Match Details: 14/08/1999
Scarborough 5 Yeovil Town 0
Nationwide Conference

Yeovil scorers: None
Attendance: 2,005

Yeovil Town line-up:

Tony Pennock

David Piper
Kevan Brown
Matt Hayfield
Rob Cousins
Murray Fishlock

Jason Eaton
Ben Smith
Steve Stott

Adrian Foster
Warren Patmore

Substitutes: David Norton (for Ben Smith 46 mins), Terry Skiverton (for Kevan Brown 70 mins), Dean Chandler (for Rob Cousins 70 mins), Phil Simpson (not used), Tony Pounder (not used).

Team Selection: One major surprise in the selection for the first game of the season as Terry Skiverton, so successful in pre-season, made way in the centre of defence, in a tactical switch, for midfielder Matt Hayfield. Dean Chandler was considered not to be fully match fit, so he sat on the bench, leaving Brown, Cousins and Hayfield controlling the centre of defence. In midfield, Jason Eaton kept the unorthadox place he has assumed in the latter pre-season friendlies.

First half:

Stormy conditions greeted Yeovil as they arrived at the McCain Stadium for the first time in 15 years, as thundery clouds and lightning, along with heavy rain, dominated the early proceedings.
Yeovil started fairly brightly, but it was clear from the start that when Scarborough went forward, their attack-minded 4-3-3 formation was far more penetrative than anything The Glovers had on offer. This was proven as early as the 6th minute, when Darren Roberts’ chip shot seemed to be going over, but it hit the top of the cross-bar and came back into play, allowing Steve BRODIE to head the rebound past a wrong-footed Tony Pennock.

Yeovil did their best to force a quick reply. David Piper went on a right-wing run, and when he was not closed down, he cut inside and shot, but the ball drifted just wide of the post. A minute later, Warren Patmore was fouled on the edge of the box, and cleverly played the ball straight to Jason Eaton, before the Seadogs’ defence could organise a wall, but Eaton’s shot was too tame to worry the home team.

By the 19th minute, Scarborough were 2-0 up, and like the first, the goal had an element of fortune about it. Darren Roberts cut in from the wing, and his low shot looked to be a confortable save for Pennock, until Kevan BROWN deflected the ball into his own net off his arm.

Yeovil kept their tails up, and enjoyed their best spell of the game following the second goal. Warren Patmore cracked an excellent 25 yard shot which keeper Kevin Martin did well to turn round the post. From the resulting corner, Patmore’s header went flying over the bar.

But by the time Scarborough netted their third goal, in the 37th minute, their undoing of the Yeovil defence seemed inevitable. Darren Roberts ran through on goal, and although first Kevan Brown’s tackle half-stopped him, and Pennock blocked bravely, the ball still squirmed back out to Roberts, and he toepoked the ball into the path of Gareth McALINDON who had an empty net to score in.

By this time the heavens had broken, and the hail and heavy rain soaked into the pitch, making tackling a game of Russian Roulette. Adrian Foster went into the referee’s notebook for a seemingly innocuous challenge on the home side’s keeper, whilst Matt Hayfield and Jason Eaton’s late tackles seemed bookable offences on any other pitch, but Mr Tiffin did not make any allowances for the skiddy conditions.

Half Time : Scarborough 3 Yeovil Town 0

Second half:  

With Yeovil’s game now in tatters but the weather having cleared a touch, Colin Lippiatt sent on David Norton as a half time substitute for Ben Smith, in an attempt to firm up the midfield. This move certainly changed the pattern of play as Scarborough found it far harder to break through.
Five minutes in, Scott Middlemass, once a triallist under Graham Roberts, became the one and only Scarborough booking for a late tackle on Jason Eaton.

On the hour mark, Yeovil’s defending became the subject of comedy for the Scarborough fans. Rob Cousins and Steve Brodie challenged for the ball, and Cousins directed the ball back to Pennock from close range. As Cousin’s moved sideways to give Pennock room, the kick was sliced straight at the Yeovil defender and past Pennock, seemingly for a fourth goal. Pennock scrambled back and scooped the ball out, but with the Seadogs fans screaming for a goal, it seemed that Yeovil had escaped thanks to a linesman who was 10 yards behind play.

Not that this respite lasted long. On 63 minutes, Steve Brodie and Yeovil captain Steve Stott tangled in the penalty area, and referee Mr Tiffin pointed to the spot, with even Seadogs assistant Ray McHale describing the decision as “harsh” after the game. Darren ROBERTS didn’t care and smashed the ball past Pennock’s top left corner, for an unassailable 4-0 lead.

Adrian Foster gets fouled as he runs throughWith twenty minutes left, Brian McGinty and Darren Roberts departed the field to a huge round of applause, and Ian Millburn and Alex Gildea took their place. Colin Lippiatt also made a double substitution at this point with Kevan Brown and Rob Cousins making way for Terry Skiverton and Dean Chandler. At this point Matt Hayfield was pushed into his natural midfield role, allowing Jason Eaton more room to roam up front.

This attacking stance outdid Yeovil once more though, as with the Glovers pushing up, substitute Alex Gildea produced a defence splitting pass. With the Yeovil defence static, appealing for off-side, Gareth McALINDON cheekily tapped the ball wide of Pennock and followed the ball through over the line for an emphatic scoreline.

Final Score: Scarborough 5 Yeovil Town 0

Ciderspace Verdict: : Oh dear, oh dear. The size of the scoreline says it all. Although a couple of Scarborough’s goals appeared to have a slice of luck attached to them, they had plenty more chances besides, and could have knocked up several more. Yeovil will be regretting their poor start, and their failure to grab an early equaliser, but the scale of the Scarborough superiority shows that any such equilibrium would have been shortlived. The main talking point after the game, was the unusual selection of Matt Hayfield over Terry Skiverton, leaving three shortish Yeovil defenders a huge task on their hands against Scarborough’s three forwards. By the time Yeovil firmed things up, it was all too late.

Colin Lippiatt’s Verdict:

“Our back defensive trio did not perform adequately as a unit at all today”

“We had chances to get back into the game when we were a goal or two down, but I felt that once the third went in, our heads went down far too much.”

“That had to be one of the worst, if not the worst performance I have seen from a Yeovil side, since I joined as coach”.