Cheltenham Town exited the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at the first hurdle at the Abbey Business Stadium this evening.
Boss Martin Allen spoke about the importance of this competition to the club in the build up to tonight's game but a lucrative trip to Wembley looked a distant pipedream at the half way point of this game.
All the damage was done in the first half, a performance at odds with Allen's intentions with his side shipping three goals to give themselves a mountain to climb in the second period.
However Scott Brown and Josh Low combined to hand Cheltenham a lifeline within ten minutes of the restart, the former keeping out a penalty with the latter notching his first of the season to give his side a fighting chance in this first round tie.
And the introduction of experienced strikers Julian Alsop and Barry Hayles changed the complexion of this game with half an hour to play with the home side finishing on the front foot.
Allen will be pleased with the way his side responded in the second half, but Torquay held firm in the closing stages to secure their passage to round two to leave the Cheltenham manager with plenty to reflect upon from his side's woeful display before the break.

TEAM NEWS: Cheltenham Town manager Allen had named his side for this Johnstone's Paint Trophy first round tie earlier on in the day on the official website, although Kyle Haynes and Lee Ridley, who were originally included in his starting XI, were swapped with Drissa Diallo and Lee Ridley respectively.
Therefore tonight's side showed three changes to the side which came away from Darlington with a creditable point four days ago. David Hutton missed out through a calf injury so Josh Low started on the left in place of the former Spurs man. Ex-Chelsea scholar Jordan Tabor, nineteen next week, came in for Ridley at left back for his first start for the club while Tom Denton replaced Barry Hayles in attack.

Sixth minute: Cheltenham Town 0-1 Torquay United
The home side made the worst possible start, conceding the first goal of the evening with only six minutes on the clock. Torquay enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges and broke down the right through Wayne Carlisle. The former Leyton Orient and Exeter City winger initially gave it away, but Low handed it back to him before he centred. Justin Richards made a hash of clearing of clearing the ball, and it arrived to Danny Stevens at the far post who eventually released a shot which took a telling deflection off the leg of Michael Townsend to beat Scott Brown.

11: Carlisle forced Brown into a low stop with a drive from the edge of the box.

17 SUBSTITUTION: Diallo left the field in the 17^th minute, replaced by Haynes in a straight swap.

26: Carlisle really should have doubled his side's advantage midway through the first half after Gallinagh had only part-cleared Tim Sill's low cross from the left. The ball came to the winger on the edge of the box but his shot failed to trouble Brown, flying over the bar.

29: It took almost half an hour for Cheltenham to create a chance of their own. Low did well down the left to beat his marker and send in a perfect cross onto the head of Richards, but goalkeeper Scott Bevan pulled off a fine instinctive save to parry the effort. It dropped to Denton, but the Torquay number one comfortably took it with both hands.

31 GOAL: Cheltenham Town 0-2 Torquay United
The Gulls deservedly added their second shortly after the half hour mark after Elliot Benyon rose to meet a precision Carlisle cross from the right to power a header beyond Brown's outstretched arm.

45+1 GOAL: Cheltenham Town 0-3 Torquay United
Torquay compounded a miserable first half for the home side by stretching their lead a minute into first half injury time, and it was no more than the Devon side merited for a bright first 45 minutes. Sills again did well down the right to pick out Benyon, who laid it off into the path of Stevens who jinked past Haynes before beating Brown with a shot which found the inside of the right post.

HALF TIME: 0-3

46: Cheltenham were fortunate not to have been four goals down immediately from the restart after Benyon had raced onto a ball by Carlisle only to go to ground when he passed Brown inside the box. It handed Stevens the opportunity to claim his hatrick from the penalty spot, but instead Nicky Wroe insisted on taking it and wasted the chance, Brown saving low to his left before it was cleared to safety.

50 DOUBLE SUBSTITUTION: Allen used his final two replacements five minutes after the break using Julian Alsop (for Watkins) and Barry Hayles (Denton) with Richards dropping back to left midfield. The changes seemed to have the desired effect with Cheltenham going on to create a number of chances to get themselves back into it.

55 GOAL: Cheltenham Town 1-3 Torquay United
Cheltenham looked more purposeful after the changes and clawed one back five minutes later after Townsend had flick-headed a long ball downfield into the feet of Hayles. The veteran striker popped it off and Low unleashed an unstoppable drive from 16 yards into the top left-hand corner of Bevan's goal.

60 BOOKING: Hayles talked himself into the referee's book after a Cheltenham break down the left ended with the striker being dispossessed inside the Gulls' box to give the game an interesting slant with half an hour to play.

65: Alsop went close to pulling back a second when he rose to meet a searching ball from Bird out on the right, although the big man failed to find the target on this occasion.

67: Alsop was presented with another chance only two minutes later when he met a cross, this time by Richards, with another towering header only to be denied by Kieran Charnock who came to his side's rescue with a last ditch clearance off his line.

71 BOOKING: Frankie Artus was cautioned with 20 minutes remaining for an untidy challenge on Carlisle inside his own half.

73: The double substitution rejuvenated Cheltenham and Alsop inparticular was causing the Torquay defence a lot of problems after he came on. Bird created another chance for the striker, crossing from the left but Bevan was quickly down to save his back post header.

84 SUBSTITUTION: Scott Rendell replaced Benyon with six minutes to play.

89 BOOKED: Wroe was carded to kicking the ball away in the final minute of the match.

90+2: Brown pulled off a fine save to deny Rendell from 12 yards deep into injury time.

90+3 SUBSTITUTION: Torquay ran down the clock with a final substitution, withdrawing star man Stevens and sending on Lee Hodges for the final few moments.

FULL TIME: 1-3

CHELTENHAM TOWN (4-4-2): Brown; Diallo (Haynes 17), Townsend, Gallinagh, Tabor; Watkins (Alsop 50), Artus, Bird, Low; Denton (Hayles 50), Richards. Subs not used: Ridley, Richardson (Gk).

TORQUAY UNITED (4-4-2): Bevan, Robertson, Todd, Charnock, Nicholson; Carlisle, Wroe, Thompson, Stevens (Hodges 90); Sills (c), Benyon (Rendell 84). Subs not used: Brough, Joyce, Yeoman.

REFEREE: P.N. Gibbs (West Midlands)

ATTENDANCE: 1,397 (175 from Torquay)

Murry Toms at the Abbey Business Stadium