1. Fine first half displays are a speciality for the Gulls at home under Gary Johnson.
Not for the first time this season under Gary Johnson, Torquay United went into the half time break in a home game having run up an unassailable lead. A brace apiece from Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh gave the Gulls a 4-0 lead going into the interval, and it was one of a series of large leads held by the Gulls at the half way point in many matches - a list that includes a 4-0 lead against Concord Rangers and a 5-0 advantage over Oxford City.
2. 40 up for Reid and Janneh.
By scoring their respective doubles, Jamie Reid and Saikou Janneh have now taken their respective tallies for the 2018-19 season to 24 and 16 in all competitions. This makes them the most prolific Torquay United forward pairing of recent times, as they have now surpassed the 38 goals that Tommy Tynan and Dean Edwards scored during the 1990-91 season (19 apiece).
Other notable partnerships include David Graham and Jo Kuffour who scored 34 between them in the 2003-04 promotion season under Leroy Rosenior - Graham found the back of the net 23 times, while Kuffour managed to 11 times - and they were last double act to score more than 30 in a single campaign.
3. 58 minutes of fame.
On 23 minutes, the game was held up yesterday when referee Marc Whaley picked up a calf injury and was unable to carry on. As National League South matches go ahead without a fourth official, a volunteer was required to fill in for assistant referee Colin Hubbard, who stepped up to replace Whaley, in running the line. Gulls supporter Stan Weedon emerged from the Popular Side to step in for Hubbard and preceded to do an excellent job.
4. A fine send off for Cliff.
Before the match, a minute's silence was observed in memory of former United midfielder Cliff Myers, who passed away recently at the age of 72, who played for the Gulls between 1973 and 1976 - his son Chris also played for United and was part of the side that beat Blackpool in the Division Four play-off final at Wembley in 1991. As well as the Gulls, three of Cliff's other former clubs Yeovil Town, Brentford and Charlton Athletic also tasted victory.
5. United's goal difference is looking healthy.
United's win over Dulwich Hamlet and Woking's 2-0 defeat away to Dartford ensured that the Gulls return to the summit of the Vanarama National League South, which they now lead by one point.
In addition to this, United also have a goal difference of plus 40, which is significantly greater than the Cards' GD of plus 26. This means that Woking will need to be two points better off in order to overhaul them and with both sides have two fixtures which they will be heading into this week as heavy favourites - the Gulls travel to East Thurrock and host Weston Super Mare and the Cards head to Truro City and Hungerford Town - so it will be interesting to see what the state of play is this time next week.
