Yeovil Town in the Noughties: Magic Moment Number 6 (From This is The West Country)

Yeovil Town in the Noughties: Magic Moment Number 6

8:00pm Wednesday 30th December 2009

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EXPRESS chief reporter Steve Sowden relives his sixth best Yeovil Town moment of the Noughties.

May 12, 2002, was the day most Yeovil Town fans never really thought would ever happen – winning the FA Trophy.

Thousands of Yeovil fans travelled up to Villa Park – home of Aston Villa – for the final where they would meet Nationwide Conference rivals Stevenage Borough.

The longer the Trophy run went on that season for Yeovil the more nervous I had got, but come the final I knew deep down that it would result in a Yeovil victory.

A couple of days before the final I had travelled up to Villa Park where the Yeovil players were given a tour of the stadium and acquaint themselves with their surroundings.

Yeovil used a sports psychologist at the time called Mark Layder and while in the dressing-room he told the players to go and sit where they would sit on the day of the game.

We then ventured out onto the pitch and the players had been told to go and look in the empty Villa Park stadium and visualise it being packed with supporters, find where their family and friends would be sitting, think about scoring goals.

I took that advice on board and with my ticket in my wallet, I went up into the Holte Stand and found my seat, sat down and took it all in. This was going to be the moment – this was going to be Yeovil’s year.

And so the big day arrived and with no fears whatsoever I took my seat for real in the Holte Stand and watched Yeovil claim the FA Trophy for the first time in the club’s history.

A spectacular overhead kick by Carl Alford gave Yeovil a first-half lead and then Adam Stansfield clinched a 2-0 victory with a goal midway through the second period.

It was a brilliant day and the celebrations back home went on long into the night and the following day.

Log back on from tomorrow morning to find out my Top Five Magic Yeovil Town Moments from the Noughties.

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