Ten-man Torquay United squander chance

Gulls play an hour with 10 men after Ross Marshall red card

Misfiring Torquay United squandered a chance to keep pace with the National League South leaders with a performance that left their fans frustrated.

The boos that echoed around the Popular Side at the final whistle reflected the fans’ disappointment after a performance in which United made too many mistakes at the back and had too few ideas up front.

The fact that United played with 10 men for the last hour of the game explains some but not all of the problems they set for themselves.

Maidstone were the better side in a first half which saw Torquay make mistake after mistake. The worst of them came in the 29th minute when a poor Shaun Donnellan throw played Ross Marshall into trouble. Stones striker Sol Wanjau-Smith raced away with the ball and Marshall had to reach out to pull him back.

The referee pointed to the penalty spot and brandished a red card at the distraught Marshall, but keeper Mark Halstead kept the Gulls in the game with a fine save from Levi Amantchi’s spot kick.

After the break Torquay did create chances, the best of them in the opening seconds, when Brett McGavin curled a perfect cross to the far post for Aaron Jarvis, who put his header wide of the target.

Tom Lapslie missed with a header and Brad Ash could barely believe his luck when he found himself through against Stones keeper and former Plainmoor legend Lucas Covolan, but he lifted his tricky chance over the bar.

The only goal of the game came with 20 minutes to go when Sam Bone seized on a loose ball and shot home from the edge of the Torquay box.

Apart from the Halstead penalty save, the only bright spot for home fans was the return to action of Asa Hall, who appeared from the bench after a long injury lay-off.