Ahead of Saturday's National League Play-off semi-final between Torquay United and Notts County, we will now look back at the Gulls' Third Division Play-off semi-final, second leg against Scarborough from the 1997-98 season.
Following their final day disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion against Leyton Orient, United – who finished 5th in the Third Division – faced Scarborough over two legs in the Play-offs.
It was the first time that the Gulls had been involved in the end-of-season showdown since they lost out to Preston North End in the 1993-94 season at the semi-final stage.
In the first leg, Torquay helped to banish the memory of their final day defeat in East London with a Sunday afternoon 3-1 win over the Sea Dogs at the McCain Stadium with goals from Rodney Jack, Andy McFarlane and Jon Gittens.
Manager Kevin Hodges named an unchanged side for the return clash at Plainmoor, as the Gulls looked to book their first appearance at Wembley since 1991.
The second leg saw the Gulls continue in the same vein as they had in the first, as Jack opened the scoring after six minutes, when he made a run from inside his own half before burst through on goal – rounding Scarborough keeper Tony Elliott– and calmly slotting home.
A minute later, Jack – who hailed from the small Caribbean island of St Vincent - struck again to complete his brace for the evening, when he cut inside and fired past Elliott – with an angled effort - to double the Gulls’ lead on aggregate.
The Sea Dogs reduced their arrears on 22 minutes when their long serving defender Jason Rockett headed home a Troy Bennett free-kick from the right hand side.
However, their hopes of a second leg fight back were dealt a massive blow in the 28th minute – when Gareth Williams received a second yellow card for a lunge on Jack.
Torquay made their numerical advantage court when, ten minutes later, Torquay restored their aggregate lead to four goals through player-assistant manager Steve McCall.
Earlier in his career, McCall had been a UEFA Cup winner with Ipswich Town - under Bobby Robson in 1981. He showed evidence of the skills that saw him reach those heights when he curled a left-footed effort into the top corner from 25-yards, following a pass from Jack.
In the second half, the Gulls looked to add to their lead as Jack was denied a hat-trick when he had a shot from close range deflected behind for a corner Scarborough substitute Colin Sutherland in the opening period.
A return to Wembley looked to be almost in touching distance for the Gulls, and chants of ‘Que Sera, Sera’ were now being heard from the Popular Side.
United’s fourth of the night, and the seventh on aggregate, eventually came on 55 minutes, when Jack and McCall combined on the right hand side to set up Paul Gibbs for his tenth of the season.
This hammered a final nail into Scarborough’s coffin and rendered the match all but over.
Yet there was to be further misery for the Sea Dogs, as they were reduced to nine men when second half substitute Liam Robinson saw red on 76 minutes- 16 minutes after coming on – for a foul on Gibbs.
Following the three minutes of additional time added on, Plainmoor was a scene of celebration, as the Gulls - who only two years earlier had retained their league status due to Stevenage Borough’s ground not meeting league requirements - were now looking forward to the prospect of playing at Wembley.
Torquay XI (3-5-2): Kenny Veysey; Jon Gittens, Alex Watson, Jamie Robinson; Andy Gurney, Gary Clayton, Steve McCall (Kevin Hill 73), Chris Leadbitter, Paul Gibbs; Rodney Jack (Tony Bedeau 82), Andy McFarlane (Wayne Thomas 87)
