A week after going to Oxford, and no sooner do Cambridge come to Town - Sheer coincidence but you could have held the boat race as persistent rain left the surrounding area pretty wet. The Huish pitch, still one of our best acquisitions, as always was fine. There have been many standing ovations during play at the ground this season but not that many before it�until today. As the teams entered the fray so a banner unfurled, customary in green and white and emblazoned with thanks for the display of loyalty shown by Gary Johnson to his merry band of worshippers�they did not send him to Coventry instead gave him a rousing chorus of the ever so popular �hymn�.

Five minutes into the game and barely before a passage of play worthy of note�a second round of generous applause rippled around as an old favourite from last season tiptoed gingerly down the touchline and almost embarrassingly accepted the gracious banter and welcome he received from the witty Westland Terrace. It was good to see Abdel El Kholti back at his old stomping ground - although Yeovil never seemed to get the best out of the Moroccan he�ll still be remembered long after others who went away to ply their trade elsewhere

As for the game, the Glovers could and should have opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Tarachulski and Johnson, the latter returning from suspension, combined to slice the Cambridge defence open and give Anders Stolcers the chance to score but John Ruddy in goal smothered. Tarachulski, so strong, held the ball up well for Jevons but his powerful and almost acrobatic shot a la Di Canio blazed over. A well worked and rehearsed free kick from Johnson and Way again almost opened up Cambridge, but Ruddy was alert and kept out the danger.

Cambridge, like others, were physical and persistently so. Steve Reed, coming in as left back was knocked off balance and his weak back pass was intercepted by Daniel Chillingworth. As Chris Weale advanced the home crowd held their breath as an expertly executed lob left the keeper with no chance but fortunately sailed just wide.

Jevons, looking hungrier than in recent weeks, had a great effort saved from Ruddy again following Paul Terry�s fine pass - Terry too was looking sharper than last week. Jevons again almost conjured up a goal, with terrific close ball control he sent Stolcers off again � the Latvian did everything right, calmly sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, but somehow Ruddy managed to keep the ball out with his trailing leg keeping his side on level terms. Jevons had another go, Terry had a good shot well saved, before Jevons tried for a final time before the break but this time he fired just wide of the right hand post.

Seconds into the second half and Yeovil won a corner, the ball swung in from the Yeovil left and like last week Scott Guyett�s header thundered goalwards but crashed down off the bar. This time Gary Johnson�s Johnny on the spot was Paul TERRY who bundled the ball over the line from almost 6 inches out. Chelsea might not be under much pressure at the top of the Premiership but the commanding Chelsea skipper must be feeling the heat as his brother is now breathing down his neck in terms of most goals scored in the family this season.

Jevons, again was denied by the keeper who by now was becoming a Ruddy pain to say the least. Yeovil should have been home and dry by now and they were fortunate to survive when a Chillingworth free header from a corner went just over, when it really should have hit the target. Lee Johnson and Darren Way worked an opening down the left but again Ruddy foiled the blond midfielder's shot. Kevin Gall who was struggling to make an impact was replaced by the influential Arron Davies, whose shot on 76 minutes was saved by you guessed it, this time though he spilled the ball and Tarachulski following up was also denied as the ball squirmed away for a corner.

Then trouble - down the left the ball was somehow lost and Shane TUDOR with pace slipped the ball around Chris Weale, who resisted the temptation to bring him down, and Tudor finished well to send the by now soaked Cambridge fans into raptures. A point at the leaders would surely do wonders for their relegation battle.

Yeovil�s strength this season has been turning draws and defeats in victories, last weeks rally was too late, and this week the omens were not good as inspirational keeping looked like it had got the better of the Glovers, so it was time as usual for an inspirational substitution. As Cambridge replaced their centre half so Yeovil replaced their centre forward, and within a minute of his introduction Yemi Odoube outpaced the defence as he latched on to Paul Terry�s long ball and nicked the ball beyond the huge frame of John Ruddy on the edge of the area, to be fair the ball was probably gone but Ruddy was committed and he sent Yemi crashing to the ground. A penalty was given, Ruddy was booked correctly but was quite rightly not sent off � which would have been harsh considering his performance.

Phil JEVONS placed the ball on the spot and tried to keep his nerve as the fussy referee checked all around to make sure that no big toe was in the box, before walking up to the goaline to have a chat to the keeper in almost a gamesmanship fashion that the away defence would have had trouble doing!! Jevons waited calmly before starting his run and slamming a great penalty into the back of the net�finally Ruddy was beaten and Jevons got the goal his game had deserved, and with 4 minutes left Yeovil had taken a 2-1 lead.

And that was how it stayed, one or two nervous moments passed as possession was lost but four minutes of injury time were survived and the Glovers were victorious. Not a great performance but at this stage of the season 3 points will do very nicely thank you, 3 more against Rochdale would be lovely, a nice day out in the East End would be good, and that will set us up nicely for a February that sees Bristol Rover's and Scunthorpe come to Huish... So do we want a cup run or shall we concentrate on the league�.who cares�when you're sitting top of your respective league and have gone further in the FA Cup than Liverpool�Milk it while you can!

Jeremy Gear

MOTM Vote Result:

Overall match rating: 6 / 10
Performance: 5.8
Entertainment: 6.2

44 votes received.

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