Torquay United’s first season back in the Conference in five years can be split into three clear sections.

First they struggled to adjust to their new surroundings, picking up just one win and scoring only five goals in their first five games. Torquay soon improved though, and enjoyed a run of six consecutive league victories. However the Gulls are currently enduring a streak which has seen them lose five of their last six.

The Gulls arrive at The Hive off the back of a ten-day break, having lost their FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie 2-0 to Aldershot at the end of last month. In the Conference, Chris Hargreaves’ side were also beaten in their last outing, going down 2-1 to Kidderminster Harriers at Aggborough, with former defender Kevin Nicholson netting against them.

Torquay’s current run of five losses in six has also seen their porous defence ship no fewer than 16 goals in that period – something made all the more concerning on account of the fact Torquay conceded just five goals in their first 11 games this season, recording eight clean sheets.

That run of victories had seen Torquay rise up to second in the Conference standings, but they currently sit 12th after their recent unenviable sequence of results.

Boss Hargreaves succeeded Alan Knill in January and was charged with preventing the Gulls from returning to the Conference after five seasons in League Two and two play-off campaigns.

Three wins in their final five games were not enough to save the Gulls from the drop though, with a 3-0 final-day defeat at home to relegation rivals Wycombe Wanderers hammering the final nail into the Devon side’s coffin.

Unsurprisingly it was a summer of change for the Gulls, with nine players leaving Plainmoor and a further nine joining the club.

One such arrival was former Plymouth Argyle midfielder Luke Young. The 21-year-old, who is an England ‘C’ international to boot, joined the Gulls after 12 years with Torquay’s Devon rivals, making 108 appearances for the Pilgrims.

The midfielder, who is an astute user of the ball, saw his contract at Home Park expire at the end of last season and was not offered fresh terms, allowed Hargreaves to swoop for his services.

Given his debut by Peter Reid in 2011, Young has netted six goals from midfield – making him the club’s top-scorer – and claimed nine assists already this season, confirming his status as one of the best midfielders outside of the Football League.

Australian centre-back Aaron Downes is just behind Young in the goal-scoring stakes, having netted four times from the back already this term.

The former Chesterfield defender, who spent time on loan at Bristol Rovers in 2012, has scored 14 goals from the back since joining the Gulls two years ago.

Mudgee-born Downes has represented Australia at Under-20 and Under-23 level and played for the Socceroos at the 2005 World Youth Championships.

Barnet’s recent record against the Devon side isn’t encouraging, with the Bees having only triumphed in two of the last ten meetings between the two sides.

Torquay United XI v Kidderminster Harriers: Seabright; Tonge, Downes, MacDonald, Cruise; Young, Cameron, Thompson, Richards; Bowman, Yeoman.