The Glovers arrived for this LDV first round tie at the real Fawlty Towers with the starting eleven announced by Gary Johnson a couple of days earlier. First competitive starts for Steve Reed (this season) and Nicolas Mirza (ever), together with a first ever competitive appearance for substitute Yemi Odubade, were the most significant changes, but with only four of the starting eleven from Saturday's League Two fixture taking the field for kick-off (with three others on the bench) it was an unusual looking line-up, and pretty much that which would have been expected for a Pontins Holiday Combination reserve fixture.

Both sides seemed keen to push forward early on, with Torquay perhaps showing a little more composure. The Glovers were first to earn a corner with just two minutes on the clock. Five minutes in a good cross from Adrian Caceres was fired over by Kevin Gall, and soon after a Torquay free kick near the right corner flag was played to the impressive Martin Phillips, who shot narrowly over from just outside the area.

Lee Canoville left the field for treatment after ten minutes, and while the home side were a man down the busy Nicolas Mirza followed good work by Paul Terry with a smart turn and shot wide of the right hand post. Canoville was unable to continue and was replaced by Tony Bedeau.

Coming up to a quarter of an hour gone a nice one-two between Andy Lindegaard and Bartosz Tarachulski saw Lindy shoot, but it strayed to the left of the goal. A couple of minutes later Caceres found the target with a turn and shot, but Arjan van Heusden tipped the ball around the post for a corner. Torquay bounced straight back with a long ball played over the top for Jo KUFFOUR who controlled well before his well placed shot beat Steve Collis. 1 - 0.

A feeling of déjà vu swept through the Yeovil support sixty seconds later when a similar ball found Adebayo Akinfenwa, but unlike Kuffour he blasted his effort well over the bar.

Midway through the first half referee Paul Armstrong spoke to Jason Fowler and Andrejs Stolcers, but no cards were shown. After a scramble in the Yeovil area which saw a shot from Phillips blocked, Tarachulski was clattered to the ground by Matt Villis but again Mr Armstrong kept his cards in his pocket.

Either side of the half hour mark Mirza attacked, firstly with a 25 yard shot comfortably held by van Heusden and then a run into the area which saw his dispossessed and a loud penalty appeal, which referee Armstrong - not for the last time during the evening - waved away.

A speculative 25 yard effort from Akinfenwa was powerful but sailed high over the Yeovil crossbar. A foul on Mirza saw Matt Hockley spoken to, but not cautioned (can I see something of a pattern here?).

With a couple of minutes to half time a Steve Reed free kick was floated in from the left side in the Yeovil half. Paul Terry flicked on, and Andrejs STOLCERS slammed the ball home at close range. 1 - 1.

A minute later Mirza played a superb ball through to Kevin Gall, but his well timed run did not get the deserved result as his volley went over the bar. One minute of stoppage time was played.

The second half started with a Torquay attack which saw Liam Fontaine head the ball out for a corner. A good Gall/Lindegaard move at the other end saw Yeovil reply by winning a corner, which Caceres took and a defender headed out for a throw.

Four minutes into the second period saw a dreadful fumble by van Heusden who dropped a high ball which rolled goal bound. Certainly the Yeovil players claimed the ball had crossed the line, although supporters behind the goal are unsure whether the ball was stopped on or behind the line. Referee Armstrong and his assistant with the yellow and red flag (either Mr Cordy or Mr West, the programme is not specific) allowed play to go on, and this was the first of a number of controversial incidents which infuriated the away management and travelling support. This was to be the last action for van Heusden who, following a break and shot over from Tony Bedeau, was replaced by Kevin Dearden.

Perhaps inevitably, Yeovil's disallowed "goal" was soon followed by a strike at the other end. A Martin Phillips cross was headed down by Akinfenwa and fired in by captain Craig TAYLOR, although the Torquay announcer later credited the goal to Kuffour and the official Torquay website say it was headed in by Taylor! 2 - 1.

Three minutes after Torquay regained their lead Kevin Gall flicked the ball up and a Torquay defender decided to audition for the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team by clearly raising his arm to play the ball (and for anyone wishing to dispute this Martin "Badger" Baker took an excellent photograph of the incident!). Unbelievably, the red/yellow flag assistant - who was in perfect position to see the handball - and the referee appeared to be the only pair in the ground who did not see this! After the match Torquay manager Leroy Rosenior stated that Yeovil should have had two penalties, and he must surely have counted this offence as one of them. To add insult to injury, the ball deflected from the Torquay player and out behind the goal, and a GOAL KICK was given - perhaps the most baffling decision I can recall seeing.

A nice cross from Gally saw a shot from Bart, but he failed - under some pressure from defenders - to get significant power behind his shot. Perhaps yet again inevitably, a Yeovil scoring chance at one end was followed by a clinical Torquay strike at the other. Paul Terry - who in fairness was given a difficult pass under pressure - lost possession, and a simple pass through to Adebayo AKINFENWA allowed him to slot the ball past an advancing Collis. 3 - 1 with almost an hour gone.

Yeovil pushed up and forced a corner, but a Torquay break saw Martin Phillips shoot wide. With a little over twenty minutes remaining good team work from Yeovil saw a move finished superbly when Adrian CACERES threaded inside and drove home from the edge of the area to reduce the deficit. 3 - 2. Andrejs Stolcers raced to retrieve the ball, and this resulted in some pushing and shoving with Brian McGlinchey. Finally, Armstrong remembered that he had brought his cards with him and both players were booked. Now on a roll, he waved his yellow card at Akinfenwa two minutes later for delaying a free kick - a booking which would have manager Rosenior seething at full time after further events had unfolded. Steve Reed stepped up to take the free kick, and the manhandling of Tarachulski in the area was either missed or ignored by the inept officials.

Inside the last twenty minutes Gary Johnson sent on son Lee and Michael Rose to replace Nicolas Mirza, who had faded in the second period, and Steve Reed, who had had a fairly torrid time against the excellent Phillips. Two minutes later Torquay replaced Kuffour with Kain Bond and Yeovil's last change saw Stolcers off and the lively Yemi Odubade on.

Yeovil came close to conceding the game with a spectacular own goal when Liam Fontaine's sliced kick forced an excellent diving save from Collis. Not to be outdone Torquay keeper Dearden registered a notch higher on the comedy scale with a dreadful miskick which narrowly passed the post for a corner. The resulting corner was fired in by substitute Lee Johnson and headed off the line by McGlinchey.

A great run by Phillips was only ended by an excellent tackle by Roy O'Brien at the cost of a corner, which also reinforced O'Brien's claim as probable man of the match. The corner was headed away to Hockley who shot just wide. Another contender, although on the field for a relatively short time, would be the hardworking Yemi Odubade. His 84th minute run to the bye line and superbly weighted cross ensured extra time as Bartosz TARACHULSKI headed home from close range. 3 - 3.

Having pulled back to all square the closing moments were all Yeovil. In the last three minutes of normal time another good Yemi run was ended when Dearden dived on the ball just before he reached it. A foul on Caceres gave Johnson an opportunity, but his floated free kick was too long. A last minute Johnson free kick went over the bar, and soon after he set up Michael Rose for a shot which Dearden dived to save.

Three minutes of stoppage time saw Andy Lindegaard cut inside and shoot left-footed, which Dearden did well to touch over the bar. Johnson's corner fell to Gall who shot over. Another attack saw Johnson put Yemi away on the right, and he found Gall who crossed the ball which was cleared for a throw.

Two minutes into extra time a good run from Michael Rose saw him progress from the Yeovil half before being brought down by Phillips deep into Torquay territory, and the Torquay man earned a booking for this. Johnson's free kick rebounded off the wall, but he played the ball back into the danger area and a half clearance found Gall whose shot was tipped over by the in form Dearden.

On 97 minutes Akinfenwa broke away again, and this time Fontaine made the decisive tackle. Coming toward the end of the first period of extra time Torquay won a corner which was headed wide, a good run from Paul Terry earned a corner , and a Yemi shot from the corner of the area went over the bar.

Into the final fifteen minutes of extra time and Torquay attacked with Stuart Broadley shooting wide. Gall then beat three men before also shooting wide, and another Torquay move saw Broadley again with a chance and this time his shot went across goal before going out for a goal kick.

Another good run by Yemi Odubade saw him run into the area before being blatantly checked by already booked McGlinchey. Once again, Armstrong waved play on, and the Yeovil side were so angry and vociferous at the decision that Lindegaard was booked for dissent. Almost immediately after the booking Caceres ran into the area and was tripped. Again, Yeovil were insistent that it was a penalty and, once again, Armstrong waved play on. Michael Rose was next to hit the deck inside the penalty area, and although his fall looked somewhat theatrical from my view those behind the goal insist that an elbow was used on him. It would appear that this would have been irrelevant anyway, as I believe that if a Torquay defender had held him in a bear hug whilst a team mate picked up the ball and threw it behind the goal then a Torquay goal kick would have been the only possible result.

Yeovil continued to pressure the Torquay goal, with yet another Johnson corner and then a Fontaine shot which was blocked. With four minutes left Armstrong was saved the embarrassment of not allowing Yeovil to have a penalty even in the shoot out (joke courtesy of Paul Hadlow, with considerable assistance from Paul Armstrong and his guide dog) when Adebayo AKINFENWA, completely against the run of play, broke away and forced his way through a couple of Yeovil defenders before shooting past Collis to seal the tie. 4 - 3. Akinfenwa ran to the crowd to celebrate, but having already been booked in normal time was then sent off for a second yellow due to his "over celebrating". With a paper thin squad already one wonders whether Leroy Rosenior would rather have lost the tie than lose Akinfenwa for an important game in their battle (war?) against relegation (Note: Don't mention the war, I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it…).

Two minutes before the two-hour mark and Bart was fouled just outside the Torquay penalty area. Michael Rose took the free kick, but his shot hit the wall and went out for a corner. In the three minutes of stoppage time another Yeovil free kick was taken by Lee Johnson but there was no fairy tale ending as his effort sailed over the bar.

An absolutely cracking game of football between two sides who were both really "up for it" ended in favour of Torquay, but sadly any enjoyment was completely overshadowed by the idiots masquerading as officials, who I believe gave the worst performance I have ever seen. Several times whilst leaving the ground I heard the referee called the "C" word - "cheat" (well, OK, that's two then ...). Did he and his assistant with the red/yellow flag actually cheat? Believe it or not I sincerely hope that they did! Why? So that maybe the next team to suffer them at least have a chance that they COULD act fairly. If that's what they thought they WERE doing this evening then there is no hope as if they did not cheat then they are simply inept and in my opinion not fit to officiate at any level.

Robin Evans

MOTM Vote Result:

Player MOTM Score Liam Fontaine 5 700 Bartosz Tarachulski 1 275 Roy O'Brien 1 250 Adrian Caceres 1 125

Overall match rating: 8.1 / 10
Performance: 7.5
Entertainment: 8.7

8 votes received.

Any comments/questions please email ytfcmotm@ntlworld.com

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