Venue: Huish Park
Sat 14th August 2004, 3pm kick-off.
Conditions:Warm, sunny
Pitch: Very good
Scorers: Phil Jevons (49, 1-0), Bartosz Tarachulski (65, 2-0)
Attendance: 5,178 (including approx 100 Boston fans)
Referee: Paul Armstrong (Berkshire)
Assistants: Alison Chapman (Berkshire); Jon Cordy (South Gloucestershire)
Bookings:
Yeovil: Way (30, retaliation), Johnson (73, retaliation)
Boston: Bennet (45, foul), Lee (45, foul), Greaves (68, foul). Red card: Greaves (73, foul, 2nd bookable offence)
Line Ups
Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)
1 Chris Weale
16 Andy Lindegaard, 4 Terry Skiverton (C), 25 Liam Fontaine, 3 Michael Rose
9 Kevin Gall, 8 Lee Johnson, 6 Darren Way, 10 Adrian Caceres
11 Phil Jevons, 18 Bartosz Tarachulski
Subs: 13 Steve Collis, 7 Paul Terry (90, for Gall), 12 Simon Weatherstone (82, for Caceres), 14 Roy O’Brien, 22 Keize Ibe (84, for Jevons)
Boston United : (4-4-2)
26. Nathan Abbey
2. Lee Beevers 3. Greg Strong 5. Mark Greaves 14. Austin McCann
6. Steve Melton 7. Tom Bennett 8. David Noble 24. Gareth Jelleyman
9. Jason Lee 18. Martin Carruthers
Subs: 1. Paul Bastock, 11. Chris Holland (45, for Noble), 12. Simon Rusk, 15. Lee Thompson (59, for Melton), 23. Courtney Pitt (59, for Jelleyman)
Robin Evans’ view on the game
The much heralded appearance of Paul Gascoigne at Huish Park was confined to him sitting on the bench (as coach and not as a substitute) and signing a few autographs before kick-off. Of more concern to home supporters was the lack of our “Gazza” – Gavin Williams, sidelined for six weeks with a broken finger. Injuries to central defenders, coupled with Adam Lockwood serving the last of his three match ban, saw Gary Johnson start with Liam Fontaine, on loan from premiership Fulham, in the back four.
The match was delayed slightly when referee Mr Armstrong sent Boston goalkeeper Nathan Abbey from the field to change from the light blue kit he wore, which was identical to that worn by Chris Weale. Abbey returned after a couple of minutes wearing a red top and the match started.
The first few minutes saw a fairly frantic pace. Up front for Yeovil, Bartosz Tarachulski chipped the ball through for Phil Jevons but an under pressure Mark Greaves headed back to Abbey. A good pass from Adrian Caceres saw Kevin Gall charge down the right flank before being fouled by Austin McCann, which resulted in a Lee Johnson free kick which the Glovers could not capitalise on. At the back Michael Rose made a couple of good defensive tackles, and Liam Fontaine rose to win his first header against a Boston forward, which settled the nerves of the crowd and probably his as well.
Jevons and Tarachulski seemed to be working well together at the front, and in the seventh minute Yeovil won the first of many corners. Ten minutes into the match Yeovil had their first real scoring opportunity when a close range shot from Caceres was very well stopped with a one-handed save from Abbey on the goal line. The move was started by Andy Lindegaard on the right, who found Tarachulski. His cross was flicked on by Jevons for the Caceres shot. Caceres had another effort saved within a minute of this, and it was the home side who pressed forward. An excellent 50 yard cross field pass from Fontaine to Gall showed the worth of the on loan player, and was typical of this passage of play from Yeovil.
A cross from Lindegaard was knocked down by Tarachulski for another Caceres shot which keeper Abbey held. Seconds later another flick on from the lanky Pole again gave Caceres a shooting chance, but this time it took a very fine save from Abbey to push the ball over for a corner.
The first effort from Boston came in the 14th minute, but captain Tom Bennett’s half-volley was well wide. Adrian Caceres won the ball back from a Boston player and broke through earning a corner. Johnson’s corner saw a bit of head tennis before a Jevons shot from just outside the area flew over the bar. A fourth corner in the first quarter of an hour emphasised the home side’s attacking flair, and the time wasting by Nathan Abbey at every dead ball opportunity seemed to indicate Boston’s intentions. Yeovil were certainly playing the ball around nicely and captain Terry Skiverton, apparently playing his 200th game for Yeovil on the fifth anniversary of his Glovers debut, was a tower of strength at the back.
Midway through the first half a long ball put Phil Jevons through. He ran into the area and passed to Darren Way, but his first time shot was blocked by a defender. Next to run at Boston was Kevin Gall on the right. His pass back to Lee Johnson saw the midfielder try a good long low shot, but he missed to the left of the goal. Johnson then found Jevons on the left, but his low cross went behind team mate Bartosz Tarachulski. At the other end Liam Fontaine again did well, a Michael Rose made a fine tackle just outside the penalty area. Lindegaard and Gall seemed to have struck up a good partnership on the right flank, often involving Tarachulski in their moves.
Coming up to half an hour on the clock a good ball into the area from Michael Rose was chased by Darren Way, but goal keeper Nathan Abbey just beat him to it. Then a long kick from Chris Weale was flicked by Phil Jevons for Darren Way. He was brought down on the edge of the Boston penalty area by Greg Strong, and this resulted in some pushing and shoving between the pair which saw Way booked, but surprisingly not Strong.
A Michael Rose free kick was saved by Abbey, but not held and a Boston defender hoofed the ball out for a throw in. A couple more free kicks were earned in quick succession, and taken by Johnson and Lindegaard respectively. The latter resulted in a scramble in the Boston area, and Mr Armstrong awarded them a free kick, but again spoke to Darren Way.
My notes state that in the 34th minute Boston strung together 5 or 6 passes, and I questioned whether this was the first time that they had achieved this in the game? I also noted that I could not recall one shot on target from the visitors.
Good work from a confident Terry Skiverton at the back led to a Kevin Gall attack, and he cracked a long shot which was parried over for a corner in an excellent save from Abbey. Bartosz Tarachulski was pulled back in the area, but only a corner was given. A bizarre 40th minute incident saw a four minute delay for off-field repairs after a corner flag was snapped. When play recommenced the Boston captain was yellow carded for a foul on Darren Way. Five minutes of stoppage time saw Terry Skiverton and Jason Lee spoken to about pushing in the area while waiting for a free kick from about 35 yards out after a foul on Tarachulski.
A mistake from Lee Johnson saw him gift the ball to Jason Lee with an apparently clear run at goal, but fortunately this was cleared up by the Yeovil defence without too much embarrassment. Referee Tomlin seemed to be losing control of the game after the delay and with stoppage time ticking away Lee took out Andy Lindegaard after the ball had gone in front of both Armstrong and assistant Cordy, but incredibly received only a yellow card.
Another Yeovil corner saw the home side finish the first half leading 7-0 on corners, with probably a fairly similar lead for efforts on target. The score, however, remained 0-0. Referee Mr Armstrong left the field to a chorus of booing and a chant of “cheat, cheat” – an accolade usually reserved for these particular opponents rather than the man in black.
Half Time: Yeovil Town 0 Boston United 0
The hot and dry weather saw the sprinklers used during the interval. The second half started with two changes – Chris Holland on for David Noble in the Boston team, and a replacement corner flag for the repaired one.
In the first minute of the second half Yeovil earned another corner, but again failed to capitalise. Skiverton and Fontaine continued to impress at the back, with both Rose and Lindegaard pushing forward at every opportunity. The deadlock was broken in the fourth minute of the second period when Lindegaard played a ball forward from the right flank midway in his own half. A Boston defender seemed to misjudge the flight of the ball, which beat him and fell into the path of Phil JEVONS who took the ball into the area and calmed slotted it to the right of Abbey in the Boston goal. 1 – 0.
A couple of minutes later Jevons flicked the ball up, Tarachulski chested down, and Jevons volleyed wide to the left of goal. A Boston shot from outside the area soared over the Yeovil goal, but didn’t miss by too much emphasising the need for Yeovil to score a second to make the game safe.
The hard working Adrian Caceres “stole” the ball from a Boston forward and ran on, beating substitute Chris Holland before crossing to Phil Jevons. His first touch let Jevons down, and the ball ran away from him slightly allowing Boston to clear. Gall crossed from the right to Tarachulski, and he tucked inside his man before firing a left footed shot which Abbey got behind diving low.
Ten minutes into the second half another long ball from the excellent Lindegaard found Jevons, who was pushed over near the right touchline for a free kick, which resulted in another corner. The Boston defence headed the ball out to Phil Jevons, and his left footed shot was narrowly wide. To bring the home side back to earth a long ball through to Martin Carruthers saw him shoot just wide for Boston. Yeovil attacked again, and an excellent pass from Darren way found Bartosz Tarachulski, who played the ball across to Kevin Gall on the right, and he shot just wide of the Boston goal.
With just over half an hour remaining Steve Evans made a double substitution with Lee Thompson and Courtney Pitt replacing Steve Melton and the delightfully named Gareth Jellyman (there has to be a joke about Gareth from “The Office” and staplers set in jelly, but I think I’ll pass!). The first action they saw was another fine defensive header from Terry Skiverton.
Adrian Caceres showed some nice touches, chipping the ball into the area for Phil Jevons to turn and shoot wide of the goal, and in fairness Jevons did probably not realise how much time he actually had or he would have no doubt taken time to choose his spot more carefully.
With 25 minutes remaining a lovely move from Gall to Tarachulski and back to Gall won yet another corner for the home side – the tenth by my reckoning. Inevitably, such pressure would eventually tell and the floated corner from Lee Johnson was met superbly by Bartosz TARACHULSKI who capped his fine performance by heading the ball firmly past the helpless goal keeper. 2 – 0.
Yeovil continued to press, and Jevons was hauled down on the left flank after a fine pass by Fontaine. Kevin Gall won the ball from replacement Courtney Pitt and found Adrian Caceres, who was hacked down by Mark Greaves, earning a caution for the Boston defender.
A Yeovil free kick to the right of the penalty area was taken by Lee Johnson, and cleared for a throw in near the corner flag. The ball was worked across to Michael Rose on the left who ran in and shot high from outside the area.
Four minutes after his booking for the foul on Caceres, Mark Greaves brought down Lee Johnson. The Yeovil man stood up to Greaves, who shoved him, and Greaves was given his marching orders while the Yeovil midfielder had his name taken for his part in the incident.
In an increasingly hostile atmosphere, and with Mr Armstrong always struggling to maintain control, it was concerning when he called Darren Way across for a word while waiting for the free kick to be taken. With Way having been booked in the first half, there was speculation in the crowd that Gary Johnson may replace him – probably with Simon Weatherstone – to avoid any further risk of punishment. This did not happen, and his continuing presence was almost rewarded when he crossed the ball low and Phil Jevons failed to connect with it by the proverbial “cigarette paper”.
With just over ten minutes left a good ball by Courtney Pitt found Jason Lee on the right, and his cross was headed out by Andy Lindegaard. Liam Fontaine came out and won the ball back from a Boston player, and threaded the ball through to Bartosz Tarachulski who had a clear run at goal, but he hesitated in the area and the Boston defence cleared for another corner when a third goal looked almost inevitable. The defence cleared the ball for a 12th corner, which Tarachulski met but headed wide.
In the first Yeovil substitution Simon Weatherstone came on for Adrian Caceres. Darren Way made a good run before being fouled just outside the Boston penalty box to the left. The referee spoke to the culprit, but produced no card. Lee Johnson slid the ball across for a Weatherstone shot, which was deflected for a corner. This resulted in another Weatherstone shot, which sailed high over the Westland Stand roof.
In the 84th minute Kezie Ibe made his competitive debut for the Glovers, replacing Phil Jevons. Inside the last five minutes a long ball from Boston fell for Carruthers, but as he outpaced the Yeovil defence Chris Weale – previously untroubled all afternoon – beat him with his feet just outside the area with an excellent challenge, and cleared the ball to safety.
The team performance seemed more consistent with expectations of the “Yeovil spirit” than the games against Bury and Darlington. This was epitomised in the 87th minute when a Boston player well into the Yeovil half had his attempted cross blocked for a throw in by none other than Bartosz Tarachulski! Two minutes later Lee Johnson tracked back hassling a Boston forward deep into the Yeovil half, preventing him from making a telling pass, and eventually winning the ball from him.
A last minute attack saw Gall receive the ball on the right flank, and run across and fire a shot which was blocked. In the two minutes of stoppage time a Yeovil free kick from the right was headed “in” by Simon Weatherstone, only to be cleared off of the line by a defender. A time wasting substitution saw Paul Terry replace Kevin Gall, and Terry crossed from a short corner from Lee Johnson in just about the last constructive action of the game.
Half Time: Yeovil Town 2 Boston United 0
An excellent performance from the Glovers, and the first win of the campaign. I cannot recall a corner or shot on target for Boston in the whole match, and by my calculations the 2-0 win this afternoon saw Yeovil “winning” about 14-0 on corners and about 11-0 on efforts on target – all in all a pretty comprehensive victory.
My choice for man of the match was Terry Skiverton, very narrowly beating the excellent Andy Lindegaard. Having said that, the team performance as a whole was superb, and Liam Fontaine looked very good indeed.
Good luck to Gazza at Boston. I think he may need it!
MOTM Vote Result:
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Overall match rating: 8.2 / 10
Performance: 8.2
Entertainment: 8.2
65 votes received.