Relieved McCall lives to fight another day

The significance, if any, of Saturday’s logic-defying late show at Plainmoor will become clear in the coming weeks.

Whether it is the turning point that Stuart McCall hopes for as he clings to his job or whether it was just a few minutes’ respite from the storm that has been building around the manager and his players.

But it’s tempting to take this unlikely triumph at face value; to just stop and soak up the moment after so much disappointment.

The sheer unadulterated joy after the second goal had to be seen to be believed.

If this season does indeed drift nowhere and should McCall leave the helm, nobody can take away that brief sensation. It was THE moment of the season bar none.

McCall was facing managerial oblivion and knew it. This wasn’t just the 11th hour but more like 11.59 and 59 seconds.

His time, it seemed, was up. But then ....

And who would have banked on Gareth Evans doing the deed?

A striker without a goal in 11 games suddenly popping up with two to spare a side – and manager – who hadn’t won for knocking on two months.

No wonder City milked it for everything.

The players, as one, ran towards McCall, who met them halfway as he tore from the touchline. Wayne Jacobs, whose role as number two is under just as much scrutiny, joined him in a bear hug of celebration and huge relief.

And fittingly both goals came in front of the away end, where 400 or so travelling fans – a staggering amount given the distance and City’s wretched recent form – had kept up relentless backing.

No chants for McCall’s head; no obvious jeers when City were so poor for so long. Just proper support, in the true meaning of the word.

This was not just a huge result for the manager. As McCall rightly pointed out, this was for them.

He had gone out for the pre-match warm-up and was amazed by the number who had made the 600-mile round trek to the furthest corner of the country.

And he was chuffed that their journey was not going to be in vain.

“It’s incredible to bring that many supporters,” he said. “The lads and myself appreciate it so much and we wanted to send them home happy. Let’s face it, we haven’t been doing that of late.”

And for 85 per cent of this game, the prospect of a fruitless slog back north loomed large.

McCall won’t need to study the DVD again to know that City were awful for the bulk of it.

Outfought, out-tackled and out-gunned by another lowly side who were on just as bad a run.

Unlike Lincoln, who had won their previous two games before City’s visit, Torquay were without a win in five. Confidence on both sides of the pitch was equally brittle.

On such occasions, the first goal proves priceless.

City, despite a very attacking look, were never going to get it.

Torquay needed only 14 minutes. Matt Glennon saved well from Elliott Benyon but the visitors failed to deal with the corner, allowing big defender Chris Robertson to lash through a wall of bodies.

Another addition to the catalogue of soft goals City have conceded.

The heart of the problem lies in the heart of the team – the central defence. McCall has permed any two from three without getting closer to a solution.

Zesh Rehman was ditched at Lincoln at half-time. On Saturday, his replacement Steve Williams was similarly benched after a woeful 45 minutes.

Matt Clarke has hardly looked much better alongside them, though he did pull off a couple of key break-up tackles in the second half as City, pitching more men forward, were left dangerously exposed.

Perhaps the answer could be to use Simon Ramsden in the middle again. Though he, too, had some real trouble dealing with nippy winger Danny Stevens.

McCall has no immediate plans to look outside for a replacement but it is a situation that will not go away.

Torquay’s little and large front pairing of Benyon and Scott Rendell made hay and the scoring chances stacked up.

The elusive Stevens twice went close before the break. Two minutes after the restart, Benyon teed up Rendell for a glorious shot which he somehow put wide.

The clock, directly above the head of joint-chairman Mark Lawn in the directors’ box behind the City goal, was ticking.

McCall had used two subs at the break. He made his final – and most popular – choice with 15 minutes left to give Peter Thorne his first league outing for five months.

Thorne may have been under-cooked after just one run-out for the reserves but his presence produced a spark – and created panic in the Torquay ranks.

Omar Daley, an anonymous figure before, burst into life. City sensed hope where for so long there had been none.

Thorne almost scored with his first touch but Torquay somehow survived two messy scrambles.

Only seven minutes were left when Ramsden’s corner dropped to Evans. His connection wasn’t sweet but it was good enough to get past keeper Michael Poke.

The fourth official gave City another four minutes of added time. We were in the second when Thorne nodded on a Ramsden free-kick and there was Evans again, on hand to begin the mayhem.

Bemused Torquay boss Paul Buckle admitted that he never saw that coming. Him and 2,500 others.

But even the hardest-hearted critic could not begrudge McCall his big break on the English Riviera.