Green and White Goals (Page 4)

Yeovil Town 1 Northampton Town 0 – Tuesday 12th February 2008

Following the unexpected Playoff Final of 2006/07, Russell Slade’s second season in charge of Yeovil turned out to be much more of a challenge. The core of the team – Mildenhall, Skiverton, Forbes, Jones, Guyett, Barry, Stewart – remained the same, and those who moved on seemed to see like for like replacements. The biggest loss was undoubtedly Chris Cohen, the player of the season sold for £1.2 million with Arron Davies to Nottingham Forest. Out also went Terry, Kalala, Morris, and Gray. In to replace them came Lee Peltier, Marc Bircham, Gary Dempsey, Paul Warne and Lloyd Owusu. Slade brought in Bircham and Dempsey to replace Kalala and Cohen in midfield, but both of them spent the first half of the season injured. Bircham, probably the biggest profile signing of the summer after playing over 150 times for QPR, did not work out and would make only 13 starts in two years at the club. Marvin Williams, a winger/striker signed from Millwall to replace Davies, was also injured early in the season and made very few appearances before moving on to Brentford. The other midfield signing, Ritchie Jones on loan from Manchester United, failed to make much of an impact.

The Glovers endured an uneven start to the season characterised by a new fragility at the back and a tendency to concede very late goals. Goals in the last few minutes against Tranmere, Leeds, Bristol Rovers, Millwall, Swansea and even bottom club Cheltenham all cost points in the first half of the season. The foundation of the team’s success in 2006/07 had been their resolute defence and ability to sit on a one goal lead. On only two occasions did Yeovil draw after scoring first (both early in the season), and they did not once lose in the league after scoring first, but in 2007/08 it became a recurring theme even though the defence was the same – the only difference was that Lee Peltier came in at right back in place of the numerous right backs needed to cover Mark Lynch’s serious injury in 2006. The key to the Glovers’ solidity appears to have been the two spoilers in midfield, Terry and Kalala, who were both gone. Matthew Rose was very capable in that role when fit, which wasn’t very often. I seem to recall him being known as Mr Glass at his previous clubs due to the frequency with which he was injured. To add to the injury problems, Steve Mildenhall suffered two extended absences to injuries sustained during games, both of which led to outfield players having to go in goal (Skiverton against Leyton Orient and Alcock against Walsall) due to there being no reserve keeper at the club. Three loan keepers were brought in at various times, all of them playing in the No. 31 shirt.

Despite these numerous injury setbacks, Yeovil were 8th at Christmas. With Gary Dempsey finally fit and available, winger Zoltan Stieber on loan from Aston Villa and striker Andy Kirk arriving from Northampton, things seemed to be looking up with the Glovers still in play-off contention, but it was all downhill from there. A 2-1 win at home to Brighton at the end of December was followed by a run of eight games without a win, as Yeovil slid from 8th down to 15th. With several key players still absent with injury, the squad became a revolving door of loan signings with players like Simon Church, Liam Bridcutt, Jean-Francois Christophe and Aidan Downes coming and then going again.

Without a win in 2008, the Glovers were getting desperate for any kind of result ahead of the visit of Northampton in February. A game fairly low on chances but which the home side had slightly the better of ticked into injury time, and with their last chance of the game an Anthony Barry corner was partially cleared, falling to Captain Fantastic Terry Skiverton who lashed home the ball with his left foot to secure a dramatic winner. It did not signal a change in fortunes but did halt the slide, as Yeovil limped on to the end of the season finishing in 18th, securing League One status by surprisingly spoiling the promotion party at Champions Swansea.

It was not the first time that Skiverton would pop up with a dramatic late goal. He scored a lot for a centre half, 44 in total at Yeovil. Not all of them with his head either, although he did injure himself more than once while scoring with a header. Memorable for most people would be the dramatic 89th-minute strike from outside the area to give Yeovil the 5-4 win in the FA Trophy replay at Doncaster. However he also scored many other crucial goals – in 2005, with the Glovers struggling to hold on to top spot in League Two, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Boston. In 1999, he scored the first two in a 5-1 demolition of Rushden at Huish Park. In 2002/03, he was the leading scorer for a time at the start of the season, as the Glovers tried to recover from the loss of Adam Stansfield on the first day. He scored 7 goals in his first 13 games, including a crucial injury time equaliser on the first day to complete a comeback from 2-0 down against Gravesend, and a late winner at Kettering a couple of weeks later, before celebrating the delayed return to Huish Park with another. My own personal favourite memory was when Yeovil went into the game against Doncaster in 2006 needing a win to avoid relegation, and Skivo scored in the 8th minute to send us on the way to a comfortable 3-0 win with a sublime shot from the edge of the area, off the inside of the post. What would turn out to be his last goal for the club was also a cracker – very similar to the one against Donny, the only goal in a 1-0 win over Tranmere in 2008. His best goal-scoring seasons were 2002/03 with 9, 7 in 1999/2000 and 6 in 2005/06.

He didn’t only play in defence either – in 2000/01, due to Warren Patmore’s troublesome hamstring and Barrington Belgrave’s suspension, he was deployed as an emergency striker at the end of the season as Yeovil attempted to chase down Rushden, donning Patmore’s No. 9 shirt at least twice. In one of his last seasons as a player he even had a go in goal, coming in to cover after Steve Mildenhall was injured against Leyton Orient as there was no keeper on the bench. The game was lost 1-0, but to be fair Mildenhall was injured in the process of conceding and Skivo did keep a clean sheet for the 30 or so minutes he was in goal.

Team that day: Scott Flinders, Lee Peltier, Nathan Jones, Scott Guyett, Terry Skiverton, Matthew Rose, Anthony Barry, Liam Bridcutt, Jaime Peters (sub. Marvin Williams 75), Lloyd Owusu (sub. Simon Church 68), Andy Kirk. Subs not used: Craig Alcock, Zoltan Stieber, Paul Warne

Yeovil Town 2 Exeter City 1 – Saturday 23rd January 2010

In January 2010, Huish Park hosted Exeter City for the first time ever in a League fixture. Yeovil’s rise to League One had coincided with a period in the doldrums for Exeter, who were relegated to the Conference the same year that Yeovil were promoted, and remained there until 2008.

Yeovil lined up in a new 4-3-3 formation with Williams, Bowditch and Obika up front. It was a scrappy affair, with Yeovil taking the lead through their first attack. The front line of Exeter had a very familiar look to it, as lining up for them were former Glovers Marcus Stewart and Adam Stansfield. Stansfield scored the equaliser, but Yeovil went ahead before half time through Spurs loanee Ryan Mason and the Grecians seemed to tire in the second half as both strikers were replaced and Yeovil cruised to victory in front of 6,282.

Adam Stansfield showed a lot of class in not celebrating his goal, although a common gesture now it was less common then. Especially given what a committed and whole-hearted player he was, and if anything he might have felt entitled to celebrate in front of the club who let him go in 2004. He did not get much of a chance for Yeovil in League Two, and here he was showing he could still score in League One. But his gesture showed how much of a place Yeovil had in his heart, as even though he played more games for Hereford and Exeter, Yeovil are a big part of Adam Stansfield’s story, and he is a big part of ours.

Adam arrived at Huish Park in November 2001, a couple of months into Gary Johnson’s first season. It was probably the lowest point of that season, as his debut came in a best-forgotten 3-0 drubbing at Southport which saw the Glovers 2-0 down inside the first ten minutes and Lee Johnson sent off. After the game Yeovil lay in 10th with some even questioning whether Gary Johnson was up to the job. However it was all improvement from there – the following week, Yeovil scrapped their way to a 1-0 win at Margate which began an unbeaten run of 20 league and cup games. It was taking time to build a side as Gary Johnson had inherited a team which had lost several of its best players over the summer, and he was facing the need to re-build. He took his time finding the right players to fill the two obvious gaps at right back and up front, which he eventually did with the two Adams, Lockwood and Stansfield. Although he had Carl Alford, Chris Giles, Scott Ramsay and later on Kim Grant, they were all of a similar build – he had a lot of big men up front, but no little man. Adam Stansfield was that little man. He had come seemingly from nowhere, after having signed at the age of 23 from Elmore, a Western League side based in Tiverton who played at the same level as Yeovil’s reserves. But even though it took him time to adjust, the fans took to him straight away due to his effort and commitment, he was the kind of player fans love with his constant running, and he always played with a smile on his face.

He came straight into the first team, and started every game he was available for except one, when he was rested at the end of the season against upcoming Trophy Final opponents Stevenage. His first goal came away at Northwich in his fourth game, and after taking a while to adjust to Conference football he went on an incredible run of 13 goals in 13 games, he could not stop scoring. He had gone from an unknown in Devon non-league to one of the first names on Yeovil’s team sheet in just a couple of months. He would end up scoring 16 goals in 30 starts, comfortably eclipsing his more experienced strike partner Carl Alford, although he arguably had a more productive partnership with Kim Grant. He was quick, would chase down defenders and could score with either foot. The obvious comparison at the time might have been Michael Owen, but he seemed more similar to Craig Bellamy, the way he hassled defenders and made a nuisance of himself. He also got his share of assists, grabbing ten to go with his 16 goals including a hat-trick in the 5-1 win at Morecambe.

Of course most will always associate Adam Stansfield with the 2002 FA Trophy run, where he scored 8 of his 16 goals including the memorable one in the Final, from a sublime first touch that left the defender in his dust. The run began back on his old turf, scoring twice in a 3-1 win at Tiverton. In the next round he scored a late equaliser to force a replay against Doncaster, and the two goals that would complete the comeback at Belle Vue in the replay. His incredible strike from distance to put Yeovil 4-3 up was even better, and from further out, than Terry Skiverton’s late winner. He would score in every round except the semi-final, and certainly had plenty of chances in the televised game against Burton, but with the tie already dead at 4-0 up, he did not appear to have his shooting boots on that day. One of his most memorable moments that season came after the final whistle, as he accidentally swore in the post-match interview after the FA Trophy Final, while excitably giving a ‘Shout to to the Elmore boys!’

Sadly Adam suffered a serious leg break just minutes into the historic 2002/03 campaign and he missed the entire season. Who knows how many goals he would have scored being supplied chances from Johnson, Crittenden, Williams and McIndoe for 50-odd games.

Thankfully he made a return in Yeovil’s first league season in 2003/04, although he was not first choice. Even though Yeovil struggled a little bit up front in their first season, the first choice was generally Kirk Jackson, and later Jake Edwards, partnered by Kevin Gall and although it seemed like the manager was often not very happy with his strikers (with Edwards and Gall both scoring ten, very few of which were after Christmas), Adam’s chances remained very limited. When given chances he was effective, scoring 6 goals in only 7 starts. In his first start against Swansea in September, he got a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win, and despite being dropped again, scored from the bench against York in the next game, but still didn’t start another game until the end of December. Later in the season he was given starts against Cambridge and Boston, scoring in both, but was not given runs in the team and was dropped again. From a personal point of view this seemed very unfair as when he played, he scored, but he was never given a run in the team even when other strikers weren’t delivering. His last appearance typified what must have been a frustrating year – on the last day of the season, Yeovil needed a win away at Lincoln to have a chance of the play-offs. Gall was played up front on his own, but with the game 0-0 at half time, Edwards and Stansfield were introduced at half time and both scored, Stansfield taking just two minutes to have an impact. He was released at the end of the season, and in my view slightly prematurely as he had done nothing to suggest he couldn’t make it at league level.

He spent the next two years at Hereford which we’ll forgive him for, scoring 24 goals in 2004/05, and 11 more in an injury-hit 2005/06. He helped Hereford to promotion from the Conference in 2006, and then did the same again for Exeter in 2008, achieving the unusual feat of being promoted from the Conference three times with different clubs. Managed by another former Glover in Paul Tisdale, Exeter went straight through League Two and were promoted automatically in 2009, which finally brought them to the same level as Yeovil from 2009 to 2012. Although not as prolific at Exeter, Adam remained a consistent performer, scoring 39 goals in 160 appearances through the Conference and up to League One. He scored eight goals in 30 games of what would turn out to be his final season.

Sadly, shortly after the game against Yeovil in January, Adam was diagnosed with bowel cancer in March of the same year. Although initial treatment was successful and he did report for pre-season training, his condition deteriorated and he died on 10th August 2010 at the very young age of 31. He was well liked by everyone and will be remembered by every club he played for. Exeter retired his No. 9 shirt for nine years, and he has stands named after him at Exeter and Elmore.

Adam was married to Marie just before he joined Yeovil and they had three children. His son Jay came through the Exeter Academy before signing for Championship side Fulham in 2019. He has just recently started appearing for Fulham’s first team, scoring his first goal in the League Cup against Birmingham on 24 August 2021, at the age of 20.

Team that day: Alex McCarthy, Craig Alcock, Nathan Jones, Stefan Stam, Steven Caulker, Jean-Paul Kalala, Shaun MacDonald, Ryan Mason (sub. Keiran Murtagh 60), Jonathan Obika (sub. Andy Welsh 67), Sam Williams, Dean Bowditch (sub. Nathan Smith 90). Subs not used: Ben Roberts, Terrell Forbes, Scott Murray, Aidan Downes

Doncaster Rovers 0 Yeovil Town 4 – Saturday 12th April 2002

On the day that Yeovil were confirmed Conference Champions in April 2002, they were scheduled to play at Doncaster live on Sky, after being ignored for much of the season. Despite Yeovil being top since September, Sky had showed their usual favour towards the ex-league teams and had not shown Yeovil since their first game back at Huish Park against Woking. In other circumstances this might have been a title decider, as Doncaster had probably been the pick of the chasing teams and looked most likely to challenge the Glovers. It is often the way that the two top teams play each other towards the end of the season, as happened when Yeovil hosted Rushden and Diamonds in April 2001.

It wasn’t to be though, as Donny had lost their games in hand and their challenge had fallen away. Yeovil had the chance to seal the title at home to Telford the previous week, but as Chester won they could technically be caught on goal difference, however unlikely that might be. So it appeared that Yeovil would have to beat Doncaster live on Sky in order to win the title, a tough proposition. As it happened, we were confirmed champions before the game started – the 5.30 kick-off meant all of the 3.00 games had finished. Chester dropped points at home to struggling Woking and could no longer catch the Glovers – they had scored two very late goals after going 2-0 down but it wasn’t enough and the game finished 2-2. There was jubilation among the 1000 or so travelling fans on the crumbling Doncaster terrace as the title was won without even kicking a ball. We hoped that the game wouldn’t be an anti-climax after all our hard work being ignored by Sky, and that we could still put on a show.

Fortunately that was exactly what happened, as Yeovil ran away with the game, beating one of their nearest rivals 4-0 on their own ground in front of their biggest crowd of the season. In fairness it had been a tight game until a flurry of goals at the end of the first half gave Yeovil a 3-0 lead. Darren Way barged his way into the box and in the process of falling over accidentally diverted the ball into the net for his only goal of the season. Michael McIndoe scored the second from the penalty spot, and Lee Johnson scored the third in the most unusual circumstances.

Defender Steve Foster blocked a cross in the box, and played it back to Andy Warrington who picked the ball up, giving away a free kick as it was a deliberate back-pass; Yeovil were given a free-kick about six yards out. Although this seems like a good thing it often ends in farce, as when the entire defending team lines up on the goal line it is very difficult to score from an indirect free-kick, as this example earlier in the season against Telford shows.

However, showing determination and speed of thought, Kevin Gall wrestled the ball away from the goalkeeper and took a quick free-kick to Lee Johnson who scored, all while the defenders were continuing to argue about the decision. The entire defence switched off, including the keeper who was still holding the ball but let go of it. Some have pointed out since that it was technically an illegal free-kick as the ball has to be placed at least six yards out even if the offence is on the goal-line so it was taken from the wrong place, but it would not have made any difference and the goal was allowed.

Kevin Gall scored a fourth just after half time and the game ended 4-0. The cherry on the cake came in the 89th minute, when Chris Weale saved a penalty from Conference top scorer Paul Barnes, keeping Kirk Jackson in with a shout of the golden boot at the end of the season.

Lee Johnson’s goal is something that exemplified Yeovil’s speed and initiative which was a big feature of the team around that time. Gary Johnson liked to keep the game moving, ball boys and girls were expected to give the ball back immediately by operating a ‘multi-ball’ system at Huish Park, there was no time-wasting and the game was kept moving as much as possible. This often gave Yeovil the advantage as it is much easier to attack a team which has not had time to set its defence, and it often caught the opposition out in both the Conference and League Two.

On several occasions this led directly to goals, such as Andy Lindegaard’s first against in-form Morecambe in a very tight game in January 2002 that ended 2-0, the second in the 3-1 win at Rochdale, and the first in the 4-0 home win over Bristol Rovers. Yeovil re-started the game so quickly that the TV cameras often missed goals, including one of their first goals in the Football League at Rochdale. These are the clearest examples but even with corners and throw-ins it gives a huge advantage to attack a team that is not ready. It was noticeable in later years that the Glovers could be quite ponderous coming forward, and no matter how good the players are that you have, if you are slow coming forward then you give the opposition time to line up against you and ensure they are all in formation and marking who they are supposed to mark. Sometimes speed is the best advantage. The quicker you can be, the less prepared the opposition is and the more likely you are to find gaps and force mistakes, which was a big feature of Gary Johnson’s team in the 2002-2005 era.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Roy O’Brien (sub. Adam Lockwood, 60), Terry Skiverton, Colin Pluck, Darren Way, Lee Johnson, Andy Lindegaard (sub. Abdou El Kholti, 65), Michael McIndoe, Gavin Williams, Kirk Jackson, Kevin Gall (sub. Nick Crittenden, 74). Subs not used: Steve Collis, Chris Giles

Yeovil Town 4 Shrewsbury Town 2 – Monday 3rd January 2005

Yeovil’s second year in League Two, 2004/05, was certainly not straightforward and was a rollercoaster of a season. It ended in success, but it was so tight at the top that it sometimes seemed like the Glovers would miss out on promotion altogether as they battled it out with Scunthorpe, Southend, Swansea and Macclesfield for three automatic promotion places.

The New Year’s fixture at home to Shrewsbury encapsulated the entire Yeovil season in one game – early promise, a setback mostly of their own making followed by a flurry of goals and ultimately, victory. You got to experience all the emotions in a very short space of time in 2004/05.

Pre-season optimism was high, having only just missed out on the playoffs by goal difference in their debut season, with a 74 point haul that would see the Glovers comfortably in the playoffs in most if not all previous seasons. In the end, they missed out on goal difference after winning 3-2 at Lincoln, and had the critical game on the last day between Mansfield and Northampton gone any way other than a late Northampton victory, Yeovil would have been in the hat. And that was after an inconsistent season, certainly not without its disappointments and harsh lessons, but still almost ending with the playoffs. If the majority of the team could be kept together with a few key additions then surely a more sustained promotion challenge was certainly a possibility. The obvious deficiencies in the squad – the lack of a 20-goal striker or a dominant target man, a left winger or a left back who wasn’t a centre half playing out of position, were all addressed with the arrivals of Phil Jevons, Bartosz Tarachulski, Adrian Caceres (and later, Andrejs Stolcers) and Michael Rose. Some of our established Conference players like Kirk Jackson, Adam Stansfield, Nick Crittenden and Abdou El Kholti all departed but that seemed to be the manager’s choice – none of the core of the team were swept up by other clubs as Weale, Skiverton, Lockwood, Miles, Way, Johnson, Williams and Gall all remained and we welcomed Scott Guyett, who had just won the Conference with Chester.

Ambitions took a dent in August, as hopes of a first day win in the Greater Manchester area for the second season in a row at Bury (just down the road from the first ever league game, at Rochdale) were squashed despite taking a 1-0 half time lead through Caceres, as Yeovil were brushed aside in the second half thanks mostly to a young striker called David Nugent.

Performances gradually improved, and Yeovil went top of the league in September with a 2-1 win at Shrewsbury, courtesy of goals from Johnson and Tarachulski. Results after that stuttered though, as it was followed by run of six games without a win as the Glovers dropped out of the playoff places into 8th. A 4-1 win at home to Chester signalled another recovery, as Yeovil turned things around slowly at first – a late 1-0 win at Wycombe, a late draw snatched at Darlington – but they eventually gathered momentum and went on a run of 13 wins in 15 league and cup games, including an incredible nine wins in a row in December and January. In this spell, Yeovil could not stop scoring but rarely kept clean sheets either, conceding 19 goals and scoring 41 – more the entirety of the 2007/08 season in just over two months. As momentum increased, there was a sense that no matter how many the opposition scored, Yeovil would just score more, as they went on a run of 3-2, 4-1, 5-3, 2-0, 4-2 and 3-0. In fact in eight of those 15 games, Yeovil had either conceded an equaliser or gone behind. We couldn’t really shut out games, it wasn’t what we did. Over Christmas though we were in an incredible run of goalscoring form – going 1-0 down against Cheltenham but winning 4-1, 2-0 down at Cambridge but scoring five second half goals to win 5-3, and coming back from 2-1 down with ten men against Shrewsbury. Arguably the best result of the lot (and one of the only clean sheets) was the 2-0 win at Swansea on New Year’s Day, in the last game played between the two sides at the Vetch, in front of over 11,000 including around 1,000 Yeovil fans. Swansea had been top earlier in the season and gone into the game in 3rd, but a team containing Lee Trundle, Andy Robinson, Paul Conner and Roberto Martinez could not break through the Glovers’ back line as late goals from Stolcers and Jevons nicked the points. That was possibly the moment that Yeovil really showed their mettle as title contenders, usually free-flowing but also showing that when it really came down to the wire, they could keep it tight if they needed to. They just chose not to most of the time, playing 2-4-4 (or 2-2-6) instead.

Just two days after Swansea came the visit of struggling Shrewsbury, who on paper looked like an easy three points although it did not turn out that way. Darren Way gave the home side the lead with a deflected long range shot in the first half, but all the drama was saved for the second half. Shrewsbury equalised through a debatable penalty in the 64th minute, before Colin Miles was sent off for one of the clearest red cards you will ever see after 72 minutes (surprisingly for his fearsome reputation Miles was only sent off on one other occasion, at Telford in 2002, but he certainly did like to collect yellow cards like they were Panini stickers)

Things went from bad to worse as just two minutes later, a swift Shrewsbury counter-attack saw them take the lead through David Edwards. They could not hold onto their numerical advantage though, as future Glover Luke Rodgers let his team down by tussling with Lindegaard on the touchline, and getting his side reduced to ten men just four minutes after Miles had been sent off. Paul Terry equalised with a header on 78 minutes, and in case you are losing track that’s three goals and two red cards in 14 minutes.

Yeovil were in the ascendency and on 84 minutes took the lead through an Adrian Caceres we’ll be generous and call it ‘shot’, although he possibly didn’t know much about it, Gall’s cross sort of hit him and went in. Although he was not the biggest hit at Yeovil, making only seven league starts before being shipped out on loan in his one and only season, he was in the right place at the right time for a crucial goal. Interestingly, by the time Guyett, Tarachulski and Jevons had been replaced by Reed, Davies and Caceres, Yeovil must have lost a combined two feet in height, and in addition to Lindegaard, Way, Stolcers and Gall already on the pitch probably represented one of the shortest teams of all time, even with Lee Johnson absent. With Miles off, Weale and Skiverton would have been the only players left on the pitch even close to six foot. It’s a good job Shrewsbury didn’t notice that and start lumping balls into the box. In the 89th minute Caceres then turned provider for Kevin Gall to sprint clear and wrap up the points.

Crucially, as good as Yeovil’s Christmas had been, leaders Scunthorpe’s was bad. Seven points clear on 18th December, they gained only two points from their four festive fixtures and Yeovil’s win over Shrewsbury saw them go top of League Two again after seven league wins in a row. On this occasion they would hold on to top spot for much longer, although there was still plenty of drama still to come in the season.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Andy Lindegaard, Terry Skiverton, Scott Guyett (sub. Stephen Reed 66), Colin Miles, Darren Way, Paul Terry, Andrejs Stolcers, Kevin Gall, Bartosz Tarachulski (sub. Adrian Caceres 77), Phil Jevons (sub. Arron Davies 66). Subs not used: Steve Collis, Nicholas Mirza.

Yeovil Town 2 Millwall 0 – Friday 10th April 2009

Yeovil legend Terry Skiverton’s first taste of management was something of a trial by fire when Russell Slade suddenly left the club in February 2009. Slade’s Assistant Manager Steve Thompson initially took charge of the team as he had done following the departures of Colin Lippiatt in 1999, David Webb in 2000 and Gary Johnson in 2005 – and being given the ‘permanent’ job on two of those occasions – but following a 3-0 drubbing at Bristol Rovers in his first game, he was relieved of his duties and Skiverton was promoted to Player/Manager.

Russell Slade had perhaps been a victim of his own success – with reputedly the lowest budget in the division, arguably the 2006/07 playoff campaign came as a surprise to absolutely everyone. Following the trip to Wembley though, expectations increased but Slade’s two subsequent seasons were more of a struggle. It was perhaps true of Slade’s Yeovil that when Plan A didn’t work – keep it tight, nick a goal – there wasn’t really a Plan B, and they could be very pedestrian coming forward. In both 2007/08 and 2008/09, Yeovil were comfortably the lowest scoring team in League One, with 38 and 41 goals from a 46-game season. The problem was, after being successful, opposition teams became cautious against Yeovil and were more difficult to break down.

With only one win in the first ten games of 2008/09, the Glovers were hovering around the relegation zone after a disappointing 07/08 which had seen them win only four games in the second half of the season, and the manager’s job was on the line. Despite a run of four wins in a row including 3-1 away at promotion-chasing Peterborough, Slade was sacked in February. It was in at the deep end for Skiverton, with only three points gained from his first eight games including a 5-0 defeat by Slade’s new club, Brighton. He eventually steadied the ship though, bringing in a trio of loanees from Spurs in the form of Jonathan Obika, Andros Townsend and Danny Hutchins, as well as Chris Weale on loan from Bristol City. These new signings gave the team some much needed youth and energy; three of the four made their debuts in the 0-0 draw against MK Dons, which began an unbeaten run of 11 points from five games. The team which had shipped 19 goals in seven games since Slade’s departure, suddenly notched up five clean sheets in a row, culminating in this impressive 2-0 win over Millwall which took them up to 16th. Chris Weale memorably scored in injury time against old rivals Hereford to secure a 2-2 draw and pass the 50 point mark which would see the Glovers safe.

As manager, Skiverton was immediately able to address the most obvious problem, the lack of goals. His team scored 55 in 2009/10 and 56 in 2010/11, without conceding more than Slade’s team had done. He brought in very decent League One strikers such as Dean Bowditch and Andy Williams, as well as Kieran Agard, who while not the biggest star for Yeovil, would go on to prove his quality by scoring 20 goals in a season for both Rotherham and MK Dons.

Skivo had two full seasons in charge, and much of 2011/12 before Gary Johnson returned to the club and he became a deputy again, the role that he holds to this day, almost ten years later. His first full season, 2009/10, was one of the only League One seasons aside from the two play-off campaigns in which Yeovil were fairly comfortable and did not flirt with relegation – despite a lot of (often high scoring) draws, the Glovers were 11th with ten games to go and were never lower than 17th during the season. Although there did seem to be some dissatisfaction on the terraces while he was manager, hopefully history will look on him more kindly – firstly, any manager who keeps Yeovil in League One on the budget we have is a success. Maybe in 2009, which had seen an FA Trophy win, two promotions and a Wembley play-off final in just a few years, it was easy to forget that. But we were not on a level playing field financially with most League Two teams, let alone League One, in which we faced teams like Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Norwich, Charlton and Leicester on a fairly regular basis. Secondly, we scored more goals, signed some very good players and had a more balanced squad than the previous manager had done.

When things were not going so well on the pitch, Skiverton also had the ability to make changes – the dramatic change in form in 2009 which saved Yeovil from relegation was repeated two more times. In both 2010/11 and 2011/12, Yeovil were bottom in mid-season but an improved second half took them up to a more comfortable mid-table position. In 2010, the signing of Paul Wotton and Max Ehmer signalled a dramatic improvement, as a run of two points in eight games was followed by 17 points from the next eight. The season ended on a six-match unbeaten run with the Glovers winning 2-0 at Carlisle and finishing in a very respectable 14th.

Although 2011/12 followed a similar path, with the Yeovil bottom again after only two wins from their first 17 games, it seemed likely that he would be able to turn things around again, but in January 2012 Gary Johnson made a surprise return to the club, winning his first game in charge and picking up nine more that would lift the Glovers up to safety in 17th. This was done mostly with the players Skiverton had assembled, with the addition of two or three loan signings particularly Franks and Grounds down the troublesome left hand side. The following season of course, was a record-breaking one as the Glovers were promoted to the Championship for the first time in their history. Skiverton remained as Assistant Manager, and took temporary charge again following Johnson’s sacking in 2015 but was unable to prevent a second successive relegation, although he remained at the club through the succession of managers that followed where he remains at time of writing, assistant manager to Darren Sarll.

We can also look back at the high quality of signings that Skivo made, including in the loan market – Steven Caulker, Ryan Mason, Dean Bowditch, Andy Williams, Paul Huntington, Luke Freeman, Luke Ayling and Ed Upson. While Shaun MacDonald was initially brought in on loan by Russell Slade, he made most of his appearances for Skiverton, including a memorable hat-trick in the 5-1 win at Leyton Orient. He also brought Gavin Williams and Chris Weale back to the club. One of his first actions was to sign 17 year old Andros Townsend, who now plays regularly in the Premier League as does goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, another Skiverton signing.

A good example of his impact at Yeovil might be the development of players like Luke Ayling and Ed Upson. Ayling signed at just 18 from Arsenal’s reserves. He played about half the games in 2010/11 as he was bedded into the team, first in midfield and later at right back, which he would make his own from 2011-2014 before going on to play in the Premier League for Leeds. Upson also developed over a long period of time to become a key player for Yeovil. Signed after being released by Ipswich at the age of 20, he made a handful of appearances in 2010/11, limited mainly as cover for MacDonald. Over the following two seasons he grew in stature and by 2012/13 he and Ayling would have been two of the first names on the teamsheet of that playoff-winning team. Upson of course scored the goal that took Yeovil to the playoff final, but also scored these against Wycombe, Hereford and Fleetwood among many others. He made the step up to Championship level, scoring the Yeovil’s first Championship goal against Millwall as well as starring in one of the best performances of the season, the 3-1 win at home to Nottingham Forest. It shows what can be done with players with patience and time, as based on their first few appearances and maybe even first full season, I don’t think many people would have pegged Upson or Ayling as future stars, let alone one who would go on to play at the top level.

A lot has happened at Yeovil since Terence John Skiverton arrived as a fresh faced 23 year old from Mile End signed from Welling United by Colin Lippiatt. Three promotions, a Cup Final win, two Wembley appearances and Championship football. His first game was the 5-0 drubbing at Scarborough in August 1999. Although he did not start that game, he did play most games that season, with one highlight being he scored twice in the 5-1 win over Rushden in November. He scored a lot for a centre half because he put his head in where it hurt, getting injured while scoring on more than one occasion as well as playing on with a bandaged head as all good centre halves must do. He scored a number of vital goals including the winner in the 5-4 FA Trophy match at Doncaster, when at 3-0 down all must have seemed lost. He was also top scorer for a time at the beginning of the historic 2002/03 season, scoring in injury time to salvage a point on the first day, an injury time winner at Kettering a couple of weeks later, and celebrating the return to Huish Park with a goal against Woking. My personal favourite memory is probably against Doncaster in 2006, with Yeovil at the wrong end of the table and facing a difficult run-in, he scored an absolute cracker of a volley off the inside of the post which set Yeovil on the way to a comfortable 3-0 victory and probable League One safety. He was dominant in the air but didn’t just score with his head.

After more than 20 years as a player, captain, manager, and many other roles in between, it will be a strange day when Skivo is no longer at Yeovil Town but let’s hope it doesn’t happen for a long time yet.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Danny Hutchins, Nathan Smith, Lee Peltier, Terrell Forbes, Gary Roberts, Keiran Murtagh, Paul Warne, Andros Townsend (sub. Andy Welsh 73), Jonathan Obika, Gavin Tomlin (sub. Luke Rodgers 84). Subs not used: Craig Alcock, Danny Maguire, Danny Schofield

Telford 0 Yeovil Town 5 – Sunday 13th October 2002

Results at the start of the 2002/03 season were a bit mixed, due mainly to the blow of losing Adam Stansfield to injury so early, and the unexpected problems Demba was having adjusting to the English game. Howard Forinton was re-signed on a short term contract, as Alford, Demba, Grant and Forinton were all rotated to varying degrees of success. Gary Johnson was possibly not happy with their fitness as in most games either one or both strikers were substituted. There were also the ongoing issues with formations and Tonkin, who missed a couple of games through injury and then went AWOL prior to his move to Stockport in September. After that things settled down a bit, as the absence of a specialist left back enabled Yeovil to stick with the 3-4-1-2 that Johnson seemed to prefer.

The away game at Telford in October came at a potentially difficult time – Skiverton was suspended, and Demba was also unavailable. Colin Pluck was sent off early on for a misunderstanding / violent conduct depending on which way you look at it, leaving O’Brien and Lockwood as the only remaining defenders. Michael McIndoe dropped into defence in what was initially a 4-3-2 with Crittenden at right back and Way-Johnson-Williams in midfield, but later became a 3-4-2 with Crittenden getting further forward. Telford were no mugs, they had just turned full time and were expecting to go places with striker David Brown and (very briefly) former Glover Martin Barlow in their ranks.

It speaks to the manager’s and the players’ confidence then that despite being reduced to ten men on 16 minutes, Yeovil did not defend for a point and continued to play two up front. It was Andy Lindegaard’s first outing as a striker partnering Forinton, a role he would continue to play until the arrival of Kevin Gall and did so well, scoring six goals. He could easily have dropped into midfield leaving Forinton up front on his own, but did not. The numbers were soon level, as Telford keeper Paul Edwards was sent off on 21 minutes for a professional foul on Forinton. While the penalty was correct the red card was probably harsh and a case of evening up the numbers. Playing ten a side definitely suited Yeovil a lot more because it opened up a space for their passing game and Telford were left chasing shadows. The Glovers didn’t even defend at 1-0 up, within minutes of taking the lead it was 3-0 with further goals from Lockwood and Lindegaard, with Lindegaard creating a fourth for Forinton just before half time. Yeovil controlled the second half and Williams made it 5-0 with a deserved goal right at the end.

The win kept Yeovil four points clear at the top of the Conference, ahead of a very challenging set of fixtures which would see them play promotion rivals Doncaster, Chester and Dagenham in consecutive games, followed by League One Cheltenham in the FA Cup.

What was remarkable about this performance was that it could easily have gone wrong – in very difficult windy and rainy conditions, missing their defensive rock and their top striker, then being reduced to ten men within the first few minutes would have undone a lot of teams. But they kept their heads, McIndoe played at left back / centre half as if he had played there all his life. Lockwood went off late on to be replaced by Chris Giles, leaving Roy O’Brien as the only recognised defender on the pitch and yet the Glovers remained comfortable. McIndoe was man of the match, for the discipline with which he played out of position, with Williams running the show in midfield and Lindegaard creating all kinds of problems in his new role up front. That they not only had come through such a challenging fixture but won comfortably 5-0, indicated that this was a special group of players, who could deal with injuries, suspensions and the absence of a consistent striker and still come out on top.

Having just beaten Woking 4-0 and Southport 6-0, Gary Johnson’s young team were obviously on a roll and full of confidence. Despite the setback of conceding an injury time equaliser at Burton in midweek and the absence of their captain and top striker, they showed that they were able to adapt and not lose discipline, which is remarkable for such a young side – the midfield which played in most games was aged 21, 22, 23, 22 and 22. There was no old warhorse, the midfield general was Darren Way who was 22 and had not played a first team game for anyone before signing for Yeovil; even Captain Skivo was out for this game. The average age of the team against Telford was 23.6, and it was only that high because 33-year old Jon Sheffield had a stint in goal following Chris Weale’s red card against Northwich. Had Weale been in goal, the age would have been 22.5. The classic 2002/03 starting XI that we can probably all name averaged 22.3; the age of the whole squad was slightly higher (23.5) due to the presence of players such as Sheffield, Alford and Grant who were on the fringes of the team, indeed by the end of the season Sheffield was third choice behind Collis and Alford had moved on. Only Grant retained his place on the bench.

By comparison, the much-talked about young Yeovil side of 2021/22 averages around 24, both the starting XI and the squad as a whole. If Reid and Little play (both injured at time of writing), that average jumps up to almost 26, which hopefully puts the teams of 2002/03 and 2000/01 (First XI 22.5, squad 21.6) into some perspective. We really did achieve remarkable things with very young players.

One tried and tested way to build a Conference winning team is built around a few experienced ex-Football League pros towards the end of their career, a few up and coming youngsters and the cream of non-League signed from other clubs. Yeovil have historically avoided this route mostly for financial reasons, as even when we won the Conference we were not able to throw money around the way that Doncaster and Chester did. Gary Johnson, and before him David Webb, had to be a lot more canny in developing players who had either come through the youth system or been discarded by other clubs. Because those players won the Conference so comfortably and went on to become club legends established in the Football League up to Championship level with Yeovil and other clubs, it is sometimes easy to forget just how young that team was and how many were untested before they came to Huish Park. For many, Yeovil represented their first taste of first team football, so it’s worth looking at each played in that squad. These are the sixteen who made the most appearances in 2002/03, and their age at the start of the 2002/03 season.

1. Chris Weale (20) – Came through the youth team, made debut aged 18
2. Adam Lockwood (20) – Signed from Reading’s reserves, aged 19
3. Colin Miles (then Pluck, 23) – Had been around a few non-league clubs but not settled anywhere before signing for Yeovil at 22
4. Terry Skiverton (25) – Was established as one of the Conference’s best defenders for Welling, signing for Yeovil at 23
5. Darren Way (22) – Released from Norwich reserves, signed for Yeovil aged 20
6. Lee Johnson (21) – Released by Brentford after no appearances, signed for Yeovil aged 20
7. Nick Crittenden (23) – Released by Chelsea, signed by Yeovil aged 21
8. Michael McIndoe (22) – Signed for £25,000 from Hereford, aged 21
9. Gavin Williams (22) – Signed for £22,500 from Hereford aged 21
10. Kirk Jackson (26) – Signed for £20,000 from Stevenage aged 26
11. Kevin Gall (20) – Free transfer from Bristol Rovers aged 20
12. Roy O’Brien (27) – Signed from Dorchester aged 25
13. Abdou El Kholti (21) – Signed as a free agent, aged 21
14. Andy Lindegaard (21) – Youth team product, first appearance aged 19
15. Abdoulai Demba (25) – Signed from KV Oostende, aged 25
16. Kim Grant (29) – Ex-Charlton and Millwall, signed aged 29

Kim Grant was pretty much the only player with significant League experience, and he spent most of the season on the bench. Skiverton had definitely impressed a lot of people at Welling and was a great signing by Colin Lippiatt. Kirk Jackson was a very good Conference striker, fortunately the only person who didn’t seem to think so was the Stevenage manager, as he was out of favour there when we signed him for £20,000. The only players we really stole from a fellow Conference club were McIndoe and Williams both from Hereford, which is hilarious. Why on earth they let us have two of their best players so cheap, is unclear. They did however learn their lesson and resist our approaches for Paul Parry a couple of years later.

What Gary Johnson did – and to be fair, David Webb before him – was take a team without any experienced heads, containing many players who either had little experience or had not settled anywhere else, and moulded them into a team who would all fight for each other and for the manager. It takes more to win titles than just having the best players, they have to be able to overcome challenges and setbacks, and this team showed from early on that they were able to do that.

Team that day: 13. Jon Sheffield, 2. Adam Lockwood (sub. Chris Giles, 77), 14. Roy O’Brien, 5. Colin Pluck, 6. Darren Way (sub. El Kholti, 46), 8. Lee Johnson, 10. Nick Crittenden, 11. Michael McIndoe, 20. Gavin Williams, 23. Howard Forinton (sub Carl Alford, 71), 16. Andy Lindegaard. Subs not used: Chris Weale, Stephen Reed.

Bristol Rovers 0 Yeovil Town 1 – Saturday 13th December 2003

I grew up in an era when Yeovil didn’t really have any derbies. Bath and Weymouth were in lower divisions and had been for many years. We would encounter them occasionally in cup competitions, but those generally went our way and it was hard to feel much for them having never seen us play at the same level or suffer one of our many historical Boxing Day defeats to them. When I first started going to Huish Park in the 90’s we would get Forest Green or occasionally Cheltenham for our ‘festive’ fixtures, and it’s not really the same as a proper derby. The closest to that feeling I got was for Hereford, who had been Southern League rivals in the early 70’s (and promoted off the back of one decent cup result rather than league performances, let’s not forget that) but were relegated back to the Conference the same year that we were promoted, in 1997. That was the first year I saw an extreme police presence at Huish Park, helicopters circling the stadium and lots of gesturing from 14 year old lads outside the away end. We tended to beat them as well so that was always fun.

Everything changed with promotion in 2003, with the prospect of playing lots of other south west clubs – Plymouth, Swindon, Bournemouth, Torquay and of course the two Bristol clubs. Exeter suffered a very badly timed relegation so we would have to wait a few more years to play them. Most of these were fairly good-natured in my experience, but the real needle was saved for the Bristol clubs, and in particular Bristol Rovers. I don’t think there was any real hatred with most of those clubs because we didn’t have any history with them, but with Rovers it was different. Of course, we would play Bristol City a couple of years later and Gary Johnson would end up leaving us for The Big Club Up The Road (TM), coming back for a few former Yeovil players at the end of the season. Certainly there was no love lost when he left us for them in 2005, the 2-1 win over them which took us up to 2nd in League One with two late goals was particularly enjoyable, and the roar which greeted Wayne Gray’s second was probably the loudest noise I have heard at Huish Park to date.

However there could be a really unpleasant atmosphere when we played Bristol Rovers, especially in those first couple of seasons. We did play them in the LDV Trophy in 2001, when the top Conference sides were ‘invited’ to take part in the Football League Trophy. We took around 1100 fans, they stuck us in a corner, and we played fairly well to earn a 1-1 draw, with McIndoe scoring our goal but then missing a penalty in the resultant shoot-out. That gave us our first taste of the delights of the Memorial Stadium but it was dialled up to 11 the following season. At the Memorial Stadium you get shoved into a corner terrace with one of the worst views in English football (people complain about our terrace but at least you can see from it), if you’re not lucky enough to get one of the ’temporary’ seats. The Mem is a bit of a white elephant of a stadium as all of the various stands are different heights and widths and don’t run the full length of the pitch so you have a bit of green plastic seating here, half a terrace there. The main stand is sufficiently high that home fans can lob pasties and other projectiles at away fans – which I am sure they do not do and have never done. Certainly we’ve only ever had a warm welcome when we have been there, with dozens of friendly police officers escorting us to our vehicles, even if (as in our case) our vehicle was nowhere near the area they were escorting us to. It’s a charming ground. It used to be owned by the rugby club who no longer play there having moved to Ashton Gate (that must have stung), and although there has been talk of a new stadium for many years, nothing has materialised yet.

When we first played Rovers in the league they were at a low point. They finished 23rd in League Two in 2001/02, the last year that only one club went down. They only avoided relegation in 2002/03 with a late run of ten points in the last four games. So in 2003 they probably saw us arrogant upstarts, the annoying little brothers who they could previously patronise with a pat on the head, but they didn’t like it when we started playing at the same level as them, and turned out to be better. We won home and away in 2003/04 which I am sure only annoyed them more.

There was some additional needle in the dugout – in 2003, Rovers were managed by the very old school Ray Graydon, who was sacked shortly afterwards and replaced with a caretaker manager until the appointment of Ian Atkins in 2004. This was when the bad blood was probably at its height as there was no love lost at all between Atkins and Gary Johnson which stemmed from the time that Atkins was sacked at Cambridge to be replaced by Johnson in the mid-90’s. The two are about as opposite in their approach to football as it is possible to get – Johnson preferring to play attacking football on the ground, while Atkins would rather defend for 90 minutes and hoof it up to a big man. For a long time he was the manager clubs called when they were trying to battle out of relegation, like a lower league Neil Warnock. The Rovers fans already didn’t like us before Atkins was appointed, but he made sure to turn resentment up by a few degrees, leading to the night at the Mem in 2004 when the home side had two players sent off (and arguably should have been more) in a 2-2 draw. We won’t dwell on how that game ended as a draw, but instead enjoy this sublime goal from Gavin Williams. The return fixture was more one-sided, as Yeovil ran out 4-2 winners on their way to the League Two title. There were usually plenty of goals and red cards when the two teams played.

Speaking of sublime goals, there was just the one goal and one red card in the December 2003 meeting, with both going to Yeovil. In an admittedly fairly low quality game, a screamer from outside the penalty area from Nick Crittenden just before half time settled the match and sent Yeovil up to third. The Glovers were on a good run of 10 wins in 13 matches, including an FA Cup win against Barnet which set up a third round tie at home to Liverpool. It was certainly a good time to be a Yeovil fan and that might have been partly why Rovers didn’t like us very much, the little club was upstaging them. Rovers were a bit toothless, and never really threatened even after Jake Edwards was sent off for very foolishly retaliating to being stamped on by Ijah Anderson. Edwards had only just come on as a substitute, and would rule himself out of the upcoming match against Liverpool through suspension. Despite having a man advantage for almost 25 minutes, the home side didn’t do much with it and Yeovil came home with the points. Match-winner Crittenden did not play a huge amount in what would be his last season at the club, as Paul Terry tended to play on the right of midfield, but on this occasion was needed in the centre while Way was injured. Crittenden scored one other league goal that season, in the 2-1 defeat against Leyton Orient.

We didn’t like Bristol City either and I’m sure they didn’t like us, especially in 2006/07 when as it turned out we were both going for promotion from League One. But, what with them being TBCUTR (TM), perhaps we knew we probably wouldn’t be playing them that often and Rovers were the team we could really get in the mire with. Top end of League Two, bottom end of League One, was where we spent a number of seasons and so did they, as we often found ourselves at a similar level. Indeed, when we got to the Playoff Final in 2007, I arrived in London at the same time as loads of Bristol Rovers fans as I went up for the weekend and their final against Shrewsbury was the day before ours against Blackpool. They won, which meant we would play them in League One from 07/08 until 10/11 when they were relegated again. These games tended to be less heated, and the most memorable was perhaps the late comeback to win 2-1 in 2009 thanks to Terrell Forbes’ first ever league goal. The 2-2 draw at Huish Park the previous season was also a very enjoyable game. Rovers ended up being relegated to the Conference in 2014, where they would bounce back at the first attempt, via the playoffs. So in 2015/16 the two clubs met again, but unfortunately just in passing as Rovers won both games and were promoted that season. In 2020/21 they were relegated back to League Two so who knows we may play them again soon, and I hope we get to play them while Joey Barton is still in charge it is bound to be eventful.

Goodnight Irene is a dirge though, isn’t it? How that gets anyone going for a football match is beyond me. When I first heard it at the Mem I nearly fell asleep, I thought it was being played at half speed.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Adam Lockwood, Colin Pluck, Terry Skiverton, Hugo Rodrigues, Paul Terry, Lee Johnson, Nick Crittenden, Gavin Williams, Kirk Jackson (sub. Jake Edwards 59), Kevin Gall (sub. Adam Stansfield 79). Unused sub: Steve Collis, Jamie Gosling, Lee Elam.

Yeovil Town 3 Southend United 1 – Saturday 20th November 2004

In our first couple of seasons in the league, Yeovil had some big games against Southend. In the first league meeting of the two teams in November 2003, it was the Lee Johnson show as the midfield maestro scored two goals and three assists in a 4-0 win. The return fixture was the penultimate away game of the season, when two goals from Dani Rodrigues kept Yeovil in the play-off race. In May 2005 of course, the two sides would meet in a top of the table clash with just two games to go, which will no doubt feature in a future throwback.

Southend’s visit to Huish Park in November 2004 was a critical time for both clubs. After a mixed start, Yeovil had briefly gone top of League Two with a 2-1 win away at Shrewsbury in September. However what followed was a run of just two points from five games, including defeat at Scunthorpe and the memorable night which saw a 2-0 lead given away against nine-man Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium. Dropping down to 8th, it was not clear whether the new signings of Jevons, Tarachulslki, Stolcers, Caceres and Rose would be enough to mount a serious title challenge.

In the opposition corner were Southend, who had started slowly after a disappointing season in 2003/04, only just avoiding relegation. With only two points from the first five games, from September onwards their form began to improve and by the time the two teams met they were into the playoff places, with four wins from their last six games. The Shrimpers had been boosted by the arrival of Freddy Eastwood in October, who would go on to score 24 goals in the season.

With the visit of potential promotion challengers in good form, it was a test of Yeovil’s mettle in front of just under 6,000 fans. The Glovers created several chances in the first half with Jevons hitting the bar, and the striker went one better just before half time, giving Yeovil the lead with a deft header from a Gavin Williams cross. Southend rallied in the second half and scored an almost identical equaliser, with former Bristol Rovers defender Adam Barrett heading in a free kick from captain Kevin Maher.

The game remained even before turning in Yeovil’s favour with just a few minutes to go. Gavin Williams, in one of his last games for the club before his move to West Ham, was pulled back in midfield by Maher, who was shown a very soft second yellow and was dismissed on 82 minutes. The resultant free kick was floated in by Lee Johnson and stabbed home by Scott Guyett for his first goal for the club. A minute after the restart Kevin Gall ran almost the entire length of the pitch with the ball and crossed for Bartosz Tarachulski to convert a diving header and give the scoreline a more comfortable look. A tough game against quality opponents who would be up there come the end of the season, had seen Yeovil come out on top.

After an indifferent run of form had seen the Glovers drop down to 8th, the Southend game perhaps gave a boost to the team’s confidence and signalled something of a return to form, as the win took them up to third in the table and began a run of 11 wins in 12 league and cup games over the festive period, which would take them to the top of the League Two table ahead of Scunthorpe early in the New Year of 2005. Southend would lead the table late in the season and also get to the final of the LDV Trophy at the Millennium Stadium. They were eventually promoted via the playoffs.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Paul Terry (sub. Andy Lindegaard, 77), Michael Rose, Scott Guyett, Colin Miles, Darren Way, Lee Johnson, Gavin Williams, Andrejs Stolcers (sub. Kevin Gall, 77), Bartosz Tarachulski, Phil Jevons. Subs not used: Steve Collis, Roy O’Brien, Adrian Caceres

Yeovil Town 2 Nuneaton Borough 1 – Saturday 19th January 2002

From 2000-2002, Yeovil often found themselves battling the Huish Park pitch as much as they did the opposition. It was fine in the early part of 2000/01 when the Glovers won their first 11 league games in a row, but a wet winter led to several postponements and the pitch began to get boggy. In the latter stages of the season, a very large amount of sand was deposited onto the pitch to prevent it from cutting it up, turning it from a ploughed field into more of a beach. This was slightly embarrassing for the club as in March 2001, Huish Park hosted the first ever Conference match on Sky, as Yeovil despatched Hayes 3-0 in what would turn out to be one of only three home wins the Glovers would manage after New Year’s Day. It was impossible for the commentary team not to notice the state of the pitch which must have given a terrible impression of the standard of facilities in the Conference in general, and Yeovil in particular. As it happened, there was also scaffolding over the closed terrace as the (then) Westland Terrace roof was under construction, so Huish Park resembled both a beach and a building site.

Although there are many reasons why the team struggled for results after New Year 2001, the pitch could not possibly have helped. The two players who suffered most from loss of form were Ben Smith and Barrington Belgrave, whose games relied on keeping the ball on the ground and running at opposition. Belgrave had to play on as there were no replacements, scoring only one goal between Christmas and the end of the season. Smith was replaced by Marcus Jones, who lacked the same creativity and the goals began to dry up.

The state of the surface arguably got worse during the following season, which saw another very wet winter. Attempts to put in additional drainage wee not successful, as the pitch became bumpy and marked with long tracks where attempts to install new drains had failed. It was also very boggy in winter, as this game against Nuneaton shows – a lot of home games were played in these kind of conditions. It certainly took time for Gary Johnson to get a new squad playing the way he wanted them to, and the first season was often characterised by defensive mistakes and a difficulty in breaking down opposition when Yeovil had a lot of possession (solution: bring in Gavin Williams). However there was also a very marked difference in home and away form – the Glovers won 13 and lost only 2 away, which stands as a Conference record for fewest number of away defeats. Home however was often a struggle, with eight defeats and only six wins at home in the league all season, and there were fewer more goals conceded at home (30) than away (23). We did not keep a single clean sheet at home until the last week of the season, 0-0 against Southport and 2-0 against relegated Dover. Every other home win was 2-1 – Hayes, Leigh, Stevenage, Hereford and Nuneaton, so there were no easy games.

Once again, although the pitch was not the sole cause of poor home form in 2001/02 (away pitches were often rubbish as well), it could not have helped. Gary Johnson wanted to play flowing, attacking football and the pitch just made it impossible. However, because every home point had to be hard fought, it appeared to bring the players together and there was an obvious bond between them. The harder the games got, the more the players fought for each other. This can be seen in the obvious bond between Stansfield and McIndoe in this clip, with their amusing ‘hand grenade’ celebration for the first goal and the way Stansfield selflessly sets up McIndoe for the second.

There were a lot of obstacles to overcome in that season – injuries to key players like Skiverton, Way and Pluck, as shortages in both defence and midfield led to an all hands to the pump attitude. Steve Thompson, having not started for the first team in over two years, came out of retirement at the grand old age of 39 to muck in and actually play bloody well, belying his years to score against his former club Woking and getting three other assists including one for Stansfield in this game. McIndoe occasionally played in central midfield, and was arguably even better than he was on the wing, with his fierce new No. 1 haircut. A 19-year old loanee called Adam Lockwood came in as a desperately needed right back and made the position his own. Adam Stansfield came in from Elmore and never stopped running. Tom White played on through personal tragedy, and was immense. There were no passengers, everyone contributed. The never say die attitude so memorably characterised by the 5-4 win at Doncaster in the FA Trophy (itself only earned by a late Stansfield equaliser in the first game), resulted in a number of late goals which won points – late equalisers against Morecambe (1-1), Scarborough (2-2, from 2-0 down), Doncaster (1-1, twice), leaders Dagenham (3-3), and winners against Hereford, Leigh from 1-0 down, and here against Nuneaton (79th and 88th minutes). It could have been more, as on one memorable occasion, McIndoe scored an 87th minute equaliser against Doncaster and could have got a winner but his shot beat the keeper and literally got stuck in the mud on the goal line, allowing a defender to get back and clear. There were no easy games that season, except maybe the very last one at home to relegated Dover.

There was a definite fight, determination and togetherness in the 2001/02 team under often difficult circumstances, and they were rewarded with the FA Trophy win at Villa Park in May. Having played all season on an impossible pitch, it was with a sense of real anticipation and excitement that the Glovers returned to Huish Park against Woking in September 2002, after the pitch had been relaid over the summer. The return was triumphant, with the game won 4-0 and the rest is history, as the Glovers’ home form for the rest of the season read Played 16, Won 12, Drawn 4 Lost 0. Scored 42 Conceded 8. A marked difference from the previous season in every way imaginable.

Team that day: Chris Weale, Adam Lockwood, Colin Pluck (sub. Tom White 53), Anthony Tonkin, Steve Thompson, Lee Johnson, Nick Crittenden, Michael McIndoe McIndoe, Kim Grant (sub Andy Turner 76), Carl Alford (sub Chris Giles, 61), Adam Stansfield. Subs not used: Steve Collis, Terry Skiverton