in the table level on points with Worthing and Weston-super-Mare but three behind leaders Hornchurch.

It is now a weekend off for Wotton and his troops, as they are no longer involved in the FA Trophy. They return to action with a trip to mid-table Totton on December 20 and then a Christmas cracker at home to Weston on Boxing Day.