Yeovil started brightly in a first half that they were to dominate, and Warren Patmore laid down the sides intentions, as in steady rain, his fourth minute shot was deflected low and narrowly wide for a corner. But on seven minutes, Yeovil were a goal to the good. Patmore cut across the area to the left wing goalline, and his excellent cross was perfectly lofted for Terry SKIVERTON to meet from just four yards out. With the centre-back freely scoring goals, and the Hayes defence having gone AWOL, there was only one possible outcome, and so Yeovil had a one goal lead.

Referee Mr Cairns was to play a prominent part in the game, and he started as he meaned to finish, by booking Hayes' Steve McKimm for a relatively minor looking foul, then followed that up with another yellow for Warren Patmore, when he went for a 50-50 ball with Hayes Keeper Matt Hodson, and barged the goalkeeper off the ball. Neither were bad fouls, which made the second half performance of the official all the more extraordinary.

On the half hour mark, Yeovil could have had two goals on the scoreboard. Another Patmore cross was met by Ben Smith in so much free space, he probably was caught in two minds. With Matt Hayfield also completely unmarked inside the area, Smith presumably didn't know whether to shoot or pass, and instead a combination of the two was headed across the goal, with McKimm getting his boot on the ball to force it for another Yeovil corner.

A minute later, and against the run of play, Hayes equalised in bizarre circumstances. They had landed the ball in the net earlier through Barry Moore, long after the whistle had been blown by referee Mr Cairns, as he failed to observe any advantage for the away side. But from a Moore corner at the away end, Neil Trebble headed towards goal. There was a frenetic scramble inside the goalmouth, and Yeovil seemed to have cleared the ball. But despite Hayes players not looking for a decision by the linesman, a flag popped up and Jason GOODLIFFE was deemed to have had the final touch that was ajudged to have crossed the line. It look Hayes players seemingly whole seconds to realise that they had a goal, but it turned out to be Goodliffe's first strike since he scored the single goal that knocked Yeovil out of the FA Cup at Church Road, under Graham Roberts.

Hayes enjoyed a brief spell of pressure following the goal, but this only hid Yeovil's general command of the game, and it was little surprise when a David Piper cross on 38 minutes looped over Hayes keeper Matt Hodson. The ball seemed to fly directly into the net, but just making sure was Warren PATMORE nodding the ball home from seemingly beyond the goalline, but there was little doubt as to who was claiming it.

Four minutes later, and Yeovil were convinced they had a two goal advantage. David Piper cross was met by Warren Patmore with his back to goal, surrounded by two defenders. He gave himself enough time to turn and shoot, but as the ball landed in the back of the net, the main stand linesman had raised his flag for offside. Exactly which Yeovil player had committed the offence, both Yeovil players and supporters alike were unable to work out.

The second half proved to be a completely different story, as Hayes attacked the home supporters' end, as the rain turned heavy, and Yeovil's grip on the match got stuck in the mud. Hayes' method of keeping the ball off the deck - though this was not long ball football by any means - was paying dividends. The warning signs were there for all to see five minutes into the half, when Neil Trebble produced an excellent shot that was met by an even better volley from Steve McKimm. The Hayes midfielder's shot seemed goalbound until Tony Pennock produced his first notable save of the game by brilliantly tipping the ball over the crossbar.

Just as the game drifted out of Yeovil's control, so it drifted out of referee Mr Cairns' control. A dreadful two footed challenge by Chris Smith on Yeovil's Ben Smith was met with a yellow card, as the wild tackles began to fly in from all corners of the pitch. A more sensible referee would have made moves to calm the teams down as the pitch began to cut up badly, and the 'slide' in sliding tackle began to take on a new meaning.

Hayes threatened more and more, and Steve McKimm missed the proverbial sitter when he volleyed over the bar from four yards when he received a sharp cross in an unmarked position. But Hayes finally got their equaliser on 68 minutes, after they were awarded a free kick for a foul by Ben Smith. As the cross came in from the right wing, Pennock punched the ball away, and was left in no-mans-land. Barry Moore reacted quickly and shot the ball back across the area, allowing Lee CHARLES a simple task to guide the ball across the line from one yard out, via the help of the post.

Ben Smith and Jamie Pitman joined the growing numbers in the referees notebook as the crowd's frustration with the official boiled over. Barry Moore, Hayes' man of the match by a long chalk, was again the inspiration. He shot from just inside the Yeovil penalty area, and as Pennock deflected the ball onto the crossbar, Steve McKIMM, standing suspiciously in an off-side position, reacted far more quickly than the static Yeovil defence, and slotted the rebound home.

To their credit, Yeovil roared back, and had their best spell of the half, as they tried to claw the match back, just as they had done against Northwich a fortnight previously. They had a great chance, when a rising shot from Ben Smith hit the post (although Sports.Com suggests it was Warren Patmore). Steve Thompson replaced a half-fit Matt Hayfield, in a surprising move with Jason Eaton sat on the bench, whilst David Piper was substituted to allow Tony Pounder to play as a direct winger, just as he did against Northwich.

It all seemed as though it was going to pay off, until in the dying minutes, the ball was pushed through the fragile Yeovil back-line, and despite Tony Pennock's brave attempt, Lee FLYNN got his boot on both ball and goalkeeper's head, and the ball went via a post once again for a 4-2 scoreline.

It's been a very bad day for us. We've lost three points, but what is worse is that we've lost Terry Skiverton. He's been quite possibly our best player this season, and has suffered a bad knee injury. He has a very bad deep cut. We hope that he is out no longer than a month, but we will need to see if there is any tissue damage. It's very difficult to say at the moment.

Two goals in three minutes killed us off. But even then, we had six good chances, even when we were 3-2 and 4-2 down. The loss of David Norton had no bearing on today's game, as he has not been in the side. He is obviously an influential player, but we had won games without him before.

I wasn't happy with some of our defensive marking, particularly with the third goal when the ball came off the bar and they reacted a lot quicker than we did. With the fourth, we had players in the area in numbers, but we didn't pick up their man.

Paul Tisdale 22%
Terry Skiverton 21%
Ben Smith 16%
Warren Patmore 15%
Tony Pennock 10%

MATCH RATING - 6

Performance - 6.8
Entertainment - 5.3