Yeovil Town 3 Woking 1
The Buildbase FA Trophy Third Round
18th December 2021

The game was played at a chilly Huish Park, home of Yeovil Town on the Saturday before Christmas in front of a decent sized crowd. Woking reverted to a more familiar line-up after the mid-week changes against Westfield. Craig Ross, who played on Tuesday, was retained in goal with Josh Casey returning to lead the side and Tom Champion at the back. Max Kretzschmar and Tahvon Campbell also returned to bolster the attack along with Rohan Ince. Nathan Collier was left out and Tarryn Allarakhia, Louis Britton and Jake Rumble all featured on the subs bench.

Despite playing well and leading until the 80th minute, they exited the competition. conceding three times in the final quarter of an hour (including added time). The final score line flattered their hosts and was a trifle harsh on the Cards who played with purpose throughout, but an enforced defensive reshuffle in the closing stages afforded the Glovers a little extra space that ultimately proved decisive.

The match started brightly for the visitors who looked to build on their mid-week success and the confidence boost that had given them. The home side then forced a couple of corners which were both negotiated safely by the Woking defence. The Cards then had their first opportunity to open the scoring after a driving run forward by Tahvon Campbell played in Max Kretzschmar who shot across debutant Evans but wide of goal in the eleventh minute.

Woking then gained a corner after a good run down the left by Inih Effiong; the set-piece from Kretzschmar found Joe McNerney, but his header came down off the bar and was cleared off the line by the home defence and the danger was averted. The Yeovil bench were clearly getting frustrated at this point and it was no surprise that Woking took a deserved lead after 22 minutes.

Craig Ross bowled the ball out to Tommy Block who made a great run forward and fed Tahvon Campbell who finished with aplomb into the bottom left corner of the net. This was a fitting reward for the Cards and was greeted with delight by the small band of travelling supporters who had made their way down to Somerset.

Yeovil responded to going behind by heading a freekick wide of goal and then Effiong found himself in the referee’s notebook for an alleged foul on home captain Worthington after 27 minutes. A minute later Tommy Block had a chance to inflict further damage, but his shot was blocked. The Glovers responded with a shot saved by Ross, but the offside flag had been raised.

Josh Casey then became the second player to receive a caution, another debatable decision from the over-fussy man in the middle. A third yellow for the Cards followed for Joe McNerney; from the resultant free-kick Effiong rose tallest to head the ball away to safety. He then had a chance to extend the lead, but his effort was blocked. Yeovil’s Bradley then became the first home player booked for a pull back on Casey. The freekick was played to Tyreke Johnson who fed Kretzschmar, but he too was blocked from doubling the lead. Yeovil counter-attacked but Ross again saved well; he was then fouled by Worthington who was fortunate to escape with just a caution. Three added minutes were played before Mr Rhodes signalled the end of the half with the visitors a goal to the good.

Half-time: Yeovil Town 0 Woking 1

The second period started with a substitution for the home side with Josh Staunton replacing Luke Wilkinson although nothing of note happened until the 52nd minute when, from a corner on the far side, Woking caused chaos in their opponent’s box with the ball being headed out of their keeper’s hands by a defender before being cleared. The visitors then made their first change three minutes later when Tarryn Allarakhia came on to replace the hard-working Max Kretzschmar.

There was then a short hold-up in play as Casey was treated on the field. When play restarted, he was again fouled but no booking ensued; one can only assume that the referee had left this in the dressing room at half time. The Glovers then made their second switch with Reuben Reid coming off to be replaced by the combative Yussuf, whilst Tyreke Johnson limped off unable to continue.

Having had a couple of minutes to warm up, new signing Shane Dunne came on to take his place.
Another foul on Casey resulted in yet another freekick to the Cards which came to naught. Yeovil then forced two successive corners, the first of which brought a fantastic save from Ross to keep the visitor’s lead intact. On 72 minutes they made their final change with Moussa Diarra coming for Rohan Ince which forced the Cards to shuffle their defence for the final phase of the match.

The home side then made their final switch with Jordan Barnett replacing Alex Bradley. They now drove forward and gained two more corners. Into the last ten minutes they were finally on terms when Yussuf shot and turned on a sixpence to restore parity, giving Ross no chance and raised the prospect of a frantic finale.

With five minutes remaining, Casey’s freekick found McNerney but he volleyed over in a rare second half sight of goal. Barely a minute later Yeovil had turned the game around when a cross into the box was headed into the net by Tom Knowles to give them the lead.

The Cards then pushed forward in search of an equaliser but only had a corner to show for the efforts. They were then unfairly punished in the last of five minutes when Yussuf was played into space to claim his second. The referee then brought proceedings to a close with the final whistle and the home side had claimed their place in the fourth round.

The final score line was harsh on Woking who had seemed on course for a battling away win until the final act with Yussuf doing his best to audition for a pantomime villain as the holiday season approached. The Trophy trail was thus terminated for the Cards at the first hurdle, leaving them to concentrate on the business of gaining league points with lots of games coming up in a short space of time.

The first of these is away to old rivals Aldershot Town on Boxing Day followed by home matches against bottom-placed Dover Athletic on the 28th and then the return against Aldershot on January 2nd.

Woking: 13 Craig Ross, 3 Josh Casey ©, 4 Tom Champion, 5 Joe McNerney, 9 Inih Effiong, 10 Max Kretzschmar (Tarryn Allarakhia 55’), 11 Tyreke Johnson (Shane Dunne 65’), 16 Louis Annesley, 19 Tahvon Campbell, 21 Tommy Block, 24 Rohan Ince (Moussa Diarra 72’)

Unused subs: 1 Mark Smith (Gk), 18 Louis Britton, 26 Jake Rumble

Goals: Campbell 22’

Bookings: Effiong 27’, Casey 31’, McNerney 33’

Yeovil Town 12 Max Evans, 5 Max Hunt, 6 Luke Wilkinson © (32 Josh Staunton 46’), 7 Matthew Worthington, 8 Dale Gorman, 9 Reuben Reid (23 Adi Yussuf 62’), 11 Tom Knowles, 14 Alex Bradley (3 Jordan Barnett 74’), 15 Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 22 Daniel Moss, 36 Jaheim Headley

Unused subs: 1 Grant Smith (Gk), 19 Charlie Wakefield, 35 Oliver Haste

Goals: Yussuf 81’,90+5’, Knowles 86’

Bookings: Bradley 38’, Wilkinson 45’

Referee: Gareth Rhodes

Attendance: 1493 (30 away)

Man of the Match: Joe McNerney had an excellent game but he was just shaded by Louis Annesley who stood tall at the back to earn my vote and gain a second successive MOTM