1. The end of the unbeaten run.
The Gulls' defeat against Hampton and Richmond Borough brought the curtain down on an unbeaten league run which had begun on November 2 with a 2-2 draw against Chelmsford City. It also brought the curtain down the club's unbeaten home record for the 2024-25 campaign.
The challenge that United are now facing is to go on another run.
2. Max Merrick's goalkeeping masterclass.
A big part of the reason why the Gulls came away from the game with nothing was the performance in goal of Hampton & Richmond's Chelsea loanee Max Merrick.
In the first half, he made an acrobatic save to deny Dylan Morgan in the 39th minute and in the second half, he made a stunning double save to prevent Jordan Young from finding the back of the net in three successive games on 68 minutes. He would deny Young again in the 90th minute before producing arguably his best save of the afternoon when he turned away a flicked header from sub Lirak Hasani from a corner from fellow substitute Omar Mussa.
3. Matt Jay's debut.
Torquay-born Matt Jay made his debut for the Gulls after completing a permanent move to the club following his release by Colchester United.
Former Exeter City skipper Jay had a couple of good touches and saw a couple of dangerous looking shots blocked in the first half, in what was his first competitive appearance since he featured for Colchester in the EFL Trophy last September.
Once he gets up to speed his ability will be important to the Gulls in the end of season, as will the experience of winning promotion with the Grecians in the 2021-22 campaign.
4. It's tight at the top.
After today's round of National League South fixtures, the top four in the division are only separated by goal difference. However, the Gulls currently lie second in the table behind Boreham Wood, who remain top. To make matters more interesting, fifth placed Maidstone United are on 51 points and Dorking Wanderers and Truro City are sixth and seventh with 49 points.
5. Jordan Dyer and Jay Foulston's absence.
One remarkable stat that has come to light following United's loss to Hampton and Richmond Borough is that the Gulls have lost all four games in which they have been without Jordan Dyer and Jay Foulston.
In their absence, Ed Palmer filled in for Dyer and Jordan Thomas switched from right back to left back to cover for Foulston.
