Match report: Yeovil Town 0, Liverpool 2

FA CUP THIRD ROUND

YEOVIL TOWN 0, LIVERPOOL 2

STEVE SOWDEN REPORTS FROM HUISH PARK

YEOVIL Town were victorious in defeat on a day when the Premiership stars of Liverpool were made to fight every inch of the way by the giant-killing Glovers.

Gary Johnson's team held the Merseyside millionaires for 70 minutes in an intriguing battle at a packed Huish Park on Sunday afternoon - which for so long oozed the potential of Yeovil springing a massive shock.

But goals by Liverpool substitute Emile Heskey and a controversial Danny Murphy penalty in the final 20 minutes of play secured the Anfield outfit's passage into the Fourth Round.

And although the Yeovil players walked off at the end disappointed that their dream of further cup glory had gone, they were able to hold their heads high after a gutsy performance against a side 66 places above them in the football pyramid.

Not only did Yeovil match Liverpool for long periods of the game they actually out-played them in an entertaining first-half in which the Glovers, given a little more rub of the green, could have quite easily built up a lead.

And under-pressure Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier, who looked an extremely relieved man after the game, said: "Now I understand why they call Yeovil the giant-killers.

"We had to withstand their pressure and they started very brightly. Yeovil must be proud of their performance because they gave us a very hard game.

"Yeovil are a good side. They have got a good combination of aerial threat and they can pass the ball about and play.

"But we were extremely professional and we had the right attitude and the right approach. We knew we had to be extremely committed and had to keep strong.

"But I knew that if we went in at half-time 0-0, we would come out stronger in the second-half." Yeovil boss Gary Johnson was disappointed, but proud that his players had given Liverpool a game.

"We were very happy at half-time to be staying in the game," he said. "We had created a few chances and our shape was looking quite strong.

"At half-time we knew that if we produced the same in the second period the game would be close.

"But Liverpool came out and showed their Premiership quality in not giving the ball away.

"But I'm very proud that our football club staged this event and I'm very proud that the boys showed they could compete with this level.

"Liverpool had a good attitude and they ended up winning the game, but we played our part in a good match and we certainly didn't just turn up to watch Liverpool play."

Yeovil began the match in tremendous mood and were certainly 'up for it' while Liverpool looked uncomfortable and slightly surprised at the manner in which their hosts took to the game.

The first-half definitely belonged to the boys in green and white hoops and they came closest to scoring when Gavin Williams unleashed a shot from the edge of the box which Liverpool keeper Jerzy Dudek did well to turn around for a corner. And then from the resulting corner Yeovil defender Colin Pluck got in a shot only for the ball to hit the side netting.

Liverpool were on the back foot and with Yeovil shooting towards their fans congregated in the packed Westland Stand terrace, it was the Glovers who looked the more capable of scoring.

At times Yeovil played some cracking passing football and one fine moment saw Darren Way have an effort go wide, but if the ball had fallen better he might have been able to have got a more clinical shot on goal.

Liverpool - who had travelled without their England star striker Michael Owen due to injury - did not look at all at ease and their 1,500 fans remained subdued for the entire match, while the Yeovil masses in the record 9,348 Huish Park crowd cheered and willed their heroes on from start to finish.

The Merseyside outfit, without the injured duo of Owen and Steven Gerrard, also kept England man Heskey on the bench.

But they still possessed some great players in the starting line-up such as Harry Kewell, Dietmar Hamann and Sami Hyypia. But it was Yeovil who looked the better of the two sides and no wonder former Liverpool great Alan Hansen, who was at Huish Park as part of the BBC team, was a worried man at the interval.

The likes of Sinama-Pongolle and Senegal international El Hadj Diouf looked pretty awful, while Kewell, who also had a stinker but played a critical role in the second goal, was kept quiet.

Yeovil had to regroup in the closing stages of the opening period when Paul Terry had to go off injured following a hefty challenge from John Arne Riise and was replaced by local lad Andy Lindegaard.

The mist that had been rolling about Huish Park all morning suddenly drifted into the playing arena and during the break it became so thick that some supporters were beginning to wonder whether the match would be completed.

But the mist had shifted by the start of the second-half and although Yeovil kept going, Liverpool began to come into the game more and the crucial point came in the 51st minute when Heskey was introduced to the fray at the expense of Sinama-Pongolle.

Almost immediately Heskey - who has critics across the land including, now, Yeovil - nearly broke the deadlock when he raced in on goal only for Yeovil keeper Chris Weale to bravely advance and save with his body.

Heskey then played Vladimir Smicer into space and the Czech's shot came back off the post and it was hacked away by a relieved Yeovil defence.

But there was nothing Weale could do in the 70th minute when Danny Murphy played through Heskey and his angled shot beat the keeper's dive and into the corner of the net.

You could sense now that perhaps, just perhaps, that Yeovil's hopes of causing an upset were now dwindling fast and they became extinct seven minutes after the opener when Murphy converted a penalty. Kewell, who had been virtually non-existent all game, got into the box and went down theatrically under a challenge by Yeovil's giant defender Hugo Rodrigues. Despite the protests of the Yeovil players, Premiership referee Neale Barry pointed to the spot and Murphy duly converted.

It was now a case of Yeovil saving pride and so they did.

At 2-0 down and with thoughts of Yeovil getting a financially rewarding replay all but over, the Glovers still had the courage and fight to go looking for goals.

Yeovil skipper Terry Skiverton, who had an excellent match, saw his header from a cross put over by substitute Jamie Gosling go agonisingly wide.

And then a great effort from another Yeovil substitute, Kirk Jackson, produced another good save from Dudek. Goalkeepers are often the heroes in the FA Cup - just think back to Dickie Dyke's wonder show for the Glovers in their famous 2-1 giant-killing victory over Sunderland in 1949 - and Dudek was certainly the saviour for Liverpool.

It was a day when Yeovil were good, but not quite good enough, to produce a huge shock. While a relieved Liverpool headed home to prepare for their midweek Premiership battle at Chelsea, the Glovers could hold their heads high and look forward to their Division Three meeting with Rochdale at Huish Park on Saturday.

Disappointment might have been in evidence come the end, but when you think that the £265,000 windfall Yeovil received in television cash would just about cover Michael Owen's monthly wage and that Heskey's £11-million transfer fee was something like 200 times more than the cost of the Glovers starting line-up, it certainly put the result into perspective.

But one thing is for sure. While the pressure will continue to build on Houllier to get the Merseysiders back among the big guns of English football, Yeovil should go from strength to strength with the lessons and experiences they learnt from the day when they ran Liverpool mighty close and did the town proud.