1. Losing Lewis Collins early on was a big as big a blow as losing Tom Lapslie.
Tom Lapslie’s seventh minute dismissal saw Torquay United play over 90 minutes, including injury time, with ten men, but it could be argued that losing Lewis Collins to injury on 21 minutes was equally damaging for the Gulls.
Collins, who is on loan from Newport County, was on target for the Gulls in midweek in their 3-2 defeat to Solihull Moors and has emerged as one of United’s best attacking outlets in recent weeks.
Hopefully he won’t be out for too long.
2. Mark Halstead made a number of important saves.
Not for the first time this season United goalkeeper Mark Halstead made a number of important saves, which helped to keep Wealdstone at bay until they found their late winner through Micah Obiero.
In the first half, Halstead made a point blank save to deny Obiero and even took a boot to the face which saw him sporting a bruise to his face after the match.
He continued this form into the second half as he denied former United striker Corie Andrews a goal against his former club in the 58th minute, but unfortunately he was eventually beaten by Obiero.
Purely for effort, he didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.
3. Kevin Dawson impressed on his home debut.
After appearing in United’s recent away games against Aldershot Town and Solihull Moors, many of the Plainmoor faithful got to see new loan signing Kevin Dawson in action for the first time.
Irish midfielder Dawson, 32, played under Gary Johnson at both Yeovil Town and Cheltenham Town and has joined the Gulls on loan from National League North side Gloucester City on loan until the end of the season.
Dawson was an authoritative presence in the heart of United’s midfield and always looked to get on the ball and showed a good range of passing. He also displayed good leadership skills, giving both encouragement and instructions to his younger colleagues.
The Irishman was also part of Johnson’s Glovers side who won promotion to the Championship against the odds and his experience looks set to be crucial in the end of season run-in.
4. Kieron Evans on target.
While there was some debate as to whether Shaun Donnellan got the final touch on his free-kick which found the back of the net against Barnet in the FA Trophy, there were no such arguments about his equaliser against Wealdstone.
Stones keeper Sam Howes rushed off his line to make a clearance, which fell invitingly to Evans and he found the back of an empty net from 25 yards.
Since he switched from playing in the centre of midfield to the wing, Evans has added more end product to his game in terms of assists and goals, which will both be valuable commodities between now and the end of the campaign.
5. Asa’s back.
Saturday’s encounter with Wealdstone also marked the return of club captain Asa Hall when he appeared as an 83rd minute substitute in place of Ross Marshall.
Hall, who remains United’s third top scorer in all competitions with five goals, remains an important figure for the Gulls if he can get fully fit and stay fit it will be of enormous benefit to manager Gary Johnson.
6. A big effort required in United’s final ten games.
United’s defeat against Wealdstone now leaves them in 22nd place in the table and they are now only above 23rd placed Scunthorpe United on goal difference.
To complete yet another ‘great escape’ the Gulls need to emulate the form that they displayed under Ian Atkins in the 2005-06 season when they won six, drew one and lost three of their final ten league fixtures to stay in League Two.
