Shepton Mallet miss out in thriller with Yeovil Town

Shepton Mallet 4 Yeovil Town 6

Shepton Mallet can take pride from their exploits in a thrilling clash with Yeovil Town, after they made a heroic exit from the Somerset Premier Cup on Tuesday night.

A crowd of more than 200 saw Glyn Shaw's side produce an impressive display against their npower League 1 opponents in a match that entertained right up until the final whistle.

"We did alright but we did make a couple of mistakes and we got punished. That is typical of us, we are very gung-ho in the way we play," said manager Shaw.

"We made those silly mistakes and basically gave them those goals. Had we avoided them it could have been 4-4 and it would have been a different game.

"I think the lads played very well, though, and battled hard for 90 minutes. They had several players with first-team experience and we coped well.

"Every one of the lads can be proud of the performance. We have come a very long way in a short space of time.

"If you look the level that they play, I thought there was a chance we could lose by ten but that would have been an injustice to the lads."

As expected, the Glovers made most of the early running and Shepton goalkeeper Craig Rothwell did well to deny both Steve MacLean and Anthony Edgar in the opening 15 minutes.

MacLean then hit the post before the home side went close themselves when Ashley Willmott robbed Abdulai Bel- Baggie 30 yards from goal and unleashed a wonderful strike that Gareth Stewart did well to turn to safety.

Shepton then gifted the visitors the opening goal when the quick-thinking Nathan Jones rolled the ball into the path of Rhys Baggridge at a free-kick and he slotted the ball past Rothwell with the home defence napping.

Yeovil doubled their advantage within a minute when the quick feet of Bel-Baggie saw him side-step two defenders before slipping the ball into Tommy Smith, who thumped home.

Shepton reduced the arrears ten minutes from the break when Danny Collins set up James Boyland, who curled a terrific shot into the far corner of the net from 25 yards.

Smith then saw an effort rebounded off the post as Yeovil failed to extend their lead before the interval.

Shepton's Dean Grubb went close with a fine free-kick early in the second period but Yeovil put the game to bed with three goals in a devastating four-minute spell.

A Tom Parsons mistake allowed Oli Johnson to find the net before MacLean got on the scoresheet with a close-range effort. Billy Gibson then scored with a fine low shot from distance as the Glovers looked to be out of sight.

Shepton kept battling, however, and a deep cross from Rob Banfield to the back post was bundled home by Brad Allen.

Yeovil soon restored their four-goal cushion when MacLean got his second of the night from Johnson's intelligent pass.

The hosts refused to lay down, though, and a Rich Powell scored twice late on to make the scoreline much more respectable.

Merv's merit marks: C Rothwell 8, T Parsons 6, B Allen 7, N Best 8, R Banfield 8, L Ward 7, D COLLINS 9, J Boyland 7, D Grubb 8, J Morgan 8, A Willmott 8. Sub: R Powell 7.

Referee: David Bryant 8.

Entertainment value: 10.