Not for the first time this season, bouncebackability was the name of the game for Torquay United as they came from behind to beat National League South leaders Weston Super Mare.
Luke Coulson gave the Seagulls the lead in the 17th minute before United replied with a stunning 20 yard strike from Lirak Hasani, which was the former Gateshead midfielder's third of the campaign. Five minutes later, Plymouth Argyle loanee Will Jenkins-Davies capitalised on a sloppy back pass from former Pilgrims striker Reuben Reid and raced towards goal before firing into the bottom corner.
Three minutes before the break, Sam Avery bundled home a corner from Coulson to level matters, but the Gulls were then handed the chance to restore their lead from the penalty spot after Hasani was upended in the area. United's leading scorer Cody Cooke stepped up to take it, only to be denied by a save from Weston keeper Max Harris.
Early in the second half, the Gulls were reduced to ten men when Hasani was dismissed following a challenge on Reid. However, manager Paul Wotton shuffled his pack and introduced club captain Oscar Threlkeld from the bench in place of Omar Mussa.
Instead of clinging onto their share of the spoils, United edged ahead in the 69th minute when Jenkins-Davies burst down the right and found Cooke who backheeled the Gulls' third of the evening.
Then on 78 minutes, Dan Hayfield intercepted the ball inside his own half and made a lung busting run before teeing up Cooke for his brace, and his eighth of the campaign.
The result took the number of points that United have won after conceding first to 14; the Gulls have won away to Chesham United, drawn away to Eastbourne Borough and at home to Maidstone United and beaten Worthing and Saturday's opponents Enfield Town. They defeated the latter on the opening day of the 2024-25 campaign after conceding after four minutes.
One thing is fairly certain, and that's that no one could accuse Wotton's charges of lacking resilience.
