Second favourite was probably Steve Rutter's first match as manager when on the stormiest day in history. I was one of the fifty or so getting absolutely soaked on the terraces and our keeper (David Fry?) scored with a goal kick. I was eventually reduced to insane giggling when Peter Conning scored with an elegant chip at our end, and we ended up winning 7-2.
But my favourite was against Wealdstone (who were half decent then) in the FA Trophy in about 1982. Our regular keeper was injured (once again I've forgotten his name, could it have been Kieron Baker?) and a young Grant Northover was in goal. They had a big bearded centre half (beards were common then, normally on robust and dominating centre halfs, and I convinced myself that Jess Payne would be a far better player if he grew one) called Dennis Byatt (I haven't forgotten his name). After about ten minutes they had a free kick just inside our half. He belted it toward the box and Northover just plain missed it (if I were being generous the sun may have obscured his view, but I suspect he was just useless). They scored again and then Byatt took another free kick from a similar position and the hapless, and, indeed, hopeless Northover missed it again. 3-0 down after thirty minutes, I presume you can imagine the discontent in the crowd. Before half time, Phil James scored bizarrely. Quite a good goal from about twenty yards as I recall, which is why it qualified as bizarre.
Second half, and we were playing toward the away end. I and many other noisy souls (several like me, wearing unfortunate parkas) were up against the old fence which used to separate the away fans. It must have rained and it certainly got dark and Jeremy Brown (in a way that only he could, when he felt like it and wasn't hung over), Jamie Ward (in a inspired but brief period of form) and Mick Doherty (who looked like the fastest man on earth to me) ran absolute riot. Chance after chance was missed, and I'm sure we didn't pull one back till at least the 70th minute, but there was an extraordinary momentum and I remember an astonishing noise from under the stand. Doherty got it , then Ward got another (I may have the order wrong) before finally Doherty got a winner with moments left, to secure the most magnificent come back I've ever seen. For intensity the only thing that matched was Enfield away a couple of years ago when we sang Wozzer's equaliser in (in what seemed like a mesmeric and shamanic invocation of a goal).
At the end of the match they announced the attendance. It was something like 761. It felt like 7000. Inevitably we went out to someone like Dagenham 1-0 away in the next round. [Editor's note: We actually drew away to Dagenham, but lost the replay at home].
I too remember this game as being one of the most memorable I saw at Huish. (Another being an Anglo/Italian game against I think Malmo a few years earlier, though I don't remember much detail about that one - apart from at least 4/5 players being sent off and lots of incident/fights(players)/brilliant partisan atmosphere). [Editor's note: It wasn't Malmo, they're not Italian! We did play Malmo in a friendly about that time, I think Colin refers to Bari].
The Wealdstone game was, as I recall, on an extremely windy Saturday afternoon, blowing from the Queen Street end straight up the pitch. Wealdstone played with the wind in the first half. Dylan was right in saying that we fielded an inexperienced keeper, Grant Northover, and he was to blame for at least two of the three goals conceded in the first 40 minutes. Both were from free kicks just inside the Yeovil half, next to the dugouts, and both he completely misjudged and allowed the wind to carry the ball over his head into the goal.
We went in at half time 3 - 1 down, scoring ourselves, giving a bit of hope, just before the break. You can imagine what the home crowds attitude was, including myself, after a poor performance and looking at dropping out of the competition so early (I think it was the first round).
The second half was a different story and I still think on it as one of the best Yeovil performances I have ever seen.
We were obviously playing with the wind in our favour, but I remember we did not exploit it that much, playing the ball around to feet a great deal as opposed to hoofing it up the field and chasing.
I'm not sure when the second and equalising goals were scored, but it was fairly late into the game, especially the third. We were rampant after that, pushing hard for the winner ,which came in the dying minutes. I can visualise it as if it was yesterday - It was a free kick on the top wing, about 15 yards into the Wealdstone half, just in from the touch line. Jeremy Brown took the kick, (I agree with Dylan, he was very much a hot/cold player, thou' thankfully this was one of his good days) and floated it into the near corner of the goal area. Mick Docherty rose like a 'pheonix from the flames' (!) between two Wealstone players and headed it into the top left hand corner of the goal, 4 - 3.
The place went mad. I recall the crowd being a bit bigger than that stated by Dylan (1200+), but the noise when we scored was deafening. I was with some of my mates and we got so excited when it went in that one of them jumped and landed badly on the edge of one of the terrace steps and twisted his ankle. He was in excruciating pain, but we were too far gone to realise.
It was only a few minutes after the goal that the Ref. blew the whistle and I remember running to the front of the terraces to applaud the lads off. Meanwhile my mate was still lying on the floor and was so bad that we had to drive him home and leave his car at the ground.
I believe the reports after the game stated that the Wealstone board were so unhappy about losing a game in which they were three nil up, that left as soon as possible without going for a drink or saying goodbye.
Ah!, happy days!!
