A kick-off time of 2pm (due to the televised England match this evening) meant that some of the “regulars” at reserve games were unable to attend this afternoon, although it did allow a group of around 80 youngsters, who had been training with John Flatters, to lend their very vocal support.

After a flurry of trialists against Bournemouth a week ago Yeovil lined up this afternoon with just one trialist in their starting eleven – right winger Sosthene Yao. He impressed in this position, but was less effective when moving to a more central midfield position later in the match.

A scrappy start seems the norm for reserve games - probably as many of the players featured do not know the playing style of their team mates for the day – and today was no exception. Ashan Holgate gave a good pass to fellow Swindon forward Andy Caton in the 4th minute, but his shot was well saved by Chris Weale. The Yeovil keeper was then called upon to punch out the resulting corner. For Yeovil Kevin Gall made a good early run before being fouled, Bartosz Tarachulski tried a turn and shot but was unable to get any firepower and Matt Bulman took his catch comfortably, and Dave Woozley started well at the back.

Michael Pook made some good runs down the right flank for Swindon, and I felt he was their best player, although – like Yao for Yeovil – when he switched to a central midfield position later on he was less threatening. Like his team mates, he was a fairly physical player who benefited from some weak refereeing, and at one stage Steve Thompson took the brunt of his challenge and was certainly not amused.

Yao got into his stride fairly early on, and caused sufficient problems for Steve Robinson to bring him down with fifteen minutes on the clock. A good move between Thompson and Gavin McCallum earned a corner for Yeovil, but it was Swindon who took the lead when a low cross from Pook on the right went through the players in the Yeovil penalty area to Chris TAYLOR, who calmly placed his low shot past Weale. 0 – 1.

A couple of minutes later Holgate broke through for Swindon, but Woozley defended very well and restricted the attack to a corner which Taylor took short to Robinson but the Glovers defence cleared. Yao then earned a corner at the other end, and Steve Reed “stole” the ball from a Swindon defender and ran into their area before being well tackled. McCallum then returned the compliment with a great tackle on Taylor in the Yeovil area.

With almost half an hour played Gall was fouled near the touchline in the Swindon half, and from the free kick the resulting move ended with a shot from the same player. Great work from Tarachulski ended with his subtle shot going just the wrong side of the right hand upright. Five minutes later lovely approach play by several Yeovil players – especially Nicolas Mirza and McCallum – ended with Tarachulski slipping the ball through for Thompson, but his firm shot was well blocked by Bulman.

With the home side having enjoyed a good spell it was a big disappointment when Swindon doubled their lead. The assistant referee on the Yeovil College Stand side flagged for an offside decision against Yeovil, but while almost everyone on the pitch stopped, Andy CATON collected a simple through ball in space and ran on with only Weale to beat, and he placed his shot well into the left of the goal. Although the referee received verbal criticism from the largely home crowd, it has to be said that the Glovers were at fault for not playing to the whistle. 0 – 2.

Yeovil responded quickly and in the best possible way. Thompson took a free kick about 25 yards from goal, and played the ball to Reed on the left wing. He fired a low cross into the area which Bartosz TARACHULSKI slid into the goal. 1 – 2. With about five minutes remaining in the first half Yao swapped to the left wing, with Gall replacing him on the right flank. This tactical change soon paid dividends as in almost a repetition of the first goal Yao fired a low cross from the left and again Bartosz TARACHULSKI was in the right position to find the net. 2 – 2.

No changes were made at half time, and the Robins started the second period very brightly with Caton running at goal from the left within 60 seconds of the restart, but Weale came out well to restrict him and he shot into the side netting. Mirza tried his luck from 20 yards, but shot wide, and McCallum again impressed in the early minutes of the half.

In the 53rd minute a Woozley free kick was played to Gall on the right wing, and his cross was met by Marvin Brown but his volley went straight at Bulman who blocked well, and the rebound went to a defender. Yeovil seemed to be stepping up the pressure, and Mirza volleyed wide.

Swindon were still looking for a win and a good run by Holgate allowed Caton to shoot, but he was wide of the target. A Reed free kick, after a foul on him, was headed out for a Yeovil corner, which was taken by Thompson. At the other end Sam Croft did well to block a Caton shot for a corner, which was taken by Taylor.

With almost an hour played Swindon won a free kick for a foul by Woozley about 30 yards out. From the free kick it was Yeovil who broke away, Yao ran on and crossed low from the left wing, and Bartosz TARACHULSKI completed his hat trick with a very similar score to his first two. 3 – 2.

With a very fine display from both in the first hour, there was loud applause for Dave Woozley and Bartosz Tarachulski as they were replaced by Marcus Richardson and Michael Rose. Rose began with an excellent tackle against Holgate on the edge of the Yeovil area. Holgate was the next player withdrawn as Lance Lewis replaced him with a little over 20 minutes remaining.

Yeovil substitute Richardson showed some nice touches, and Gall attempted a shot/lob from near the touchline which floated just over the bar. Two more substitutions saw Chris Allen replace Robinson for Swindon, and then Yeovil took Thompson off and sent Ben Wood on. With so many changes having been made the game became rather scrappy again, and for a while neither side looked like creating very much. With ten minutes remaining Pook did try a shot from about 30 yards, but Weale dived to save comfortably.

Richardson had a good shot blocked by Bulman at the cost of a corner, and soon after Bulman was replaced by substitute goal keeper Jon Steward (wearing a shirt without a number) for the last few minutes. For his first duty Steward had to face a Michael Rose free kick, and he will have been relieved to see the low, powerful shot go wide to the right of the post. A Gall shot from just outside the area was caught by the replacement keeper.

One minute of stoppage time saw a Marvin Brown shot deflected for a corner, and from the corner a Gavin McCallum effort was deflected over for a third successive corner. There was still time for a Swindon free kick, which was taken by Caton, but did not provide an equaliser.

Final score: Yeovil Town Reserves 3 Swindon Town Reserves 2

There were some good performances from many Yeovil players, and trialist Sosthene Yao impressed – particularly while he was playing on either wing, rather than centrally. Obviously the Bartosz Tarachulski hat trick was a highlight, but of the men who played for all 90 minutes my choice of man of the match would be young Gavin McCallum, who excelled in both attack and defence.

Robin Evans

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