1. Jake Andrews added a badly needed touch of flair to the Gulls side.
Those Gulls fans who witnessed their pre-season friendly against Bristol City's Under-23 side would have no doubt gone home with the memory of Jake Andrews' sweetly struck free-kick which found the top corner fresh in their mind. Those same supporters would have no doubt been very happy to have seen Torquay United secure his signature this week on a loan deal.
His debut for the Gulls proved to be equally memorable as his pass provided the assist for Jamie Reid's opener and his corner picked out Asa Hall to head home his first for the club, as he added a touch of flair to a side that was crying out for some extra invention - especially in the second half when United switched to 4-4-2.
2. The pace of Opi Edwards made a big difference as well.
As well as Andrews, Opi Edwards - who was also on target for Bristol City's Under-23's on the same night in question - made a big impact on his debut as he gave the Gulls an injection of extra pace. If at any point in the game the Hemel Hempstead players felt that they were up against two players it wouldn't have come as a great surprise such were the levels of energy shown by Edwards.
Not only did he support the attack, he was also willing to track back and help out defensively as evidenced by the way he snuffed out an overlapping run from Tudors' left-back Callum Martin and helped the Gulls to win a goal kick in the process. His performance, in addition to that of Andrews, would no doubt have been pleasing for Bristol City loans manager Brian Tinnion.
3. Jamie Reid ends the Gulls' goal scoring drought.
Jamie Reid picked the perfect time to score his opening goal of the campaign - which ended 474 minutes without a goal for the Gulls, a figure which equates to six hours and 57 minutes.
Although United's goals against column reads three, their goals for column also read three before the start of today, so if they can marry scoring more goals with a resolute defence then United will start to rise up the table.
Hopefully this will also see Reid, who scored three goals in five appearances on loan at Truro City in the National League South in the 2015-16 season from Exeter City, find the back of the net on a more consistent basis.
4. Alex Bass once again proved to be revelation between the sticks.
United once again had Portsmouth loanee Alex Bass to thank for helping them to keep another clean sheet. Bass made a number of important saves, most notably in the first half when he recovered in time - despite being off his line - to turn a 35-yard effort from Tudors striker Steve Cawley over the bar.
Much has been made over the summer of the spells in non-league football enjoyed by Jordan Pickford and Nick Pope, which helped them to make the England squad for last summer's World Cup in Russia. It might be early days yet for Bass, but there is every chance that his career could follow a similar trajectory.
5. Success achieved in the light of absences.
It is also worth noting that United's win over Hemel Hempstead was achieved despite the Gulls missing a number of players who would have been in contention to start had they been fit. Central defenders Jakub Sokolik and Jean Yves Koue Niate would probably have featured in defence and midfield duo Samir Nabi and Ryan Dickson could have been involved as well.
Where the latter two will fit into the side in the light of the displays of Jake Andrews and Opi Edwards will surely give manager Gary Owers something to think about.
