With their squad weakened due to injuries and the well documented incident involving skipper Matt Worthington and Callum Dolan, Torquay United still managed to extend their winning run in National League South to five matches against Chelmsford City.
Goals from debutant Kieran Wilson, who joined on loan from Exeter City, and a free-kick from leading scorer Jordan Young, which takes his tally for the season to 12, secured the win over the Clarets. It was a result that briefly lifted the Gulls to the summit of the division and made to appear more remarkable by the fact that Paul Wotton's men made the journey to Essex on the day.
According to Google Maps, 242 miles separates Plainmoor and Chelmsford's Melbourne Stadium home, but the United team bus set off from Plainmoor at 6.30am on Saturday morning, with the players who stay in the Gulls' Lodge next to the ground being its first passengers.
United fans of a certain age will probably remember two of the most important away days in the club's history. The first is Barnet away on the final day of 2000-2001, when the Gulls beat the Bees 3-2 with goals from Jason Rees, Kevin Hill and David Graham to stay in the Football League. The other is Southend United away on the last day in 2003-04, which saw United win 2-1 to secure automatic promotion for the first time in 38 years.
Both of those results were achieved despite the team travelling on the day of the game, and whilst we live in a time where overnight stays are deemed a necessity rather than a luxury, United's result and performance against Chelmsford, at a time when their squad was down to the barebones, showed a certain level of resilience.
It's also worth noting it was their third game in the space of seven days, following on from a 7-0 demolition of Eastbourne Borough and 3-2 win over high flying Worthing after being two goals down after the opening 17 minutes.
In the immediate present, the next challenge for Wotton is to extend their winning league run to six matches when Tonbridge Angels head to Plainmoor on Saturday in what will be the Gulls' last home game before Christmas.
