Torquay beat Histon 2-0 in the first leg of their Blue Square Premier play-off semi final at Plainmoor.
Histon had a strong shout for a penalty rejected by the referee after Antonio Murray surged into the penalty box with trailing Chris Todd appearing to grab the striker who crashed to the ground.
The home side then almost profited from a punch by 20-year-old Histon goalkeeper Joe Welch which landed ideally for a bicycle-kick from Tim Sills, and this looked goal-bound only for the ball to hit a fellow Torquay player.
The deadlock was broken in the 36th-minute when Torquay’s Nicky Wroe saw his shot take a deflection on its way to nestle in the top right corner of the net.
United went close to doubling their lead after Danny Stevens raced clear before sending a left-footed shot across the goal and wide.
Torquay were seeking a penalty when Patrick Ada slid in to fell Blair Sturrock in the second half but the referee again declined to point to the spot.
Chris Robertson went close to adding a second for Torquay seeing a header, from a corner, hit the underside of the crossbar in the 65th-minute.
Sills, wearing a mask due to a fractured cheekbone, doubled Torquay’s lead with a header from a cross with 16 minutes remaining, as The Gulls move a step closer to a place in the final on May 17.