March 2022 (Page 8)

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On loan striker Olufela Olomola returns for tonight’s match at home to Dagenham & Redbridge (7.45pm kick-off).

Olufela Olomola.

The Hartlepool United frontman has missed theast two matches having picked up an injury in the 1-1 draw at Maidenhead United a fortnight ago.

He appears to be in a front three alongside Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield with Jordan Barnett, who played in the forward line at Notts County last weekend, dropping back to left back.

Mark Little is on the bench so Morgan Williams switches to right back.

For the visitors, ex-Glovers’ loanee Angelo Balanta returns on the bench whilst defender Yoann Zouma is named among the substitutes.

The Frenchman is the brother of West Ham United player, Kurt, and has been out of the squad since he was caught filming his sibling kicking and slapping his pet cats.

Yeovil Town: Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Luke Wilkinson, Ben Barclay, Jordan Barnett, Josh Staunton, Alex Bradley, Dale Gorman, Charlie Wakefield, Tom Knowles, Olufela Olomola.

Substitutes: Mark Little, Matt Worthington, Lawson D’Ath, Reuben Reid, Adi Yussuf.

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Angelo Balanta in his loan spell at Yeovil Town in 2013. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town are back at Huish Park after three matches away with Dagenham & Redbridge the visitors.

The original fixture was postponed when following Storm WhatsHerFace blowing  half the county of Somerset away.

Not much has changed since then in truth, the Glovers still sit midtable, with plenty of very decent “all guts, no glory” performances and more draws than a large Ikea warehouse and Dagenham still flirt with the play offs.

The Daggers sit 10th, seven points behind Notts County who occupy the all important seventh spot.

In terms of actual form, the visitors have actually only picked up one more point than Yeovil in the last five games, a 3-0 win over Maidenhead last time out and a 1-1 draw vs Woking in that time.

The Glovers of course have been picking up stalemate points for fun; five of the last seven Yeovil games have ended all square.

Goals (or lack, thereof) has been the talking point at Huish Park, Dagenham don’t have that problem, 53 league goals this season, that’s not a million miles off double Yeovil’s tally of 28.

Only one has made double figures though, that is Paul McCallum, who scored when these sides met earlier in the campaign… a 1-0 win for Yeovil… it’s enough to make your brain hurt.

He got a brace when they last played, but that was a week ago, against Maidenhead, he and his team-mates had a Saturday off as the Glovers lugged it up to Nottingham and back to be pegged back at the death by Notts County.

 

FROM THE MANAGER

Daryl McMahon is all too aware of what awaits his side at Huish Park telling the Barking and Dagenham Post:

“Darren (Sarll’s) teams are hard to play against, they always are, they’re always aggressive. Going down to Yeovil is always a tough game, but it’s another game in this division we look forward to.”

Whilst club captain and former Glovers’ loanee Angelo Balanta said:
“Yeovil will be tough. They’re below us in the table but they gave us a good contest and made it tough for us.

“They’re very resilient the way they go about their business and defend their goal really well.

“I think it will be similar but we’ve got to do what we’ve been doing, performing well and hopefully get the result.”

TEAM NEWS

McMahon is hoping to welcome a couple key players back into the fold, including a name Glovers fans will recognise, he should have Angelo Balanta (calf) and Matt Robinson (concussion) back in contention this week.

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town captain Luke Wilkinson and midfielder Josh Staunton seems likely to be the only players with experience of playing for both sides starting this weekend.

The central defender played 65 times for Dagenham following his release by Portsmouth in 2010.

He had a couple of spells on loan at Boreham Wood and one at Dartford during his time at Victoria Road before departing for Luton Town in 2014.

Staunton arrived in Essex following his release by Gillingham in the summer of 2016 and made 37 appearances as they reached the Conference play-offs missing out to eventual winners Forest Green Rovers.

Despite playing in most positions in defence, Staunton was allowed to leave and joined Woking for the following season and then moved to FC Halifax Town from whom he joined Yeovil in summer 2020.

Another in the green-and-white corner is Lawson D’Ath, the playmaker working his way back to fitness after nine months out through injury.

He had a 21-game spell on loan in Essex in the 2013-14 season.

Likely to be missing through injury is the visitors’ talismanic forward Angelo Balanta who was an unused substitute in Yeovil’s 2-1 League One play-off final win over Brentford which secured promotion to the Championship in 2013.

If you’ve not heard it, check out our podcast with former Yeovil Town press officer Jimmy Healey for a great story about Balanta’s celebration – here.

The Colombian had a spell at Bristol Rovers, helping them out of the Football Conference in 2015, before moving to Carlisle United, Boreham Wood and eventually arriving at Dagenham in October 2018.

There is a possibility of seeing ex-Glovers’ midfielder Joey Jones who played the first half against Spennymoor last weekend before being replaced at half-time.

He spent his youth career at Arsenal and Leicester but having signed for Yeovil in 2013 after playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly he failed to make an appearance.

In January 2014, he was loaned out to Woking who he eventually joined permanently at the end of the season and when on to play 162 times for the Cards.

He arrived at Victoria Road, via Eastleigh and Salford City, in November 2020.

Other familiar faces to both sets of supporters include….

  • Rhys Murphy – Dagenham (2013-15), Yeovil Town (2019-21)
  • Mitch Brundle – Yeovil Town (2012-13), Dagenham (2019-21)
  • Jake Howells – Yeovil Town – loan (2015), Dagenham (2017-18)
  • Gavin Tomlin – Yeovil Town (2008-10), Dagenham (2010-12)
  • Matt Harrold – Dagenham – loan (2004-05), Yeovil Town (2005-06)
  • Kirk Jackson – Yeovil Town (2002-04), Dagenham – loan (2004)
  • Paul Terry – Dagenham (1999-2003), Yeovil Town (2003-07)

 

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Luke Wilkinson.

Yeovil Town defender Luke Wilkinson has been given a place in the Non League Paper’s ‘Team of the Day’ following his performance against Notts County.

The Glovers may not have won, but Wilko has been listed along side Barnet’s Ben Richards-Everton and Jesse Debrah of Halifax in the mythical side’s defence.

Well in, Wilko.

The full team is as follows…

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Another Saturday, another draw. Here to brighten up your Monday are Ian, Ben and Dave (who made the trip to Meadow Lane).

Thanks for listening!

Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, enjoy some retro content on Instagram. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

WANT TO ADVERTISE ON THE GLOVERSCAST? Send us an email for our rate card.

If you want to take part in the quiz, have an idea for the website or just want to send us a message, email ian@gloverscast.co.uk

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The curse of the old boy struck again as former Yeovil defender Alex Lacey headed home an equaliser four minutes in to second half stoppage time to rescue a point for Notts County on Saturday.

Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll said his side were “magnificent”, Tom Knowles said we deserved the three points, but the history books will show we had to settle for one at Meadow Lane.

Here’s Coatesie’s conclusions from his spot in the away end…

Darren Sarll wasn’t gutted at what can only be described as two points dropped, but admitted his players were. I have to say I am siding with the players.

This was  another hard luck story for this Yeovil side.

Despite my disappointment, I found myself standing, applauding and cheering this team at the final whistle.

It is just impossible not to be impressed and heartened by the sheer tenacity of them, they just never stop working.

As the game ticked past the 90th minute, Charlie Wakefield appeared in the left back position to win a ball back and clear it. Yes, our winger-turned-striker Charlie Wakefield who has played so many minutes this season, he was tracking back and helping out his team-mates.

How can you do anything but admire that spirit? And be so, so frustrated that it was not rewarded with three points. I know, again. Ugh.

The disappointment stings more because this was another good performance against one of the National League’s top teams.

I’d have taken a point before kick-off, especially when I saw there was no Olufela Olomola in the squad. How we missed him.

This was a Notts County which “has not scrimped” on its budget, according to Magpies’ fan Paul Mace who we spoke to pre-match, with a team we were told would control the game with easy-on-the-eye football.

It didn’t happen and it didn’t happen because Yeovil Town did not let it happen. We hassled, we harried, we disrupted the rhythm of a team with quality and experience in abundance. If you saw the win at Stockport County earlier this season, this had a similar feel. We showed Notts County no respect, the difference between this and Stockport was players feeling the rigours of a season – and no-one in any kind of scoring form.

It did not make for a game of great quality, but with our team which is all about effort, that speaks more for our efforts.

On that point, my thoughts on last season’s Reuben Reid were clear.

This season, I was willing to give him a chance and take fully in to account the fact he had an interrupted start of the campaign to put it mildly.

But, Reuben’s mistake at the end of this match was simply not acceptable. A burst forward by Lawson D’Ath, fed the ball through to our experienced striker who we are told has incredibly high standards, and he allows the ball to run under his foot and away to safety.

This was moments after the Notts equaliser and was a golden opportunity to get a shot in on goal. Yes, it is one mistake for a player who was on the pitch for less than 15 minutes, but he is paid to get that shot away. If his standards are as high as we are told – and I have no reason to doubt they are – he will be equally infuriated at his mistake.

The fact we played three midfield players – one of whom, Jordan Barnett, started the season as a left back – tells you all you need to know about our scoring options.

Alex Bradley. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

So, it was pleasing to see a goal of great quality from Alex Bradley.

We’re told he sees himself as a midfield player rather than the right-back we thought we signed and if he carries on performing like he did here, he very well could be.

There was nice passes, quality runs forward, strong tackles. There was a lot to like about Alex Bradley’s performance.

Finally, it was pleasing to hear Sarll and Tom Knowles praising the travelling fans at Meadow Lane.

Even when we weren’t winning, they were making a noise in an otherwise quiet Meadow Lane.

Every one of those 223 people in that away end were magnificent – well, let’s say 222, it’s a bit big-headed to call myself ‘magnificent’! We are supporting a team which in reality has nothing left to play for with promotion out of our reach and relegation almost a mathematic impossibility, yet we still turn up and make a racket. At the final whistle, the vast majority stood to applaud the players’ efforts and chant the manager’s name. There’s a huge effort going in on the pitch, but it is being matched in the stands.

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Paul Fairclough has announced his England C squad for the upcoming game against Wales.

As expected it is full of the very best from the National League, but there are no current members of the Yeovil squad that make the cut.

Three former Glovers make the cut, Scott Loach (Cashterfield), Ben Tozer (Wrexham) and Nathan Ralph (Southend) have all been selected for the game on March 30th.

There does appear to be a ‘contingency squad’ with Wealdstone announcing two of their players had been called up, despite not appearing on the list.

If any of the current squad are also named in the back up squad they could be called upon for the game which is scheduled for inbetween the Southend and Barnet fixtures.

The team includes Paul Mullin who was being touted for a full Welsh call up this season and Dagenham’s Matt Robinson who will be in the visitors squad at Yeovil this coming Tuesday.

The full squad is as follows…

 

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll was very positive about the Glovers’ 1-1 draw with Notts County on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, he said whilst the players might be ‘gutted’, he wasn’t and he sang his team’s praises.

“I’m not (gutted), the players are and it’s my job to ensure they understand the fruits of their labour, and that’s a magnificent performance, again.

“This is a process, we’ve got young players that are developing, they are exactly where they should be and this is about their journey long term”

The manager went on to make comparisons to Sutton United, who won the National League in 2020/21, but not before building a young squad who finished mid-table in the curtailed 2019/20 season.

Sarll spoke of his side’s endeavour and spirit – something all Glovers’ fans know is second to none.

“I’ll be surprised if anyone has come here this year and stuck it so boldly to Notts County. I told them, and I mean it, I’m not playing games, I was delighted with them. I can see in our attacking play, that we are getting better.”

There was praise for Alex Bradley whose second start of the season brought his first goal and for Jordan “Gareth Bale” Barnett who found himself as part of a front three citing their athleticism, hard work and determination to play for the team.

“I think the chaps have shown an incredible amount of desire and I think we’ve given something back to the people, to the supporters who have travelled so far and spent so much money and that’s all I can ever ask of them.

“I think if we have longevity with the team, I can start to ask a bit more, but right now they are exactly where they are and exactly where I think they should be, and they’re growing week in, week out.

“It’s very ballsy to come here and play in that manner, we didn’t sit off like 90% of the teams, we went after Notts County, and we went after Notts County with all of the things we know are against us.”

Sarll also confirmed that on loan striker Olufela Olomola, who missed out at Meadow Lane, should be available to make the squad for the visit of Dagenham & Redbridge to Huish Park on Tuesday night, and that there is no long term concern over forward Tom Knowles who limped off at the end against Notts.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Darren Sarll hoped that the Huish Park faithful would see more of the same, even if he wasn’t overly enamoured with having to play on Tuesday after two long away days… and Dagenham having a weekend off.

“I just hope the home support sees the growth in the team, I hope we show them that there’s growth in the team.

“We need to be very very careful, physically with the team, because it’s a long journey, I didn’t want this game on this Tuesday (vs Dagenham) I thought it was unfair after two long away trips to put another game in, the league voted against us… we always seem to lose those ones… but we’ll go.

“This team can be such a good team, such a good team, and I love working with them and I really do hope people can see their progress, because they are fighting for dear life, bless ’em.

“Once we break the ceiling of those two goals in a game, I think we will unleash a war chest of other attributes we haven’t seen yet. We are pushing, we are really pushing and I’m really proud of them today.”

 

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Tom Knowles in action
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town forward Tom Knowles spoke to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the 1-1 draw with Notts County and despite being on the wrong end of 94th minute equaliser, he said he and squad weren’t too downbeat.

“There’s a lot of positives we can take from that, I think we were the better team for the vast majority of the game, and we’ve been (doing) so well at defending our box all season, so it’s disappointing to concede the goal in that way.

“We’re very positive after that, although it’s disappointing not to get all three points, it’s a great result away at Notts County.”

Knowles echoed the manager’s thoughts that the group is working hard as a unit and that the squad a brilliant to be around, even if the likelihood of a play-off place is getting smaller by the game.

“It’s something that we all buy into, we do it for each other, we run our legs into the ground and we know that when we get taken off, that someone else is going to come on and do exactly the same. We are going to give absolutely everything into every game.”

Knowles was asked about the lack of goals this season and he was sure they would come eventually.

“I think that’s the frustrating part for us boys up top is that, we are all working so hard and the final bit is the final third, the last bit in front of goal, so I’m sure when one comes the floodgates will open, and we will start scoring and flying.”

The former Cambridge United man was taken off towards the end, but the front man confirmed, it was nothing too serious and was already looking forward to playing Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday night.

“The fans really get behind us there (Huish Park) and we will definitely want to put on a show for them and the ones that travel – we are so thankful for their support because Nottingham isn’t exactly around the corner from Yeovil, nor is Chesterfield. 

“The support has been brilliant the last couple of games so get back in front of our home fans and put on a show.”

Much like Darren Sarll, he reiterated his enjoyment at playing in this squad and was hoping for more success with this group.

“I love it, I love the dressing room, everyone of us are buying into the exact same thing and we all want the exact same outcome, we all get on on and off the pitch and when the results start coming on the pitch we will fly, I’m sure of it.”

You know what they say… “don’t fall in love with footballers…”

…too late.

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Venue: Meadow Lane
Saturday 5 March, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Cold and breezy.
Pitch: Like a snooker table in comparison with what Chesterfield served up in the previous match.

Attendance: 6,943 (223 away supporters)

Scorers: Alex Bradley 47 (1-0), Alex Lacey 90+4 (1-1)

Bookings: 

Notts: Francis 41, Chicksen 54, Rodrigues 70, Sam 73.

Yeovil: Bradley 54, Williams 90+6.

Referee: Matthew Dicicco


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Grant Smith

Mark Little, Luke Wilkinson, Ben Barclay, Morgan Williams

Alex Bradley, Josh Staunton, Dale Gorman

Jordan Barnett, Charlie Wakefield, Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Lawson D’Ath (for Bradley, 63), Matt Worthington (for Barnett 79), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Reuben Reid (for Knowles 87), Adi Yussuf.

Notts County: Jaros, Chicksen, Cameron (for Lacey, 28), Rawlinson, Richardson (For Kelly-Evans, 57), Francis (for Mitchell, 79), Palmer, Rodrigues, Sam, Roberts, Wooton.

Substitutes: Lacey, Kelly-Evans, Brunt, Nemane, Mitchell.

Match Report

Yeovil Town’s inability to kill a game off saw them denied an impressive win at promotion chasing Notts County who grabbed a late equaliser.

Having gone ahead just two minutes in to the second half when Alex Bradley capitalised on a defensive mix up, the Glovers had to withstand pressure from the hosts.

Just when it looked as if they might manage that, Alex Lacey’s header deep in to nine minutes of stoppage time added on meant the visitors settled for a point.

Here is Coatesie’s perspective from the away end at Meadow Lane….

First half

Having been exposed on the break on a couple of early forays forward by the home side, the first proper chance came on four minutes on a break away led by Charlie Wakefield who picked out Tom Knowles but his shot was deflected wide for a corner.

Eli Sam, the Notts striker with five goals in his last five matches, had a header smartly stopped by Grant Smith soon after, before Kyle Wootton’s deflected effort was blocked on the line by Luke Wilkinson.

A lot of the home side’s threat was coming down the flanks with Sam on the left and Callum Roberts on the right.

On 22 minutes, it was Roberts’ whipped ball in from the right wing which found Ruben Rodrigues whose diving header went wide with only Smith to beat. Golden opportunity.

Notts lost captain Kyle Cameron on 28 minutes after  an innocuous looking tussle with Knowles. He was replaced by former Glover Alex Lacey, and moments later Ben Barclay put a header in to the hands of hosts’ keeper Vitezslav Jaros from a Knowles long throws.

Six minutes from half-time, a ball through from Alex Bradley set Barnett away down the left but his ball in to Wakefield was over hit giving Notts the chance to clear. It was yet another almost moment for us going forward.

In terms of clear cut chances, Rodrigues’ header wide was as good as it got for either side in a scrappy opening 45 minutes.

For a side pushing for promotion with a dearth of attacking talent in their squad, Notts County have not lived up to their billing and us….surprise, surprise, we look a side sorely lacking a striker.

Half time: Notts County 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Any fans returned from the half time break late will have missed a misjudged header back to Jaros which found the younger keeper all at sea. The ball eventually broke to Alex BRADLEY who lifted it over the stranded keeper.

Alex Bradley. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

That seemed to spark the home side in to action and on 53 minutes danger man Roberts got on the ball and fired a ball in to the near post where Rodrigues stabbed it goalwards but Smith denied him with an instinctive stop with his feet.

On the hour mark, Gorman’s free-kick found Wilkinson in the middle but he could not quite get enough contact to give Jaros more than a simple save.

As the game reached its closing stages, the wind off the nearby River Trent started to pick up and free-kicks were causing both defences.

On 77 minutes, another deep free-kick found Wilkinson in a bit dissimilar position to the one he found himself in at Chesterfield seven days earlier. This time he could not get clean contact on it.

There was battling, hassling, harrying from a Yeovil side who truly do not know when they are beaten, but the biggest lift came when nine minutes of injury time came up on the board.

Some of the stream of home fans leaving Meadow Lane turned around, sending something was about to happen and, a couple of minutes in to the nine it did. A lofted free-kick in found the head of Alex LACEY who seemed to have the freedom of the penalty area to head home.

But, it wasn’t over there, moments later the ball broke to D’Ath who brought it forward and squared it to substitute Reuben Reid. The ball ran under his foot and away to safety.

Full time: Notts County 1 Yeovil Town 1

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Yeovil Town have been given two charges of misconduct in the latest Football Association disciplinary lists for February 2022.

The first relates to the game v Eastleigh on 12th February.

The official charge is as follows.

MASS CONFRONTATION (FAST TRACK 2) – STANDARD CASE
Yeovil Town FC, National League Premier 

Eastleigh FC v Yeovil Town FC
National League Premier
12 February 2022

Breach of FA Rule E20.1 – It is alleged that in or around the 82nd minute of the fixture, Yeovil Town FC failed to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.

Charge denied – Paper Hearing requested. 

It’s worth noting thay Eastleigh have also been handed the same charge from that fixture and have accepted the charge resulting in a fine of £500.

Fast forward to February 25th and the game against Maidenhead, another ‘mass confrontation’ and another charge.

“MASS CONFRONTATION (FAST TRACK 2) – NON-STANDARD CASE
Yeovil Town FC, National League Premier

Maidenhead United FC v Yeovil Town FC
National League Premier
22 February 2022

Breach of FA Rule E20.1 – It is alleged that in or around the 94th minute of the fixture, Yeovil Town FC failed to ensure that its players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion.

The Club have until 6:00pm on Wednesday 2 March 2022 to provide a response.”

Much like in the Eastleigh game, Maidenhead have also been charged with the same offence and also have until Wednesday 2 March to respond.

If we get any details of the outcomes we will bring these details to you.