Venue: Fitness First Stadium, Dean Court
Tues 30th March 2004, 7pm kick-off.

Conditions: Fairly cold but dry
Pitch: Good

Scorers: Derek Holmes (1-0, 10), Simon Weatherstone (1-1, 35), Adam Stansfield (1-2, 59), Neil Young (2-2, 64), Jake Edwards (2-3, 73), Dale Williams (2-4, 89)

Attendance: Approx 200

Referee: Mr R P Desmond
Assistant Refs: Mr W Bull, Mr M A Edmonds
Fourth Official: Mr N Richardson

Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)
32 Ryan Northmore
16 Andy Lindegaard, 27 Shaun Smith, 15 Steve Reed, 19 Nathan Talbott
10 Nick Crittenden, 24 Paul Terry, 25 Simon Weatherstone, 7 Adam Stansfield
28 Dani Rodrigues, 17 Jake Edwards

Subs:
21 Steve Thompson (71 mins for Weatherstone), 29 Dale Williams (81 mins for Edwards), 30 Charlie Welch (81 mins for Smith), GK Danny Barker

AFC Bournemouth: (3-5-2)
1 Kevin Scriven
2 James Ervin, 4 Neil Young, 3 Jason Tindall
8 Gareth O'Connor, 10 James Coutts, 11 Marc Smith, 6 Fawzi Saadi, 3 Gary Middleton
7 Wade Elliott, 9 Derek Holmes

Subs:
12 Ryan Moss, 14 James Rowe (72 mins for Saadi), 15 Dave King (46 mins for Tindall), 16 Jack Cannon (25 mins for Ervin)

Yeovil sent what looked to be a fairly strong reserve side on the trip to AFC Bournemouth, with Dani Rodrigues returning to a ground where he had previously played for the home side. Bournemouth also put out a good looking team, with Neil Young returning from three months on the sidelines with injury. They also found room for three trialists, with Messrs. Ervin, Middleton and Smith coming from Notts. Forest, Reading and Ipswich respectively. With free entry, an evening kick-off and a central venue (the Cherries generally play reserve games at Fawcetts Field - the home of Lymington & New Milton FC, with 2pm midweek starts) a crowd of around 200 gathered, including by my count 6 Yeovil supporters - apologies to any I may have missed!

The game kicked off promptly at 7pm, with Bournemouth starting more brightly. An early free kick from O'Connor required a good tackle from Nathan Talbott, who continued his impressive start in green and white. Yeovil earned the first corner of the match with 5 minutes on the clock, but Simon Weatherstone?s effort was cleared by the home defence.

With Yeovil seeming to sit back a little, and Bournemouth pressing more early on, it was no surprise when a sharp cross whipped in from the left flank was met well by Derek HOLMES who fired past Ryan Northmore to give the home side the lead. 1 - 0.

As has happened a few times recently with the first XI, going a goal behind seemed to wake the Glovers up a little, and they began to press forward more. On the whole the visitors were performing well, although Adam Stansfield did not look entirely comfortable on the left of midfield. Nevertheless, he took every opportunity to run at Bournemouth, and looked comfortable when in a forward position, and it took a good tackle from Neil Young in the penalty area after Weatherstone had played a fine ball through to him.

With fifteen minutes gone my notes state that Nick Crittenden and Andy Lindegaard were combining well on the right flank, and that young prospect Shaun Smith was looking good in the centre of defence. Coming up to the 20 minute mark, the tricky Stansfield was fouled just outside the Bournemouth box. Simon Weatherstone stepped up to take the free kick, and his shot beat Kevin Scriven but hit the outside of the left hand upright. Bournemouth broke away, and Wade Elliott appeared to shoot just to the right of the Yeovil goal, but either a defender or keeper Northmore did well as an uncontested corner was awarded. Just a minute later Elliott again made a shooting opportunity, but this time fired wide to the left.

Midway through the first half trialist James Ervin was involved in a hard but fair tackle from Paul Terry. Terry won the ball cleanly, but Ervin was clearly in difficulty and after a couple of minutes of treatment on the field was sadly stretchered off with his leg strapped up in a splint. Jack Cannon came on to replace him.

Yeovil continued to press with a Steve Reed free kick and a Crittenden corner, but it was the visiting defence who scrambled the ball away after Paul Terry lost out to Gareth O'Connor in the Yeovil half, and he in turn fed the dangerous Wade Elliott. Northmore punched away the resulting corner, and soon after held onto an O'Connor free kick.

A Nick Crittenden corner from the right was headed out by a Bournemouth defender, but Simon WEATHERSTONE met the ball just inside the area and headed back into the top left hand corner of the goal with the longest distance headed goal I have seen. 1 - 1.

Both sides earned further corners, but neither Weatherstone for Yeovil nor Elliott for Bournemouth could engineer a further score, and the three minutes of stoppage time finished with scores level.

A half time trip to the gents toilet from my seat in the 'executive' area of the stand took me into the area housing the AFC Bournemouth trophy cabinet. I hope that Terry Skiverton gets just a little closer to the Third Division Play Off Trophy than I did tonight, as it was behind glass for me. It is a nice trophy, but would look a lot better with green and white ribbons on it?

Bournemouth started the second half with Dave King replacing Jason Tindall, but this time it was Yeovil who were quicker out of the blocks and more lively. For almost all of the second half Yeovil dominated the play, with Bournemouth seeming to play as the 'away' team by playing on the break, but breaking quickly looking dangerous when opportunities arose.

In the first ten minutes of the second period Dani Rodrigues made an impressive looking overhead kick, but was wide of goal. Nick Crittenden made a good run down the right, and played his cross back to Simon Weatherstone, who blazed over. A nice one-two between Adam Stansfield and Rodrigues saw a Stansfield shot parried out by Scriven. Stansfield then made a good run into the area before being muscled off the ball by a couple of defenders.

With the hour mark fast approaching, Weatherstone made a fine shot from just outside the area which Scriven did very well to tip over for a corner. The Yeovil pressure continued, and an incredible passing move to and fro across the Bournemouth area saw Paul Terry and Jake Edwards reject the chance to shoot to play their team mates in, before finally passing to Adam STANSFIELD who calmly slotted the ball home past a despairing Scriven. 1 - 2.

Yeovil were playing with confidence and now seemed to be well on top. The home side had been playing a bit 'route one' for much of the game, and a superb long pass from defence finally justified these tactics as Neil YOUNG outpaced Talbott for possibly the only time in the game, and finished well giving Northmore no chance with his shot. 2 - 2.

The Cherries equaliser had been very much against the run of play, and Yeovil continued to dominate. Jake Edwards put the ball in the net after a through ball from Steve Reed, but the whistle had already gone for an offside decision. Dani Rodrigues won a corner after his shot was blocked, and Yeovil continued to press for a third goal.

Into the last twenty minutes and Steve Thompson replaced Weatherstone for Yeovil, followed quickly by Bournemouth's final change with James Rowe on and Saadi off. Almost immediately after the substitutions Rodrigues had the ball in the net, but again an offside decision ruled out the score. Moments later Jake EDWARDS shot from about 25 yards and his effort, which may have been touched by the goal keeper, sneaked inside the post to restore Yeovil's lead. 2 - 3.

Yeovil seemed to try to allow Bournemouth to restore parity almost immediately, with an almost comical scramble around their 6 yard box, but eventually Ryan Northmore - who may already have been fouled, although nothing was given - clung on to the ball. With ten minutes remaining Steve Reed moved to left back, with Nathan Talbott taking over the left side of central defence. In the final changes of the game Dale Williams and Charlie Welch replaced the excellent Edwards and Smith. Jake Edwards had performed particularly well in the second half, when space seemed easier to find, and Shaun Smith had played consistently well in the heart of defence against far more experienced opponents.

With five minutes left to play Yeovil should have extended their lead, but Steve Thompson and Dale Williams seemed to dwell too long on their chances allowing Scriven time to block. With just over a minute of normal time remaining they made amends as Thommo slid an inch perfect pass to Dale WILLIAMS who controlled well and shot confidently past Scriven. 2 - 4.

Final score: AFC Bournemouth Reserves 2 Yeovil Town Reserves 4

A good performance by the Glovers, with many positives. Recently injured players returning to the fold looked strong and well on the way to full fitness; young hopefuls Smith and later Williams and Welch continue to impress; recent additions Talbott, Rodrigues (who took a heavy knock late on) and Northmore look to be good signings. Another good day at the office for Gary and his staff.

Hopefully the injury to James Ervin will not be as bad as it looked, and we wish him well for a speedy recovery.

Robin Evans

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