Sample Page (Page 3)

​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”

Glovers’ defender Archie Davies opened up about the emotional and physical rollercoaster that was the 3-3 draw with Leatherhead in the FA Cup.

​From the outset, Yeovil knew they were in for a robust physical test. According to Davies, their opponents defended resolutely in the opening period, effectively shutting down space and denying the Glovers any meaningful breathing room.

​”The first half, I think we sort of knew what we were in for,” Davies explained to BBC Somerset Mark Stillman. “They defended quite well to be fair to them. They didn’t really allow us a lot of space, a lot of chances.”

​However, a clever tactical adjustment at the break shifted the momentum.

“Going into half time we made a couple of tweaks just to see where we could really hurt them. And, we started really well. Get the goal nice and early. Should, you know, should be 2-0 after the penalty, but, these things happen. The majority of the second half [I] thought we really showed a lot of control and a bit more, you know, killer instinct.”

​Football, however, can change in the blink of an eye. What followed was a chaotic ten-minute spell that nearly undid all of Yeovil’s hard work. A flurry of scrappy goals turned the fixture on its head;
“I don’t think it’s complacency. I don’t think we really, are in any sort of position to take things for granted even being two-nil up. It’s the FA Cup, it’s a prestigious competition and, we want to go on a run. So, I don’t think really it’s anything like that. I just think we didn’t do the the basics well enough. We didn’t clear our lines well enough and I think, looking back on it, they’re all really, really sort of scrappy goals, which, you know, these teams are capable of. They’re not really going to carve you open pretty football. It’s the it’s the first and second contacts that that they’ll pride themselves on and they did it better than us.

​Davies was quick to dismiss any notion of complacency, emphasizing that a prestigious tournament like the FA Cup demands absolute respect regardless of the opposition’s league status.

​”I don’t think it’s complacency,” Davies noted. “I don’t think we really are in any sort of position to take things for granted, even being two-nil up… They’re all really, really sort of scrappy goals, which these teams are capable of. They did it better than us.”

​Trailing late in the game with elimination looming could easily sap the morale, but Yeovil’s refusal to surrender shone through. A crucial equaliser in the dying moments not only restored parity but completely altered the mood in the dressing room.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s a bit of relief. But at the same time we still, as soon as we scored the goal, we’re running straight back to the halfway line to try and get a winner. Yeah, a little bit of relief and, um, we’ll um, we’ll have a couple of days of, you know, recovery and back on the training pitch Monday and we’ll be ready to go Tuesday.”

There’s no surprise at all as to where this is going…

Brett McGavin has been named your Man of the Match for the win over Wealdstone.

The hat trick here, took over 90% of the votes from 150 cast.

As far as I can tell, this represents a record winning percentage – by some distance.

Jack Kingdon (2nd) and Johl Powell (3rd) took the minor honours.

Also, over half of you gave the performance a perfect 7/7!