Three points more important for Howe than breaking record

The width of a post was all that stopped Rene Howe breaking the club's scoring record for successive matches, but Torquay United's leading scorer said: "I'll take the win over the record all day and any day" after the Gulls' 2-1 defeat of npower League Two leaders Gillingham at Plainmoor.

"It definitely would have beaten me scoring and the team losing," he added. "I'm happy with seven in seven to equal the record, and my name is on it. All I want to do now is push on and help the team up the table."

Going for his eighth goal in successive League games, Howe – he has scored ten in all so far this season – hit the woodwork in the second half on Tuesday night. But Martin Ling's Gulls still came from behind to stretch their unbeaten home run to seven games with second-half goals from Nathan Craig and Kevin Nicholson.

Midfielder Craig found the net with a wide free-kick for his first League goal. Then long-serving left-back Nicholson hit his first goal of the season with a deflected 30-yard effort six minutes from full-time.

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As far as Nicholson was concerned, seeing off the high-flying Kent team sent out a message to the rest of the division. The full-back said: "The gaffer talked about last year, when we beat Swindon here when they were top of the League and romping it, and hopefully this result sends a bit of a marker out now.

"We believe we're not just also-rans, but the biggest thing now is Saturday against Morecambe. We haven't put two wins together for a long time, and now we've got to show that we can do it consistently."

Torquay, who have not won two games on the trot since last March, are outside the play-offs zone on goal difference alone after Tuesday's success – which also lifted them above Devon rivals Exeter City for the first time this season. The Grecians drew 1-1 at Dagenham & Redbridge.

Gillingham boss Martin Allen said: "We will hold our hands up and say well done to Torquay." He went on to grumble about the Gulls' two goals, however.

"They [Torquay] scored a 40-yard free-kick out on the touchline into the corner, where up until that point in the second half they hadn't been near our goal," said Allen.

"Then their lad scored with a 30-yarder that got a deflection, and that was a little hard to take. Through the season there are going to be nights where it happens like that, but to lose to two goals like that is hard.

"We don't mind people shooting from that far away and I don't attach any of the blame to the goalkeeper. It's just one of those things.

"This lot [Torquay] were in the play-offs last year. We made changes, to freshen it up, and I thought we played some great football, some really good stuff, but we didn't come away with the points."