Match report: Yeovil Town 1, Swansea City 0

COCA-COLA LEAGUE TWO

YEOVIL TOWN 1, SWANSEA CITY 0

STEVE SOWDEN REPORTS FROM HUISH PARK

YEOVIL Town's Welsh midfielder, Gavin Williams, admitted feeling very nervous before stepping up to convert a late match-winning penalty against the team he loves to hate.

The self-confessed Cardiff City fan, the arch-rivals of visiting Swansea City, made an immense contribution to this hard-fought victory for Yeovil at Huish Park which helped to make amends for the 4-1 defeat the Glovers suffered at Mansfield on Bank Holiday Monday.

Williams, who had been sidelined by injury due to a badly broken finger he sustained in the 1-1 draw with Darlington on August 10, was a surprise inclusion on the bench for Saturday's match.

And it was Williams who helped to mastermind the victory over Swansea after being introduced to the fray at half-time. He was instrumental in much of Yeovil's play as they slowly but surely began to gain the initiative against the visiting Welsh side.

But it was not until the game was heading for one of the most highly-entertaining 0-0 draws ever to be seen at Huish Park that the crucial moment came in the 84th minute.

Williams put Phil Jevons away and the striker was felled by Garry Monk just as he was about to shoot for goal. Referee Jarnail Singh pointed to the spot and brandished a red card at Monk. The sending-off was never in question, although some onlookers might suggest that Jevons had started his surge in an off-side position, while photographic evidence shows that the initial challenge by Monk had been made outside the box.

But the referee's decision stood and as the Yeovil fans waved goodbye to Monk, it was Williams who raced to collect the ball and put it on the spot. There was only one man who was going to take the penalty and it was Williams. He settled himself down and then placed his spot-kick past Swansea keeper Willy Gueret.

And Williams said: "I was so desperate to take the penalty. It was the most nervous I've ever been before taking a penalty.

"I've always supported Cardiff so it is always nice to score against Swansea - there is a big rivalry between the two clubs."

But Williams is now certain that he will receive an avalanche of hatred from Swansea fans when Yeovil make the return visit to Wales on January 1.

After scoring in front of the home end Westland Stand Terrace he could not help but make the Cardiff City goal celebration 'Ayatollah' sign of patting his head. And if ever there is one thing to incense the Swansea fans it is doing the 'Ayatollah' and their travelling army of supporters were furious - so much so that at one point it looked as if there would be widespread trouble at the away end of the ground.

Williams then raised his arms in celebration as he walked back towards the Swansea fans for the re-start which further infuriated them and police and stewards had to work hard to ensure that serious disorder did not ensue. He should have known better - especially as he had done exactly the same when he scored at the Vetch Field last December in Yeovil's 3-2 defeat at Swansea which was greeted with exactly the same reaction.

The midfielder, surprisingly the only Welshman on the pitch come the end, declined to comment about his goal celebrations, but he added: "I will get a lot of stick down at their place."

Yeovil fans were delighted to see Williams make a playing return to the side as he came on during the interval along with Latvian striker and one-time £2-million man Andrejs Stolcers in place of a tiring Kevin Gall and Bartosz Tarachulski.

Stolcers linked up brilliantly with Jevons in attack and with Williams adding some great creativity in midfield it was not long before Swansea found themselves retreating to defend their goal which had become under siege from the fast-flowing Yeovil.

Yeovil boss Gary Johnson said: "We needed fresh legs because Gally and Bartosz have been running their socks off. Gavin has been dying to play for some time so he came on fresh.

"I was very proud of our football in the second-half. We demoralised the opposition and kept them down to one or two chances.

After a bevvy of shots had whistled past the Swansea goal, it was defender Roy O'Brien who came closest to scoring when his long range effort was tipped onto the bar by Gueret and out for a corner.

Stolcers, Darren Way, Jevons, Williams, Lee Johnson and Terry Skiverton also all went close before the crucial and somewhat controversial penalty decision which Williams took with aplomb.

The Yeovil gaffer added: "We had so many opportunities in and around the box that didn't go our way that the law of averages says we were going to get something."

Johnson said that the Yeovil camp had kept Williams' availability for the game quiet - especially as he was expected to be unavailable for team selection for a few more weeks.

"We kept the Gavin situation quiet," he said. "This was a big game for him and he has been champing at the bit for the past two weeks.

"Although it was against medical advice we decided that if he didn't play against Swansea we would have found him floating down the river. We took a risk on Gavin, but we got everyone's consent and he made a great contribution.

"But to beat Swansea when they've got a big crowd behind them is a fantastic result for us."

But while Yeovil fans lapped up the attacking prowess of their side, there were some mammoth performances at the other end where skipper Skiverton was in excellent form and won countless headers to expertly marshal the Glovers' defence.

And it was Yeovil keeper Chris Weale who picked-up the man of the match award with a number of crucial saves. Twice during the second period he thwarted the ever-dangerous Lee Trundle and made one fantastic block to deny Swansea cub Kevin Nugent.

Weale had to be at his best in the first-half when he produced a super save in the 20th minute to turn an Andy Robinson effort around the post and then again from Roberto Martinez.

It was a very physical game with some crunching tackles flying about, but to Yeovil's credit they survived the 90 minutes without a single booking.

Yeovil utility player Paul Terry had a great game, especially in the first period, which was possibly shaded in terms of possession and chances by Swansea, before making way late in the game for substitute Simon Weatherstone.