A late goal saw Stevenage eliminated from the FA Cup at the second round stage after a 1-0 defeat at Yeovil Town.
Despite Michael Tonge hitting the bar early on and Chris Weale the busier of the two ‘keepers, Stevenage just couldn’t find the break-through and were made to pay with six minutes remaining when Ben Tozer smashed home from the edge of the box to send the Glovers into the hat for round three.
Teddy Sheringham made just the one change from last weekend’s win against Morecambe with Armand Gnanduillet replacing the cup-tied Jamille Matt and Adam Marriott returning to the bench.
Stevenage got the game underway at Huish Park and with less than a minute on the clock should have taken the lead when Ben Kennedy headed a Chris Whelpdale cross over under pressure from his defender.
Josh Sheehan lashed an early effort wide for Yeovil but Boro again went close on four minutes. Excellent footwork by Kennedy down the right saw the youngster evade several challenges before laying the ball back for Whelpdale. Instead of shooting, the winger passed across for Tonge who hit the bar with a curling effort, with Whelpdale nodding over the loose ball.
The frantic start to the game continued with Shaun Jeffers seeing a fifth minute flick inside the Boro box fall comfortably for Day.
It was Stevenage looking the most comfortable as the game progressed despite playing against a strong wind. Matt Dolan picked up an 11th minute booking for taking out Ogilvie on the counter and Armand Gnanduillet saw a shot deflected behind on the quarter hour, as Boro went on to win consecutive corners.
From Tonge’s second set piece, however, Yeovil broke and forced Day into his first real save of the day. The pacey Harry Cornick broke away, evaded Ogilvie and fired in a fierce effort which the veteran ‘keeper turned behind with both hands.
The wind was certainly proving tricky for both sides, with Yeovil seeing far too many balls running through to Day and Stevenage having trouble with clearances and goal-kicks heading back in the direction they came and cross-field balls looking for Whelpdale and Kennedy not quite reaching their targets.
Ben Kennedy won Boro a corner with a deflected shot from a quickly taken free-kick just past the half hour, with the visitors then dealt a blow when Fraser Franks went down under a challenge and was unable to continue. Jamie McCombe was the man on in his place.
After the bright start to the game the match became fairly scrappy and – bar one Dolan shot from distance- the chances dried up before the break.
Stevenage came out for the second half with the wind in their favour and went close on 47 minutes. Whelpdale, on the right flank, turned onto his left foot and whipped in a cross towards the back post which was cleared unconvincingly behind for a corner.
Boro kept up the pressure and referee Sarginson waved away visiting penalty appeals three minutes later after Ogilvie went down in the box.
Connor Roberts blazed over after being found by Harry Cornick in a rare chance for Yeovil as Stevenage retained much of the momentum in the testing conditions and carved out some decent chances with around 25 minutes remaining.
Firstly an excellent tackle by Cox in midfield saw the loanee find Kennedy, only for the winger to fire over after weaving into the box. Then an excellent Stevenage counter-attack two minutes later saw Whelpdale find Kennedy and the Northern Irishman forced Weale into a low save, with Nathan Smith denying Whelpdale a tap in from yards out.
Francois Zoko and Ben Tozer came on for the Glovers with 20 minutes remaining and it seemed to lift the home side, with Zoko in particular holding the ball up well and earning Wells a caution for a foul outside the area.
The hosts won numerous free-kicks and corners as the clock ticked away – with Harry Cornick looking particularly threatening – but each time Boro were able to clear.
However just as it seemed the visitors had settled for a draw, Yeovil struck with six minutes remaining. Connor Ogilvie put in a superb tackle to deny Cornick but from the resulting corner, the ball eventually fell to Ben Tozer who smashed home through a crowd of players from the edge of the box.
Charlie Lee and Adam Marriott both game on for Stevenage and the latter found time and space inside the box to fire in an effort from Weale beat away, as the visitors went looking for another late equaliser at Huish Park. Instead it was Yeovil who saw out the remainder of the game, including four minutes added time, to progress to Round 3 and leave Stevenage to focus solely on their League 2 campaign.
Yeovil Town: Weale, Smith, Dolan, Skolik, Bird (Zoko 70), Jeffers, Dickson, Cornick, Roberts, Ward, Sheehan (Tozer 73)
Subs not used: Krysiak, Compton, Thomas, Fogden, Lacey
Stevenage: Day, Henry, Franks, Wells, Ogilvie, Cox, Tonge, Whelpdale, Pett, Kennedy (Lee 86), Gnanduillet (Marriott 86)
Subs not used: Crowe, Conlon, Gorman, Hughes
Referee: Chris Sarginson
Attendance: 2,264 (175 away)