1. The biggest win for a generation.
United's victory over Oxford City is their biggest league win since they defeated Newport County 8-3 on October 19th, 1963. Tommy Northcott scored Torquay's first on that day before Robin Stubbs found the back of the net five times and Reg Jenkins. It is not known whether United were 5-0 up at half time on that day.
2. Jake and his trusty left peg.
It is often said that a week is a long time in football and that proved to be the case for Jake Andrews. Seven days ago his penalty miss against Bath City, at a time when the Gulls led 2-1 in a game they would later lose 3-2, ultimately proved to be costly.
Whilst there were no effigies of Andrews hanging up in Union Street, or pizza adverts for him as a consolation, he did manage to put his miss behind him to score his first career hat-trick against Oxford City - with all three goals coming in the space of 24 minutes.
His first came on 34 minutes when he found the back of the net directly from a corner, his second came three minutes before the break as he cushion volleyed home a cross from Jamie Reid and for his third he backheeled the ball into the back of the net following a Connor Lemonheigh-Evans cross.
His treble now takes Andrews' tally for the season to nine goals, which puts him third in the Gulls' leading scorers list behind Saikou Janneh on 13 and Jamie Reid on 21.
3. A hat-trick of hat-tricks.
In scoring a treble, Jake Andrews joins fellow Bristol City loanee Saikou Janneh and Jamie Reid (Concord Rangers at home and Eastbourne Borough away respectively) in scoring hat-tricks for the Gulls in the same season. In recent times Nicky Wroe and Elliot Benyon both netted trebles in the 2009-10 season and in the 1990-91 campaign Tommy Tynan and Dean Edwards both scored hat-tricks - in the Leyland Daf cup against Shrewsbury Town and against Northampton Town in the league respectively - but your correspondent cannot recall any time when three United players have scored hat-tricks in the same season. Answers on a post card please, or send me a tweet?
4. 21 up for Jamie Reid.
Jamie Reid's opening goal for United saw him become the first Torquay United player to hit 20 goals in the same season since Tim Sills managed the feat in the 2007-08 season. Reid also joins a select band who have netted 20 or times in a season for the Gulls in the last 40 years which includes Steve Cooper 21 (1982-83), Paul Dobson 25 (1987-88), David Graham 23 (2003-04), Tim Sills 21 (2007-08). What is more remarkable about Reid's achievement is that he only had one goal to his name when Gary Johnson was appointed as manager.
5. Come on Aussie, come on.
The Gulls' emphatic victory proved to be a double celebration for United's Australian assistant manager Aaron Downes as it was also Australia Day.
