Rovers arrived without manager Ian Atkins who had gone down with flu, perhaps a wise move to stay tucked up in bed on such a cold afternoon!!
The remarks from the Rovers manager prior to the game though had done Yeovil manager Gary Johnson a great service for no motivation was necessary to get his lads going.
Yeovil though started badly with the strong swirling wind doing no favours to both sides and it was Junior Agogo who had the first real chance but a linesman's flag put paid to that.
Craig Disley was next to test Chris Weale but he only volleyed his chance over the bar but still it was The Gas who were getting the better of the early exchanges.
Rovers took the lead after 17 minutes when he waltzed his way through the Yeovil defence and slotted in past a well beaten Chris Weale.
To be honest the goal was a fair reflection of the early play and it took Yeovil a while to respond to the set back.
When it did come though it was a wonderful goal from Phil Jevons.
A long throw from Lee Johnson was chested down to Bartosz Tarachulski and his subtle flick found Jevons who volleyed home an unstoppable shot from just outside the box.
Yeovil back in the game and from that point on they never really lost their control until the last five minutes of the game.
Yeovil were on a roll now and minutes later Bartosz Tarachulski beat Christian Edwards and his pass put Jevons in again and only a great save from Clarke kept him out. Kevin Gall was unlucky not have made better use of the rebound.
It was all Yeovil now up to half time with first Bartosz going close then Arron Davies had a chance that perhaps he should have done better with before Bartosz had another great move that saw him turn and shoot only for the chance to go just wide.
Confidence was high throughout the Yeovil side with Michael Rose's inclusion on the left giving Yeovil a more balanced look.
Defensively Terry Skiverton and Colin Miles were solid, the midfield was at last starting to run the game and up front Bartosz's mere presence was causing Rovers problems.
Half Time: Yeovil Town 1 Bristol Rovers 1
How Yeovil failed to go in front straight from the kick off is hard to understand for when Arron Davies attacked down the left and put a brilliant ball across the Rovers goal it only needed a tap in but Jevons just failed to contact.
Yeovil continued to dominate and with the wind now behind them it didn't take them long to go in front.
Another attack saw chaos in the Rovers defence after Clarke dropped the ball and as they tried to clear the it struck Christian Edward's hand for a clear penalty.
After loads of protests Phil Jevons coolly slotted home to give Yeovil a lead they had always threatened to take.
Minutes later Bartosz again went close with a snap shot after Darren Way had pushed the ball into the danger area and Darren himself had a shot that was well saved by Clarke.
Just after the hour Yeovil went further in front when Andy Lindegaard attacked down the right and put over a glorious pin point cross for Jevons to rise like a gazelle to nod the ball home despite an oncoming Rovers defender coming straight for him.
It was a brave goal and fully deserving of his third hat-trick of the season. In the 68th. minute Rovers had perhaps their best chance of the heart when an Agogo header was cleared by Colin Miles out for a corner.
Junior failed with the resultant corner and was generally nothing like the threat he had been at The Memorial Ground.
Yeovil continued to press and in the 70th. minute they went further in front when Arron Davies again attacked down the left and put in a great cross for Bartosz to get his deserved goal when he headed home at the far post.
The scoreboard showed 9-1 which was perhaps a bit harsh on Rovers and no doubt the ailing Ian Atkins wouldn't have seen the funny side of it but many Gas supporters seemed to think the game was over, as for second season running the streamed out of the ground early.
Gary Johnson brought on Kevin Amankwaah for Andy Lindegaard as Yeovil tried to close up the game but as the end drew near Yeovil tried for some unaccountable reason to commit suicide as Rovers started to stage a late rally.
First Agogo broke through in the 85th. minute only for Terry Skiverton to stop him in full flight which earned him a yellow card from Mr.Marriner, who had a great game in the middle.
It was Agogo again a few minutes later causing problems and as the ball pinged about the Yeovil box Walker managed to get in a foot to slip it past Chris Weale to give Rovers a late life line.
Yeovil though knew they had the game won and hung on to make sure the points were secure to go back above Scunthorpe to the top of the table.
Final Score: Yeovil Town 4 Bristol Rovers 2
Sat 12th Feb 2005, 3pm kick-off.
Conditions: Windy with cloud
Pitch: Good
Scorers: Craig Disley (17), Phil Jevons (26), Phil Jevons (pen, 56), Phil Jevons (64), Bartosz Tarachulski (72), Richard Walker (88)
Attendance: 9,153
Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)
Assistants: Eric Mackrell (Hampshire); Malcolm West (Cornwall)
Bookings:
Yeovil: Darren Way (73, foul), Terry Skiverton (86, foul)
Bristol Rovers: None
Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)
1. Chris Weale 16. Andy Lindegaard 4. Terry Skiverton 5. Colin Miles 3. Michael Rose 9. Kevin Gall 6. Darren Way 8. Lee Johnson 25. Arron Davies 11. Phil Jevons 18. Bartosz Tarachulski
Subs: 12. Kevin Amankwaah (74, for Lindegaard) 13. Steven Collis (GK) 17. Scott Guyett 22. Kezie Ibe (80, for Tarachulski) 27. Andrejs Stolcers (89, for Gall)
Bristol Rovers :
21. Ryan Clarke 32. Aaron Lescott 5. Christian Edwards 2. Craig Hinton 3. Robbie Ryan 8. James Hunt 4. Paul Trollope 7. Stuart Campbell 20. Craig Disley 9. Junior Agogo 17. Richard Walker
Subs: 11. Jamie Forrester 16. Ryan Williams (67, for Edwards) 26. Lewis Haldane (87, for Campbell) 34. Chris Lines 35. Scott Sinclair
Gary's Post Match Press comments:
Gary, how thrilled are you? You're back at the top of the table and you've beaten Bristol Rovers rather convincingly this evening?
"Yes, it was a super result. 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 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."
The celebrations at the end, I've not seen you that joyful after a result for sometime?
"Well it's the same as everyone else, I'm a local now aren't I? 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."
There were only two bookings today. How pleased are you that after all the hype that the players behaved themselves and played football?
"Well exactly, you underestimate the professionalism of professional footballers sometimes, even Bristol Rovers played the game the right way.
"It was competitive, they got the first goal and were in a position to go on and maybe take the game if they wanted to but we came back into it very quickly and then had a cosmic spell of maybe 25-30 minutes in the second half that won the game. I'm proud of Jevvo, he's got 3 more to his tally and he's had a great day."
Have you seen a better goal than his first?
"It was a fantastic goal and I'm going to claim that one actually because we were practicing our set plays and one of them was that particular throw-in. Bartosz does very well in that situation and Jevvo's caught it very well and it was a great opening goal."
And to complete the hat-trick...
"The hat-trick was a brave header, that was a great little run by Lindy, a great far post ball and Jevvo had to be brave and attack it. When you're on two goals and you've got that for your hat-trick you've got to be brave, and he was brave then and it was the one that killed the game for Bristol Rovers."
Are there any negatives on a day like this?
"Their second goal is a bit of a negative because you like to come off feeling happy. You always like to score the last goal especially if it's a winning game but we were a bit sloppy in the last 5 or 10 minutes but we'd done enough previously to not worry too much. But I'm proud of the boys and it's a fantastic result for the town, the supporters, for my board of directors and the dressing room."
And it was a huge result after last weekends defeat against Macclesfield.
"Yes, we had to come back. I think people have already said that we haven't lost two on the trot this season and that's why we are where we are I suppose, but it also shows the great spirit and the character in the team and as I said I was proud of them today."
What are you doing tonight?
"You need a break, I'd love to go out and celebrate but you need a break so a nice quiet night in with my wife, and I nearly said my girlfriend then!"
