Penalty hero Brett McGavin hailed the spirit of Yeovil Town’s players as they grabbed a dramatic late victory to claim three vital points with a 3-2 win over Sutton United at Huish Park.
The midfielder, who arrived as an 80th minute substitute, stepped up to hammer home a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the end of the game and seal a win which puts eight points between the Glovers and the National League relegation zone.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, McGavin said: “We don’t do quiet nights here, do we? We always try to make it difficult for ourselves, but the lads showed great spirit this afternoon and we’re all buzzing for them.
“When it’s like that in the last minute there’s only one thing on my mind, just head down, hit the target. I’m not a fan of penalties that just stutter and try and play with the keeper, I just get your head down and strike through the ball, so that’s what I done.”
Going in to second half stoppage time it looked like Yeovil were going to stretch their run without a win to five matches with Sutton having come from 1-0 down to lead, before James Daly was popped up inside the box to grab an equaliser with five minutes of the seven added on gone.
Then, with Huish Park celebrating snatching a point from the jaws of victory, Tahvon Campbell went down inside the box and McGavin was the coolest man in the stadium as he hammered home the winner.
Having started the day five points and one place about the relegation zone, the three points move the Glovers up to 17th place with an eight point cushion going in to the weekend’s FA Trophy quarter-final at Southport on Saturday.
Asked about the significance of the win, McGavin said: “It’s massive. We could go all day about the turbulent season, but you can only deal with what’s in front of you and that’s what we’ve done tonight. So, massive win for everyone. We have been on terrible run there is no hiding it, but that is massive for us and we’re buzzing.
“Like I said, we make it hard for ourselves. the relief is just as good as the feeling of winning, it’s just such a good feeling to come away with three points and we are all happy for that.“
The match-winner was full of praise for two-goal hero Daly who started the match as the central striker of a front three alongside Harvey Greenslade and Terrell Works.
He popped up with the opening goal after Luke McCormick’s poor penalty was saved with four minutes of the first half remaining before arriving in the box to smash home the equaliser in stoppage time.
On Daly, McGavin said: “What an animal. He is an incredible athlete and a brilliant footballer, but on top of everything else he’s a great human being. Trains his best, plays his best like that, runs his socks off for this club, so I’m so happy for him.“