July 2021 (Page 3)

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has told supporters to expect a more controlled side for the upcoming National League season compared with the previous two campaigns.

The Glovers’ boss was talking after his side won 1-0 in their opening pre-season friendly at Step 4 side Stratford Town at the weekend.

He told the club’s official YouTube channel: “I was really pleased with the structure of them team because for two years we have been ‘we’ll get five if you get four’ and that is my fault because that is my attitude – I want to get in the middle and dominate the fight.

 

Sarll and Skiverton
Terry Skiverton, right, alongside Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

“But we are going to have to be different this year because there is no Charlie Lee, Jimmy Smith and those characters in the team that can take my character on to the pitch.

“We are trying to do things a bit more strategically and a bit more in control which is hard for me because I have to sit down.”

He added: “I was just really pleased with the control of the team, it is a different team and it may take the supporters a while to get their heads around it, but that is how we are going to have to be.”

The boss gave debuts to summer signings goalkeeper Grant Smith, defenders Mark Little and Jordan Barnett and midfielder Dale Gorman from the start against The Bards.

Other new boys midfielders Charlie Wakefield and loanee Lewis Simper were introduced in the second half along with four trialists – see more about who they might be – here.

The visitors had the ball in the net twice courtesy of striker Reuben Reid and midfielder Tom Knowles only to be ruled out for offside, and former Glovers’ goalkeeper Liam O’Brien pulled off a number of fantastic saves to deny his old employers.

Sarll added: “We had some good chances there, the goals that were ruled out were ridiculous and some of the other chances we had, it could have been a really hefty scoreline.

“But I was pleased with the performance and the fitness levels were great.”

 

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Yeovil Town got their pre-season campaign underway with a 1-0 win over Southern League Premier Division Central side Stratford Town at Knight’s Lane on Saturday.

A trademark Tom Knowles goal from the edge of the area on 55 minutes was what separated the two sides, but in reality it was the form of former Glovers’ keeper Liam O’Brien in the home side’s net that kept the score from being more comprehensive.

The visitors gave starting debuts to summer signings goalkeeper Grant Smith, defenders Mark Little and Jordan Barnett and midfielder Dale Gorman with other new boys midfielders Charlie Wakefield and loanee Lewis Simper starting on the bench.

The starting XI lined up in a familiar diamond with Josh Staunton, back after a long lay-off through injury last season, at the base, Knowles at the tip and Gorman and Alex Bradley in the middle.

In front of Smith, Little and Barnett took up positions on the right and left respectively with Luke Wilkinson and Max Hunt in the centre of defence, and Reuben Reid paired with Joe Quigley up front.

 

First half

The Glovers started brightly with Reid having a goal ruled out for offside after just two minutes before O’Brien went down bravely at the feet of Knowles four minutes later.

Knowles had the ball in the hosts’ net on 15 minutes only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul by Reid on O’Brien.

Ben Stephens fired wide for The Bards a minute later and that led to a spell of pressure from the hosts who were playing their fifth pre-season fixture.

Quigley was denied by a fine stop from O’Brien, who impressed during a spell with Yeovil back in 2019 before sustaining a serious shoulder injury, who was turned in to action to deny Bradley shortly after.

Half time: Stratford Town 0 Yeovil Town 0

 

Second half

As is tradition in all pre-season friendlies, there were wholesale changes at half-time with the introduction of two of the four trialists named on the bench by Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll.

We have played the game of Guess The Trialist, the results of which you can read – here.

On in place of Reid was Deshane Dalling, a former QPR youth team player, who was paired alongside Quigley, whilst Colin Daniel (possibly, maybe) replaced Wilkinson in the heart of defence.

The other switches saw Matt Worthington come on in the heart of midfield and Wakefield take up position on the right side.

Bradley dropped back to full-back to replace Little with Smith, Hunt, Barnett, Gorman, Knowles and Quigley the other players who remained from the first half.

Within ten minutes of the restart, Knowles made space for himself on the edge of the box and unleashed a rasping strike which deservedly beat O’Brien.

In between the substitution merry go-round with youngster Max Evans replacing Smith and Simper coming on for Gorman, Quigley had three chances to double the advantage.

Twice he was denied by O’Brien – with one looking suspiciously over the line – and another getting cleared off the line.

Youngster Toby Stephens and trialist Richard Afrane-Kesey – see more here – came on after 68 minutes and Stephens linked up nicely with Simper soon after, but the loan players header did not have the power to trouble the in-form O’Brien.

Simper had another chance soon after before a late push by Stratford saw them press for an equaliser, but the Yeovil backline held firm.

All in all, for the opening pre-season friendly, Darren Sarll will be pleased with what he saw from his side with good levels of fitness, sharpness, attacking intent and defensive solidity.

If it had not been for the brilliance of O’Brien, the score could have been more impressive, but for the time being a win and a clean sheet seem like a good way to get started.

Full time: Stratford Town 0 Yeovil Town 1.

 

Yeovil Town: Smith (for Evans

Yeovil Town: Smith (for Evans, 62), Barnett, Wilkinson (for Trialist – Daniel, 45), Hunt (for Trialist – Mbayo, 71), Little (for Wakefield, 45), Staunton (for Worthington, 45), Gorman (for Simper, 63), Bradley, Knowles (for Stephens, 68), Quigley (for Trialist – Afrane-Kesey, 68), Reid (Trialist – Dalling, 45)

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Yeovil Town played their first pre-seaosn friendly of the season at Stratford Town on Saturday afternoon naming four trialists among the substitutes.

The game was won with a Tom Knowles strike from the edge of the box, but the game of ‘Guess The Trialist’ is a staple of any pre-season warm up.

Our roving Gloverscast reporter David Coates attended the game in Warwickshire and took pictures of the hopefuls which – with a little bit of help from social media and a good degree of guesswork, we think are as follows:

Deshane Dalling

A forward player who came on for Reuben Reid at half-time at Knight’s Lane and looked to have some pace and trickery about him.

Based on 45 minutes, he looks Josh Neufville-ish rather than Josh Neufville-esque, but definitely something there.

The 22-year-old has played for non-League Staines Town and then at youth level for both Huddersfield Town and QPR where he made one first-team appearance, as an 80th minute substitute in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Swansea City in January 2020.

He started last season on loan at League of Ireland Premier Division side Cork City and made two appearances for Wealdstone in the National League  last season.

 

 

Harlain Mbayo

A 71st minute substitute replacing Max Hunt alongside another trialist in the second half against Stratford.

This one we are pretty sure about, mostly because we checked with some fans at his former club Aberdeen and the player himself then liked the reply we got from them.

The 23-year-old was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he moved to Belgium at an early age and played for Anderlecht from the age of eight initially as a striker before being converted to a central defender.

His family then moved to England when Harlain was aged 15 and he joined the academy at QPR.

An interview with Aberdeen’s website in 2018 suggests he had some time with Oxford United and then non-League Bedford Town before he joined the Scottish Premier League side in 2015.

His record shows him as having spent 2015 until 2018 at Aberdeen without making a first-team appearance, before a seven-game spell at Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers in 2018.

He then appears to have made the (not insignificant) move from Scotland to Southern League Premier Division side Truro City in Cornwall and then back to Aidrie where he signed in July 2020.


Richard Afrane-Kesey

Richard Afrane-Kesey warms up at Stratford Town.

Came on in the 68th minute in place on goal-scorer Tom Knowles and took up a position down the left wing for the final 22 minutes of the pre-season friendly.

Looked to want to take players on when he got the ball but, as with all of these players, a bit harsh to judge him on a brief appearance in the opening game of pre-season.

There’s not a huge amount of information about him online except to say he began his career in the youth set-up at Charlton Athletic and in October 2020 had a loan spell at Isthmian League Premier Division side Margate.

 


Colin Daniel…..maybe

This is the one we are the least confident about, but social media appears to have identified the central defender playing the full second half as Colin Daniel.

The player came on in place of Luke Wilkinson at the break and looked relatively assured against the Step 4 opponents.

There is a definite similarity between the player who turned out in the number 15 shirt for the Glovers and Daniel who played 23 times in League One for Burton Albion last season, see pictured below, albeit with his final appearance coming in January.

The 33-year-old was released by the Brewers at the end of last season and would certainly bring some good experience with him having won the National League (or the Conference Premier as it was known then) with Mansfield Town in 2013  and got promoted out of League Two with Blackpool in 2017.

The picture, top, is the player who lined up for Yeovil at Stratford and, below, is Colin Daniel when he signed for Burton from Peterborough United in January 2019.

This one has divided opinion at Gloverscast HQ, so we’ll leave you to make your own minds up.

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Here at the Gloverscast, the three amigos, led by Ian Perkins have been working hard to provide Yeovil Town fans with a one-stop shop for all things YTFC.

A podcast twice a week(ish), a website full of stats, analysis and interviews as well as going through the process of saving as much of the Ciderspace archive from the incomparable Badger as we can.

We do it for free, because we love it and because you tell us that you don’t mind it either – or you’re all just being really polite – either way, thank you.

Last year, Ian pretty much single handedly got the Gloverscast nominated for an FCA, “Football Content Award” – we did not win, nor were we expecting to, but the last year has seen the Gloverscast grow exponentially.

So, we’d like to ask for your support, firstly in getting nominated again.

There are plenty of ways you can vote, via Social Media, or using the form on the FCA Website.

All the details can be found HERE 

If you’d rather send a vote in with a tweet, simply copy the text below into Twitter and post your status.

“I am voting for @Gloverscast in @The_FCAs for #BestInNonLeague Podcast”

There’s no need to sign up, they take nothing more than an (optional) name and email address, and do you know what, we’d really appreciate it, we’re proud of what the Gloverscast has become and what it has in store for us.

So, yeah, thanks, legends.

 

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Former Yeovil Town heroes Mickey Spencer and Neil Coates have remembered the club’s supporters they played in front of during one of the club’s most troubled times.

The pair were playing for the club when they moved from their old Huish ground to Huish Park in 1990 and ran in to financial difficulties which almost sent the club over.

But, as we heard from supporters Tim Lancaster and Will Ranner on the podcast a few weeks ago, the troubles drove the fans to raise funds which helped keep the club afloat.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Gloverscast, Mickey says: “What came out of that period was the fantastic team we had off the pitch as well as on it, the supporters were just incredible in terms of what they did for the club.

“That made it worthwhile, even though we did not go up that season, I really felt this was Yeovil at its best.”

He added: “The Yeovil away supporters were the best by a country mile, they would turn up at Gateshead and everywhere we would just thinking ‘damn, those guys love us.’ They were phenomenal.”

Neil Coates goes in for a tackle on his Yeovil Town debut at Tooting & Mitcham – he’d make a few more in his time!
Picture courtesy of Tim Lancaster.

Neil echoed: “The supporters were unbelievable, they turned away games in to home games, we had so many following us all over the country. Playing away was even more special than at home.”

Talking about the club’s old stadium at Huish, which became world famous for a slope of eight feet from side to side, the pair the benefit of playing there.

Mickey recalled: “Any ball kicked to the top of the slope, all the away players thought it was going to run out and you knew it wouldn’t. The defenders would look at me and think I was a bit keen chasing after it, but I knew it was not going out and I often found myself ten yards onside. That slope got us a goal a game, I reckon.”

Neil added: “Actually playing on it was quite difficult, I think I have scored a couple of crosses which went straight in there. Nine to ten feet from corner to corner is a lot when you are running and I remember the mud as well, it really did cut up at times.”

For those of you who heard Mickey talk about that tackle on Gunners’ legend, Lee Dixon, in the FA Cup third round tie in January 1993, here it is….

…..probably lucky VAR was not a thing back then, Mick!

 

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Yeovil Town are set to unveil their new kit for the forthcoming season next week according the club’s official website.

The ‘finishing touches’ are being added  before the launch, in what will be a momentous day for kit enthusiasts across South Somerset.

On Saturday the Glovers will be attempting to ‘Achieve By Unit’ in a template Hummel kit at Stratford.

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New Glovers’ signing midfielder Dale Gorman has said he is looking forward to playing for boss Darren Sarll again.

The Northern Irishman, who joined on undisclosed terms from NIFL Premiership side Glentoran, played under the manager at youth team level at Stevenage in 2015 and then again under him in the first-team three years later.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, the 25-year-old said: “I have played under the gaffer for a number of years now, I know what he is like and he knows what I am like and I am delighted to be back playing under him again.

“I was about 16 when I first signed for Stevenage when I first came across him, so I have known him a long time and to get back working with him is something I looking forward to.”

Having been released by Stevenage following the departure of Sarll at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, Gorman joined Leyton Orient and played 22 times as they won the National League.

Asked about his ambitions at Huish Park, he added: “Our ambitions have to be promotion, when you look at the size of the club and we will give it a good go this year to get back where we know we should be.

“I have experience of winning this league and I know what it takes to win matches in this league, so hopefully I can bring that with me.”

See what supporters of Gorman’s old club Glentoran had to say about his departure – here.

 

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Midfielder Dale Gorman has become the latest summer signing for Yeovil Town – almost a month after he was first linked with a move to Huish Park.

The Northern Irishman, who played under Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll during a three-year spell at Stevenage, has joined on undisclosed terms  from NIFL Premiership side Glentoran.

A move has been expected ever since reports in Belfast Telegraph at the start of the month.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the 25-year-old said: “I’m delighted to get everything sealed and finalised; I’m just looking forward to the season starting now.

“Our ambition has to be promotion; you look at the size of the football club and not many would expect us to be here.

“We’ll give it a good go this year to try and get back where we should be.”

Talking about the former Leyton Orient and Newport County fans on social media, Glentoran fans gave mixed reviews of the player.

@UnofficialGlens said: “He’d the top assists in our team last season, but he generally didn’t start for us.

“Most of these were against the bottom sides in the League. 

“He loves a long ball over the top and has a decent delivery from set pieces.”
But, another Glens’ supporter described him as “a set-piece specialist who never scored from a set piece.”

No idea who Stena Embla (?)  or Gary Windass are, but here are a few other thoughts from Glentoran fans.

https://twitter.com/michaelg309/status/1418273935691501574?s=21

https://twitter.com/j1905g/status/1418259454097772550?s=21

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Sam Foley, a member of Yeovil Town‘s play-off winning side of 2013, is back in English football having joined Tranmere Rovers.

The 34-year-old spent last season north of the border at Scottish Premier League side Motherwell but was released at the end of the season after making just four appearances having signed from St Mirren in January.

Speaking to the Tranmere website, Foley said: “Tranmere is a massive football club, and it is a privilege to play for the club.

“Obviously, the manager (former Dundee United boss Mickey Mellon) is a big pull and I know him from my time in Scotland and I was impressed with how his team played last season.”