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Tuesday 20th October 2009

Great Yarmouth Town 3, Gorleston 1 (aet)

  Ridgeons League Cup 1^st Round

So the long wait is over. The Bloaters have finally beaten Gorleston at the Wellesley after a near-12 year interval since 29^th November 1998. It was not a classic but Yarmouth did enough in the first half and in extra time to justify the result, as Gorleston manager Richard Daniels acknowledged: “At 90 minutes 1-1 was a fair result, but tiredness and maybe a little bit of fitness got us in the end.  Yarmouth definitely shaded extra time and I wish them all the best in the next round.” 

Bloaters’ boss Paul Tong thought the conditions played a part: “For 90 minutes it was a dour game. The wind perhaps spoilt it. We took the lead with a scambled goal and I thought we could have done more with the wind but to be fair to them they equalised, again when they had the wind. They could have kicked on and maybe taken the game but credit to our lads, we dug in when we weren’t playing very well.  

“Credit to the younger players who came to the fore, Jake Reed and Liam Bartley when they came on turned the game on its head. Jo Bell too when he came on; they created chances – and old man Roach scored again! But we’re well pleased at the end of the day. As I say, a local derby, dour game, but you’d have settled for 3-1 beforehand.” 

For a “dour” local derby while it was not exactly passionless four bookings and a sending off were not typical of the game play as they seemed to be for fairly innocuous misdemeanours: Gorleston’s Sean Blowers, for example, saw the red card six minutes from the end of extra time presumably for something said to the referee. 

The game started with a flurry of chances for both sides, Blowers and Adam Ferguson for the Greens, Stewart Roach and Gareth Palmer for the Bloaters all in the first ten minutes. Michael Hilton turned the ball round a post as Gorleston attacked from a corner, but it was Roach, looking well up for the game, who gave Yarmouth the lead after 30 minutes at the third attempt in a goalmouth scramble after another inswinging Scott Woodcock corner caused mayhem in the Greens’ defence. 

An Olly Savage attempt from distance saw former Yarmouth ‘keeper Elliott Pride get down well, and Yarmouth enjoyed a spell of their good passing game. 

The second half belonged to Gorleston and Yarmouth seemed becalmed; Gorleston soon equalised through ex-Bloater Steve Taylor

Yarmouth had occasional chances but a great flick-on by Roach was ushered away and Dominic Smith got his feet in a tangle with the ball when a shot looked on. Adam Thurtle showed good control for Gorleston but was knocked off the ball with the follow-up shot well saved by Hilton. 

Jake Reed replaced Fernando Vide, so the spectacle of the two Vide brothers, Fernando and Jose, on opposite sides was not to be, the latter coming off the bench a little later. 

Yarmouth began to get back on top as extra time got under way and Pride got his body well behind a strong shot from Smith. A Roach header saw the ball bounce in front of Pride and clear his head and the bar as some in the 141 crowd were prematurely beginning to celebrate. Then Liam Bartley, who had replaced Woodcock, and fellow-substitute Reed worked together in the last minute of the first extra period, with the former getting in a shot which was too hot for Pride to hold and Reed latching on to the loose ball and steering it home at the far post. 

Joe Bell replaced Martyn Magee and, as Yarmouth continued their late assault, Roach had a shot cleared off the line before finally wrapping up the victory, putting away a Bell cross in the 109th minute. 

While Tong was full of praise for his youngsters, he also paid tribute to other members of the team; “Craig Roberts who was left out  Saturday, came back and fought for everything,  “Mr Reliable” Olly Savage was tremendous again – ‘majestic’ you might say!  

“I was pleased for the players who now have the bragging rights until Boxing Day! Gorleston gave us as hard a game as anybody this season and had they taken their chances it could have been a different result.  

“It’s now nine wins in the last ten games, and winning breeds confidence, but now we’ve got to get back to league form.” 

Yarmouth – M Hilton, A Sewell, O Savage, C Roberts, G Palmer, M Saunders, S Woodcock (L Bartley 83), M Magee (J Bell 106), S Roach, D Smith, F Vide (J Reed 63).

Gorleston – E Pride, A Ferguson, T Daniels, C Webb, S Blowers, E Thompson, A Thurtle, A Mills, M Forbes, G Todd, S Taylor. Subs: D’Janiel Vareche, J Vide, S Butler (n/u), A Blowers.

Referee – E Goodman