Yeovil fans outside the ground.
By Stuart James, The Guardian/London
In years to come it will be remembered in Somerset as the day Sir Alex Ferguson dropped into Huish Park by helicopter, the most expensive player in English football cleared a header off his own line and Louis van Gaal sang Yeovil Town’s praises. It was that sort of afternoon as Yeovil embraced the romance of the FA Cup and gave Manchester United a far more uncomfortable ride than anyone could have imagined.
In the end it took a world-class goal from Ander Herrera and the introduction of Ángel di María, a £59.7mn signing from Real Madrid, to liberate United. That is as much an indictment of another unconvincing United performance as it is a compliment to Yeovil, who belied their status at the foot of League One with a courageous display. Joe Edwards, the Yeovil captain, summed it up perfectly at the final whistle. “Mass disappointment but extremely proud of each other,” said Edwards, whose header was nodded off the line by Di María.
United had played Yeovil twice before, each time in the FA Cup, winning 3-0 in 1938 and 8-0, in front of 81,565, in 1949 when Sir Matt Busby was building his first great side. Yeovil were the part-timers who had just pulled off one of the greatest giantkillings by knocking out Sunderland – known as the “Bank of England” club at the time – at the old Huish Park where the pitch sloped 6ft from one side to the other.
A few Yeovil supporters could have been forgiven for fearing a repeat of that 1949 United hiding given the way their season is unravelling. Instead they departed wondering what might have been had Kieffer Moore snapped up a gilt-edged chance to put Yeovil ahead early in the second half and trying to get their head round the unfathomable nature of football. “How can we play like that and lose 2-0 against Manchester United yet get beat 3-0 at home by Leyton Orient a few days earlier?” asked one home supporter of another drifting out of the ground.
Football, and in particular the FA Cup, has long had the capacity to inspire players. “A game of a lifetime” was how Gary Johnson described the tie beforehand.