The FA Cup once again lived up to its reputation for unmatched drama as Yeovil Town played out a chaotic 3-3 draw.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman after the final whistle, Yeovil manager Billy Rowley offered a remarkably candid breakdown of a match that left supporters breathless.
When asked where to begin dissecting such an emotional rollercoaster, Rowley admitted, “Surprisingly, I’m… I’m absolutely fine, really… Maybe I shouldn’t be, because obviously you’re winning and you should be cruising and suddenly you’re not.”
“Such a boring cliche, but this is the FA Cup, isn’t it?… Some of Leatherad’s young lads, I thought they did well today. This is like the biggest game of their season, probably.”
When pressed on whether his side deserved to win, Rowley pointed to the balance of play across the afternoon. “I think so, based on chances,” he said. However, he admitted that things became chaotic in the closing stages.
“I think the only thing that let us down was probably like the last 25 minutes. Ste Walker goes down, I think once the referee gives us one penalty, for some reason, he can’t give us a second, which we looked on the replay, it’s a… it’s a penalty.”
“You, you know, you might score that, 3-0, game over.”
Instead, bizarre defensive lapses let Leatherhead back into the tie. “A couple of really strange goals that I’m going to have to rewatch,” Rowley stated.
Describing the strange nature of the goals conceded—including an unfortunate own goalhe said, “The gods weren’t on our side from the defending point of view.”
Yeovil scored within 30 seconds of the second half getting underway and Stillman questioned how such control slipped away through defensive mishaps. Rowley agreed wholeheartedly: “Yeah, I think you’ve just answered my question for me. It’s defensive mishaps. We were in complete control, a couple of balls in our box, we score an own goal.”
Despite the frustration, Rowley maintained a pragmatic perspective on the result.
“You can’t just go for every game, win 6-0,” Rowley noted. “This is football. We’re winning the game, we didn’t take our chances, they take theirs, we’re drawing, and, and that’s it. That’s… that’s the game.”
Looking ahead to the replay at home, the manager expressed appreciation for the travelling faithful who braved the elements on a slow, wet pitch. “I thought, Leatherhead did a great job today with the crowd, and I thought our support was excellent,” he said.
As preparations turn to the upcoming replay, Rowley is confident his squad will be ready.
“[At] our place, we will obviously… I think we’ll be a lot more, rehearsed in… in how we want to play”