Torquay United 'leaders' hailed by boss Gary Johnson after Halifax win

Asa Hall's winning goal against Halifax was his fifth of the season

Torquay United boss Gary Johnson hailed the spirit of his side as they moved off the bottom of the National League after their 1-0 win over Halifax.

Asa Hall's goal moved the Gulls to within two points of safety, with just their second home win of the season.

The Gulls have now won two and drawn another of their past five matches, after a run of just one win between mid-September and December.

"I thought we had 11 leaders out there in the way they played," Johnson said.

"None of them wanted to let their mate down and that's the big thing for me at this moment in time," he told BBC Radio Devon.

"People that want to be here, people who are going to give everything for this football club, not for another club that they might be thinking of going to while they're here, and I think we sorted that out a little bit this week, and we were left with a group of lads who were totally up for it and I'm really pleased for them."

The Gulls had not won a league game at Plainmoor since the 6-1 thrashing of Aldershot on 1 November, but Hall's second-half goal was enough to give them all three points and record a league double over Halifax, having won 1-0 at the Shay in August.

"It's always very pleasing when you get a result, we haven't had a result here for a little while," Johnson added.

"The fans have been a little bit frustrated because of our results here, and away I suppose, but for me it was great that the lads today - every single one of them including the subs when they had to come on - gave 100%, and that's were you need to be.

"They showed they were up for it for themselves, for their team-mates, for their manager, for their football club - that's what they showed."