Both sides started fairly tentatively. Early efforts saw a Luke Maitland shot for Luton, which was comfortably taken by Danny Barker, and a Dale Williams turn and shot for Yeovil, which was no problem for the visitors.

The Glovers did earn two early corners, the first taken by Williams and narrowly clearing the head of Sam Croft before going out for a throw, and the second spilled by goal keeper Michael Eade under pressure but he was judged to have been fouled. Calvin Andrew did well in a promising Luton move, but Croft finally beat him. A good one-two ended with Jamie Underwood shooting wide, and a promising forward ball from Charlie Welch to Andy Holmes was ruled out by an offside flag. Ten minutes in Croft received treatment after taking a knock, but was able to continue.

A long throw in from Holmes bounced, possibly after a touch from one of the forwards, over the bar and onto the roof of the Luton net. This was to be the closest Yeovil would get to the opposing goal for some time as the visitors gained in confidence and pretty much dominated the remainder of the first half.

A quarter of an hour into the match Barker did well to catch a good through ball at about waist height before Stuart Sinclair could make contact. Sinclair took a corner which resulted in some head tennis before a speculative shot went wide to the right of goal. Calvin Andrew made a fine turn, but Sam Croft recovered well to hassle him and his under pressure shot went well wide.

A Williams free kick just inside the opponents half went over the head of Welch and out for a goal kick. A Barker clearance was flicked on by Holmes but went slightly too far for Williams and was collected by Eade.

Midway through the half Luton won a free kick in the Yeovil half which the defence dealt with. Another Luton move ended with a further free kick which Keith Keane took and Sean Smith cleared. A cross from Tom Ward went straight to Barker, but Yeovil were dropping deeper and deeper as Luton pressed.

A Luton free kick about 25 yards out was taken by Sinclair but the player going for a header was ruled offside. Keane took a free kick from in the Luton half, which was defended well. Andrew turned well in the Yeovil area, but Welch made an excellent tackle. A Maitland cross was well blocked, but he then made a good run before sliding the ball across for Ross Hanley to shoot wide of goal.

On the half hour a Luton free kick about 25 yards out and central was taken quickly by Keane, but Barker was alert enough to block the shot and then gather the loose ball. Ward was well tackled by Underwood at the cost of a corner, which Sinclair took but Luton were penalised for pushing in the Yeovil area. Welch defended well against the lively Maitland at the cost of another corner, which Sinclair took and Andrew headed down and Barker collected. Yeovil were definitely on the back foot, and were unable to penetrate as the Luton midfield were restricting the home side to trying to lump long balls over the defence to no avail.

Ten minutes before the end of the first period a good break by Andrew allowed him to play in Nick Mountford, who in turn found Sinclair. His cracking shot, which had the entire Luton bench on their feet to celebrate the “goal”, was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Danny Barker. Sinclair’s corner was headed out and then fired over by Hanley.

Another Luton free kick in the Yeovil half was taken by Deeney, and headed out by Croft. The ball fell to Maitland who made a fine shot which Barker dived to push around the post with another outstanding save. Luton continued to press and a good Underwood tackle on Ward was needed. In a tactical change Dale Williams had dropped back to midfield with Gavin McCallum moving forward to replace him.

Into the final five minutes of the opening period and yet another free kick for the visitors was flicked on dangerously, and punched over by Barker for another corner. Sinclair’s corner was played back for a low hard shot which McCallum was back to clear from inside the Yeovil 6 yard box.

A minute of stoppage time was announced and it looked like Yeovil would hang on to keep the scores level. In actual fact things improved dramatically when a Dale Williams shot was blocked and the rebound came out to Jamie UNDERWOOD who fired into the net with possibly the first Yeovil on target effort of the match. 1 – 0.

With the lead taken very much against the run of play the match restarted and the whistle blew almost immediately for half time. No doubts about the man of the first half with Danny Barker having kept Yeovil in the game with a couple of inspired saves.

Having conceded so late in the first half it was almost inevitable that Luton would come out with all guns blazing, and a deflected shot from Deeney in the first minute of the second period quickly earned a corner. Sinclair took the corner but a foul on Croft by Keane gave Yeovil a free kick. Two minutes later Andrew broke through, but shot over.

With the Hatters pressing forward there was a little more room for Yeovil to play, and in the second half the ball was largely played on the ground suiting the home side’s strengths. A Yeovil free kick in the Luton half was followed by a Luton free kick in the Yeovil half, which Deeney took and Barker claimed.

There then followed a good spell for the home side with a fine Welch run, beating two men and crossing which earned a corner. The Williams corner was headed toward goal by Underwood but taken by Eade. Good work by Williams led to a teasing cross, and then a good run by him ended in a tangle close to the Luton penalty area but nothing was given either way. A Holmes long throw was cleared as far as Williams who took his time to shoot but narrowly cleared the bar. McCallum pushed through a good ball which Smith just failed to control under pressure from the Luton defence.

To finish the good spell Richard Cullingford did well moving toward goal from the right and curling a shot which beat Eade but rebounded from the join of crossbar and post. The ball rebounded to Gavin McCALLUM on the left of the area and he slotted in from just inside the area to double the lead. This time the goal was definitely NOT against the run of play! 2 – 0.

Whether it was a combination of a good half time talk, or a change of tactics, or Luton heads dropping (although this as not noticeable) it was clear that the Glovers were playing much better than in the first half, and rather than stand off their opponents they were chasing and hassling for every ball. This was typified with half an hour remaining by Holmes who charged down a Luton defender’s attempted clearance. Greg Squibb then got in ahead of Ward, taking the ball virtually off the toe of the Luton forward to pass the ball back to Barker. Perhaps a little frustration was creeping in as Wendy Toms spoke to dissenting Luton captain Deeney, but did not show a card.

Croft and Underwood defended stoutly, and Barker did well to clear from the onrushing Ward. With twenty minutes remaining Sean Smith went down heavily after a 50/50 challenge deep into the Yeovil half, but got up to see the match out. Deeney made a good tackle on Williams as he shaped to shoot, and soon after when Ward crossed on a Luton break it was the Yeovil captain back in his own area who headed the ball away for a corner.

Josh Green chested the ball down and shot for Luton, but he fired wide of the target. Keane took a free kick from about 35 yards out but blasted over. A good attacking spell for Luton never quite reached fruition as the Yeovil back four stood firm with Squibb making a couple of telling challenges.

Into the last fifteen minutes and a Williams break saw him shoot over from a speculative long effort with the Luton goalkeeper off of his line. Andrew again did well for Luton, but an excellent block from Squibb gave just a corner which Barker caught comfortably. Williams was well tackled by Green, and James Ansell intercepted his cross superbly after Andrew had done well to get behind the Yeovil defence with a good run down the left. From the resulting corner Underwood cleared.

With a little over ten minutes left Ward shot wide after a good Luton attack. The visitors made the first change with Matthew Kenneford replacing Maitland, who had been probably their best player in the first forty five minutes but had not been so effective since the break.

Luton pressed forward, and a fine Underwood tackle and then good work from Welch restricted them to a corner. A low, hard cross from the dangerous Andrew was dealt with bravely and confidently by Welch ahead of substitute Kenneford who was coming in fast. In the final minute of normal time Gavin McCallum was withdrawn and Andy Martin took his place. Kenneford chased well to keep the ball in play but failed to keep his cross on the field.

In the two minutes of added time Williams did well to beat Green and take the ball deep into the Luton half. In their last chance Ward put Andrew into a good position but he failed to trouble Barker when he shot wide.

Final score: Yeovil Town 2 Luton Town 0

A fantastic result for Yeovil, who now make their first appearance in the 4th round with a home tie against the youth side from Premiership heavyweights Everton. In the first half Luton were the better side and Danny Barker was outstanding. However, in the second period the young Glovers excelled and certainly matched their higher rated opponents in all departments, and ran out worthy winners. With Danny Barker having little to do after the break I would have to choose a man of the half from the outfield players, but I feel that to single out one player would be an insult to the other nine in what was genuinely a very fine all round team performance.

Bring on the scousers…..

Robin Evans

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