FA CUP: Yeovil Town 2, Accrington Stanley 0

YEOVIL Town fans can now talk about with 100 per cent accuracy. Manchester United will be visiting HuishPark on Sunday, January 4, 2015, for the FA Cup Third Round.

There had been excited talk around Huish Park for over a week since the Third Round draw had been made which had paired Yeovil with a potential tie with United – but the Glovers knew they had to beat Accrington Stanley first in a Second Round replay.

There was a real sense of nervous tension at the ground for last night’s (Tuesday, December 16, 2014) replay with both teams and both sets of supporters knowing the huge prize which awaited whoever came out on top.

That atmosphere – coupled with difficult weather conditions – made the game a tense affair which rarely failed to get the supporters on their feet.

But the quality of the game did not actually matter as the only thing that counted come the end was the scoreline.

PHOTOS - TOP: Yeovil Town match winners Simon Gillett (left) and Kieffer Moore (right) who scored the two all-important goals.

And thank goodness the result fell Yeovil’s way. Anyone close to the club can only imagine what the outcome might have been had it been Accrington who were this morning looking forward to welcoming Manchester United to their ground in the first weekend of the New Year.

Yeovil left things late – very late in fact – to get the goals needed to see themselves safely through to the Third Round.

A poor punched clearance by the Accrington keeper fell kindly for Simon Gillett just outside the box who smashed the ball home into an empty net to break the barren scoreline on 84 minutes.

The goal lifted the Yeovil fans in the 6,373 crowd at a time when everyone was beginning to think about extra-time and a possible dread penalty shoot-out.

There was still six minutes to go and there was still time for Accrington to get back on level terms so it was difficult for the majority of the Yeovil supporters to celebrate too wildly.

But those lingering nerves were swept aside two minutes from time when Kieffer Moore, who had come on as a 69th minute substitute, headed home from close range a Sam Foley cross. Job done – Yeovil could now start looking forward to the visit of Manchester United.

It could have been so different, however, had Accrington had a little slice of luck just before Gillett’s opener.

Shay McCartan smashed a great shot against the bar with Yeovil keeper Jed Steer and then, amazingly, Matt Crooks headed the rebound wide from close range. Had that gone in and Yeovil would have been staring at a disastrous cup exit.

Real chances were few and far between in the opening period.

Gillett went close with a decent effort, while Yeovil came closest to scoring early doors in amazing circumstances when there was a mix-up between the visiting keeper and defender Tom Aldred who could only watch as a mistimed back-header go agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

The Yeovil Press is delighted that former Glovers’ player, Dave Piper, now of AJ Supplies, sponsors Yeovil Town coverage on this website. For more details about AJ Supplies click on their logo-advert on the right-hand side of this website.

Tags:
Yeovil Town FC.