Torquay moved three points clear of the League Two drop zone thanks to Chris Hargreaves' winner against Northampton.
The Gulls skipper headed in against his old club with seven minutes left as the ball bounced up from Kevin Nicholson's long throw-in from the right.
Northampton were denied by Torquay's on-loan keeper Michael Poke, who superbly saved headers from Ryan Gilligan and Adebayo Akinfenwa.
Poke also saved from Steve Guinan, while the striker also hit the bar.
Torquay United manager Paul Buckle told BBC Radio Devon:
"The win has not come by chance or by luck, it's been coming for a while and I thought we thoroughly deserved it on today's performance.
"We've been working very hard, we're in a tough league and we're up against it.
"Today we saw the fighting spirit and the fans were superb, right behind us and if we can add one or two players sensibly then we'll have a real chance."
Northampton Town manager Ian Sampson told BBC Radio Northampton:
"We didn't pass the ball as well as we did against Morecambe but we were in the game.
"We failed to deal with the long throw, we don't want to do that but we have to defend better.
"Their keeper pulled off a couple of good saves. We tried to play the football but they have a different style and it worked for them."
Live text and stats
Saturday, 31 October 2009
League Two
Home Team
Score
Away Team
Time
Torquay
1-0
Northampton
FT
(HT 0-0)
Hargreaves 83
Torquay
30 Poke
03 Nicholson
05 Robertson
23 Charnock yellow card
07 Mansell
11 Wroe
14 Hargreaves
15 Carlisle
33 Thomson yellow card (Stevens 81)
08 Sills
09 Benyon (Rendell 90+5)
Substitutes
01 Bevan,
02 Brough,
06 Todd,
04 Ellis,
12 Thompson,
19 Stevens,
10 Rendell
Northampton
01 Dunn
02 Rodgers
03 Johnson yellow card
05 Hinton
19 Curtis (Marshall 58)
20 McCready
04 Guttridge
11 Holt
12 Gilligan yellow card (Davis 87)
09 Guinan
10 Akinfenwa (Mulligan 71)
Substitutes
26 Brown,
23 Kanyuka,
14 Davis,
15 Dyer,
07 Marshall,
16 Mulligan,
17 Mckay
Ref: Phil GibbsAtt: 2,732
TORQUAY
NORTHAMPTON
Possession
Torquay49%
Northampton51%
Attempts on target
Torquay10
Northampton5
Attempts off target
Torquay4
Northampton4
Corners
Torquay10
Northampton7
Fouls
Torquay8
Northampton11
Final Result
Full Time
90:00+5:18 The referee signals the end of the game.
90:00+4:02 Substitution Scott Rendell on for Elliot Benyon.
90:00+2:07 Short corner taken by Kevin Nicholson.
89:31 Steve Guinan is caught offside. Free kick taken by Kevin Nicholson.
89:12 Danny Stevens takes a shot. Comfortable save by Chris Dunn.
88:22 Inswinging corner taken by Kevin Nicholson from the right by-line.
88:11 Elliot Benyon takes a shot. Save made by Chris Dunn.
86:08 Substitution Liam Davis replaces Ryan Gilligan.
85:18 Inswinging corner taken by Luke Guttridge from the left by-line, clearance made by Chris Robertson.
84:21 Booking The referee shows Ryan Gilligan a yellow card.
82:18 Assist by Tim Sills.
82:18 GOAL - Chris Hargreaves:Torquay 1 - 0 Northampton Chris Hargreaves finds the back of the net with a headed goal from inside the six-yard box. Torquay 1-0 Northampton.
80:45 Substitution Danny Stevens comes on in place of Jake Thomson.
Correction - 78:21 Unfair challenge on Ben Marshall by Tim Sills results in a free kick. Chris Dunn restarts play with the free kick.
78:21 Tim Sills challenges Ben Marshall unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Chris Dunn.
77:24 Outswinging corner taken by Kevin Nicholson, Ben Marshall makes a clearance.
76:06 Elliot Benyon takes a shot. Chris Dunn makes a comfortable save.
75:13 The referee penalises Nicky Wroe for handball. Free kick taken by Luke Guttridge.
72:32 Ben Marshall fouled by Kieran Charnock, the ref awards a free kick. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Luke Guttridge from right wing, clearance made by Tim Sills.
69:54 Substitution Gary Mulligan on for Adebayo Akinfenwa.
69:54 Chris Robertson fouled by Adebayo Akinfenwa, the ref awards a free kick. Chris Robertson takes the free kick.
68:27 Outswinging corner taken by Luke Guttridge, clearance made by Chris Robertson.
68:05 Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save by Michael Poke.
67:46 Ben Marshall takes a shot. Save by Michael Poke.
65:42 Kevin Nicholson delivers the ball from the free kick left-footed from left wing, Chris McCready manages to make a clearance.
65:42 Booking John Johnson is booked.
65:28 Free kick awarded for a foul by John Johnson on Jake Thomson.
63:05 Foul by Luke Guttridge on Elliot Benyon, free kick awarded. Direct strike on goal from the free kick comes in from Nicky Wroe, blocked by Craig Hinton.
59:47 Jake Thomson takes a shot. Chris Dunn makes a comfortable save.
57:45 Substitution Ben Marshall on for John Curtis.
56:38 Tim Sills has an effort at goal. Save made by Chris Dunn.
56:25 Elliot Benyon takes a shot. Blocked by Craig Hinton.
55:01 Free kick awarded for a foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa on Chris Robertson. Michael Poke takes the direct free kick.
53:09 Kieran Charnock concedes a free kick for a foul on Steve Guinan. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Luke Guttridge.
50:01 Steve Guinan takes a shot.
49:25 The ball is crossed by Steve Guinan, Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save made by Michael Poke.
47:33 Corner taken by Luke Guttridge, Tim Sills manages to make a clearance.
46:44 The ball is delivered by Kevin Nicholson.
46:00 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Tim Sills by Craig Hinton. Wayne Carlisle takes the direct free kick.
45:01 The referee starts the second half.
Half Time
45:00+2:21 The ref blows to end the first period.
44:52 Chris McCready concedes a free kick for a foul on Elliot Benyon. Strike on goal comes in from Kevin Nicholson from the free kick.
41:37 Ryan Gilligan takes a shot. Nicky Wroe gets a block in.
40:33 Booking Jake Thomson goes into the book.
40:10 Foul by Jake Thomson on Andrew Holt, free kick awarded. John Curtis restarts play with the free kick.
38:53 Foul by Adebayo Akinfenwa on Chris Robertson, free kick awarded. Michael Poke takes the direct free kick.
37:03 Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Luke Guttridge from the right by-line to the near post, clearance made by Kevin Nicholson.
35:50 Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Luke Guttridge, clearance by Chris Robertson.
34:56 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Luke Guttridge, Steve Guinan takes a shot. Save made by Michael Poke.
33:04 Free kick awarded for a foul by Craig Hinton on Tim Sills. Free kick crossed by Kevin Nicholson.
30:55 Foul by John Curtis on Chris Hargreaves, free kick awarded. Lee Mansell restarts play with the free kick.
28:56 Corner taken by Kevin Nicholson, Header by Tim Sills from deep inside the penalty area misses to the right of the target.
Correction - 28:56 Corner taken by Kevin Nicholson from the left by-line, Headed effort from inside the area by Tim Sills misses to the right of the goal.
Correction - 28:30 Outswinging corner taken by Kevin Nicholson from the left by-line, clearance by Craig Hinton.
28:30 Corner taken left-footed by Kevin Nicholson, Craig Hinton manages to make a clearance.
28:02 Effort from 12 yards by Tim Sills. Save by Chris Dunn.
27:10 Andrew Holt fouled by Wayne Carlisle, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Ryan Gilligan.
24:54 Effort from deep inside the area by Steve Guinan misses to the right of the goal.
22:58 Outswinging corner taken by Kevin Nicholson from the left by-line, Craig Hinton manages to make a clearance.
21:59 Adebayo Akinfenwa has an effort at goal from close range which goes wide right of the target.
19:23 Adebayo Akinfenwa takes a shot. Save by Michael Poke.
19:06 The assistant referee flags for offside against Tim Sills. Paul Rodgers restarts play with the free kick.
Correction - 17:50 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Wayne Carlisle by Luke Guttridge. Kevin Nicholson crosses the ball in from the free kick.
17:50 Luke Guttridge gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Wayne Carlisle. Kevin Nicholson crosses the ball in from the free kick.
17:08 Kevin Nicholson takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line played to the near post, Luke Guttridge manages to make a clearance.
16:00 The free kick is swung in right-footed by Luke Guttridge.
16:00 Booking Kieran Charnock goes into the book.
15:32 Free kick awarded for a foul by Kieran Charnock on Steve Guinan.
14:02 Elliot Benyon fouled by John Curtis, the ref awards a free kick. Lee Mansell takes the direct free kick.
13:24 Inswinging corner taken by Luke Guttridge from the left by-line played to the near post, Lee Mansell manages to make a clearance.
11:47 Tim Sills takes a shot. Save by Chris Dunn.
11:15 Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Kevin Nicholson from the left by-line to the near post, Andrew Holt makes a clearance.
8:58 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Adebayo Akinfenwa by Chris Robertson. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Ryan Gilligan from left wing, save by Michael Poke.
6:08 Corner taken by Kevin Nicholson, Tim Sills takes a shot.
4:30 Jake Thomson produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that misses to the left of the goal.
3:52 Corner taken by Kevin Nicholson, Ryan Gilligan makes a clearance.
1:04 John Johnson fouled by Wayne Carlisle, the ref awards a free kick. Craig Hinton crosses the ball in from the free kick, Lee Mansell manages to make a clearance.
0:00 The referee starts the match.
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