Torquay United

The curtain came down on 80 years of league football at Plainmoor, as Torquay United played their final game in the Football League with a goal-less draw against Hereford.

Just 2,942 people (756 of those were Hereford fans) were there to witness the end of an era - not even Torquay's chairman, Mike Bateson, was there. Or if he was, he wasn't visible.

United will need these die-hard fans next season, when they play in the league formerly known as the Conference. And the signs are that the hardy 2,000 or so 'week-in, week-out' fans will be back.

Torquay were mathematically relegated almost a month earlier, when their 1-1 draw at home to Peterborough left them hopelessly adrift at the foot of League Two. They ended the season 11 points below the nearest club, Boston - also doomed to non-league football next season.

One fan left a bouquet on the pitch (Paul Levie)

There was a weird atmosphere inside Plainmoor for their final league match. For a start, there was disbelief that match day programmes sold out almost an hour before kick-off.

How could that be allowed to happen? A collector's item, and not enough were printed even for the fans who turned up to watch.

The sun shone, and it seemed to send most people to sleep. At times, Plainmoor was shrouded in silence. There was no atmosphere or emotion, just resignation.

One supporter said it was like being in the tardis and it had landed on another planet.

The game itself didn't help - nothing to report, there.

Then, just before the final whistle, everyone joined in with 'Stand up if you Love Torquay,' and 'Torquay Till I Die.'

There was a sense that fans just wanted the final whistle to go, so we could get it all over and done with. Many of them simply looked numb.

Stephen says he and the kids will be back!

When the end did come, some genius in the PA booth decided to put on Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water - and at last, there was some emotion in the ground. It hit a spot with a lot of supporters.

Many fans rushed onto the pitch - and some were promptly 'helped' back off again by the police.

There seemed unanimous agreement among supporters that United must keep hold of director of football Colin Lee and coach Keith Curle.

"We've got to keep the management team," said Les, a lifelong fan who's been watching United since the 1950s. "We've got to get some continuity, which we haven't had.

"I've been resigned to today for quite a while - the only way is up now."

Another fan, Stephen, was there with his youngsters, Robert, 8, and Abigail, 11. He said: "It's a sad day but we're looking forward to a good year next season. We'll keep coming.

Colin Lee thanks the fans. Pic: Paul Levie

"And if we keep Colin Lee, we can get out of the Conference - but it isn't going to be easy."

Lifelong fan Christine was at the game with her daughter and grandson. "We used to live in Plainmoor and I came to games with my dad when I was about 10.

"At one stage this season I thought we might scrape through but it didn't happen and today is a sad day. But I think we can get back up."

Another Gulls die-hard, Alan, blamed bad decisions in the past few years for Torquay's current predicament: "A little bit more investment in the past and we'd never be in this situation.

"It shouldn't have come to this. I have felt really gutted by it, but now I'm trying to be positive. If we can keep Colin Lee and Keith Curle, we've got a chance."

Torquay-born Colin Lee, led the players around the pitch to say 'thank you' to the supporters who'd stuck by the club through thin and thin.

He's got a huge task now to rebuild the club so it can mount a promotion push next season.

As that fan put it, the only way is up now...