Despite having seen his squad depleted by four players since the start of the calendar year, it was perhaps worth noting that the loss of Liam Fontaine, Efetobore Sodje, Lee Johnson and Darren Way during the past two weeks did not actually require Steve Thompson to change his starting line-up significantly from last week's trip to Milton Keynes. In fact the only change of the day was injury-related - club captain Terry Skiverton's groin injury forced him out of the side with Colin Miles come into the centre of defence to replace him. That meant that Adam Lockwood was able to occupy the bench for the first time since his return from Torquay United, whilst Phil Jevons was given the captain's armband for the first time in his Yeovil career.

The early part of the game was more than a little scrappy with neither side getting on top. A right wing cross down at the Westland Stand end saw Matt Harrold almost get on the end of the ball, but a deflection off a Bradford defender saw the ball rise just at the wrong moment and the ball span away from the Yeovil striker. At the other end, Dean Windass produced an angled shot that Steve Collis got his fingertips to for a corner. Worth noting as Bradford were to only manage one more on target shot of any shape or form in the rest of the 90 minutes.

The Glovers began to get their game going around 15 minutes into the match, and won a free kick on the edge of the area, when Bradford's Mark Bower blocked a David Poole run on the edge of the box. Phil Jevons curled the free kick over the wall, but lanky keeper Donovan Ricketts palmed the shot over his own crossbar.

Yeovil then had one of a couple of penalty appeals turned down as they turned the screw on their visitors. Scott Guyett looked to get a push in the back after Bradford defender David Wetherall went through the back of him as Guyett won a header. Wetherall got nowhere near the ball and landed on top of a prone Guyett, but referee Jarnail Singh saw little wrong with the challenge. Five minutes later Wetherall got away with it again, although how on earth he did is anyone's guess. Attempting to block a Chris Cohen shot, the experienced defender threw himself to the floor but in doing so managed a "goalkeeper save" inside the penalty box that video replays show clearly hit an outstretched arm. A cast iron penalty, and given that it blocked Cohen's goalbound shot, a certain red card, but once again Yeovil were out of luck.

Cohen again who was having a storming first half saw his deflected drive from the edge of the box saved by the increasingly busy Donovan Ricketts But Ricketts produced his true worth in the two minutes leading up to half time by producing two superb saves. Phil Jevons forced the first - turning and curling a shot towards the far corner that the goalkeeper managed to palm away for a corner in the save of the game. Then from the resulting Chris Cohen corner, Scott Guyett's header seemed goalbound until again Ricketts managed to get a palm on the ball to force it out for another corner ball. Somehow Bradford survived the half with their clean sheet still there, but they had to ride their luck and thank their goalkeeper for even being remotely in the game.

Early second half action saw Matt Harrold's turn and shoot in the penalty box keep Donovan Rickett's hands warm once again. There was a lengthy delay whilst Marc Bridge-Wilkinson left the field, following an ankle injury that required him to depart on a stretcher, although this seemed to be more of a precaution for the Bradford player as he made the trip sat up on the stretcher. He was replaced by former Darlington midfielder Bobby Petta.

Bradford should have been down to ten men on the hour mark when a shocking tackle by Darren Holloway on David Poole left the winger on the deck in agony. Holloway's two-footed tackle from behind could have seen the stretcher boys out on the field again, and even the Bradford supporters were surprised when their defender escaped with a yellow card, having spent the previous 60 seconds barracking their player for one of the more stupid and dangerous tackles Huish Park will witness this season. Thankfully Poole was judged fit to continue.

Shortly after Bradford got a rare chance to open the scoring. Arron Davies was dispossessed in midfield by Tom Penford and he in turn fed Danny Cadamarteri, but the experienced Bradford winger dragged his shot wide of the target. This was a slightly more even half, and Cadamarteri and Petta later combined on the right flank, feeding the much abused Steve Claridge who scuffed well wide to further jeers from those down at the Westland Stand.

Kevin Gall replaced Matt Harrold, whilst Pablo Bastianini replaced Arron Davies as the game drew to a close and Steve Thompson tried to use the last 10 minutes to get something out of the game. Bradford made their own changes bringing on Joe Brown for Darren Holloway as they also took an opportunity to switch formations back to a 4-4-2.

The final 10 minutes became edgy. After having been in control of the game for 80 minutes, Bradford appeared to be finding a few more holes in a Glovers defence that had been watertight all game, with the Glovers now also pushing up in numbers to try and force a winning goal. But amazingly after having been under the cosh for most of the match it was Bradford who got the glory.

Paul Terry was adjudged to have fouled Dean WINDASS on the edge of the box, and when Bradford's top scorer stepped up to take the set piece himself, he curled the ball over the top of the wall and into the top corner. A fantastically executed free kick, but all the more gutting for the fact that by the 87th minute all it should have been offering Bradford was a consolation goal - Yeovil should have had them out of sight by this stage. It was the visitor's first shot on target for 80 minutes in the match, but it was costly from Yeovil's point of view.

Pablo Bastianini did his best to force a late equaliser when he hit an absolute piledriver of a 30 yard shot that would have put the goalnet in a spot of bother, but to sum Yeovil's day up, that man Donovan Ricketts flung himself down low to his left and managed to push the ball away for a corner. Thereafter all there was time for was for substitute Joe Brown to be booked for kicking the ball away and for Bradford to see out five minutes worth of injury time before they could claim what was a pretty good definition of a smash'n'grab win. Yeovil didn't deserve to even draw the game, let alone lose it, but sometimes football can give you a real big kick in the teeth. This afternoon was more than a bit like that.

Badger

MOTM Vote Result:

Overall match rating: 6.9 / 10
Performance: 6.9
Entertainment: 6.9

36 votes received.

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