Match Report - Yeovil Town v Dover Athletic

Yeovil Town advanced to the FA Cup 1st Round Proper this afternoon as they won a penalty shoot-out against Dover Athletic after a 3-3 draw in normal time at Huish Park. Yeovil were the much better side in the first half but Dover levelled just before half time. Yeovil regained the lead in the second half only to be pegged back once again and they had to rely on a penalty shootout to advance.

Darren Sarll made 2 changes to the side that drew 0-0 at Dagenham last week as Carl Dickinson and Lawson D'Ath were introduced in favour of the Lee Collins and the suspended Luke Wilkinson.

Adam Smith had Josh Staunton, Carl Dickinson and Dan Leadbitter in front of him while the midfield was made up of Albi Skendi, Gabby Rogers, Lawson D'Ath, Charlie Lee and Matt Warburton while Joe Quigley and Rhys Murphy lead the attack.

Unfortunately most Yeovil fans missed the first 10 minutes of the game as the new streaming service being used by the club suffered some technical issues and the club hastily managed to get a live stream working on YouTube.

Luckily this came on just in time for us to see Yeovil take the lead as Rhys Murphy drove into the box from the right and his curling shot found the bottom corner.

Yeovil were continuing to press their opponents and were creating changes as Quigley had a shot that was well saved and Warburton had a shot from the edge of the box that was just over.

Charlie Lee also tried his luck but his shot was just wide.

As the half wore on Yeovil were dominating the game and almost made it 2-0 as a good ball into the box from Gabby Rogers found Josh Staunton who headed onto the post after sustained pressure from Yeovil.

On 30 minutes Yeovil did make it 2-0 as Yeovil won a corner and Rhys Murphy was there to volley the ball into the box after a short-lived goal mouth scramble.

With Yeovil playing so well and not allowing Dover to get any foothold into the game it was almost seen as a given that Yeovil would go into the break 2 goals to the good but the dynamic of the game changed in just 4 minutes.

With 5 minutes to go until half time Dover pulled one back out of nowhere as a cross into the box found Louis Collins un-marked at the back post and he converted from close range.

Just 4 minutes later Yeovil conceded in almost identical fashion as Dover were awarded a free kick which was delivered into the box which was put back across to the far post where Louis Collins was there again to draw the match level which Yeovil were bitterly disappointed with.

Half Time - Yeovil Town 2-2 Dover Athletic

Yeovil started the second half with a point to prove and they very nearly scored straight from the kick off as they drove towards the Dover goal and Quigley produced a shot but it was well saved by Tom Smith in the Dover goal.

Yeovil continued to press and were forcing corners and pressing Dover all over the pitch and they re-took the lead on 48 minutes as a good cross from Dan Leadbitter found Joe Quigley who headed home for his first goal for the club.

5 minutes later Yeovil almost made it 4 as Charlie Lee was left unmarked 7 yards out but his header was straight at the keeper when he had the entire goal to aim at.

Once again though Yeovil were unable to kill the game off and just after the hour mark Dover were level once again as TJ Bramble got Dover's third goal of the afternoon.

Yeovil's first substitution came on 67 minutes as Matt Worthington was brought on for Lawson D'Ath.

Once again Yeovil were woken up by the equaliser and were threatening to take the lead as Josh Staunton couldn't quite get a good connection on his strike.

3 minutes later Murphy tried to grab his hat trick as he unleashes a shot from outside the box but Tom Smith was there to catch his effort.

Gabby Rogers also got in on the shooting action just a few moments later as he brought the ball towards the edge of the box from the left hand side and unleashed a cracking shot but Tom Smith was equal to the effort.

On 85 minutes Yeovil made a double substitution as Charlie Lee was replaced by Jimmy Smith and Gabby Rogers was replaced by Ryan Burke.

4 minutes of injury time was given at the end of the game and the match could have gone either way but neither side were able to produce a dramatic late winner and the match ended in a 3-3 draw which meant that a penalty shoot-out was needed to separate the two sides.

Full Time: Yeovil Town 3-3 Dover Athletic

Penalty Shootout

The penalty shoot-out was taken in front of the away terrace and Yeovil Town were shooting first. Joe Quigley stepped up and sent Tom Smith the wrong way as he scored into the bottom right corner. 1-0

Jack Munns took Dover's first penalty which was an identical penalty to Joe Quigley's as he sent Adam Smith the wrong way and scored into the bottom right corner. 1-1

Jimmy Smith took Yeovil's second and he scored into the bottom left and once again the keeper was sent the wrong way. 2-1

Former Yeovil Town player Oscar Gobern stepped up for Dover and he levels for Dover as he found the bottom right corner with Adam Smith sent the wrong way. 2-2

Matt Warburton took Yeovil's third penalty and finds the bottom left corner sending Tom Smith the wrong way. 3-2

Ade Azeez stepped up for Dover and found the bottom left corner but Adam Smith almost kept it out. 3-3

Carl Dickinson took Yeovil's fourth who fired it into the right hand side of the goal with Tom Smith diving the wrong way. 4-3

Kurtis Cumberbatch stepped up for Dover who sent Adam Smith the wrong way to score into the left of the goal. 4-4

Rhys Murphy stepped up for Yeovil's fifth penalty and drilled it hard down the center of the goal. Tom Smith almost got a hand to it but the shot had too much pace. 5-4

TJ Bramble stepped up for Dover who had to score to keep Dover in the shootout and he did just that as he found the bottom right corner with Adam Smith diving the wrong way. 5-5

The shootout was now heading into sudden death so both sides were feeling the pressure. It was a case of who was going to crack first.

Ryan Burke took Yeovil's sixth penalty as his shot was straight down the middle with the keeper diving to his left. 6-5

Steven Rigg takes Dovers' sixth penalty and scores into the bottom right, sending Adam Smith the wrong way. 6-6

Matt Worthington took Yeovil seventh penalty and scores into the left of the goal but Tom Smith almost made the save as he dived the right way but couldn't keep it out. 7-6

Marshall Wratten stepped up for Dover but he was unable to convert his penalty as Adam Smith produced a great save to win the shootout for Yeovil and advance the club into the First Round Proper of the FA Cup.

Full Time: Yeovil Town 3-3 Dover Athletic - (Yeovil Town win 7-6 on penalties)

After such a dominant display in the opening 40 minutes Yeovil will be majorly disappointed with the way they threw away their 2 goal cushion and again failed to hold on to the lead in the second half.

Town were the better side yet again today but couldn't win in in 90 minutes which was frustrating but some excellent penalties saw them through where we will await to see who we are drawn against in the First Round with the draw taking place on Monday evening at 7PM.

Yeovil return to league action on Tuesday evening as they host Sutton United before another home game on Saturday against Chesterfield.

Man of the match voting for this game against Dover is now open. You can cast your vote here.

Yeovil Town

1 - Adam Smith, 18 - Albi Skendi, 32 - Josh Staunton, 3 - Carl Dickinson, 2 - Daniel Leadbitter, 16 - Gabby Rogers (replaced by 5 - Ryan Burke on 85 minutes), 8 - Lawson D'Ath (replaced by 7 - Matt Worthington on 67 minutes), 22 - Charlie Lee (replaced by 10 - Jimmy Smith on 85 minutes, 11 - Matt Warburton, 9 - Rhys Murphy, 19 - Joe Quigley

Substitutes

23 - Harry Palmer, 5 - Ryan Burke, 7 - Matt Worthington, 10 - Jimmy Smith, 15 - Jack Clarke, Alfie Lloyd

Dover Athletic

24 - Tom Smith, 2 - Josh Passley, 7 - Louis Collins, 8 - Kurtis Cumberbatch, 9 - Ahkeem Rose, 11 - Jack Munns, 12 - Bilel Hinchiri (replaced by 4 - Oscar Gobern on 60 minutes), 14 - TJ Bramble, 16 - Marshall Wratten, 20 - Marvel Ekpiteta, 22 - Bayli Spender-Adams

Substitutes

1 - Yusuf Mersin, 23 - Sam Wood, 4 - Oscar Gobern, 5 - Paul Rooney, 10 - Steve Rigg, 19 - Ade Azeez, 21 - Will Moses