Venue: Hardenhuish Park
Monday 14th July 2003, 7.45pm kick-off.

Conditions: Very humid, very hot
Ground: Rock hard, badly watered, more like a cobbled street.

Scorers: None

Attendance: 704

Referee:

Bookings:
Yeovil: None
Chippenham: None

Line up : (3-4-1-2)

FIRST HALF

Stephen Collis
Adam Lockwood, Hugo Rodrigues, Colin Pluck,
Nick Crittenden, Darren Way, Franklin Manuel, Lee Johnson, Abdelhalim El Kholti
Kevin Gall, Kirk Jackson

SECOND HALF

Stephen Collis,
Roy O'Brien, Alex Jeannin, Joao Marafona
Andy Lindegaard, Ian Patchett, Lewis Hogg, Gareth Phillips, Stephen Reed
Jones Bamfo, Adam Stansfield

Chippenham (4-4-2): Bittner (Hervin 46); Charity (Collins 46), Hall, Davies, Thorne; Harrington (Collier 46), Badman (Wilmot 46), Horgan (Thomas 80), Walker; Griffin, Rawlins (Birkby 56)

This report courtesy of Martin Baker:

For the third time in succession, a first team match between Yeovil Town and Chippenham Town ended goalless, in a frustrating game at Hardenhuish played in dreadfully humid conditions on a pitch that was rock hard, with patches of dead grass showing just how badly the ground needed water.

The Glovers started with two new trialists in their starting line-up. Hugo Rodrigues is a 6'8" Lee Harvey look-a-like, with gangly mannerisms and floppy fringe to match the former Roberts signing. Franklin Manuel (who the Western Daily Press name as Franklin De Freitas - who is right? Don't ask!) played as a central midfielder, generally in front of the established Johnson-Way pairing.

The home side started the better, forcing a succession of early corners, but generally not forcing Stephen Collis into making a save. He did have to come out to narrow the angle after former Glover Charlie Griffin intercepted a poor pass and ran through, but steadily became more of a spectator as Yeovil got on top.

Kirk Jackson came the closest during the first 45 minutes, when he forced keeper James Bittner into a close range save, and in the penalty area scramble that ensured, Hugo Rodrigues had his edge-of-the-area shot blocked by a defender.

Kevin Gall and Abdelhalim El Kholti looked lively, although on the other side of the field Nick Crittenden still didn't seem quite on top of his game, still feeling his way back in to football after his operation late last season.

The second half saw ten changes made, with only Stephen Collis left on the field. This line-up was far more experimental, with another Portugese player brought in, along with Lewis Hogg and Gareth Phillips in midfield, flanked by former Youth Teamers Ian Patchett and Stephen Reed, whilst Alex Jeannin partnered one of the Portugese in defence. Jones Bamfo, once on Fulham's books, started up front with Adam Stansfield.

Understandably, the new side stuttered and struggled, with Jones Bamfo in particular seemingly unsure of what his new position should be. Eventually, Gary Johnson swapped him and Andy Lindegaard over, with the latter having a bustling half alongside Stansfield, even if the end product was ultimately lacking.

Occasional gaps in defence were leaving Chippenham's strike force with room to build attacks, with Charlie Griffin in particular guilty of some wayward shooting, with most of his shots landing out of the ground. Only once did he really threaten, when he managed to clip the top of the Yeovil crossbar, causing the ball to loop up dangerously with Collis caught back-peddling.

In general though, Chippenham were content to try and catch Yeovil on the break and as a result, the game tended to fizzle out in midfield. In reality, none of the trialists really shone. Rodrigues and Jeannin showed their aerial presence on occasions, but the hard ground often left the tall defenders flat-footed. Hogg and Phillips looked solid enough without really showing any real flair, but Johnson will have been left hoping for a more open game and a softer turf to deal with when the team take on Chard Town on Wednesday.

Martin Baker

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