1. Midfield Maestros
Despite going a goal down, Torquay United soon took control of the Westcountry Derby with Truro City when their midfield clicked into gear.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans curled home his third of the season on 26 minutes from 20-yards to cancel out Tyler Harvey's opener for the White Tigers. The Gulls then edged ahead when Kalvin Kalala followed up his brace against Hampton and Richmond when he played a one-two with Saikou Janneh and then found the back of the net from 30-yards with his fourth goal of the campaign.
Skipper Asa Hall then got in on the act when he fired home from 35-yards three minutes later and striker Saikou Janneh scored his 11th early in the second half before Jared Lewington grabbed a late consolation for Truro.
All four goals for United were 'goal of the season' contenders in their own right and the efforts of messrs Lemonheigh-Evans, Kalala and Hall have now taken the amount of goals scored by United's midfielders in the 2018-19 season to 19 (Jake Andrews 5, Kalala and Hall 4, Lemonheigh-Evans 3, Opi Edwards 2 and Chris Regis 1). This is in direct to last season when they scored nine from the middle of the park in the 2017-18 campaign and there is surely more to come from them this season.
2. The sense of de ja vu.
The Plainmoor faithful could have been forgiven for thinking that lightning was about to strike twice when Tyler Harvey volleyed home to put Truro ahead. He also netted an equaliser for Plymouth Argyle against the Gulls on Boxing Day, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Pilgrims, as a young hopeful at Home Park. Interestingly United's opening goal that day was scored by their new assistant manager Aaron Downes.
3. A winning return to Plainmoor for Aaron Downes.
United's Boxing Day encounter with Truro was also Aaron Downes' first home game since he returned to the club as assistant manager to Gary Johnson. The match also saw Downes face two of his former United teammates as Niall Thompson featured at right-back for the White Tigers and Ben Harding came on as a second half substitute.
4. A magnificent seventh in a row.
Whisper it quietly, but Gary Johnson's Gulls currently have a club record in the sights. United's victory over Truro is their seventh league win in a row - which equals a run that they enjoyed under Martin Ling in the 2011-12 season between January 2nd, 2012 and February 14th, 2012. The record itself was set in the 1997-98 campaign under their managerial reign of Kevin Hodges between January 24th, 1998 and March 3rd, 1998. A win over Gloucester City this coming Saturday would see the United of 2018-19 equal it.
5. Mind the gap.
United's victory maintains their two point advantage over second placed Woking. However, the Cards still have two games in hand over the Gulls, but Gary Johnson's side also have a seven point gap ahead of third placed Welling United. The Gulls travel to Woking on April 6th, 2018 for what is set to be a destiny-deciding game and a 'six-pointer' in the truest sense of the word.
