HOW Crawley must wish the season was two months rather than two weeks from ending after this superb performance kept their play-off hopes alive.

The gap between them and fifth-placed Kidderminster is still a hefty eight points with five games to go, starting at home to sixth-placed Stevenage today.

But while some of their rivals are starting to wobble, Crawley appear to be relishing the fact that every match now is a must-win.

No one would enjoy it more if the season went into overtime than Jamie Cook, who set up both goals and should have had one himself. By his own admission, it is only now that Cook is fully fit after a campaign ruined by a groin injury he picked up at the end of last season.

He had surgery in January and last week’s goal against Burton came in only his second appearance since New Year’s Day.

He said: “I got injured towards the end of last season but I thought two months off in the summer would sort it out.

“But I struggled with it before Christmas when I wasn’t playing as well as I can and I had to get it sorted.

“But the operation and three months off have done it the world of good – it’s the first time I have felt 100% all season.”

Even not at his sharpest, Cook still managed nine goals before his 17-match lay-off. Who knows where Crawley would be now if they had been able to call on the 29-year-old all season.

His pace, awareness of space and his team-mates caused Torquay problems throughout and after being paired with the more muscular Robbie Matthews last week he forged a decent understanding with Jon Shaw, another striker plagued by fitness problems, in front of Torquay’s biggest league crowd of the season.

“I enjoyed it,” said Cook, who is contracted to Reds until the end of next season. “Jon is similar to Robbie because he wins a lot of balls in the air and we seemed to compliment each other.”

Cook created Reds’ 38th-minute opener with a lovely bit of skill, twice wrong-footing defender Kevin Nicholson before spotting Dannie Bulman’s late run and the midfielder's right-foot shot gave Scott Bevan no chance.

Adam Quinn nearly extended the lead eight minutes after the break but his header from Lewis Killeen’s corner hit the underside of the bar.

Until then Torquay had only tested Simon Rayner once when he kept out Tim Sills’ early effort.

But the pattern of the game changed when Torquay boss Paul Buckle made a triple substitution on the hour.

Ex-Red Mustapha Carayol and former Lewes player Roscoe D’Sane began to stretch Crawley at the back and after D’Sane had warmed Rayner’s hands with a stinging shot, Carayol thought he had equalised with five minutes to go with a right-foot curler but Rayner dived full length to deflect it onto the post.

Cook should have scored when be broke away and rounded Scott Bevan only to find the side netting.

But two minutes into stoppage time he led another counter-attack and teed up Robbie Matthews whose shot from the left-hand corner of the penalty area had too much power for Bevan.

Cook made sure it crossed the line but conceded afterwards that it was Matthews’ goal.

Matthews had been close earlier after Isaiah Rankin had teed him up as Crawley's replacements made a more telling impact than Torquay’s.

Boss Steve Evans punched the air in deligfht when Matthews struck and no wonder. His side had produced arguably their best away performance of the season which he is looking forward to celebrating in style.

Their win would have been greeted just as enthusiastically in Burton with the Brewers now 11 points clear at the top and destined for the Football League.

Evans said: “I played golf with (Burton chairman) Ben Robinson on Wednesday and he promised me a nice bottle of red if we won here. My message to him is I want a decent claret, not something from Oddbins!”

Whether Evans might have more cause to celebrate remains to be seen and the play-off picture will look a lot clearer after Reds play their third game in five days at Kettering on Wednersday.

Evans said: “There are still enough games for us to make an impression in this title race. It might be squeaky bum time for some clubs but there is no pressure on us.”

Torquay: Bevan, Mansell, Robertson, Todd, Nicholson; Stevens (sub: D'Sane 60), Wroe, Hargreaves, Carlisle (Carayol 60); Sills, Sutrrock (Benyon 60). Unused subs: Brough, Hodges.

Booked: Hargreaves, Sturrock (fouls).

Crawley: Rayner, Giles, Quinn, Wright, Rents; Forrest (sub: Rankin 76), Bulm an, Wilson, Killeen (Gaia 85); Shaw (Matthews 78), Cook. Unused subs: Hurren, Malcolm.

Booked: Giles (dissent), Quinn, Killeen (fouls).