Boreham Wood 0
United 4
(Hall 50′, Waters 82′, Randell 84′, Lemonheigh-Evans 88′)
After a goalless first half, skipper Asa Hall gave The Gulls an early second-half lead, before a late onslaught of goals from Billy Waters, Adam Randell and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans saw Torquay secure a trip to Southport in round five.
United manager Gary Johnson made just the one change to the side that faced Yeovil seventeen days ago, with Shaun MacDonald replacing Lucas Covolan between the sticks. On the bench, Armani Little returned from injury to take his place amongst the substitutes, where he was joined by new loan signing Rob Street.
The early stages were decidedly nip-and-tuck, with neither side creating much in the way of goalmouth openings. Ben Whitfield did set himself up for an audacious effort from 25 yards out in the 14th minute, however his right-footed strike dipped just behind the Boreham goal.
In the 26th minute, a lovely turn from Randell gave the United midfielder the chance to drive towards goal, a run which culminated with a low drive which forced Nathan Ashmore into making the first save of the game, albeit a relatively comfortable one.
Although not having everything their own way, the work rate displayed by the men in yellow saw them begin to boss proceedings as the game headed towards the half-hour mark.
A delightful piece of wingplay from Whitfield down the right on 35 minutes ended with an inviting cross just evading Josh Umerah on the penalty spot as Torquay started to put The Wood backline under some sustained pressure.
The hosts remained competitive though, especially on the break, and after a loose header saw the ball find its way to Corey Whitely on the left-hand side of the box in the 42nd minute, there was some relief in the visiting ranks as the wideman jinked inside only to fire his strike well wide of MacDonald’s left post.
Two minutes later though, The Gulls’ goalkeeper produced a marvellous low save to keep the scores level.
A pass in behind United’s defence saw Kabongo Tshimanga bearing down on goal, however the Boreham striker’s goalbound drive was palmed out of danger’s way by MacDonald, with his defensive colleagues on hand to clear the loose ball away.
The half-time whistle was sounded soon after, following a first period in which both sides enjoyed decent spells of possession, without creating enough clear-cut chances to force the breakthrough.
Following the restart, Umerah nearly made his presence felt after receiving the ball on the edge of the area from Randell, and despite the angle working against him, Torquay’s towering centre-forward did well to force Ashmore into a near-post smothering save.
Five minutes later, the deadlock was broken.
With deliveries from Kyle Camron and Randell failing to find a way through a packed goalmouth, the ball fell directly into the path of United captain Hall, who responded by firing a delicious hooked volley past a flat-footed Ashmore, to give his side the lead.
Unsurprisingly, the goal heralded a brief spell of dominance from Luke Garrard’s men, however The Gulls’ defence remained resolute by soaking up the pressure, before Johnson’s side began to up the ante at the other end once more.
An unothordox volley from Umerah on the hour mark looped up and nearly caught Ashmore out, with the glovesman being forced to backtrack before tipping the ball over his crossbar. From the resultant corner, Sam Sherring came within inches of repeating his goalscoring feat from the league match at Plainmoor earlier in the season, however this time his downward header bounced just wide of the near-post.
In the 68th minute, Boreham provided a timely reminder of their danger on the break though, as Tshimanga beat the offside trap to find himself one-on-one with MacDoanld once more, however it was United’s ‘keeper who again came out on top, as he spread himself superbly to divert the ball wide of the of the goal.
In the main though, the Yellow Army watching on at home would have been delighted with the way their team were containing their opponents, with The Wood largely forced to played second-fiddle on their own patch.
Having lost their lead during the dying stages at Yeovil last time out, United spent the final ten minutes of the match making doubly sure that rare event wouldn’t be repeated.
After substitute Little and Whitfield both sent in efforts towards goal from the edge of the box, Torquay went on the rampage, notching three more before the final whistle.
First, some neat passing on the edge of the box between Randell and Whitfield resulted in the latter feeding Waters into space inside the box, leaving the replacement striker to finish the move with an instinctive strike past the sprawling Ashmore.
Not content with that, The Gulls continued in search of even more reward.
Next up, it was Randell who profited from some classy close control from Waters, leaving him well placed on the edge of the D to calmly slot the ball into the net to make it three.
Moments later it was 4-0, with Waters again turning provider, this time laying the ball off to Lemonheigh-Evans from close-range, with the United man passing the ball into the net with ease to round off a thoroughly impressive showing from Johnson’s side in Hertfordshire.
With FA Trophy progress now safely secured, the focus returns to National League matters on Saturday, as United’s promotion credentials face their latest test, with a trip to Meadow Lane to face much-fancied Notts County.
BOREHAM WOOD: 1. Nathan Ashmore, 3. Femi Ilesanmi, 4. Mark Ricketts (c) (18. Shaquille Coulthirst, 79′), 6. David Stephens, 9. Kabongo Tshimanga (7. Piero Mingoia, 85′), 10. Kieran Murtagh, 11. Corey Whitely, 12. Jamal Fyfield, 15. Matt Rhead, 19. Kane Smith, 22. Junior Morais.
SUBS NOT USED: 2. Danny Woodards, 16. Zane Francis-Angol, 17. Ryan Huddart (GK).
TUFC: 1. Shaun MacDonald, 4. Kyle Cameron, 6. Gary Warren, 7. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 8. Asa Hall (c) (11. Jake Andrews, 85′), 12. Adam Randell, 16. Sam Sherring, 21. Dean Moxey, 23. Aaron Nemane (10. Armani Little, 66′), 34. Ben Whitfield, 35. Josh Umerah (25. Billy Waters, 66′).
SUBS NOT USED: 13. Andy Collings (GK), 24. Rob Street.
Booked: Warren, 12′, Nemane, 45′, Randell, 69′.