To say that Tuesday's match with Yeovil Town was an epic does not do it justice at all. What an incredible night. Having been stuck in the basement division for a few years now, we have missed the twice-yearly battle with City and have been on the lookout for a replacement ever since relegation. Clashes with Oxford and Swansea have provided a bit of added spice in recent seasons but the arrival of Yeovil into the League has seen regional rivalry rise to another level. Getting stuffed twice last year by a side we used to smile down on as the plucky non-league giant killers was a bit of a shock to the system and admiration has undoubtedly shifted towards animosity, even though it's not their fault that they've proven to be a better team than us. It's not nice to be beaten by your neighbours and the fact that Yeovil share the local press and airwaves on Radio Bristol means that when they are riding higher than you, this rubs it in a bit more. After an early deflected goal for the visitors, the niggly undercurrent exploded when Gavin Williams and Dave Savage clashed in front of the dugouts. Maybe it was the dark away kit Yeovil were wearing on the night, but from where I was on the other side of the ground I could only see Savage's horrific punch, which he seemed to throw his full weight behind. It was worth at least three red cards but the ref could only brandish the one and the only issue in that instance was whether Williams should have been punished for his part in the angry exchanges. Amazingly, Steve Elliott got his marching orders just seconds later when Phil Jevons collapsed in a heap in the wake of apparent contact with the defender's arm. A tactical reshuffle at half-time resulted in Rovers coming out with a 4-3-1 formation for the second period but ten minutes after the break Williams curled the ball in for 2-0 and that seemed to be the final nail in the coffin. Playing two men short against a good footballing side and two goals to make up - there was no chance. Junior Agogo has the ability to be a top class striker, yet sometimes he can drift out of games which is infuriating when you recall some of his classic performances, like the one against Swansea at the back end of last season. On Tuesday he was simply outstanding, taking on the whole Yeovil back four on his own and creating several openings out of nothing. When he took two players out of the game on the wing and delivered a searing low cross for James Hunt to score, it seemed little more than a courageous consolation, considering the amount of possession Yeovil had. All we could really hope for was a set-piece, so that we could send the impressive Christian Edwards and John Anderson up to try and cause trouble in the box. Then with four minutes left, the big men did go forward for a free-kick. When the ball came in, Edwards seemed to get a big shove in the back and while the stadium screamed for a penalty, Junior slammed the ball home on the volley to send everyone in blue and white into raptures. It was one of those nights that will live with you forever, such was the sheer drama of it all. We got ourselves in a terrible mess but somehow we hauled ourselves back right at the death, saving our unbeaten home record in the process. © Chris Chappell - Friday 22nd October 2004 Back to Index