Ten-man Yeovil Town battled hard for a draw against Maidenhead United as supporters returned to Huish Park.
Luke Wilkinson received his marching orders in the second half, but it was an evening about the context off the pitch, rather than on it.
The safe return of supporters was a great success, with 1,497 Town faithful returning to Huish Park.
Darren Sarll opted for the 4-3-3 formation which brought success against King’s Lynn Town.
Adam Smith began in goal once again, with Carl Dickinson, Luke Wilkinson, Billy Sass-Davies, and Michael Kelly ahead of him.
Charlie Lee began the deepest of the midfield three, with Chris Dagnall and Lawson D’Ath either side of him. Josh Neufville and Tom Knowles flanked Joe Quigley.
With supporters returning to Huish Park for the first time in 444 days, it was always going to be an emotionally charged evening under the lights. There was hardly a dry eye in the house during the fourth minute’s applause in memory of our captain, Lee Collins.
In terms of chances, the best fell to Yeovil in the first half, the majority to Neufville who proved to be Town’s bright spark in the first half.
Playing his first game in front of the Huish Park faithful, Neufville struck the bar in the 12th minute after he did excellently to cut onto his right foot.
On the ball, the Luton loanee continually caused the visitors defence problems, drifting beyond two markers in the 38th minute before the ball escaped his grasp.
The green and whites' best chance fell in the 40th minute as a cross-field pass found Knowles breaking into the box, but his effort from close quarters was saved by James Holdon.
After the break, Town began brightly once again, winning a succession of corners which frustratingly led to nothing.
In a game that was demanding a piece of individual quality, Lee almost provided that, drifting through the Maidenhead team, only to be denied by a heroic block.
Town’s positivity was dampened in the 62nd minute as Wilkinson was sent off, receiving a second yellow card for seemingly punching the ball into the back of the net.
Despite this, Yeovil still looked for an opener, with the sponsor's man of the match Lee striking the crossbar with a stunning effort on the volley.
In terms of chances for Maidenhead, A.Smith was rarely tested, only being called into action in the second half making a double save.
Ultimately, the rather drab result did little to dampen the feeling in the stands, with the Yeovil Town support, vocal and happy to be back where they belong.
**This report courtesy of YTFC find out more at YTFC.net
