Yeovil started the match very confidently, but a crunching tackle on Sean Smith by George Moleski as early as the second minute suggested that the visitors may be a far more physical side than the young Glovers, although fortunately this side of the visitors play was only seen very infrequently.

An excellent Charlie Welch cross was dealt with well by the Brentford defence, and good early work by Gavin McCallum led to a Dale Williams shot which went wide.

Richard Cullingford did well to clear a cross from Charlie Muldowney, but with the home side closing down more quickly and getting to the ball first the opening ten minutes were pretty much all Yeovil.

Another fine defensive tackle by Charlie Welch was seen as a foul by the over-fussy Mr Lillington, and a free kick was awarded to Brentford about 35 yards out. Yeovil then continued to press forward, and a glancing header by Sam Croft from a long throw was taken comfortably by Clark Masters in the Brentford goal.

Seconds later good work by Dale Williams led to an Andy Holmes shot, but this was stopped by the diving keeper.

With a quarter of an hour gone Jamie Underwood and Richard Cullingford combined well to crowd out Ryan Watts, but in doing so they conceded the first corner of the game to the visitors.

With Brentford beginning to come into the game more Sam Croft did well to clear from a packed Yeovil area for a throw. A good combination between Cullingford, Smith and Holmes saw an effort from the latter roll slowly past the post, although an offside decision was given anyway.

At the other end the best effort so far came when a curling shot from Charles Ide was tipped onto the bar and over for a corner by Danny Barker. Ide was then well tackled by the excellent Welch.

Midway through the half a fine tackle by Darius Charles on Dale Williams ended a promising move, and a header from Andy Holmes was well taken by the diving Masters.

Welch again tackled Ide, conceding another corner in the process, but Holmes was back to head the resulting cross away from the Yeovil area. Cullingford, Williams and Welch combined for another Yeovil attack before a good Brentford breakaway saw the ball slid through to Ryan Peters who was only stopped from scoring by a very fine Danny Barker save. At the other end a Holmes shot went just over the bar.

With Yeovil having had the better of the first half an hour it was no surprise when they took the lead, but the spectacular fashion in which it happened was not expected!

An excellent pass from Gavin McCallum found Sean SMITH who moved forward and shaped to shoot before unleashing a cracking shot from about 25 to 30 yards out. 1 – 0.

Yeovil looked good for their lead and a few minutes later a corner was headed in the air before dropping to Sam CROFT who met the ball sweetly with his foot to loop it over the Brentford goal keeper. 2 – 0.

What appeared to be a fine Jamie Underwood tackle on Watts was penalised by the referee, and a couple of minutes later he was spoken to, but not cautioned, after a foul.

The resulting free kick was floated in and met with a good header by Peters but this was taken very comfortably by Barker. Two more saves by Barker were required at the end of the half, firstly a brave dive at the feet of Peters and then catching a long shot from Ide.

The second half started with Masters coming out to virtually clear the ball from Dale Williams’ toe, but from the resulting long throw Sean SMITH beat the Brentford keeper to the ball and headed over him to extend the lead. 3 – 0.

With the game now seemingly safe Yeovil still defended well, and five minutes into the half Jamie Underwood make an excellent tackle on Charlie Muldowney in the Yeovil area.

A fine turn and shot from Holmes forced a save from Masters, and then Barker made another stop under pressure at the other end. A shot from Watts rebounded off his own team mate before being cleared for a corner which Barker took well.

With the young Glovers now fully in control some of the flowing passing bore a strong resemblance to that of the first team – many of whom were watching from the stand.

Sam Croft put the ball into the net but was denied a second goal through an offside decision.

A strong challenge on Richard Cullingford by Muldowney saw the Bees forward receive the only yellow card of the game.

The first substitution saw the visitors bring on James Maberley for Charles Ide, which surprised the watching crowd as – along with probably Ryan Peters – the player withdrawn seemed to be their best.

With an hour gone a foul on McCallum by Karleigh Osborne resulted in a free kick, which the same Yeovil player headed toward goal forcing a save from Masters.

Yeovil captain Dale WILLIAMS then outran the Brentford defence to reach a long ball, shrugging off a challenge before reaching the edge of the area. The advancing Masters met him on the edge of the area, and appeared to reach out a hand to pull him down as the young Welshman attempted to pass him, but from his position on the floor Williams still managed to flick the ball into the empty net. A superb finish! 4 – 0.

With almost half an hour to go the four goal lead looked sufficient and the only question was whether Yeovil could add to their tally or whether Brentford could score a consolation.

Good Cullingford work led to a shot which went straight to Masters, and an effort by Muldowney at the other end curled harmlessly round the post. Good defending by James Ansell stemmed a Brentford attack, and Peters spoilt good approach work by shooting over the bar.

Charlie Welch again tackled superbly, but his opposing number Darius Charles fouled Sean Smith at the expense of a free kick.

Into the last twenty minutes a good shot from George Moleski was well blocked by Barker, and Muldowney fired the rebound over the bar.

Over the next few minutes a string of substitutions saw the Glovers replace Croft and Cullingford with Andy Martin and Shane Adcock-Case, while Brentford withdrew Steele and sent on Ivailo Dimitrov.

Barber won a corner from the right with his first touches, which Williams took. Another corner, this time from the left, followed immediately and again Williams floated the ball across and McCallum headed narrowly wide.

The final change saw the visitors replace Muldowney with Karle Carder-Andrews, and a late flurry saw Brentford press but Squibb, Ansell, Underwood and Welch defended superbly.

Into the last five minutes and James Ansell cut out a Brentford corner, Danny Barker saved a shot from Charles, and substitute Andy Martin made an excellent defensive header after a good cross. Dale Williams then put Jamie Barber through at the other end, but his shot was well stopped by Masters.

The Brentford keeper then almost let himself down when he combined with his central defenders for some truly comical defending, but Yeovil were unable to capitalise, and although the visitors won a couple of late corners they were unable to find the net.

Robin Evans

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