FOR full match report of Yeovil Town's 1-1 draw with Chester City on April 26 see here:

NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE

YEOVIL TOWN 1, CHESTER CITY 1

STEVE SOWDEN REPORTS FROM HUISH PARK

THE game was relatively immaterial and will fade in the memory, but the scenes of joy and jubilation afterwards will be remembered forever.

The Yeovil supporters in the huge crowd of 8,111 will savour the moment forever. It was the perfect moment and not even poor weather could dampen the perfect day.

The players ventured back onto the pitch for the presentation ceremony two by two and concluded with the arrival of club captain Terry Skiverton and legendary gaffer Gary Johnson.

It was then that the moment took place. It was then that Skiverton was presented with the Nationwide Conference championship trophy and he held it aloft amidst scenes never witnessed before at Huish Park.

Grown men cried with pride and emotion. Children waved their flags and clapped and cheered excitedly. Women hugged and danced. This was the moment for many when the realisation that Yeovil Town were waving farewell to non-league football suddenly sunk in.

For me, it was an unbelievable experience and my first thoughts turned to the late George Smith and Brian Kynaston - two loyal and ardent Glovers' fans who sadly passed away earlier this year. How they would have loved this moment. How they would have revelled in the glory and joined in with the party atmosphere.

Many people have told the club how their loved ones no longer with us would have been so proud to have been at Huish Park to see it.

I am not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears. They were tears of pride. They were tears of joy. They were tears of happiness. Stood by the players' tunnel I looked across to Terry Cotton, a stalwart Glovers' player of yesteryear, and he too was fighting back the emotion. We did not speak - words were not needed.

I wonder if the players, the players who have so brilliantly taken Yeovil Town to the pinnacle of non-league football, realise what they have done? Do they realise that they have made so many people so very happy?

You could sense that the players, who have been so professional throughout the season especially in the closing weeks with the championship already won, suddenly unleashed a tidal wave of emotion and excitement. They raced around the ground to celebrate with their adoring fans. They danced. They sang. They cheered. They were absolutely thrilled.

The celebrations went on long into the night. Fans from all walks of life celebrated like they had never celebrated before.

The football club and its supporters are like a family. Although there are times when there is tension, squabbles and arguments among the family, Saturday was a day when the family members came together as one and the club's motto of 'achieve by unity' came to the fore.

Gary Johnson has assured himself without any shadow of a doubt legendary status among the Huish Park faithful. The man who arrived in South Somerset from Latvia in 2001 has become something of a God-like person among supporters and he will be held in high esteem for years to come and long after he has gone the name of Gary Johnson will be remembered with great respect and fondness.

The Cockney, who has a wonderful array of one-liners which are a dream for the media hacks such as myself, is a true hero. He is a genuine bloke who has brought Yeovil Town its greatest moment. Perhaps even he does not appreciate what he has achieved.

He has received hundreds of letters of congratulation and he freely admits that some of them have brought him close to tears. He may not have picked-up a Somerset accent, but he is Yeovil through and through.

Yeovil completed their truly amazing 2002-03 campaign in the Conference with a 1-1 draw against Chester City to set a new league points total record of 95 and remain unbeaten at Huish Park in their 21 home fixtures.

Kevin Gall gave the Glovers an early lead with a well-taken effort to take Yeovil to the great distinction of 100 goals for the season.

Chester substitute Kevin McIntyre equalised with the game heading into its closing stages at a time when they were playing with ten men following the sending-off of Jon Brady for an elbow on the Glovers' unsung hero Roy O'Brien.

But the game was really immaterial. What happened after the final whistle was what we were there for. That is what we wanted to see and when Skiverton raised the trophy the biggest party Yeovil has ever seen began. It was sparkling and a day I shall never forget.