1. Saikou Janneh's first career hat-trick.
The biggest talking point following the Gulls' 4-1 victory over Concord Rangers is Saikou Janneh's first career hat-trick, which came in the space of the opening 34 minutes. In the process, the young Bristol City loanee didn't just score a treble - he also doubled his tally for the entire season from three to six.
His hat-trick was also the second time this season that a Torquay United has found the back of the net three times this season, as Janneh's strike partner Jamie Reid was on target three times in the Gulls' 4-2 win away to Eastbourne Borough in September. This is now the first time that two Torquay United players have scored hat-tricks in the same season since Nicky Wroe and Elliot Benyon both bagged trebles in the 2009-10 season in the FA Cup 1st and 2nd rounds against Cheltenham Town and Stockport County respectively.
2. Jamie Reid's 'wonder' strike is in good company.
Think of the best goals seen at Plainmoor in recent years and you think of Steve McCall's left footed wonder strike against Scarborough in 1998, Kevin Hill's over-head kick against Macclesfield in 2004, Tim Sills' acrobatic effort against Histon in 2008, Eunan O'Kane's second goal against Plymouth Argyle in 2011, Kevin Nicholson's late winner against Barnet a few weeks later, Ryan Jarvis' 35-yarder against York in 2013 and Luke Young's 40-yard stunner against Wrexham in 2014. Jamie Reid's 13th goal of the current campaign, which came in the 43rd minute surely ranks alongside these. Reid's rocket shot had the beating of Concord keeper Sam Beasant and bounced off the underside of the crossbar before crossing the line and gave the Gulls an unassailable lead. His partnership with Saikou Janneh has now yielded 18 goals - his first goal of the season against Hemel Hempstead Town came before Janneh's arrival.
3. Is a promotion winning partnership building between Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh?
In Torquay United's previous promotion winning seasons, a partnership that has managed 30 to 40 goals has played a big part in their success. In the 1990-91 season, Tommy Tynan and Dean Edwards scored 19 goals apiece in all competitions as the Gulls went on to defeat Blackpool in the Division Four play-off final. In their automatic promotion triumph under Leroy Rosenior in the 2003-04 campaign, David Graham found the back of the net 23 times and Jo Kuffour chipped in with 11.
This was followed in their most recent promotion glory in the 2008-09, when they beat Cambridge United at Wembley to win promotion back into the Football League, Tim Sills found the back of the net 18 times and Elliot Benyon was on target 12 times in all competitions.
So far this season, Jamie Reid has scored 13 times and Janneh six times and if Janneh remains with the Gulls for the remainder of the campaign then who knows.
4. The addition of pace has been a big plus.
Since he replaced Gary Owers as manager, Gary Johnson has moved to inject extra pace into the Torquay, with the addition of Janneh on loan and the signing of left winger Kalvin Kalala, who played under him at Cheltenham Town. On Saturday against Concord Rangers, Kalala was a constant threat to the Beach Boys' defence and every time he got the ball he looked like he could make something happen - and he very nearly did in the 63rd minute when he had shot deflected behind for a corner - which denied him his first league goal for the club - in a game in which the Gulls attacked in numbers and attacked quickly.
5. The future of the Bristol City loanees.
Central to United's revival under Gary Johnson has been the four players that the Gulls currently have on loan from Bristol City: Opi Edwards, Jake Andrews, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Saikou Janneh. The link between Plainmoor and Ashton Gate has no doubt been strengthened by Johnson's appointment as manager - his son Lee is currently in charge of the Robins - but it was a link that was developed before Johnson's arrival. George Dowling was signed on loan from Bristol City during Robbie Herrera's caretaker spell in charge last season and Lemonheigh-Evans first joined on loan under Gary Owers - Shawn McCoulsky also came to Plainmoor on loan during Kevin Nicholson's reign as manager in the 2016-17 season.
Lemonheigh-Evans had previously played on loan under Owers at Bath City, a move which came about through Owers's friendship with Brian Tinnion, who is employed by the Robins as a player loan manager, which dates back to their playing days at Ashton Gate. Following Owers' appointment as Torquay manager, Bristol City continued to loan players to the Romans under Owers' successor Jerry Gill, in the form of Opi Edwards and James Morton, who is currently on loan at Twerton Park.
If Robins' chairman Steve Lansdowne did decide to dispense with the services of Johnson junior, it could have an impact on their relationship with the Gulls, but any decision taken on whether they remain on loan at Plainmoor will more than likely involve Tinnion, who can regularly takes in Gulls' home games to assess their progress.
