Yeovil Town 0-1 Kingstonian
K'S SERA SERA - JUST LIKE LAST YEAR

Twelve months ago the location was Kingsmeadow. This year it was Huish Park, but there were so many similarities to last year's game that one could be forgiven for getting a touch confused. There was a feeling that, whichever one of these two sides came out the winner, they would stand a very good chance of going all the way to Wembley (just the same as last year). Add to that the spice of Lippiatt returning to his old side (just the same as last year), the on-going Patterson v Pitman feud (just the same as last year) and the ill-feeling after last year's post-match "incident". And guess what? That turned out almost the same as last year.

The game itself was a turgid affair. Neither the pitch nor the weather helped - the middle of the field looked like a tractor racing circuit and the wind was such that certain people were discussing just what would happen if a goalkeeper sent a goal-kick into his own net. That said, there were certainly many incidents of note, but a definite lack of finesse.

Yeovil started much the better (just the same as last year) (oh ok, I'll stop now) and came close to scoring early on, when Ben Smith made Steve Farrelly produce a good save low to his left. The ball spilled out but was hacked clear by Matt Crossley.

Now the Patterson v Pitman affair has been going on for a while. Yes Patterson made an awful challenge back in 1998 which broke the youngster's leg, and yes he should have been sent off. Yet since that day, Yeovil players have targeted him relentlessly. On this occasion it took just five minutes for their niggling ankle-taps and snide comments to produce a result. A totally innocuous foul on Warren Patmore was followed by two or three Yeovil players begging the referee to get tough, and for some reason the referee succumbed. For the next 85 minutes Patto was one foul away from an early bath. The fact that he was one of the victorious eleven left at the end speaks volumes for how much he has learned in the last few months.

Patterson came close to giving K's an early lead just after. Simon Stewart had been fouled on the edge of the Glovers' box when the number seven sent a quick free-kick just wide of the right-hand upright. The shot was a lot closer than most people seemed to realise, but this was K's only real chance of the early part of the game.

Derek Allan was next to be booked, for yet another innocuous challenge, this time on Chandler, but at this time there was no real pattern to the game. Yeovil had started off better, but K's had soaked up the pressure and were now giving as good as they were getting. The Yeovil crowd almost had something to shout about when Farrelly came a long way from goal to clear, which allowed Smith to get in a long shot. The shot was saved with ease.

Now the Patterson v Pitman affair has been going on for a while. Most K's fans felt sorry for the youngster, but today he made sure that all sympathy went out of the window. A fair challenge was made on him by Simon Stewart, yet for some reason, Pitman decided that it deserved some action and so took off in a perfect swan-dive. The referee clearly agreed with all intelligent people - that he had dived - yet took no action.

The last five minutes of the half were pure K's pressure though, and it was great to see. First of all, Wingfield crossed into the box (which was an achievement in itself, considering the wind) and Leworthy headed just over. But the effort would have been disallowed had it gone in, as the referee thought that Dave had fouled the defender. He probably would have booked him too.

Just afterwards Eddie Akuamoah went on a mazy run from right to left. His pass found Phil Wingfield near the goal-line on the left and his shot flew across the face of goal. With Leworthy in close attendance the ball was hacked away for a corner. From this Derek Allan was left un-marked at the far post and headed goalwards. Pennock's right hand saved that effort, but the ball span out to Simon Stewart. Another precision header was sent back in at goal, but Poole just managed to get his head to it to send the ball away.

And then K's struck. Colin Luckett played a ball in from the left hand side towards Leworthy. To say that his header was perfect is an understatement. He even seemed to take account of the wind when he met the ball, and steered it just inside the left-hand post with his forehead. Pennock was rooted to the spot, but even if he'd tried to get to the ball he would have failed.

There was just time left for Wingfield to pick up his own booking for a foul in the corner and, guess what? It was another one which didn't deserve the yellow card. If all fouls as bad as that one received a caution then there would, quite seriously, be nobody left on the field at the end. Oh, apart from Yeovil players, as they seemed to be allowed to make any sort of challenge that they wanted to.

The second half was to see K's with the wind in their faces, but there seemed to be no change in the home side's attitude. Ben Smith took off on yet another mission to get somebody booked when Mustafa challenged him. Once again the referee wasn't fooled, but once again he took no action against the diver. Foster was the next to resort to these desperate measures when Gary Patterson tackled him in the area. No that's not right. All that Patto was doing was running next to the number ten when the green-shirted one suddenly collapsed into a heap on the ground. Perhaps realising that he shouldn't get involved, Patto wisely left the remonstrations to (un-booked) Simon Stewart, who gave Foster an earful.

Now the Patterson v Pitman affair has been going on for a while. But the next incident didn't involve Patterson - it was his midfield partner Geoff Pitcher this time. There was a foul, Yeovil rightly got a free-kick, but whether it deserved a yellow card (which the referee thought it warranted) is debatable. Nobody likes to see players stretchered off, but let's just say that there would have been more sympathy had Pitman not spent the last 60 minutes trying to get K's players into trouble.

Yeovil were finally taken to task over their foul play when a quite awful tackle by Cousins on Wingfield was punished with a yellow card. Quite how it took over an hour for one to be shown to the home side is a mystery.

Mark Harris came on for the injured Simon Stewart and things were getting nervy. It was clear that the Yeovil players knew that they had to score before the end of this game to save their season. That they didn't is down to some superb defensive play from Kingstonian. Patmore went close with a header, after a long Pennock punt, but only because Harris was yet to be adjusted to the pace of the game. He had played the fat forward onside and received a ticking off from Derek Allan for doing so.

Steve Farrelly deserved thanks at the end too. The first of two brilliant saves came from Foster. The attacker was played through on the Yeovil right to a one-on-one with the big man. Farrelly stood up for as long as he could and just got his left hand to the ball to turn the shot aside for a corner.

Another long punt hit Foster and bounced perfectly for Ben Smith to shoot. He wasted the chance with an awful shot over. But the best chance for Yeovil to win a replay fell to substitute Hayfield. He was through on the edge of the box and he took his shot from 18 yards. Farrelly took off one way, the ball deflected off of Derek Allan and went t'other. Somehow Farrelly managed to twist himself around in mid-air to tip the ball just over the bar. By this time injury time was close, and it looked as though K's had done enough.

Some four extra minutes were played, but K's even managed to do this part well. Several free-kicks were won when frustrated Yeovil players kicked out. One was booked, the rest were allowed to do what they liked. And then amongst all of this K's had the chance to wrap up the tie. Mustafa took off on a run and Eddie headed to the corner, probably to receive the ball and waste some time. However, three Yeovil defenders went with him leaving Tarkan the chance to get in a good shot at goal. He wasted the chance, but it also wasted more time.

The whistle went and K's were through, one-nil - just like last year. The players celebrated and Lippiatt certainly looked happy as he came over to the travelling K's-ites at the end. The Yeovil fans will no doubt claim that Patterson deserved to get sent off, that K's are a bunch of fouling brats and that the goal should have been disallowed. It shouldn't though. The simple fact is that K's defended superbly, took their best chance of the game and deserved to win.

The less said about this year's post-match incident the better. All we can hope is that Yeovil now admit that they have a problem and that they do something about it. Their team may have let them down, but that is no reason to take out their frustrations on visiting supporters. Or their own stewards for that matter.

But hey - K's won one-nil and there are now just two rounds until Wembley. And who knows? Come May 13th it may be red and white ribbons on the Trophy once again. And Gary Patterson might just have another Trophy winners medal. After his display today, he certainly deserves it.