Torquay 1-2 Cheltenham (1-4 agg)
- Published
Cheltenham booked their place in the League Two play-off final with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Torquay.
Leading 2-0 from the first leg, they went further ahead when Jermaine McGlashan stroked home Kaid Mohamed's pass with 15 minutes left at Plainmoor.
Taiwo Atieno equalised for the Gulls on the night with six minutes left, heading home Eunan O'Kane's corner.
But Marlon Pack's brilliant free-kick from 25 yards out sealed a Wembley final against Crewe on 27 May.
The home side were without top scorer Rene Howe due to a hamstring injury, but made a positive start and Cheltenham were indebted to goalkeeper Scott Brown, who was forced into a series of impressive saves within the opening half hour.
He tipped an O'Kane effort over following some deft footwork from the Torquay midfielder and thwarted Ryan Jarvis after he had surged into the area.
From the resulting corner, Cheltenham defender Keith Lowe cleared via the post from his own goalmouth and Brian Saah fired the loose ball wide.
Brown demonstrated great reflexes to keep out a first-time shot from Mark Ellis, but was beaten by Torquay full-back Kevin Nicholson's sweetly struck free-kick, which rattled off the crossbar.
Torquay keeper Bobby Olejnik gathered at the second attempt when McGlashan looked to clip home from an acute angle, while Lee Mansell's 54th minute header looped up off Robins defender Alan Bennett to force Brown into another agile save.
As Torquay began to fade, the decisive moment arrived when Mohamed was allowed to ease infield after collecting a pass from Ben Burgess and he played in McGlashan, who poked home via Olejnik's boot and the inside of the far post.
Atieno reduced the aggregate arrears when he was left unmarked to glance in a near-post header from a corner, but Pack ensured his side went to Wembley in style when he found the top corner with a long-range set piece.
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Cheltenham goalkeeper Scott Brown told BBC Points West:
"It wasn't just about me, it was the two centre-halves and the full backs as well - they were brilliant.
"We knew we were going to throw everything at us but thankfully we stood firm.
"The gaffer changed the shape at half-time and we limited them to just a few chances.
"Fair play to the lads - I can't believe we're off to Wembley."
Torquay boss Martin Ling:
"For the first 47 minutes we bombarded them.
"We had six gilt-edged chances, two from the first leg and four tonight, and that's the difference over the two legs.
"I'm really proud of the players, they've done wonders this season, obviously they've not pulled off what they wanted to do.
"If I'm looking for a defining moment it is probably when Crewe scored their equaliser six games ago which took the situation out of our own hands."
- Published13 May 2012
