FA Cup second round Yeovil Town 1-0 Stevenage: Darren Sarll's giant-killing Glovers create cup upset as former Boro boss beats old club

By Layth Yousif 5th Dec 2021

Yeovil Town hosted Stevenage at the Huish on Saturday
Yeovil Town hosted Stevenage at the Huish on Saturday

FA Cup second round: Yeovil Town 1-0 Stevenage.

Renowned non-league giantkillers Yeovil Town knocked out League Two Stevenage live on BBC television on Saturday evening.

A second half goal by Charlie Wakefield was enough to put the home side in the draw for the third round of the world's oldest knock-out tournament.

In a cracking cup tie at a bitterly cold Huish, the home side that currently sit 10th in the of the National League made headlines across the land when knocking out Paul Tisdale's Boro in front of a crowd of 2,754, which included 226 travelling fans.

The Glovers, led by former Boro boss Darren Sarll, started brightly, and were on the front foot from the off, nearly going ahead in the first move of the match.

Another ex Stevenage man in green and white was Dale Gorman, who Sarll took to the West Country after he departed the Lamex.

And it was the 25-year-old Northern Irish midfielder who nearly scored moments after the kick-off when his shot flew narrowly wide.

Stevenage, led by Paul Tisdale nearly grabbed a goal of their own, when Glovers keeper Grant Smith saved from Elliot Obsborne after Luther James Wildin fed him, following an excellent ball from Jake Reeves.

The televised cup tie marked Tisdale's first official game in charge after Robbie O'Keefe led the team on Tuesday, when Boro lost on penalties to Sutton in the Papa John's Trophy, despite the former Exeter boss picking the side and being on the bench.

It was instructive to note Tisdale picked the creative but mercurial Bruno Andrade in his starting XI, certainly when he was rarely selected under former boss Alex Revell.

There was plenty of endeavour in a hard-fought game, even if there was a scarcity of end product.

On a cold and yet evening, the Glovers' Josh Staunton firing narrowly wide on 34 minutes, shortly after Luke Prosser shot over Smith's bar were the highlights before the interval.

Despite the mercury dropping still further after the break, the tempo rose significantly when Sarll's side dominated the visitors.

Something had to give, and six minutes after half time Glovers No19 slotted home following an excellent through ball by Sonny Blu Lo-Everton to put Yeovil 1-0 ahead.

Stung in action, Tisdale responded by hooking captain Luke Prosser shortly afterwards, as he opted to revert to three at the back by introducing forward Luke Norris to offer more of an attacking threat.

The move nearly paid off when Andrade powered through, but Glovers keeper Smith saved from the 28-year-old Portuguese forward when one-on-one.

Yeovil's Matt Worthington broke through to fire narrowly across Stevenage's goal.

As the clock ticked down it didn't escape anyone's notice that Yeovil have a proud history in the FA Cup stretching back to their giant killing victory over First Division side Sunderland 2-1 in 1949.

At the final whistle on Saturday they added another league scalp to the list.

     

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