Match report: Yeovil Town 4, Bristol Rovers 2

COCA-COLA LEAGUE TWO

YEOVIL TOWN 4, BRISTOL ROVERS 2

STEVE SOWDEN REPORTS FROM HUISH PARK

YEOVIL Town produced the perfect response to Bristol Rovers manager Ian Atkins and all of his pre-match hype by dishing out the sort of performance that took the Glovers clear at the top of the Coca-Cola League Two.

Atkins was somewhat strangely absent from Huish Park because of illness, but gained no welcome telephone call tonic from his assistant Kevan Broadhurst stood on the touchline as the proceedings unfolded on a blustery afternoon on Saturday.

Yeovil boss Gary Johnson beamed with delight following the final whistle and the 4-2 victory and no words were needed to describe how he was feeling after getting another one over his most fiercest of rival.

"It was a super result," he said. "We knew it was going to be an important one not just because it was a local derby but because it was important to get the three points to get us back to the top of the league.

"A few results have gone for us so although we respected the importance of the local derby, we also needed to respect the importance of the bigger picture which was gaining promotion.

"I'm from Yeovil now myself so I'm happy when we've won local derbies. There's been a lot of things said over the week and we've tried to not get involved and I suppose there's a little bit of energy that gets let out at certain points.

"You try not to be disrespectful and I don't think I was, but certainly our fans enjoyed it and I enjoyed it."

Despite Rovers taking a goal lead early on, they could do nothing to stop rampant Yeovil regroup, counter attack and smash their way past their West Country rivals with a certain amount of ease.

And although Yeovil's victory was inspired by a Phil Jevons hat-trick which received all the plaudits, it was strike partner Bartosz Tarachulski who should have perhaps received the man-of-the-match accolade.

While Jevons is Yeovil's ever-so needed goal machine, Tarachulski is the perfect foil and his all-action and no-nonsense display, albeit added with a big chunk of flair and panache, showed all too obviously how much the Glovers had missed his presence in the 3-1 defeat at Macclesfield the previous weekend due to a one-game ban. Tarachulski, nicknamed Bartman by his adoring fans, was immense.

But it was a day when there were a number of great performances by Yeovil as they forced Atkins and his team to eat their ill-advised pre-match words which had merely just served to inspire the Glovers to yet another home victory.

Yeovil boss Gary Johnson had promised changes to the line-up which had started the derisory performance at Macclesfield and along with Tarachulski, he recalled Michael Rose and Colin Miles to the defence with Kevin Amankwaah, Scott Guyett and Andrejs Stolcers relegated to the bench.

It was Rovers, still looking for their first win over Yeovil since the Glovers entered the Football League, who started the brighter and Craig Disley sent an early warning over the bar.

But it was not long when Disley broke the deadlock in the 17th minute when he jinked his way into the box and his shot beat the outstretched hand of Yeovil keeper Chris Weale.

The large travelling contingent of Gasheads went wild with delight, but their hopes and aspirations were soon silenced by the Glovers.

A long throw-in by Rose was knocked back by Tarachulski into the path of Jevons who unleashed an inch-perfect volley into the roof of the net which Rovers keeper Ryan Clarke could do nothing about.

As the first-half progressed, it was Yeovil who were pulling the strings and a great cross by former Rovers man Kevin Gall low and hard into the box should have been rewarded with a goal, and then moments before the interval Tarachulski turned on a sixpence with great agility and fired a shot that took a deflection wide.

Yeovil edged in front in the 53rd minute when Jevons netted a well-taken penalty past Clarke after Rovers defender Christian Edwards, who had played his part in the pre-match war of words, clearly handled inside the box.

The Glovers continued to press forward as they went in search of a third goal and both Tarachulski and Darren Way had shots that went straight at the Rovers keeper.

But the Yeovil supporters stood on the Westland Stand terrace did not have to wait long before they could celebrate another goal when Jevons completed his hat-trick when he bravely flew in to head home an Andy Lindegaard cross in the 64th minute.

Eight minutes later and it was 4-1 when Tarachulski netted his well-deserved goal when he headed past Clarke.

The Rovers supporters were beginning to exit in droves long before the end and to add insult to injury the scoreboard above the away end inadvertently, or was it a case of accidentally on purpose, read that Yeovil were actually winning 9-1!

With the game all but over and the points safely won, Johnson rang a few changes by introducing Amankwaah and Kezie Ibe to the fray.

This allowed Rovers back into the game and Richard Walker scored what turned out to be a consolation for the visiting Gasheads.

Rovers had, as predicted, named Junior Agogo in their starting line-up despite him having just been found not guilty of an attempted rape charge at Sheffield Crown Court. He certainly got the attention of Yeovil's wags on the Westland terrace with a number of expected and amusing chants aimed at his expense, but supporters later said Agogo himself seemed to laugh along with the jokes.

But on footballing matters Agogo was expertly kept quiet throughout the game until the closing stages by Yeovil skipper Terry Skiverton and Colin Miles who easily had his own personal best game of the season.

Miles, who has been blighted by injury in recent times, produced a stirring performance reminiscent of his displays in Yeovil's Nationwide Conference winning campaign and not once did supporters think he was going to 'see the mist' which has often left him facing the wrath of the match referee.

But it was of credit to both Yeovil and Rovers that the players conducted themselves in a professional manner - unlike the dreadful scenes and carry-on at the Memorial Stadium when the teams drew 2-2 back in October. But then again there was not a certain Mr Atkins on the touchline to stir things up.