Venue: Huish Park
Tues 30th September 2003, 7.45pm kick-off.
Conditions: Mild, calm
Ground: Perfect
Scorers: Gavin Williams pen (21 mins, 1-0), Adam Lockwood (38 mins, 2-0)
Attendance: 5,093 – including approx 70 Boston supporters
Referee: Steve Tanner (South Gloucestershire)
Assistant Refs: Steve Habgood (Wiltshire) and Simon Hollick (Devon)
Bookings:
Yeovil: Williams (22, dissent), Bull (35, unsporting behaviour), Rodrigues (45, persistent infringement)
Boston: Hocking (15, unsporting behaviour), Weatherstone (25, unsporting behaviour), Rusk (28, dissent), Bennett (40, dissent), Jones (54, unsporting behaviour)
Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)
1. Chris Weale
2. Adam Lockwood 14. Roy O’Brien 12. Hugo Rodrigues 11. Ronnie Bull
20. Gavin Williams 6. Darren Way 8. Lee Johnson 3. Abdelhalim El Kholti
9. Kevin Gall 18. Kirk Jackson
Subs: 7. Adam Stansfield 13. Steven Collis 17. Jake Edwards (78, for Jackson) 23. Jamie Gosling 24. Paul Terry (74, for El Kholti)
Boston United:
1. Paul Bastock 12. Matthew Hocking 6. Mark Greaves 5. Stuart Balmer 16. Simon Rusk 7. Tom Bennett 10. Simon Weatherstone 21. Ryan Clarke 22. Graham Potter 8. Graeme Jones 9. Peter Duffield
Subs: 3. Ben Chapman (46, for Clarke) 13. Steve Croudson 18. Lee Thompson (46, for Duffield) 20. Lee Beevers 23. Andy White (80, for Jones)
Jeremy Gear’s View Of The Game
Yeovil moved into 3rd spot in the third division with a convincing and comfortable 2-0 victory over Boston tonight. Once again the Glovers bounced back from defeat to secure their fifth win and fifth clean sheet out of six matches, which may just be enough to have someone from the Nationwide knocking on Gary Johnson’s door later this week. The only blemish being the disappointing 2-0 defeat on Saturday against Torquay.
Colin Pluck warmed up with the squad and paraded the awful looking cut on his head sustained on Saturday, it was no surprise to see him left out, replaced by Hugo Rodrigues. Nick Crittenden who injured an ankle, was replaced by the forgotten man, Abdul El Kholti. A shame for Critts as he was beginning to look like the player of old but, one mans loss is another’s gain.
Before the game kicked off Kirk Jackson and Steve Thompson tussled on the half way line, a warm up exercise planned in advanced it seems, one assuming that the objective was to increase his aggression, rather like a boxer shadow boxing with his coach just before the bell rings. It seemed to do the trick because in the first minute Jackson raced down the left wing and crossed powerfully to the far post but no one followed up. A stunning curling effort and a powerful header followed as if to signal his intentions. In between times Chris Weale’s attempted clearance from an El Kholti back pass fell to a Boston attacker who should have scored.
Yeovil though began to dominate proceedings, some good possession football led to the first goal of the night, a series of passes led to Darren Way slipping a good ball to Ronnie Bull down the left, his accurate cross to the far post was headed downwards and against the chest of a Boston defender, unfortunately for him his arm was in the way and the linesman immediately put his flag across his own chest to signal a penalty. Yeovil’s first spot kick of the season was neatly tucked away by Gavin WILLIAMS, who has claimed this responsibility following McIndoe’s departure.
Not long afterwards, Jackson was booked, not for aggression but for not giving the ball back from a throw in, Williams later went the same way. Mr Tanner, the ref would have needed a pencil sharpener at half time as he continued to book too many players for mostly innocuous challenges, to be truthful, this was not a dirty game but when you set your stall out sometimes you set a precedent for the rest of the game too.
Lee Johnson surged into the box with a great mazy run down the left and was unlucky to see his shot ripple the side netting, Yeovil were going for it with Boston’s back three not getting a great deal of support from the middle five, when they did track back they conceded free kicks, and more yellow cards around the box, but from set pieces Yeovil couldn’t take advantage. From another fine spell of possession football involving most of Yeovil’s midfield, the ball again was slipped out to the left and Ronnie Bull’s fine cross was met by Adam LOCKWOOD who finished superbly with a well placed header to Blastock’s right to make it a well deserved 2-0.
As the half came drew to an end Williams surged into the box and was denied by Bastock, seconds later he pulled an even better save out the bag when somehow he kept out Hugo the giant’s header, which looked a goal all the way.
Half-time: Yeovil Town 2 Boston United 0
The second half started with Way blasting a shot just wide of the far post, Jackson and Lockwood linked well to set up Gall who didn’t react and then El Kholti tried to capitalise on a defensive mix up between Bastock and Greaves, jinking his way to the touchline he pulled the ball back across the face of goal but no one, again could stab the ball home. You could argue though that El Kholti should have hit the target.
Yeovil continued to dominate the bulk of possession, as Johnson and Way pulled the strings in Midfield. Williams put Kevin Gall away, who chased a ball to the by-line which many would have given up on, his hard low cross to the near post was met by the head of Darren Way, but once again Bastock denied the town with a good save conceding a corner in the process.
Gall had another chance to score, this time shooting hard and low missing the far post again. You can’t help feeling that for all his effort and determination, Gall could really do with a goal right now.
Boston could have scored when they had a rare corner, a free header went high over the bar when really it should have given Weale something to do. He hadn’t had a real save to make so far!
The first substitution came when Paul Terry replaced Abdul, shortly followed with the second when Jake Edwards came on for Kirk Jackson in the 77th minute. Yeovil were creating chances and could have been punished for not taking them as Boston had another opportunity to score when an effort from the edge of the box sailed over when they really should have done better. Jake Edwards looked lively and may have done enough to convince the manager to keep him on the books for a little while longer, you wonder also, if Adam Stansfield would have made hay whilst the sun shone with some of those opportunities.
In the dying moments at last Chris Weale earned his corn, when he pulled off a terrific save from a goal bound header, and then with the resultant corner he claimed the ball well when under pressure from all around. Considering he wasn’t called upon until then, that shows you what a fine keeper he is.
The whistle came and Gary Johnson will be delighted with the manner of the victory, the clean sheet, and the three points. He’ll probably wish we’d scored a few more against a mediocre Boston, but you can be sure that once again he will have learnt something from tonight’s game, and on the training pitch in the morning he’ll get back to the day job and work away to ensure another three points are secured at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Jeremy Gear
Full-time: Yeovil Town 2 Boston United 0
MOTM Vote Result:
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Overall match rating: 6.5 / 10
Performance: 6.8
Entertainment: 6.2
47 votes received.