Crawley 3 Torquay 1.

It is the sort of selection dilemma every manager dreams of.

While skipper Chris Giles and Steve Fletcher, his most high-profile summer recruit, watched from the stand, Crawley boss Steve Evans saw Jon Paul-Pittman and Jake Wright produce the stand-out performances in this eye-catching win.

Pittman will come under pressure for his place when Fletcher is fit but he showed a predatory instinct to score the opening goal and picked up the man of the match award.

Meanwhile Wright, reprising the defensive partnership with Adam Quinn which held Halifax together last season, must have run him close. Quinn and Giles are Evans' first-choice centre-halves but on this evidence there has to be a place in his back four for the accomplished Wright.

Reds go to Stevenage today and by the time Northwich arrive on Saturday Evans will have a fully-fit squad to choose from.

And with better personnel comes increaseed tactical flexibility.

Pittman was the only recognised striker in the starting line-up but Lewis Killeen and Danny Forrest gave him good support from the flanks.

When ten-man Torquay threatened to find a way back into the game in the second half, Crawley briefly went 4-5-1 but they then switched to a 4-4-2 when Cook came off the bench to score the crucial third goal.

Evans said: “You don’t often see us telling the wide players Killeen and Forrest to get back so we see it as a 4-3-3. In the second half we switched it around because we have a squad which gives us that flexibility, even with guys like Steve Fletcher still out.”

Pittman, one of just four survivors in the starting line-up from last season, has also noticed the difference.

He said: “Playing up there is a hard shift but it is nice to have support from both flanks. Last season I was with Jamie Cook as my partner in crime and that was good too.

“And we've still got Steve Fletcher and Isaiah Rankin to come in and they could play that role better than me. But whatever happens, we’ve got the players to make any formation effective and it keeps everyone on their toes.

“We have a stronger squad ability-wise than last year too. We have a lot of guys who are confident on the ball who you can trust which is nice to know.”

Reds’ path to their first home win of the campaign was certainly eased by a Torquay side who pressed the self-destruct button.

None more so than former skipper Tyrone Thompson whose return to Broadfield lasted just ten minutes when he was shown a straight red for a two-footed lunge at Killeen.

Pittman had already put Crawley in front when he fastened onto Brad Thomas’s free-kick on the angle of the six-yard box and found the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.

And Reds looked like cruising to victory when Lee Mansell’s clumsy challenge on Dannie Bulman was spotted by the referee and Thomas Pinault swept home the penalty.

Torquay threatened a comeback when former Lewes striker Roscoe D’Sane reacted smartly to lift the ball over Simon Rayner after Lee Hodges had flicked on a throw.

But Reds responded admirably to that setback and Rayner did not have a save of note to make. Then, with 14 minutes to go, Michael Brough handled under pressure from the persevering Pittman and Cook, with only his second touch after coming on, hammered in the penalty.

There were other chances too, notably for Pittman and Killeen, while Crawley’s defensive solidity was impressive. Quinn gave a no-nonsense performance on his home debut while alongside him Wright was comfortable in possession and alert to any danger.

“We have torn apart a side who I think will be in the play-offs. Our movement was great and we were so tenacious, especially in the first half,” said Evans, who had little sympathy for his former captain Thompson.

“It was a disgraceful challenge and not what Tyrone is about knowing the kid. But it wasn't a good tackle. The referee only had one option.”

Evans may utilise his squad at Stevenage today where Reds seek a second away win against Graham Westley's early-season strugglers.

“We may freshen things up,” added Evans. “It will be hard on the individuals who played on Saturday and put in a decent performance, but we now have some great options.”

Crawley: Rayner, Thomas (Wilson 84), Rents, Wright, Quinn; Killeen, Weatherstone, Bulman, Pinault, Forrest (Cook 74); Pittman (Rankin 86).

Unused subs: Stevens, Carter.

Yellow card: Quinn (46).

Torquay United: Poke, Mansell, Brough, Hargreaves (Adams 74), Nicholson, Carlisle, Thompson, Hodges, Green (Sills 45), D’Sane (Benyon 84).

Unused subs: Stevens, Ellis.

Red card: Thompson (10.

Yellow cards: Mansell (30), Green (46), D'Sane (70).