Venue: The Avenue, Dorchester Town FC
Tues 3rd September 2002, 7.45pm kick-off.
Conditions: Light mist turning to rain.
Ground: Good covering of grass, thinning in goalmouths.
Nationwide Conference :
Yeovil Town 2 – 0 Farnborough
Att: 2,231
Referee: Mr R Lee
Bookings:
Yeovil: Johnson (45, foul), McIndoe (56, foul), Lindegaard (90, dissent). Red card: McIndoe (79, 2nd bookable offence)
Farnborough: Piper (30, foul), Watson (40, foul), Annon (45, foul), Warner (56, foul). Red card: Westley (57, removed from dugout)
Line up : (3-4-1-2)
 1. Chris Weale |
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2. Adam Lockwood |
4. Terry Skiverton |
5. Colin Pluck |
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10. Nick Crittenden |
6. Darren Way |
8. Lee Johnson |
11. Michael McIndoe |
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20. Gavin Williams |
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23. Howard Forinton |
18. Kim Grant |
Substitutes: 9. Carl Alford, 13. John Sheffield, 14. Roy O’Brien (80, for Crittenden), 16. Andy Lindegaard (75, for Grant), 19. Abdoulai Demba (46, for Forinton)
Farnborough: (4-4-2) Pennock, Warner, O’Shea, Rodwell, L Piper, Taggart, C Piper, Holloway, Butterworth, Charlery, Annon.
Subs : Watson (28, for O’Shea), Lee, Osborn, Carroll (79, for Butterworth), Griffiths (63, for L Piper)
Scorers: Nick Crittenden (50, 1-0), Lee Johnson (72, 2-0)
This report courtesy of Noddy Elms:
Yeovil Town and Farnborough Town put on an eventful display, although little of it resembled good football.
The Yeovil Town boss, Gary Johnson would have been pleased with collecting three points after losing his second recognised defender with injury before this evening’s match. Anthony Tonkin with back trouble joined Tom White, knee, on the sidelines. Gary Johnson packed five in his midfield with Williams playing a more orthodox role. Johnson threw Grant and Forinton together up front, in what has been rumoured as a head-to-head for a future at the club.
Forinton thought he had proved his worth after nine minutes, glancing McIndoe’s free kick past Yeovil’s former hero Pennock. But an offence had been spotted and the “goal” was ruled out. Three minutes later Farnborough attacked and it looked as if Lenny Piper would finish a smooth passing move down the right wing. But not only was his shot wide, again an infringement had been spotted.
Neither goal came under significant pressure during the remainder of the half. Kim Grant posed the major threat, one of Yeovil’s best moves ending with Grant’s header being deflected for a corner after 22 minutes. Moments later Grant shot from the edge of the box, but again it was off target. Grant also came close to converting an excellent Crittenden cross.
Forinton had, arguably, the best chance, shooting wide after controlling a bouncing ball in the penalty box. He should have done better than to shoot wide. At times Pennock reminded us of his “flappability” by dropping the odd corner. Unfortunately no Yeovil striker was on hand to capitalise.
At the other end Lenny Piper was lively in the Yeovil box, Lockwood on hand to clear his shot. Weale then gathered a Farnborough free kick at the second attempt. But for all of Farnborough’s slick breaks, Yeovil defended stoutly and the Farnborough attack rarely troubled Weale’s goal.
Mr Lee the referee had started the game well, allowing the game to flow, but became bogged down in applying the letter of the law and brandished a number of yellow cards in what was, a petulant, but never dirty game. O’Shea was booked for leading with his forearm, Holloway booked for a challenge on Way, Lee Johnson for a petulant challenge on the touchline, and finally Annon was booked for a professional foul after Grant had beaten him just outside the box near the goal-line.
Half Time: Yeovil Town 0 Farnborough Town 0.
Demba replaced Forinton at the beginning of the second half and Yeovil showed increased urgency. Gary Johnson must have found the key to set Darren Way going, the Yeovil midfielder came out for the second half and chased every ball. His effort and tenacity was soon rewarded setting up Yeovil’s first goal four minutes into the half. Winning a free kick in the centre spot he quickly released MacIndoe down the left wing. His inch perfect cross was met by Nick Crittenden who flashed the ball past Pennock and into the opposite side of goal: Yeovil 1 Farnborough 0.
Farnborough raised their game and Yeovil were penned back with eight men defending deep on the edge of their box. However, Farnborough were, in the main, restricted to long-range efforts and rarely tested Weale.
On Yeovil’s left wing McIndoe and Warner tussled and the two opponents ended up face-to-face and received yellow card for their antics. This sparked the most amusing incident of the evening that distracted the main stands attention for nigh on ten minutes. Graham Westley, the Farnborough manager was obviously incensed with the referee’s decision and his protest earned him an early departure from the touchline. He took up a seat in the main stand but not content with the view shared by the rest of the main stand insisted on standing up for a better view, or perhaps to shout instructions down to his number two. The stewards asked him to be seated, to which he complied. But no sooner had they moved away than he was up again. The steward’s asked him to be seated again, this time he was insistent that he stayed on his feet. Eventually after minutes of pushing and shoving he sat down. But, the Police had been called and he was eventually lead away. Farnborough were still losing 1-0.
Leroy Griffiths replaced Lenny Piper in the Farnborough attack and the QPR loan signing posed problems for Yeovil down the left. His speed, skill and strength left Pluck on his backside after one challenge. However, he was poorly supported and his efforts came to nought.
Having weathered the Farnborough recoil Yeovil now enjoyed their most dominant period of the night. Lockwood, Skiverton and Pluck looked impenetrable at the back. On attack Yeovil broke with skill and determination. Crittenden weaved across the park from wing to wing. But Demba was the target man and Yeovil continued to play him in. Demba looked as if he now had much more room against a tiring Farnborough defence. However his two strikes on goal left much to be desired.
Demba eventually put a positive mark on the game as provider on 72 minutes. Grant fed in Demba who looked to have been shepherded away from danger to the goal line. However he maintained close control and found Lee Johnson on the edge of the penalty box. Johnson steamed towards the Farnborough six-yard box and a crowd of at four Farnborough defenders. He looked to have squandered the chance but somehow he got a final toe to the ball and it trickled past Pennock for Yeovil’s second goal: Yeovil 2 Farnborough 0.
Gary Johnson’s substitution of Grant by Lindegaard showed a willingness to try and resolve his strike partnership dilemma. However, those plans were thwarted when McIndoe received his second yellow, and consequently red, card for what seemed a careless challenge with his arms flailing high.
Farnborough’s Butterworth replaced Carroll as a last throw of the dice, and Yeovil replaced Crittenden with O’Brien to strengthen the defence, Lindegaard dropped into midfield. Farnborough piled forward but were again forced to shoot from long-range: Watson always keen to have a go but never causing Weale any trouble. Farnborough’s best chance fell to Holloway who received the ball in space on the edge of the Yeovil box. But he could only pull his shot wide as he turned.
Lindegaard was next in the book for ball throwing, although Mr Lee failed to see the same played chopped down.
Farnborough continued to push forward but as time slipped away, one got the feeling they would never score if the game continued till midnight. Yeovil were assured of the three points and the evening’s results lifted them to fourth position.
Final Score: Yeovil Town 2 Farnborough Town 0.
In previous season’s this would have been a game in which Yeovil would have struggled to take three points. Not playing well but still winning is a sign of a good side. The Yeovil defence is now becoming a fortress. Gary Johnson will be concerned with the number of injuries mounting up. As he will with his strikers inability to score. But, at the end of the day, the record books will show that Yeovil took three points.
Noddy Elms
Internet Man of the Match Result:
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Overall match rating: 6.6/10
Performance: 6.4
Entertainment: 6.8
32 votes received.