Well, there was no revenge on the agenda for Torquay United last night, as they went down 2-0 at home to FA Trophy conquerours Ebbsfleet United on a cold, wet night at Plainmoor.
And it could have been worse.
Make no mistake, this was an inept a performance as Gulls fans have seen at Plainmoor in a long time. The Gulls were second best in every department.
Defensively a total shambles. Lightweight in midfield. And all too predictable in attack.
But the biggest concern of all was the lack of passion from the Gulls players.
United lined up with one enforced change from last week, with the injured Lee Hodges making way for Kevin Nicholson on the left side of defence. Elliot Benyon kept his place in attack after an impressive showing against Woking, and after a slight injury scare, Michael Poke started in goal.
It was a fairly quiet opening period, with both teams adjusting to the strong winds. The ball was certainly moving more quickly than it should, with Michael Poke's early goal kicks causing slight concern in the Ebbsfleet goal.
The first chance came to Ebbsfleet however. United failed to deal with a corner properly, but Luke Moore's early effort was deflected into the side netting.
Much like last week, the visitors were taking control of the match. Ebbsfleet were looking dangerous on the break, and more assured in possession.
And it wasnt long before they turned their dominance into goals, with a great individual effort from the impressive Moore on 26 minutes.
After dealing with a Gulls corner comfortably, Moore picked the ball up on the left-hand side and ran at the United defenders, who continued to back off the front-man. Moore then cut inside the United area, and drove a shot past Poke's near post to put Ebbsfleet 1-0 up.
Once again United needed to do it the hard way, and come from behind to salvage something from the game.
And minutes later they went some way towards doing so, with their first effort of the match.
Lee Mansell's free kick was only half-cleared by the Ebbsfleet defence, and Chris Todd seized upon a half chance, hitting a low shot on the turn that was tipped around the post by Ebbsfleet keeper Lance Cronin for a corner.
Unfortunately, that's as good as it got for the Gulls as the rain began to pour.
Fleet centre-back Jon McCarthy was booked for holding back Benyon as the half drew to a close, but otherwise, Ebbsfleet saw the half out comfortably.
Once again, a minority of Gulls fans had shown their disapproval at the half time whistle. Improvement was needed.
Record appearance holder Kevin Hill was introduced to the crowd at half-time, recieving an award for his 474 appearances for Torquay. How the Gulls could have done with Hill's passion and urgency now.
The second half kicked off with the wind now behind Ebbsfleet, as they looked to put the result beyond doubt.
First blood in the second half went to Torquay, as Benyon found space in a rare moment of panic in the otherwise strong Ebbsfleet defence, but his shot was saved comfortably by Cronin.
The ball was starting to bypass the midfield, as the Gulls looked towards a more direct approach - an approach the big Ebbsfleet defenders had little trouble in dealing with.
And wingers Danny Stevens and Wayne Carlisle were shown increasingly little of the ball.
After an hour or so, manager Paul Buckle made three changes at once. Stevens and Benyon made way for Mustafa Carayol and Matt Green, and in an enforced change, Chris Todd went off for Chris Robertson.
It seemed like an act of desperation, a last throw of the dice if you will.
Ebbsfleet responded in kind moments later, replacing Ricky Shakes with John Akinde, the chief tormentor of the Gulls at Wembley a matter of months ago.
And this change proved to be inspired, as Akinde made it 2-0 after some shambolic defending from the Gulls.
A long ball sent Chris Hargreaves, who had a torrid evening, running back towards goal, and Michael Poke running towards the ball. After much indecision, neither player dealt with the danger, and Akinde swooped in to slot the ball past the onrushing Poke to make it 2-0 on 78 minutes.
The goal just about summed up Torquay's evening.
And Ebbsfleet nearly produced a third goal, only for Stacy Long to shoot straight at Poke from close-range, after more good work from Akinde who was proving to be a handful.
Torquay were looking devoid of any confidence now, and never looked likely to make amends as the game drew to a close.
Ebbsfleet saw the match out comfortably, and were worthy winners. It was a great away performance, all credit to them.
For the Gulls, its back to the drawing board.
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