"He was sensational, we all know what a talent he is," said Bruce.
"For the last few weeks he has started to play well again, which is very, very good for us and let's hope he can carry on doing that.
"Once we scored the first goal things became a bit easier. But Torquay gave us a hell of a game in both of the matches.
"We had to be patient and retain the ball better in the last third and we did that in the second half.
"But the pleasing thing for me is that Mikael Forssell and David Dunn both got through 90 minutes and we can see them emerging as two big players after their injury problems.
"We are due a bit of luck on the injury front and it is like having two new players in the side. Mikael could have scored four and he will never lose that ability."