Other reports : BBC Sport; Nationwide Conference site; LRMI official site; YTFC official site;
Venue: Hilton Park
Sat 28th September 2002, 3pm kick-off.
Conditions: Dry, but cloudy
Pitch: Very good
Nationwide Conference :
Leigh RMI 2 - 4 Yeovil Town
Att: 415 (approx 120 Glovers - seemed to be more in Green & White than in Red &
White!)
Referee: Mr T Kettle (Maidenhead)
Assistants: Mr T Conway, Mr S Cook
Fourth Official: Mr M Morledge
Bookings:
Yeovil: Pluck (72, foul), Elkholti (80, foul)
Leigh: Coburn (69, foul), Courtney (72, dissent)
Line up : (3-4-1-2)
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 12. Jon Sheffield |
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 2. Adam Lockwood |
 4. Terry Skiverton |
 5. Colin Pluck |
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 10. Nick Crittenden |
 6. Darren Way |
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 8. Lee Johnson |
 11. Michael McIndoe |
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 20. Gavin Williams |
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 23. Howard Forinton |
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 18. Kim Grant |
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Substitutes: 1. Chris Weale, 9. Carl Alford (39, for Forinton), 12. Chris Giles, 16. Andy Lindegaard (89, for Way), 24. Abdou Elkholti (60, for Grant)
Leigh: (4-4-2) 1. Stuart Coburn, 5. Wayne Maden, 4. Neil Durkin, 6. Neil Fitzhenry, 7. Ian Monk, 15. Phillip Salt, 8. Ged Kielty, 14. Andy Heald, 33. Stuart Whittaker, 9. Dino Maamria, 34. Chris Ward
Subs : 19. Neil Fisher (87, for Durkin), 3. Paul Williams (41, for Heald), 18. John McGill, 21. Ged Courtney (57, for Ward), 17. Andy Kendrick
Scorers: Terry SKIVERTON (5, 0-1), Ged Kielty (9, 1-1), Michael MCINDOE (51, 1-2), Nick CRITTENDEN (54, 1-3), Stuart Whittaker (67, 2-3), Carl ALFORD (70, 2-4)
This report courtesy of Robin Evans:
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Cheers! Terry Skiverton salutes the away supporters after netting Yeovil's opener
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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The match this afternoon saw both teams anxious to gain all three
points,
but for very different reasons. The Glovers, riding high in second
place
in the Conference, looked for a win to take advantage of points dropped
in the game between leaders Chester and third-placed Doncaster. By
contrast,
the Railwaymen began the day sitting uncomfortably in the bottom three,
and needed a win to try to kick start their season and to begin
climbing
away from the relegation zone.
Leigh RMI played a 4 - 4 - 2 formation, and the visitors played their
usual
3 - 4 - 1 - 2 line up, with a now fit Kim Grant replacing Abdoulai
Demba,
who was unavailable for family reasons as his wife is due to have a
baby.
Yeovil started brightly with a shot from Gavin Williams being parried
by
Leigh goalkeeper Coburn as early as the second minute, although no
doubt
Gavin will have been disappointed not to have scored from what seemed
to
be an excellent opening. Just a minute later another attack earned the
first
corner of the game, and Lee Johnson's precision found Darren Way at the
near post, and he flicked the ball on with his head to Terry SKIVERTON,
who shot powerfully into the net from close range for an early lead.
Yeovil soon pressed forward again and a McIndoe throw in was flicked on
by Howard Forinton, but Williams failed to get sufficient power into
his
shot which was saved comfortably.
In the 8th minute the home side had their first real chance when
awarded
a free kick on the left outside the Yeovil penalty area after a foul on
Maamria. Whittaker played the ball into the area and it was flicked on
to
Ged KIELTY, who stabbed the ball past Sheffield to level the scores.
The Glovers reacted by pressing hard, and on 11 minutes Way threaded a
good
looking pass toward Grant only for the busy Monk to just get a foot in
to
prevent a clear chance. Williams and Johnson were controlling the
midfield,
and Darren Way shot just right of the Leigh goal on the quarter-hour
following
a Johnson corner.
Leigh RMI were largely penned back, but one opportunity fell to Ward
following
an uncharacteristic miss from Skiverton, but with only Sheffield to
beat
the striker shot wide. Darren Way proved that missed kicks can happen
at
both ends when Lee Johnson fired a good ball over the home defence, but
Way's attempt came to nothing as he missed contact with the ball.
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Gavin Williams finds some space in the centre of midfield
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Midway through the first half Maamria disputed a decision and was
spoken
to by the referee, but no card was shown. A free kick for a foul on
Crittenden
was taken by McIndoe, but cleared for a corner. He then took the
resulting
corner, finding Terry Skiverton and his looping header went over just
the
bar. Leigh RMI found their way back into the Yeovil half, and earned a
24th
minute free kick in a very similar place to the one from which they
scored,
but the now alert Yeovil defence prevented a repeat performance.
A heavy challenge on Forinton by Maden resulted in a short lecture from
the referee but again no card was shown. Gavin Williams brought down
Salt
in the Yeovil half, and Heald's free kick was deflected just wide of
Sheffield's
left hand post for a corner.
The game became rather scrappy for a while, with few chances although a
32nd minute header from Lockwood after a McIndoe corner went across the
Leigh goal without the decisive touch from a Yeovil forward. A string
of
corners failed to create a breakthrough, but Skiverton came extremely
close
when a flick on from Williams was headed goalward and only cleared off
the
line by a Leigh defender.
Yeovil continued to press and Leigh's best chance during this period
was
restricted to a shot by Kielty from 30 yards which was high over the
goal.
A good ball in from McIndoe was flicked on by Forinton to Crittenden,
who
controlled the ball, turned and shot just wide. Forinton had presumably
taken a knock as he was replaced in the 39th minute by Carl Alford in a
straight swap.
Leigh had another half chance when Monk found Salt wide on the right,
and
his cross was met by Maamria who failed to hit the target. Leigh made a
straightforward change themselves on 41 minutes when Paul Williams
replaced
left back Andy Heald.
Yeovil continued to apply pressure into the three minutes of stoppage
time
at the end of the first half, but failed to break through.
Half time: Leigh RMI 1 Yeovil Town 1
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Penalty! Gavin Williams gets barged off the ball by a Leigh defender
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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The second half started fairly scrappily, with five minutes or so of
long
balls by both sides, and a lot of 'head tennis' between the defences
and
the midfield area, although Yeovil largely retained their territorial
advantage.
On 51 minutes the game exploded when good work by several Yeovil
players
on the right found Kim Grant centrally on the edge of the penalty area.
His pass found Michael McINDOE on the left, and he capped his excellent
performance when a fine shot beat Coburn to restore the advantage.
Two minutes later Nick Crittenden fed the ball through to Gavin
Williams,
who was brought down by Neil Fitzhenry. The referee did not produce a
card,
but had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. Nick CRITTENDEN stepped
forward
and his low, hard shot was saved by Coburn diving to his right, but
Crittenden
pounced onto the rebound to fire the ball into the net and give Yeovil
a
3 - 1 lead.
Just two minutes after the Yeovil penalty, Dino Maamria appealed for a
penalty
at the other end. Referee Mr Kettle waved away his claim but once more
no
card was shown. Carl Alford created a chance by outpacing Fitzhenry to
a
long ball, but shot over. Leigh made a further change with Ged Courtney
replacing striker Chris Ward.
Yeovil created more chances and maintained control, but Stuart
Whittaker
impressed on the Leigh left flank. On loan from Chester, his runs gave
acting
left back Nick Crittenden a fairly torrid time in the second half, and
he
reminded me of Michael McIndoe but where the Yeovil players support
Macca
well, Whittaker seemed to suffer from a lack of support with only
Maamria
usually available for his crosses. On more than one occasion Whittaker
beat
Crittenden, but finding no outlet for the ball retained possession
allowing
either Crittenden to recover or another Yeovil player to make the
tackle.
On the hour Courtney attempted a chip over Sheffield, but shot over the
bar. A minute later Yeovil made a second substitution with the
introduction
of mystery man Abdouleigh Elkholti to replace Kim Grant. The
French-Moroccan
player took his place on the left side of midfield. Perhaps
surprisingly,
rather than Williams moving forward to act as a striker the 3 - 4 - 1 -
2 formation was retained with McIndoe playing alongside Alford in front
of Williams.
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Kim Grant makes a timely return from injury
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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The spelling of Elkholti's name was supplied by Yeovil officials, but
with
the proviso that it may be incorrect. However, this is probably better
than
the alternatives offered, as the straight-faced Roy O'Brien tried to
convince
me that the new player had the unusual first name of 'Hadapoo', whilst
chairman
John Fry suggested that Abdoulai/Abdouleigh was really Demba in
disguise?!
Leigh tried to get back into the game with Salt threading a 64th minute
pass through to Maamria, but Sheffield dived to collect the ball from
almost
at the Leigh striker's feet. McIndoe retaliated within a minute with a
good
long shot which was well saved by Coburn. Leigh came back with a good
effort
from Courtney blocked by Skiverton for a corner. From the corner Kielty
headed just wide of the right hand post.
The 67th minute saw Dino Maamria cross a fine ball which was met by
Stuart
WHITTAKER who headed in from close range to halve the deficit. It has
to
be admitted that this was a quality cross with a very clinical finish,
but
the Yeovil defence may feel less than happy at allowing Maamria to get
the
cross in at all, as there seemed to have been an opportunity to have
prevented
this.
Just two minutes later Lee Johnson broke away, and provided an
excellent
pass to free Gavin Williams. As Williams rounded the goalkeeper he was
brought
down. Referee Mr Kettle had no hesitation in awarding a second spot
kick,
but after some delay produced a yellow card for Leigh goalkeeper
Coburn.
Following the letter of law suggests that the decision should have been
either a penalty and red card, or no penalty at all. Mr Kettle's
decision
seems inconsistent with recent performances by his peers as I'm sure
both
our own Chris Weale and Lee Butler of Halifax would testify. Be that as
it may, the referee's decision - however baffling - is final, and once
again
Nick Crittenden stepped forward. Once again his shot was hard and low.
Once
again Coburn got his body behind the ball and saved the penalty. The
difference
on this occasion was that Crittenden was beaten to the rebound by team
mate
Carl ALFORD who took great delight in blasting the ball into the net to
restore Yeovil's two goal margin.
A minute later Leigh appealed once more for a penalty, but were awarded
an indirect free kick in the area very near to the penalty spot.
Anxious
moments for the Yeovil defence dragged on as the initial effort was
deemed
to be subject to encroachment, so a second effort found Whittaker touch
the ball to Maamria who blasted into the wall of green shirts.
A frustrated Ged Courtney found himself in the referee's book for a
foul
as Leigh struggled to try to salvage the game. Elkholti then showed
flair
with a 79th minute cross, which saw a mix up in the Leigh defence, but
followed
Courtney into the book just a minute later when cautioned for a foul. I
wonder whether a record was broken today as Elkholti took just 19
minutes
from his Yeovil debut to his booking?
Leigh were not prepared to roll over and die, and a good volley from
Durkin
was well held by Sheffield. Soon after a shot/cross from Courtney went
across
the Yeovil goal beating defenders and attackers alike. Maamria turned
and
shot into the side netting from on the floor following a corner.
Yeovil pushed forward again and a good ball from Crittenden found Carl
Alford
unmarked on the edge of the box, but his snap shot was not powerful
enough
to beat Coburn.
With three minutes of normal time remaining Leigh replaced Durkin with
Neil
Fisher. Nick Crittenden failed to clear from the edge of the area on 88
minutes, and Whittaker got a good shot in which was well held by
Sheffield.
A minute later Darren Way was replaced by Andy Lindegaard. Darren had
been
unable to travel with the team yesterday (Friday) due to illness, and
had
only joined the squad today, and this was probably a factor in this
change.
Three minutes of stoppage time failed to provide further incident and
the
referee concluded the match.
Final score: Leigh RMI 2 Yeovil Town 4
Yeovil achieved much with this victory: three successive wins, ten
matches
unbeaten, and leadership of the Nationwide Conference.
To Leigh's credit their heads never went down even when two goals
adrift.
Yeovil were much the better side throughout the contest, but the teams
did
not look two leagues apart. However, this is still a very real
possibility
by this time next year.
Robin Evans
Internet Man of the Match Voting Result:
Player |
MOTM |
Score |
Michael McIndoe |
4 |
529 |
Terry Skiverton |
4 |
447 |
Gavin Williams |
4 |
306 |
Adam Lockwood |
2 |
224 |
Nick Crittenden |
2 |
165 |
Darren Way |
1 |
94 |
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Overall match rating: 7.2 / 10
Performance: 6.9
Entertainment: 7.5
17 votes received.
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Terry Skiverton watches his early strike put Yeovil one up
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Terry Skiverton celebrates his sixth goal of the season
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Michael McIndoe gets hold of a midfield ball
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Nick Crittenden makes a first half run
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Howard Forinton attempts to control the ball under pressure from Neil Durkin
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Michael McIndoe aims to get the better of Neil Durkin
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Gavin Williams finds a run halted by a sliding tackle
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Goal! Michael McIndoe fires home Yeovil's second goal
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Michael McIndoe celebrates his goal with Chris Giles showing his delight
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Nick Crittenden skips past Neil Fitzhenry
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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Terry Skiverton sees an effort lift just wide of the goal
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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A slighty fuzzy picture as Gavin Williams gets brought down by Leigh keeper Stuart Coburn for another penalty
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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The travelling supporters celebrate being top of the league
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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More end of match celebrations
Photo © 2002 Ciderspace
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