Match Report - Yeovil Town v Torquay United

Yeovil Town claimed revenge for their humiliating 6-1 defeat at Plainmoor on Boxing Day by coming from behind to win the reverse fixture 2-1 at Huish Park this afternoon. Late goals from Josh Neufville and Luke Wilkinson gave Town the lead after Aaron Nemane gave the away side the lead early in the second half. After six minutes of injury time were up Yeovil held on to start the new year with a well deserved win and a welcome three points.

Darren Sarll made two changes to the side that beat Aldershot Town 3-0 on Monday - Gabriel Osho being replaced by Alex Bradley and Joe Quigley being replaced by Josh Neufville.

Once again Yeovil lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Carl Dickinson, Luke Wilkinson, Max Hunt and Alex Bradley in front of Adam Smith. Charlie Lee, Matt Worthington, Lawson D'Ath and Albi Skendi made up the midfield and Courtney Duffus and Josh Neufville lead the attack.

Yeovil Town kicked the game off shooting towards the home terrace.

As was to be expected it was Torquay who enjoyed more of the opening exchanges as they looked the more creative of the two sides and playing neat quick football while enjoying more possession.

Yeovil's first chance of the game came on 13 minutes a header by Luke Wilkinson was comfortably caught by Lucas Covolan in the Torquay goal.

Just one minute later Torquay almost took the lead as Josh Umerah broke away down the left hand side but was forced wide by Carl Dickinson. Umerah then unleashed a shot across goal that flashed wide of the far post.

The first corner of the game came on 19 minutes for Torquay United on the fight hand side but it came to nothing.

Yeovil won their first corner on 21 minutes, Carl Dickinson crossed the ball into the box but it was headed away.

For the remainder of the half the game was rather flat with neither side looking particularly threatening.

The closest either side came to breaking the deadlock was on 42 minutes when a corner on the right hand side taken by Lawson D'Ath was crossed into the box. A header from Luke Wilkinson skewed off the top of the crossbar which was the best chance of the game so far.

2 minutes of time was added on at the end of the half and the 0-0 score line was reflective of the game so far but it must be said that Yeovil were matching their top-of-the table opponents for most of the half and deserved to go in level.

Half Time: Yeovil Town 0-0 Torquay United

The second half started in the worst possible way for Yeovil as Torquay United took the lead less that one minute after the restart. Aaron Nemane broke away down the center of the pitch and ended up 1 on 1 with Adam Smith. Nemane kept his cool and slotted past Smith to give the away side the lead.

This was harsh on Yeovil as they had given Torquay a good game so far but one slight lapse of concentration is all it takes for a side with their quality to capitalise and they took their opportunity well.

On 51 minutes play had to be halted as Charlie Lee went down in the Yeovil penalty area and needed to receive treatment. He was deemed unfit to continue playing and hobbled off the field - being replaced by Emmanuel Sonupe.

Just before the hour mark Yeovil had a penalty appeal turned down as Josh Neufville appeared to be fouled in the box but the referee waved away the appeals.

The next 10 minutes were fairly tame as once again neither side looked particularly threatening. Torquay were slightly edging the game in terms of their possession but Yeovil were keeping them at bay and preventing them increasing their lead.

On 73 minutes Yeovil had a good chance to equalise as a low hard shot from Alex Bradley was saved but spilled by Lucas Covolan. Josh Nuefville ran onto the loose ball but to Covolan's credit he was able to recover and pounced on the ball to prevent the equaliser.

On 74 minutes Yeovil made their second substitute of the game as Courtney Duffus made way for Tom Knowles.

Yeovil were now starting to look the better of the two sides and were threatening an equalising goal. This almost came on 76 minutes as Josh Neufville broke through the Torquay defence, drove forward and tried to dink the ball over the keeper but he got too much on it and it sailed over the bar.

On 79 minutes Yeovil made their final substitution - introducing Matt Warburton for Matt Worthington.

As the final 10 minutes ticked away Yeovil could sense that they could get something out of this game and they continued to press. The goal that their play merited finally came on 87 minutes as Josh Neufville slammed the ball home following a bit of a scramble in the Torquay United box to give Yeovil some hope of getting a result.

6 minutes of time was added on at the end of the game and just as we were hoping that Yeovil could hold out for a draw they went one better by taking the lead. A corner on the right hand side was delivered into the box by Carl Dickinson and Luke Wilkinson rose highest to head home and give Town an unexpected 2-1 lead in injury time.

Torquay then made their only substitution of the game by replacing former Yeovil Town defender Gary Warren with Billy Waters.

With five minutes of injury time still to play Yeovil Town had to ensure they held on and to their credit they did that superbly, holding up the ball well and almost making it 3-1 but a good save from Covolan prevented that.

In the end the injury time minutes passed with no concern and Yeovil claimed a superb victory to serve as revenge for their terrible result in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day.

Full Time: Yeovil Town 2-1 Torquay United

That's now two home wins on the trot and hopefully the squad has had a further boost in confidence at the manner in which they played today. It could be argued that Torquay just had an off day but you still need to capitalise on that and get the job done. Going behind early in the second half after the hard work of the first half could have allowed Yeovil heads to drop but they dug deep and got the reward.

The win sees us move up one to 19th with 14 points - above Kings Lynn Town on goal difference. An important fixture awaits the Glovers on Tuesday evening though as they make their shortest trip of the season as they travel down the A37 to face old rivals Weymouth at the Bob Lucas Stadium who are struggling at the wrong end of the table themselves at the moment. A win there would be most welcome - not just for bragging rights but also for helping to get us out of trouble.

Man of the match voting for this victory over Torquay United is now open. You can cast your vote here.



Full Time: Yeovil Town 2-1 Torquay United


Yeovil Town

1 - Adam Smith, 27 - Alex Bradley, 26 - Max Hunt, 6 - Luke Wilkinson, 3 - Carl Dickinson, 22 - Charlie Lee (replaced by 25 - Emmanuel Sonupe on 53 minutes), 8 - Lawson D'Ath, 18 - Albi Skendi, 7 - Matt Worthington (replaced by 11 - Matt Warburton on 79 minutes), 24 - Josh Neufville, 14 - Courtney Duffus (replaced by 21 - Tom Knowles on 75 minutes)

Substitutes

11 - Matt Warburton, 21 - Tom Knowles, 25 - Emmanuel Sonupe, 34 - Chris Dagnall, 23 - Harry Palmer

Torquay United

33 - Lucas Covolan, 4 - Kyle Cameron, 6 - Gary Warren (replaced by 25 - Billy Waters on 90 minutes), 7 - Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, 8 - Asa Hall, 12 - Adam Randell, 16 - Sam Sherring, 21 - Dean Moxey, 23 - Aaron Nemane, 34 - Ben Whitfield, 35 - Josh Umerah

Substitutes

1 - Shaun MacDonald, 5 - Fraser Kerr, 11 - Jake Andrews, 15 - Matt Buse, 25 - Billy Waters