Ball gets first win as Torquay United manager

Jimmy Ball took over as permanent Torquay manager after Paul Wotton was sacked last month [Shutterstock] Jimmy Ball got his first win as Torquay United manager as his side beat Horsham 2-0 at Plainmoor. The victory kept the Gulls in fifth place in National League South with five games to play. Torquay are two points off third-placed Hornchurch and two more behind second-placed Worthing, with leaders Dorking Wanderers 10 points above the Devon side.

Dylan Morgan gave the Gulls a great start when he finished coolly in the eighth minute. Deon Moore had a goal disallowed as the first half wore on, but Jordan Dyer made the game safe midway through the second half as he got on the end of Sonny-Blu Lo-Everton's free-kick. "We wanted a quick start.

We wanted to be on the front foot, stay on the front foot, get in the lead, go and score more," Ball told BBC Radio Devon. "That was the hope that we would have a really dominating, aggressive, attacking performance. "So to score early was good and we created some really good chances in the first half that on another day go in.

" The win came in Ball's third game in charge, having lost his opener at Dagenham and Redbridge last week and drawing 2-2 with Dorking in midweek. The Gulls will now prepare to seventh-placed Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday in a key game in the play-off race. "It feels good," he added.