Cambridge were to enjoy their brightest spell of the game in the opening period of the second half,
with Yeovil barely coming out of their shell in the first ten minutes. It seemed that they were still
reeling from that equaliser, and Cambridge managed Luke Gutteridge and Dave Kitson exchanged passes to
set up Terry Fleming who was causing a problem or two down the wings, but the final shot from Gutteridge
was wasted over the crossbar.
The half turned though in an instance, when Cambridge captain Stuart Bimson dithered in his own half, and
Kevin Gall charged down his attempt to meander his way up the field. Gall ran off with the ball, and put a simple through
ball to Jake EDWARDS, who was left in a one-on-one with keeper Shaun Marshall, who he rounded with
ease to restore advantage to the Glovers. It was somewhat against the run of play and out of context
with the Glovers sluggish start to the half, but few of the 541 travellers were likely to complain.
Now back in the lead, Yeovil took the game by the scruff of the neck and added another goal within two minutes.
Gavin Williams ran through the (lack of a) Cambridge midfield, Lee Johnson took the ball on and thread an excellent
pass to Kevin GALL, who slotted the ball home from 12 yards on a slight angle. 3-1 with an
hour gone and this was game over.
Gavin Williams had a penalty appeal turned down when he went chasing a through-ball from Kevin Gall.
Home keeper Shaun Marshall slid in to collect the ball, and upended Williams in getting his hands
wrapped around the ball, but in fairness the referee probably got the decision right.
Cambridge's Shane Tudor then also tried his luck with the referee in the penalty box when he appealed
for a spot kick after being felled, but like the Williams decision minutes earlier, the referee ruled that
a defender had got to the ball first. Tudor was hurt in the incident and ultimately left the field.
Gary Johnson replaced his forward line of Kevin Gall and Jake Edwards with Adam Stansfield and Kirk Jackson.
Gall had been a doubt before the match, but one goal and two assists was a fine return for a player carrying
an injury, and with the game now won, Johnson was able to ration his striker. Jake Edwards is gradually coming
up to full match fitness, but was still struggling for pace once the Glovers got beyond the hour mark. His
two goals hopefully show the sign of things to come.
Hugo Rodrigues, who had yet another emphatic, dominant match, took a volleyed shot straight in the face from
Cambridge substitute John Turner as the home side tried in vain to breath new life into their game. Johnson
made his final substitution when he replaced Abdelhalim El Kholti with Nick Crittenden, and this was an opportunity
for Williams and Crittenden to swap wings as Critts took the right flank.
Once again, Hugo was responsible for breaking up another Cambridge attack as he intercepted Justin Walker's
run with an excellent stretching tackle, and the game was now very firmly one of Cambridge trying to press,
largely unsuccessfully, and Yeovil breaking in waves and threatening to extend their lead as the home side pushed
their players forward.
Terry Fleming spooned a shot over the bar as the game reached the final ten minutes, though there would
have been fury in the Yeovil camp if the goal was allowed to stand. Darren Way had clearly been fouled, but referee
Paul Dansom attempted to play an advantage that was never there, but with Way still on the deck, Fleming chose the
car park rather than the net from 10 yards out. Dave Kitson got a rare sight of goal when he sent a ball flashing
across the face of the penalty box a minute later, but neither of his incoming team-mates could get a boot on the ball.
Cambridge looked fragile though every time Yeovil broke out of their defence, and they were exposed when Gavin
Williams picked up the ball around his own penalty box and ran straight through the huge void that should
have been the Cambridge midfield. Just when it seemed inevitable that Williams would be taking the ball on for
the full length of the field for a possible wonder-goal, he slotted a short pass to Darren WAY who slotted
home off the inside of a post from 10 yards to give Yeovil an emphatic and deserved 4-1 margin.
The home fans saw this as the signal to desert the ground in their hundreds, and so many missed a series of
late shots by the home side, with John Turner volleying over the crossbar and David Bridges putting a long-ranger
wide of the target. But Yeovil always seemed in control, and passed the game out with near total ease for their
most one-sided win since their promotion to the Football League.
Badger
MOTM Vote Result:
Player |
MOTM |
Score |
Jake Edwards |
10 |
520 |
Kevin Gall |
8 |
480 |
Hugo Rodrigues |
7 |
327 |
Abdelhalim El Kholti |
1 |
100 |
Colin Pluck |
2 |
87 |
Gavin Williams |
1 |
87 |
|
Overall match rating: 8.7 / 10
Performance: 8.6
Entertainment: 8.8
30 votes received.
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