When they found themselves three goals down against Aldershot Town on Tuesday night, most Torquay United fans feared the worse.
A Craig Reid hat-trick saw Aldershot, who featured former Gulls defender Guy Branston in the line-up, race into a comfortable lead before Billy Bodin pulled a goal back for Torquay.
Substitute Ryan Jarvis then reduced the deficit to one goal in the 69th minute before fellow sub Ashley Yeoman levelled on 84 minutes with his first goal for the Gulls.
This set Torquay up for a grandstand finish as leading scorer Rene Howe scored the decisive fourth for the Gulls with his seventh of the season as Martin Ling's completed a remarkable turnaround.
It is the first time the Gulls have cancelled out a three goal margin at Plainmoor since Adrian Foster's hat-trick from the substitutes bench saw them secure a 3-3 draw with Colchester United on September 4th 1993.
