Naming an unchanged side for the fourth consecutive match allowed manager Russell Slade the chance to continue the emerging form and pattern of play that has seen the Glovers pick up two wins and a draw since losing at Rotherham at the start of the month. This meant that former Crewe defender Anthony Tonkin had to be content with a place on the bench against his former club on his first return to Gresty Road since leaving over the summer. Crewe has always been a hotbed of emerging talent and it was no surprise to find that a total of 18 opposition scouts had arrived there to keep tracks on both sides, including five from Premiership sides.

Unchanged line-ups breed fluency and understanding amongst players and that was put into full effect by the Glovers in devastating style over the opening 10 minutes of the game, taking their hosts by surprise and blowing apart any game plan they may have had. On their second attack of any note they struck pure gold. Earlier, Arron Davies had picked up the ball 35 yards out, made a forward run and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box that had whizzed just wide of the post. But on the second Glovers attack, a simple but effective through ball down the middle by Lee Morris after Crewe had lost possession found Leon BEST in plenty of space and the Southampton striker took the ball on and from the edge of the box curled a wonderful looping shot into the far corner to give Yeovil a dream start with just three minutes on the clock.

If being a goal up early on was a bonus for Russell Slade then just three minutes after that opener, the Glovers got the game in a stranglehold with a goal of sheer simplicity. Receiving the ball down the right wing from Lee Morris, Martin Brittain beat a challenge then whipped in a cross into the box. Ghosting in unnoticed was that man Leon BEST once again, and given all the freedom of the Crewe penalty box and seeing the ball come in eight yards out, he buried it with ease, planting a header past Crewe keeper Ben Williams to give an unbelievable 2-0 scoreline.

Of course a reality check was needed with Alexandra as League One's leading scorers and there still being the small matter of 82 minutes on the clock! The home side of course now knew exactly what they had to do and the game opened up well with both sides attacking fluently and with the ball rarely lifting above knee height with both sides committed to groundball football despite the soft pitch. Nicky Maynard had produced Crewe's only early chance - putting the ball across the face of the Yeovil area early on, but 20 minutes in, Steve Mildenhall made his first save of the afternoon when he parried a Ryan Lowe free kick from the edge of the box and out for a corner after Terry Skiverton was harshly judged to have fouled Luke Varney 25 yards out.

Arron Davies produced yet another trademark run as the game swung back in the Glovers favour, creating room by moving across the face of the area and shooting from distance with his shot being parried by Crewe keeper Ben Williams. As Martin Brittain came in for the rebound, his cross-cum-shot was just about close enough to Williams for him to be able to claim the ball at the second attempt. Five minutes later Brittain was in again, receiving a Lee Morris ball that went low across the face of the box missing everyone until it reached Brittain on the back post, but again he seemed unsure as to whether to put in a shot or a cross and the end result was neither.

Billy Jones fired in another long-ranger from Crewe as the home side attempted to hit back, although without ever really getting the ball inside the Glovers penalty box. The strike saw Mildenhall make a parried save, punching the ball well clear of danger, with the Yeovil keeper seemingly enjoying the chance to really beat the ball a huge distance from his own goal.

The half ended with a series of frustrating and inconsistent decisions being made by referee Mr Oliver and his assistants, none of whom had a particularly glowing performance. The Glovers had a penalty appeal turned down after Lee Morris appeared to get a shove in the back as he grabbed possession in the box. That refusal to award a spot kick became all the more exasperating when Morris was pulled up for a foul in a similar position for the slightest of contact. The difference? Of course the second was the 'easy' decision to make, and so despite it being a less clearcut offence, it was the one that less brave officials would opt for. Still, no worries, a 2-0 half time lead was more than good enough even if Crewe's attack still looked dangerous from time to time.

The second period opened with Crewe manager Dario Gradi opting to make a double substitution to introduce an additional striker to the game with former Glovers loan striker Lee Matthews introduced to add to the front pairing of Varney and Maynard. Gary Roberts went close for the home side when he was gifted the ball inside the penalty box after the ball ricocheted into his path from a Nathan Jones block but Steve Mildenhall parried his attempt around the post for a corner.

But overall Crewe were making hard work of it, with substitute Matthews almost non-existent in his impact on the field of play. Although the Glovers were sitting back a great deal more, they seemed fairly content to do so and Crewe had apparently few answers on how to deal with it. A long range shot by Nicky Maynard that went wildly over the bar just past the hour mark summed up the home side's afternoon, and that was followed by more wild attempts from distance by Luke Varney, then Maynard again.

But the game turned somewhat on a spot of controversy when Nicky Maynard appeared to get involved in an off the ball incident with Glovers captain Terry Skiverton that saw him land on the deck in pain, clutching his leg. Getting gingerly to his feet, Skivo did try and continue but quickly realised that he couldn't continue, immediately taking off his shinpad and sitting down. Staggeringly, given Maynard had studded the Yeovil captain leaving him with a gash in his leg that would require eight stitches, referee Clive Oliver showed more ineptitude by refusing Skivo treatment and forcing him to leave the field of play. Had he seen the incident there would have no doubt been a different response. Skivo angrily threw down the captain's armband, gingerly limping off the field and he was replaced by Scott Guyett.

Almost immediately, the Glovers defence appeared to get the jitters after looking calm and controlled all afternoon. Crewe pegged them back sharply inside the final third, although ironically this was to trigger the third goal of the afternoon at the opposite end of the park. Martin Cranie thumped the ball out of defence, Leon Best flicked a boot at the ball and looped ball right over the top of the Crewe defence for Lee MORRIS to run onto. Clean through on the Crewe keeper, he waited until Ben Williams came off his line then whacked the ball home to put the Glovers 3-0 up. Game over surely?

Not so, Crewe's brief flurry of pressure just before that goal emerged once again with the home side to their credit refusing to give up. They grabbed what appeared to be a consolation goal when chaos in the penalty box saw Terrell Forbes take out Luke Varney from behind. It seemed a certain penalty, but referee Oliver bemused both sides and pretty much the whole of the 5,450 watching spectators by failing to award a nailed on spot kick, and as the teams froze, Nicky MAYNARD was the only player left still awake, and he picked up the loose ball and taking two steps across the penalty area, he slotted the ball into the net with everyone else waiting for the referee to blow his whistle.

Three minutes later and with just 10 minutes left, things got even more improbable on Crewe's next attack. David Vaughan's left wing cross was put into the box, and Gary ROBERTS stole in behind Scott Guyett, getting himself room to fire home first time and for the first time in the match the home supporters could truly be heard above the Yeovil supporters as they realised that at 3-2 down there was still a game out there to be had.

Rodney Jack was introduced as a fourth striker for the home side. Former Crewe defender Anthony Tonkin was introduced as an extremely defensive left-winger as the game drew into what can only be described as end-to-end chaos for the final 10 minutes. For Yeovil, Arron Davies put a shot over the bar after Wayne Gray intelligently took the ball out of defence and up the flank to Leon Best who turned near the byline and teed up Davies just inside the box. Gray also put a late shot wide when he was given the ball on the edge of the box. But at the other end, it was left to Martin Cranie to execute a wonderful sliding tackle inside the penalty box to block out a Crewe run on goal which had he mistimed in the slightest would have seen a penalty - well, assuming Mr Oliver was watching of course!

Thankfully, after around three minutes of injury time that passed off without too many heart flutters, the final whistle blew to secure another priceless three points and to move the Glovers back into the playoff zone. Like the Brighton match, the obvious criticism is that Yeovil didn't quite hold things firm for the full 90 minutes after supposedly wrapping up the points. But when you score three goals away from home for the second time in a week you deserve to win a game. Standing proudly on 41 points and 6th position it is difficult not to get excited about what 2007 might hold. Whatever happens here on in, there can be no doubt that the opening five months of the season have given Russell Slade a great base to work from.

MOTM Vote Result:

Pos	Player
1	Leon Best
2	Lee Morris
3	Martin Cranie

Overall match rating: 8.1 / 10
Performance: 7.7
Entertainment: 8.5

20 votes received.

Any comments/questions please email ytfc.motm@tiscali.co.uk

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