With Adam Lockwood having limped off early on during Saturday's match, Gary Johnson chose the side that had produced a comprehensive win over Rushden and Diamonds two days previously, picking an adventurous 3-4-3 formation that had seen off the likes of Notts County, Plymouth and Rushden.

Lee Johnson signalled the Glovers early intentions when he tried one from 30 yards in the first minute, and Mansfield were looking a little rattled when Alex Neil was booked for kicking the ball away and home manager Keith Curle was told where he could spend the rest of the match if he didn't stop arguing about it. All of this and just two minutes on the clock.

Mansfield grabbed an early lead though with their first real chance. Colin Larkin sent a low ball across the face of the box and Derek ASAMOAH diverted the path of the ball leaving Chris Weale flat footed and with the ball sneaking between his outstretched leg and the post.

As with last season's fixture where an early goal set the play, the ball flowed from end to end of the park. Darren Way tried one from long distance but at the other end Chris Weale uncharacteristically fumbled a straight-forward free-kick. Terry Skiverton came to his rescue by bravely blocking an attempt to send the loose ball into the net. If Wealey was dwelling on that fumble he did so for a matter of just 20 seconds, producing a flying save to restore his confidence as he pushed an angled drive for a corner.

Kevin Gall came inches from opening his account this season when he ran from the halfway line doing everything right. Somehow his shot was nudged past the post, despite the home keeper looking beaten all the way. But midway through the half the Glovers grabbed the lead with a superbly executed set piece. Roy O'Brien floated in a long free kick from the half-way line and Terry SKIVERTON dived in front of his marker to plant a superb header into the net.

Again the game flowed from end to end. Home keeper Kevin Pilkington denied Phil Jevons at one end whilst Paul Terry blocked a Colin Larkin shot at the other end. Neil MacKenzie spooned one over the bar but the game was slightly edged towards the visitors and Bartosz Tarachulski should have been awarded a penalty right on the half time break when pictures show he was clearly tripped inside the box. On such decisions can games turn ...

Gary Johnson had his men out doing stretching exercises well over five minutes before the half restarted, with himself, Steve Thompson and Mark Layder all seemingly holding the half-time team talk out on the pitch whilst attempts were made to stop the players joints from seizing up as Yeovil attempted to get their third result in six days.

The warning signs were all there to be seen though, when twice in the first five minutes Liam Fontaine was done for pace by the Mansfield front line, with Colin Larkin on the second occasion producing an excellent save out of Chris Weale as he got a back leg on the ball to send it wide for a corner. That, and a tendency for the Glovers to sit deeper was almost certainly the catalyst for Johnson to get Fontaine off the pitch, bring on Adrian Caceres and revert to a more solid 4-4-2 formation.

Caceres could have been the hero within a couple of minutes of arriving on the pitch when Bartosz Tarachulski put in a superb left wing cross to the centre, but Caceres saw the ball slice off his boot, and his first time shot went well wide.

But the warning signs were growing that the Glovers were not coping. Former Oxford full-back Scott McNiven sent a cross right across the face of the Yeovil goal with the ball being deflected out for a corner. From that set play, former Glovers trialist David Artell landed a header on the roof of the net.

But it wasn't long before Mansfield retook the lead, and midway through the second half, the floodgates opened and the Glovers defence crumbled. Firstly Neil MacKenzie floated in a free kick and David ARTELL improved his accuracy by a foot, with his header landing underneath the crossbar. Bartosz Tarachulski, probably the guilty party in missing Artell's run, was brought off clearly looking dead on his feet.

Two minutes later, MacKenzie did it again. Another free kick from an identical position and this time Colin LARKIN edged the ball home on the near post. Another two minutes and another goal and once again it came from Yeovil's left flank. Derek Asamoah got in behind the Yeovil defence, and his angled low ball was swept in at the far post by Wayne CORDEN. The Glovers had gone from being in the game to being totally out of it in four completely insane defensive minutes.

Bizarrely enough, and to Yeovil's credit, the game then swung the other way and after a clutch of substitutions, the majority of the game was spent in the Mansfield half, but to no avail. Darren Way fired one across the box that Kevin Gall couldn't quite get on the end of, then Gall himself nearly forced Rhys Day to put the ball into his own net when the Mansfield defender couldn't get out of the way of a fierce cross into the box. Kevin Pilkington then made a series of excellent saves, denying both Gall, Caceres and Jevons in the dying minutes whilst Johnson and Caceres put chances over the bar. The late bombardment made it clear that this was never going to be Yeovil's day.

Badger

MOTM Vote Result:

Player MOTM Score Roy O'Brien 3 382 Darren Way 2 364 Terry Skiverton 2 236 Kevin Gall 1 236 Chris Weale 1 145 Lee Johnson 1 145 Colin Pluck 1 109

Overall match rating: 4.8 / 10
Performance: 4.3
Entertainment: 5.3

11 votes received.

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