Was this the greatest Yeovil Town match of all time? I would say without doubt that what I have just been a part of surpassed all those other landmarks such as Doncaster Rovers (FA Trophy), Halifax Town, Rochdale, Villa Park, and with it the events prior to winning promotion to the Football League.

Such events are almost legend, therefore to rank tonight above all those is not a decision to be made lightly, even at 4.00am in the morning when I am still full of the drug that was the evening before. "You simply have to be there" I said to a good friend at the cashpoint before leaving Yeovil for the seemingly fruitless journey to Nottingham, "If, and it is a massive 'if' we pull it off and you are not there you will regret it for the rest of your life". It was a view my friend endorsed, having missed one or two of the aforementioned landmark games, and of course he was there.

Entering the pubs around the ground Forest were in upbeat mood, our support was drowned out by their volume and sheer numbers. This was proper, stalls everywhere, the smell of hot dogs, the displays depicting the late Brian Clough, Peter Taylor and The European Cups, won in an era before money could dominate everything as Forest came from the second division to become European champions. Inside an amazing 27,000 penned in the visiting support, they were to the left, they were to the right, and they were even above us, creating a wall of sound that you simply had to admire. I can only compare it to Custers last stand, the enemy were surrounding the pocket of troopers, and all the odds were stacked against us getting out with anything.

What were the defining moments? THAT goal from Marcus Stewart will live in the memory forever as complete chaos reigned on the field and off it. But although that event was paramount, the moment we won the game was on the whistle on 90 minutes, when the home side were heckled and booed by their own supporters. The body language of the Forest players told me there was only one winner now, their greatest asset had turned against them and swung the tie in our favour as much as any goal or the sending off did. We had created a negative power source and that force, the agony, the tension and the tears of the 27,000 is something I will never forget.

So what was it actually like to be there? At 1-0 through Arron Davies, and so in control it was heartbreaking to see chance after chance go begging, the team were superb, pulling Forest apart. Did I think it was over at 1-1? To be honest I don't really know, my train of thought changed somewhat as I was so proud of the way we had played, don't lose the game boys, that would be a travesty. My fears arose in extra-time, we were so in control, so dominant, so good, and the heart had now been torn out of the faltering giant, we had to go for the kill and win this outright. Arron, playing the game of his life, failed to pass in a move that would have put us clear of any Forest revivial, surely that was not to be the moment we would live to regret.

Lee Morris, 4-1 - people were by now moving around in a rabid state, pacing the small area they stood in, relief came in the form of an outlet of song as we could now grab a stranglehold off the field as the legions of home fans sat in stunned silence. Straight away it is 4-2, they are back level, once again Forest started, drowning us out at will, but the more they sung, the louder they were, the better this night got.

Rewind - slow motion occurs, it falls to Neil Coates in the penalty area, time stands still, it stops, the goal saves our club from extinction, people are running everywhere, hugging strangers and some even climb the fences. Maybe that moment at Hereford is comparable to Arron Davies' winning goal in it's detail and importance. Arron took the ball in his stride, he turned, had the chance gone, the moment is monumental as he drives it past the seemingly unbeatable (Even though he had already conceded four goals) Smith in the home goal. The wounded giant lies pleading for mercy as the seconds tick away, its cuts are now fatal and there is no coming back. The victor recieves a genuine show of respect from the home fans, far removed from the patronising applause reserved for plucky FA Cup heroics once safely dispatched.

The greatest Yeovil Town match of all time? In my opinion it has got to be.

Tim Lancaster.

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