Page 4 - Yate Town FC v Yeovil Town FA Cup 061121

The wait is over. The first round of the FA Cup, the visit of Yeovil Town, who only eight
seasons ago were playing Championship football, is finally here. It goes without saying that
we are delighted to have sold our home allocation of 1200 tickets for today’s encounter, and
are so pleased to welcome you all to the South West Interiors Stadium for what is a
momentous occasion in the history of Yate Town Football Club. Whether you are a regular
visitor to Lodge Road or if this is your first time here, we are very grateful for your support.
Today’s match has loomed large ever since the win against Dover, but there have been other
tasks at hand. Saturday’s FA Trophy encounter with Willand Rovers ended in defeat, but
there was an instant opportunity to bounce back in league competition against Salisbury,
and Paul Michael’s men did so in style.
James Harding was quickly into action, latching onto an errant Salisbury pass and firing on
goal. The shot was blocked, but fell to an on-rushing Joe Tumelty, who made no mistake
with the rebound to fire Yate ahead in the 9 minute.
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The early goal seemed to spark Steve Claridge’s side into life, and they replied ten minutes
later thanks to a header from Marvin Brooks.
On the half hour mark Ricardo Rees found Dave Sims-Burgess on the right flank. Sims-
Burgess fired a low cross in which was not dealt with by the Salisbury defence and Rees
pounced on the loose ball to restore Yate’s lead and bag his first goal since the opening day
against Harrow.
Five minutes before half time, roles were reversed as Sims-Burgess finished after Rees
unselfishly laid the ball off for him.
If Claridge had set out a game plan at the half time interval, it was in tatters three minutes
after the restart when a goal kick from Andy Hannah was headed into Harding’s path. What
followed was an excellent passing move involving Tumelty, Rees and finally Harding, who
deftly chipped the ball over the committed Salisbury ‘keeper Patrick O’Flaherty to extend the
lead to 4-1.
The desire for more goals was apparent, and they found a fifth on 68 minutes, when Sam
Kamara played in Sims-Burgess for his second of the evening.
A late consolation from Jack Ball for the visitors was a minor annoyance, but the victory
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means Yate are up to 9 in the league, three points shy of the play-off places with three
games in hand on 5 -placed Poole.
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Looking ahead to today, we would like to extend a very warm welcome to everyone here
connected with today’s visitors, Yeovil Town. We hope you enjoy your stay here and have a
safe journey home.
The Glovers currently sit 15 in the National League following a 0-0 draw with Solihull Moors
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last weekend that saw both sides reduced to ten men. Darren Sarll’s men have scored 11
goals and conceded 12 in the 12 league games they have played so far. They have only
played one FA Cup round to set today’s tie up, but it was a tense encounter against local
rivals Weymouth that went to a replay. The reverse fixture then saw Yeovil miss a 120 th
minute penalty, before winning the resultant shootout to claim local bragging rights and
book their place in Round One.
Don’t forget that the long run of home matches continues after today and all of your support
would be greatly appreciated at those upcoming games. Tuesday 9 November sees County
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Cup action against Cheltenham Town reserves (7.45pm KO) before we take on Taunton
(November 13 , 3pm) and Poole (November 16 , 7.45pm) in the league, with the prospect
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of leapfrogging both teams with wins.
C’mon you Bluebells!
Lewiss Smith