A Yeovil side ravaged by i
njury came up against a side with an excellent conference away record, but fully deserved this 2-1. The Glovers were comfortably the better team in the first half, and should really have gone into the break with more than a 1-0 win. They allowed Stevenage to come at them more in the second period, but bagged a second before Kirby pulled one back, and held on for a good win.
After a tentative few minutes, when it looked like Stevenage might cause some problems for the home side, Yeovil got their passing together and went on the attack. Shortly after a Rob Cousins shot went just wide, Ben Smith broke away down the right, His superb cross gave Adrian Foster a far-post nod-in for the opening goal. It should have been two when David Piper got in a good position a few minutes later, and Yeovil were completely on top.
Adrian Foster went close when he got down the left and turned inside, his shot curling just wide of the far post. This was Yeovil's best avenue of attack, as they got the better of Stevenage's right back. The visitors were limited to one clear first-half chance, as a poor clearance found the excellent Danny Hockton; he took the ball wide around Tony Pennock, but as he shot, Terry Skiverton was on hand to clear up.
Stevenage started the second half on the attack, and this became more pronounced after Yeovil extended the lead. A duffed clearance/pass/whatever-it-was-supposed-to-be found Adrian Foster who raced in on goal. He seemed to shoot a little early, and certainly too close to the keeper. Yet somehow Chris Taylor failed to get in a block, just deflecting the ball towards the inside of the post.
Yeovil sat back more now, and Stevenage looked a much better side when they weren't having to defend. As already mentioned, Hockton looked good, but top scorer Carl Alford had little joy. Ryan Kirby pulled a goal back, and this triggered the visitors best period. Hockton's shot was parried by Tony Pennock, falling into the path of Kirby, who made no mistake from 10 yards.
 As the Boro pushed on late in the game, first Terry Skiverton got in a great block, then Tony Pennock saved bravely at the feet of Alford in stoppage time. All-in-all, a well deserved win, and a gutsy performance. The draw for the fourth round is Monday lunchtime, and the draw is no longer regional.
Photo: Yeovil's Adrian Foster and Stevenage's Mark Smith in action. Before the match Smith was presented with a "Wanderer of the Year' award, following the Middlesex Wanderers tour of the summer, which also featured Yeovil's Steve Stott and Kevan Brown. |
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Photos below: The Boro defence look forlorn as Yeovil open the scoring, and the fans celebrate.
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