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| Clyst Rovers 0 Yeovil Town Reserves 1
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Scorers
Appleton (55)
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Attendance : circa 500
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Officials
Mr Nigel Cockwell
Mr Bob Hardy (Walton, Somerset - Red Trim)
Mr John Boulton (Blanford Forum - Yellow Trim)
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Line-Up
Clyst Rovers : 1. Garry Lewis, 2. Gary Carpenter, 3. James Collins, 4. John Down,
5. Steve Taylor, 6. Steve May, 7. Andy Widger, 8. Danny Burwood, 9. Russ Wilson,
10. Richard Hope, 11. Paul Dunning.
Yeovil Town Reserves : 1. Tim Malessa, 2. Lee Groves, 3. Chris Colby, 4. Anthony Tonkin,
5. Paul Steele, 6. Andy Lindegaard, 8. Mike Adams, 9. James Bent, 11. Simon Futcher,
14. Simon Winstone (capt.), 15. Arthur Appleton
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Substitutes :
16. John Hayter (for James Bent 54 mins), 17. James Steer (not used),
Lewis Bacon (no numbered shirt, for Andy Lindegaard, 85 mins)
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Team Selection :
No suggestion of Yeovil putting any first teamers into the reserves team for
todays match, the competition rules make this difficult to happen. Some unusual shirt numbering
was necessary in order to ensure that the Onyx sponsored shirts could still be used after four
shirts were stolen from the club at the first teams final game against Stevenage. This meant
Winstone and Appleton started wearing substitute shirts whilst Lewis Bacon, a substitute wore
an unnumbered shirt. The team selection was as expected, with the exception of the absence of
Damian Franklin and Jeff Maclean.
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| First Half :
A very green looking pitch at Paulton Rovers F.C. which had been dampened by
some heavy morning rain which fortunately did not inflict itself during the game. Yeovil
started the game playing up the slope and against the wind, although you would never have
believed that for the pressure they put on the Clyst Rovers goal. There were numerous
chances that Clyst keeper Gary Lewis kept under comfortable control, with good attempts
from James Bent, Simon Winstone and Arthur Appleton.
It was Appleton who came the closest, bouncing what looked to be an intended cross onto the
top of the crossbar 20 minutes in. Peroxide blond Paul Dunning was booked for a crude challenge
on Simon Winstone, then another equally poor challenge was made by another peroxide blond,
Steve Taylor on James Bent. The Yeovil travelling fans chanted for his dismissal until they
realised that there were two of them on the pitch, and so it was a yellow card for both.
With Yeovil putting so much effort into the half, but for little return, Clyst came into
the game around the half hour mark with a series of corners, frequently undoing the
Yeovil defence on Simon Futcher's side of the pitch but the best they could manage
was a corner that flashed across the face of the goal with somehow everyone missing the ball.
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| Half Time : Clyst Rovers 0 Yeovil Town Reserves 0
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Second Half :
Yeovil played the second half with the wind at their backs and going down the slope. Paul Dunning
did not endear himself to the Yeovil fans with another poor challenge on Andy Lindegaard with
his high foot landing in the Yeovil players' stomach, yet referee Nigel Cockwell presumably
deemed the foul to be an accident. James Bent retired, limping heavily from the first half
tackle by Dunning and numerous other fouls, and was replaced by John Hayter.
Sixty seconds later, in the 55th minute, Yeovil took the lead. Hayter's first touch was
deflected for a corner and Futcher's excellent corner was headed down by Paul Steele and from
the resulting confusion, Arthur APPLETON struck home through a crowd of players from 12
yards.
Yeovil's domination continued as they looked to entend their lead, but on 75 minutes they
had Tim Malessa to thank for a wonderful save. A Russ Wilson shot was deflected heavily yet
Malessa reached wide to his right and tipped the ball over the bar. Yeovil were under the
most pressure they had been for the whole match and it seemed they might have to pay for all
those missed chances.
Into the last 10 minutes though, the tables turned. Arthur Appleton broke through beating
the off-side trap, and when he had beaten keeper Lewis, defender James Collins did a "goalkeeper
save" and the red card and the penalty was a formality. The penalty was wasted though as
Appleton fired high over the bar.
With five minutes left, a nasty but accidental collision between Andy Lindegaard and Clyst's
Richard Hope resulted in Lindegaard being immediately substituted. Lindegaard was later seen
in the bar sporting an incredible golf ball sized bruise along with an ice pack. How on earth
he walked from the pitch is anyone's guess. Lewis Bacon replaced Lindegaard for the last five
minutes.
In the last couple of minutes, Clyst's chances were eliminated when Paul Dunning's third
bad challenge was committed, and he walked off the field without waiting for a red card. With
Clyst down to nine men, it was Yeovil who ended the game on top, yet somehow they did not add
to the single goal. After five minutes of injury time, the whistle blew and the trophy was
heading to Somerset.
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| Final Score : Clyst Rovers 0 Yeovil Town Reserves 1
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Verdict :
With the reserves having so much of the game, and so much pressure, it was slightly
disappointing that they only had one goal to show for it. Had they turned their pressure into
goals, they could have had a hatful. Perhaps some of that comes down to the excellent goalkeeping
of Gary Lewis in the Clyst goal. Whatever, there was little doubt that Yeovil deserved the
victory, as they were rarely under pressure throughout the game, and so lift the Les Phillips
Cup for the first time in 40 years with the trophy going out of Devon for the first time in
twelve years.
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Badger's Man Of The Match: Lee Groves :
A typical Groves performance in midfield, with his terrier-like tackling. Defender Paul Steele
won the league chairman's man of the match award, and he had an excellent performance, but in
truth was put under little pressure during the match. Much of that comes down to Lee Groves,
who went for every 50-50 ball that was up for grabs, and ensured that Yeovil kept so much
possession and so much pressure on the Clyst goal.
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