Yeovil Town were held to a dramatic 3-3 draw by Leatherhead in an FA Cup tie that appeared to be under control before a chaotic final 25 minutes turned the match on its head.
The result means the sides will meet again at Yeovil’s home ground, with manager Billy Rowley already looking ahead to a replay in which he expects his squad to be more prepared for the way it wants to play.
Yeovil lose control after taking the lead
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman after the final whistle, Rowley said the match had changed from a position where Yeovil should have been cruising to one where the visitors had to settle for a draw.
“Surprisingly, I’m… I’m absolutely fine, really… Maybe I shouldn’t be, because obviously you’re winning and you should be cruising and suddenly you’re not,” he said.
Yeovil scored within 30 seconds of the second half beginning, but Leatherhead fought back as defensive errors opened the door. Rowley said his team had been in “complete control” before conceding through a series of mistakes, including an own goal.
“Yeah, I think you’ve just answered my question for me. It’s defensive mishaps. We were in complete control, a couple of balls in our box, we score an own goal,” Rowley said.
Penalty decision adds to frustration
Rowley felt Yeovil’s chances should have been enough to earn victory. He pointed to an incident involving Ste Walker and argued that the visitors should have been awarded a second penalty after the referee had already given one.
“I think the only thing that let us down was probably like the last 25 minutes. Ste Walker goes down, I think once the referee gives us one penalty, for some reason, he can’t give us a second, which we looked on the replay, it’s a… it’s a penalty,” he said.
The manager believed the decision could have been decisive: “You, you know, you might score that, 3-0, game over.” Instead, Yeovil conceded “a couple of really strange goals” as Leatherhead recovered from the deficit.
Rowley described the defending as particularly unfortunate, saying: “The gods weren’t on our side from the defending point of view.”
Manager praises travelling supporters
Despite the disappointment, Rowley said Yeovil had to accept the outcome after failing to convert its opportunities while Leatherhead took advantage of theirs.
“You can’t just go for every game, win 6-0,” he said. “This is football. We’re winning the game, we didn’t take our chances, they take theirs, we’re drawing, and, and that’s it. That’s… that’s the game.”
He also praised the Leatherhead crowd and Yeovil supporters who travelled in difficult conditions, saying the home side had done a good job creating the atmosphere and that Yeovil’s support had been excellent.
Attention now turns to the replay at Yeovil’s ground. Rowley said: “[At] our place, we will obviously… I think we’ll be a lot more, rehearsed in… in how we want to play”.