Cheltenham Town will be sick of the sight of Torquay United after falling to their third heavy defeat of the season by Paul Buckle's enterprising side on a thoroughly miserable night in the English Riviera.

If there is any positive to come out of tonight, it is that the Robins only have to face the Devon outfit one more time this season (at the Abbey Business Stadium on February 23).

Buckle has moulded an exciting side here on the south coast and began the day level on points with John Schofield's team, but Cheltenham had no answer to Torquay's threat from the wide areas, leaking three goals in a performance at odds with the display against Barnet seven days ago.

Chris Zebroski, Scott Rendell and Trinidad and Tobago winger Jake Thomson, the home side's star performer on the night (pictured with David Bird), provided the goals to hand the 104 travelling supporters another unhappy trip home tonight.

TEAM NEWS: Acting boss Schofield named an unchanged line-up for this evening's Coca-Cola League Two at Plainmoor. Schofield stuck with the team that defeated Barnet 5-1 last week meaning that new loan signings David Pipe (from Bristol Rovers) and Ashley Eastham (from Blackpool) were named among the substitutes.
Lee Ridley and Michael Townsend (calf injuries) are still out of action and goalkeeping coach Barry Richardson served the third and final game of his suspension in the stand so youth team goalkeeper Joe Perry was among the replacements once again.

Second minute: Zebroski took advantage of a David Bird error down the Torquay left to release the first shot of the night to draw a smart low save from Scott Brown at his near post.

5: A slick move which began at the back resulted in a great chance for Joss Labadie to open the scoring after only five minutes, but the West Bromwich Albion loanee prodded his effort wide of the right post after David Bird had done well to cut the ball back from the byline.

6: Next winger Thomson surged down the left, skipping past Kyle Haynes to tee up Zebroski in the left channel, but the striker pulled his shot across Brown's goalmouth under the watchful eye of Josh Low.

9 GOAL: Torquay United 1-0 Cheltenham Town
Torquay's positive start to the match was rewarded with a ninth minute goal courtesy of Zebrowski, his first in three matches for the Gulls. Thomson was instrumental down the left, rolling it into the path of the striker who thumped a 22 yarder past Brown and off the inside of the right post to break the deadlock.

17: Drissa Diallo called Michael Poke into a sharp save with 17 minutes on the clock when he met Ben Marshall's centre from the right with a stooping header at the near post.

20: The combination of Thomson and Zobroski caused the Cheltenham defence more problems 20 minutes in, this time Andy Gallinagh was called into a desperate clearance on his line to prevent the striker registering his second of the night.

22: Justin Richards dug out a shot a couple of minutes later, but it flew high and wide when Barry Hayles was arguably in a better position in the centre to make the most of the chance.

24: Hayles should have done better with the chance he was presented with midway through the first half, lifting a shot over from 12 yards after Low had lifted a free-kick into the danger area and Bird had forced the ball loose under pressure from Poke.

34: Nicky Wroe, the home side's hatrick hero side in the FA Cup first round time a little over three weeks ago, scraped the crossbar with a firm drive from distance a little over ten minutes before the interval.

38 GOAL: Torquay United 2-0 Cheltenham Town
The Devon side claimed their second seven minutes before half time and Thomson was again central to the break, running almost the full length of Cheltenham's half to fashion the opening. The Southampton loanee was eventually denied a shooting chance by a superb challenge by Low on the edge of the box, but the loose ball fell to Rendell 12 yards from goal, who picked his spot inside the right post.

43: Wayne Carlisle presented the threat to the Cheltenham defence from the opposite flank to Thomson, and the former Exeter City and Leyton Orient winger lifted a ball to the far post two minutes before the turnaround but Ellis missed the target with his back post header.

HALF TIME: 2-0

48 GOAL: Torquay United 3-0 Cheltenham Town
Number three arrived three minutes after the re-start, and it was another disappointing goal to concede from a Cheltenham perspective. Zabroski fed Thomson, who was given the freedom of the penalty area before slotting home from 12 yards.

51 BOOKING: Labadie went into the book for an off-the-ball incident as Bird prepared to swing in a free-kick from the left. The captain's clever effort a moment later needed helping over by Poke, but the resulting corner came to nothing.

52 DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: Boss Schofield made a double switch three minutes after the third goal, replacing Haynes with Bristol Rovers loanee David Pipe for his first appearance for the club while pressing Julian Alsop into action at the expense of Theo Lewis.

54: Cheltenham were denied by a couple of notable saves by Poke, also on loan from Southampton. First he was quick to react to Richards' near post header after substitute Pipe had tossed a long throw into the area before the Torquay number one held onto Marshall's follow-up from 18 yards.

64: Zabroski capitalised on a sloppy backpass by Low with 64 minutes on the clock, rounding Brown only to be denied by Gallinagh for the second time on the night.

67 SUBSTITUTION: Elvis Hammond replaced Richards for the final 23 minutes of the match.

76 BOOKING: Pipe was cautioned for a late challenge on Adam Smith, the England Under-19 international on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

83: Thomson left the field to a standing ovation after an effervescent display on the left, replaced by Danny Stevens with seven minutes to go.

90 SUBSTITUTION: The home side drained the last few moments out of the game by replacing Smith with Kevin Nicholson in the final minute.

90+3 SUBSTITUTION: Striker Elliot Benyon swapped places with goalscorer Zebroski for the final few seconds.

FULL TIME: 3-0

TORQUAY UNITED (4-4-2): Poke; Mansell, Robertson, Ellis, Smith (Nicholson 90); Thomson (Stevens 83), Hargreaves (c), Wroe, Carlisle; Zebroski (Benyon 90), Rendell. Subs not used: Bevan (Gk), Sills, Thompson, Palmer.

CHELTENHAM TOWN (4-4-2): Brown; Haynes (Pipe 52), Diallo, Gallinagh, Low; Lewis (Alsop 52), Bird, Labadie, Marshall; Hayles, Richards (Hammond 67). Subs not used: Pook, Watkins, Eastham, Perry (Gk).

REFEREE: C. Sarginson

ATTENDANCE: 2,122 (104 from Cheltenham)

Murry Toms at Plainmoor