Radstock Town came away from Huish Park with their heads
held high, after a memorable night at the home of Championship side Yeovil
Town. Yeovil used the Somerset Premier Cup match to give their first team
players a run out in what has been a difficult start to the season. On any other
day, Radstock would have needed to secure at least a third round FA Cup draw to
come up against Championship opposition, eight of whom had lined up to face top
of the table Queens Park Rangers just over two weeks ago.
Carl Crabtree was kept busy in the Radstock goal from the
first whistle. Yeovil should have taken the lead after only 4 minutes when Luke
Ingram managed to clear the ball of the line only for the follow up to ricochet
of the bar.
But it was Radstock who should have scored first on 14
minutes, when a long ball forward found the diminutive Mario Matteus in the
Yeovil box. Matteus used his short stature to great effect, evading the Yeovil
defence only to miss a virtually open goal, with Yeovil goal keeper Chris Dunn
all at sea.
That was about as good as it got for the Miners. The
inevitable happened after seventeen minutes and fifteen seconds when a quality
corner was headed home by the giant Kieffer Moore. Yeovil had shown signs of
frustration in the opening exchanges, as they attempted to steam roller the
Radstock defence, but the opening goal seemed to settle the home side down, as
they relaxed into a more patient passing game.
The bombardment continued for the last 20 minutes of the
first half, with Yeovil adding a further 3 goals. Four nil down at half time
and the travelling Miners fans feared the worse for the second half. Radstock
had battled bravely to stay in the game, but the obvious gulf in class and the
inevitable gulf in fitness meant that the second forty five minutes would feel
like an eternity for the visitors.
Yeovil added a fifth shortly after the brake, but that
served only to
galvanise the visitors. Radstock goal keeper, Carl Crabtree and
captain Lloyd Edgell, himself a lifelong Yeovil fan, led a valiant rear-guard
action. The Radstock defence held firm for a further 32 minutes. Boots, chests,
posts and backsides were called into action as Yeovil threw everything at the
Radstock defence and Radstock threw it all back. The Miners commitment was
palpable, every shut out greeted by a roars of approval from their captain and
a host of fist pumps.
Yeovil eventually scored their 6th goal on 82 minutes and
were gifted a 7th following a questionable referring decision and a hotly
disputed penalty.
Eight nil it finished, but the Miners can return to Radstock
with heads held high. Part timers against the pro's, David versus Goliath. A
performance memorable for its commitment couldn't quite be classed as a pyrrhic
victory, more a valiant defeat.
Click here for full match commentary from myself and Miners stalwart, Simon Wilkinson.
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