Following yesterday's defeat at the hands of Grimsby Town, Torquay United have now conceded 14 goals in their last five Vanarama Conference fixtures.
The Gulls fell behind to a strike from Lenell John-Lewis strike in the 38th minute before Luke Young equalised with a sweetly struck from the edge of the box five minutes later to score his sixth goal of the season.
Grimsby then provided a sucker punch to the hosts as Craig Disley restored their lead-following a misjudgement by goalkeeper Martin Rice- on the stroke of half-time.
In the second half, the Gulls levelled when Aaron Downes headed home a corner from Young to score his fourth of the season on 61 minutes.
However, the Mariners hit back again when a header from John-Lewis crept over the line- despite the best efforts of Torquay keeper Rice- to complete his brace in the 70th minute, which ensured that the visitors returned home to Humberside with all three points.
It could be argued that the Gulls could have been three goals ahead before John-Lewis opened the scoring for the Mariners, as Luke Young (twice) and Ryan Bowman forced fine saves from James McKeown in the opening exchanges.
But, it could also be argued that Grimsby could have scored a third shortly after Downes' equaliser- when Scott Neilson- the grandson of the former Spurs and Wales winger, Cliff Jones- raced through on goal and fired a shot straight into the arms of Rice.
Nevertheless, Torquay's record in their last five Vanarama Conference reads: Played five, won one, drawn 0, lost four, scored ten and conceded 14.
This alarming slump has now seen the Gulls drop down to ninth place in the Vanarama Conference table , and what was looking like a promising promotion bid is in danger of becoming derailed.
It now leaves manager Chris Hargreaves with some serious food for thought.
