1. Is the Ruairi Keating of 2017 back?
Within a minute of coming off the bench for Brett Williams, Ruairi Keating latched onto a goal kick from Alex Bass before ghosting in between the Cardiff defence before finding the back of the net with his first touch and cancelled out Josh Murphy's first half opener for the Bluebirds. For the remainder of the match, Keating proved to be a willing runner as he harried and harrassed the Cardiff backline as he displayed levels of work rate and the tenacity to chase lost causes that he displayed when he first arrived at Plainmoor in February 2017. He also formed a successful partnership with Williams towards the end of the 2016-17 season, as the Gulls won three from their final five matches of the campaign to beat the drop and United manager Gary Owers might consider re-establishing their partnership for the Gulls' remaining friendlies against Bristol City and Dorchester Town.
2. Gary Owers is building from the back.
Amongst the outstanding performers for the Gulls against the Bluebirds were United's back three of George Essuman, Jean Yves Koue Niate (who also claimed the sponsors' Man of the Match award) and Kyle Cameron. All three players each come from a variety of backgrounds; Essuman joined from Dover Athletic, Frenchman Niate has played for several non-league clubs in this country including Solihull Moors and Guiseley whilst Cameron came through Newcastle United's Academy and has enjoyed loan spells in the Football League with York City and Newport County and with Queen of the South in Scotland. In addition to this, he has also represented Scotland at Under-21 level.
The trio could yet give a number of National League South strikeforces a number of sleepless nights.
3. Could Liam Davis turn out to be one of the best left-backs in National League South in 2018-19?
After he missed the opening 13 games of the season with a foot problem, Liam Davis once again left the United faithful wondering if he could have made a difference had he been available earlier. Davis once again pushed forward well to good effect and also produced a strong defensive display as well and demonstrated the qualities that saw him play for Yeovil Town in the Championship just over four years ago. Whisper it quietly, but many of the most successful United teams in recent years have all had good left-backs (1990-91 John Uzzell, 1993-94 Tom Kelly, 1997-98 Paul Gibbs, 1999-00 Robbie Herrera, 2003-04 Brian McGlinchey, 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2011-12 Kevin Nicholson).
4. Alex Bass continued to demonstrate a huge level of potential.
In securing Alex Bass on a season-long loan from Portsmouth, Gary Owers might have pulled off the transfer coup of the season. Bass, 20, who spent last season on loan with Salisbury FC in the Evo-Stik Southern League South and West Division, showed a level of calmness and maturity that belied his age as commanded his area well and displayed his prowess as a good shot stopper. Having made his debut for Pompey on the final day of last season against Peterborough United, as he follows the routes taken by two of England's 2018 World Cup squad goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope in learning their trade through loan spells in non-league circles.
5. Neil Warnock retains a fondness for the Gulls.
After guiding United to one of their many great escapes in the 1992-93 as caretaker manager, Neil Warnock has always retained an affection for Torquay United. Since then he has returned to Plainmoor with a number of his sides for pre-season friendlies, including Huddersfield Town, Bury Sheffield United, Queens Park Rangers and Leeds United, and has also helped out United in the form of a number of loan players such as the Gulls' top scorer from last season Rhys Healey. After the match he spoke with a great fondness for his time at the club and signed autographs and posed for photos with a number of fans.
