August 2022 (Page 2)

Chris Hargreaves

Manager Chris Hargreaves and goal-scoring wing-back Jamie Reckord have both said Yeovil Town are looking to put a run together as they travel to in-form Wealdstone on Bank Holiday Monday.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins following victory over Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday the pair were unanimous their opponent’s form didn’t matter, it was about how Yeovil could impact the game.

Hargreaves said: “They’ve recruited players of a good standard they’ve obviously pushed the boat out to do that.

“They’re a good team, they’re an attacking threat, they’ve got some pace and we’ve got focus on that and how we can affect them with our football, but our resilience has got to carry on into that next game.

“The lads have just said it in the changing room, that’s their focus now, they know they can defend, they know they can listen to information and play different shapes”

With just under 48 hours between matches, Hargreaves said that recovery was key and that might have to affect their roast dinner on Sunday.

He added: “The boys have got to enjoy winning today, cos that’s what this game is about, recover quickly, not have too many pigs in blankets tomorrow and chocolate pudding and relax.

“I can’t quite believe this fixture pile up already, it’s ridiculous, it’s got to stop, it’s dangerous, that’s annoyed me, but we’ve got to deal with, get on with it.”

Jamie Reckord. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Similar thoughts were shared by Reckord whose third goal in five games gave Hargreaves his first win as Glovers boss.

The former Wrexham man said: “Everyone is in the same boat, they’ve (Wealdstone) have played today like us, I just think if everyone recovers well and does the right thing, there’s no excuse on Monday, we just keep going.

“They’ve started well, but it’s not about them it’s about us, we won today, and I’m confident about getting three points on Monday.”

Wealdstone go in to the game full of confidence having hit the top of the National League table with a 1-0 win at Gateshead courtesy of a goal from former Glover Rhys Browne.

Yes, we’re going to be making Pond/Fish/ based puns whenever we can, we’re not going to apologise for it either.

Alfie Pond. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town’s on loan defender Alfie Pond has been named in the Non-League Paper’s team of the day after his impressive debut performance helped secure a 1-0 win over Dagenham & Redbridge.

Pond joins Wealdstone’s Jack Cook – who he’ll likely face on Monday – and Callum Howe of Solihull in the mythical back line.

The gaffer, Chris Hargreaves also makes the ‘Top Boss’ spot his own after picking up his first competitive victory as Glovers’ boss.

Well done to Alfie and Chris!

Jamie Reckord scores the winner against Dagenham ? Mike Kunz

Yeovil Town s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶r̶ defender Jamie Reckord has praised the Glovers’ ability to grind out their first win of the season over Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, in which he scored his third goal of the season, he said how happy everyone was to get that first win in the books.

The 30-year-old said: “Both teams started kind of slow, there wasn’t much really in the game, I just felt like there were always going to be opportunities come our way 

“Their back three was gifting us a few chances, Mal [of Fish ‘n’ Mal fame] was running off the back of them and giving them havoc and Gime and I thought Fish [also from Fish ‘n’ Mal] played well and I got my goal. I’m just happy we got the three points.

“Everyone knows it was important for us to get the win today, you could feel it, we could feel it, the last ten minutes felt like it was half an hour but we hung on.

“Everyone needed that, because if you look at the last few games in the season I think we’ve been the better team, and the club looks back and says we could have and should have, but we were the better team in most of the three games and yeah, I’m just glad we got the three points.”

Reckord – who had, before this game NEVER scored more than twice in a single season – was chuffed to get his third in the opening five games…

“I’m delighted to get the goal, of course, three goals in whatever games it is, its the best of my professional career, but most importantly we got the win and the first win on the board and we can look forward to playing Wealdstone on Monday”

Best check that contract for a goal bonus clause, Jamie!


Alfie Pond

There was praise for his 18 year old defensive partner Alfie Pond who made his Glovers debut and put in a rock solid display impressing Reckord, and fans with his performance.

Pondy is really good, you can tell, he’s good in the air, good on the ball, he’s calm and collected and when you play in a three you need that calmness, he can play the ball out from the back and start moves off, yeah, everyone was impressed.”

Ollie Haste in action for Truro City. Picture courtesy of Cameron Weldon/Truro City FC.

Yeovil Town’s on loan duo Ollie Haste and Toby Stephens had very different days as their host side Truro City picked up a 4-1 win over Hendon.

Haste started the match but was replaced with just 24 minutes on the clock due to an injury.

After the game White Tigers’ gaffer – and former Glover – Paul Wotton said: “He (Haste) took a knee to the thigh, so he’s got a bit of a dead leg.”

They, like us, have a game on Monday and Wotton said he had a few nursing knocks so players will be assessed over the next 24 hours, but thankfully it doesn’t seem too serious for Haste.

Toby Stephens in action for Truro City. Picture courtesy of Cameron Weldon/Truro City FC.

Stephens was named on the bench for the second game in succession and came on for just over 30 minutes with the game finely poised.

He too, has had a slight injury concern during his temporary spell at Truro but is making a steady return to action.

Keep up the good work, lads !

 

Yeovil Town manager Chris Hargreaves was pleased to see his side regain the “clean sheet mentality” his coaching staff have been drilling in to the Glovers’ players all week.

Having taken the lead through a Jamie Reckord goal after 34 minutes, the home side were forced to defend against an onslaught from visitors Dagenham & Redbridge and held on to earn their first win of the season.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Hargreaves said: “The first half was good, we did what we said we were going to do, we were calm when we had the ball and we organised when we were out of possession.

Because we are so desperate to win games, the second half became a war of attrition but the clean sheet mentality we have been drumming in to the boys all week, they did it.

“The corners were raining in at the end there and there’s so many good teams and players in this league, it is a very underrated standard.

The boss made three changes from last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Altrincham with Ben Richards-Everton returning in defence alongside teenage debutant Alfie Pond, on loan from League One side Exeter City, and captain Josh Staunton in a three-man defence.

He added: “We were organised even with the lads coming in, I think the captain (Josh Staunton) stood up tremendously at the end, Alfie Pond showed an enormous amount of maturity and I could go through the entire squad, including those not getting a look in at the moment.

There’s young players in there and for some of them it is a reintroduction to men’s football and they have to adjust quickly.

After a fragmented first 30 minutes to the match, it was a moment of quality when striker Alex Fisher broke the Dagenham offside trap and fired the ball across for wing back Reckord to fire home at proved the difference.

Hargreaves said: “We’ve been working on our wing back gambling to go high when the ball’s switched and it worked.

It was a great ball and a great finish, Jamie’s been getting a nose bleed when he’s got in to the box in recent years and now he’s turned in to a goal-scoring wing back.

We worked on that, talked about running blind side, and they carried it out and they were fantastic.

Towards the end it was an uncomfortable watch but with the will of the fans and the backing we’ve had, pulled us through today.

Forward Gime Toure, who had opened his goal-scoring account seven days earlier, was the other change from the disappointing draw at Altrincham. He replaced Charlie Wakefield who was missing with a thigh injury picked up in training.

Speaking before the game, Hargreaves said Wakefield was unlikely to make the visit to league leaders Wealdstone on Bank Holiday Monday.

Venue: Huish Park
Saturday August 27th, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Dry and bright
Pitch: Looking good

Attendance: 2,152 (70 away supporters)

Scorers: Jamie Reckord 34 (1-0)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Worthington 81
Dagenham & Redbridge: McCallum 76

Referee: Wayne Cartmel



Yeovil Town
: (3-5-2)

Grant Smith

Alfie Pond  Josh Staunton  Ben Richards-Everton

Morgan Williams Matt Worthington  Lawson D’Ath (for Sam Perry, 54)  Jamie Reckord

Gime Toure (for Jake Scrimshaw, 73)

Alex Fisher (for Callum Rowe, 63)  Malachi Linton

Substitutes (not used): Max Hunt, Chiori Johnson.


Dagenham & Redbridge: 
Justham, Hare, Onariase, Longe-King (for Vilhete, 41), Weston, Tavares, Robinson, Sagaf (for Mussa, 63), Ling, McCallum, Walker (for Morias, 63). Substitutes: Strizovic, Zouma.

Match Report

A first half goal from Jamie Reckord saw Yeovil Town earn their first win of the National League season at home to Dagenham & Redbridge.

The wing-back made it three goals in his opening five matches for the Glovers after good play from striker Alex Fisher on 34 minutes.

However, it was a performance which relied on defensive resilience with young loanee Alfie Pond impressive alongside captain Josh Staunton and the returning Ben Richards-Everton in a back three as Dagenham dominated the second half.

Here’s how it played out in manager Chris Hargreaves’ first win since taking charge…..

First half

With two games in three matches, manager Chris Hargreaves made three changes with Ben Richards-Everton, who had been missing with a knee injury since the opening day, and young Exeter City loanee Alfie Pond coming in for Chiori Johnson and Max Hunt, who dropped to the bench.

The other change saw Charlie Wakefield, who was suffering with a thigh injury, replaced by Gime Toure with new signings striker Jake Scrimshaw and defender Callum Rowe named on the bench.

Josh Staunton headed an early free-kick from Lawson D’Ath just over, but it was the visitors who made the brighter start with winger Myles Weston firing a decent chance in to the side netting after ten minutes.

A nice bit of passing play seven minutes saw the ball break to Toure who caught it sweetly but his effort ricocheted off defender David Longe-King and behind for a free kick.

Jamie Reckord. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The absence of on loan winger Sam Pearson, still suffering the after effects of a back injury, was obvious as the half progressed. With Toure keen to get far forward as possible, the hosts were missing someone to pick it up and take it forward in the way we’ve seen from Pearson so far.

After a fragmented 34 minutes of very little to trouble either Grant Smith or his counterpart Elliot Justham, out of nothing Yeovil went ahead. A brilliantly time run by Alex Fisher saw him beat the Daggers’ offside trap and fired a great ball across to Jamie RECKORD turned home his third goal of the season.

That sparked the hosts in to life and Malachi Linton found himself through and collided with Justham, the ball broke to Worthington who had a shot despite having Toure in acres of space on the edge of the six yard box. Manager Chris Hargreaves left his midfielder in no doubt what he felt he should have done – to put it mildly.

With the game closing to half-time, a good effort from Worthington forced a good stop out of Justham.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Second half

Within two minutes of the restart, good play by Myles Weston saw him play a ball to the back post where it found substitute Mauro Vilhete, he found Nikola Tavares whose effort hit the post with the goal at his mercy.

It was Dagenham who dominated the opening 15 minutes after the restart, but aside from Tavares’ chance and a header over the bar from striker Paul McCallum there was not a huge threat from the visitors.

With another game coming up for both teams on Monday, there were unsurprisingly changes. D’Ath, who returned after the break with a brace on his knee, was replaced by Sam Perry on 54 minutes, and Rowe replaced Fisher soon after the hour.

Rowe was described as “a ball-playing midfielder” by Glovers’ boss Chris Hargreaves and his arrival was perhaps a desire from the manager to take control of the game with their opponents upping the pressure. Their substitutes Omar Mussa, who was part of the W*ymouth side relegated last season, and Junior Morias both looked bright after coming on after 63 minutes.

On 73 minutes, Scrimshaw replaced Toure who had tired as the match progressed.

Rowe impressed with some confident touches in the middle of the park, but it was Dagenham – led by the impressive pair of Mussa and Weston – who were firmly in control as the game ticked towards the conclusion. Is this holding out the return of the resilience which Hargreaves has spoken about so much in recent weeks?

There were calls ahead of the match for his leaders to step forwards and it’s fair to say that captain Josh Staunton and Morgan Williams responded the strongest although it was Alfie Pond who received the sponsor’s man of the match.


Full time:
Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

A short-term deal for versatile Callum Roweworks for both parties“, according to Yeovil Town boss Chris Hargreaves.

The Aston Villa academy graduate arrived at Huish Park on Friday following his release by Exeter City in the summer although the precise length of his stay was not disclosed by the club.

He appeared as a second half substitute in the 1-0 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.

Callum Rowe, who has joined Yeovil Town on a short-term deal. Picture courtesy of YTFC.net.

Asked about the deal by BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins ahead of the match, the manager said: “It works for both parties at the moment. We know there’s a lot of potential in him, but he wasn’t training with a club for a little bit of pre-season so he still needs that little bit of fitness.”

The 22-year-old had a trial at Scottish Championship side Dundee last month but did not win a contract north of the border and arrived in Somerset alongside striker Jake Scrimshaw, with both players starting on the bench against Dagenham.

Of Scrimshaw, Hargreaves added: “Scrimmy has been a livewire for Bournemouth for a fair few years and been out on loan several times and done well.

He just needs to get his career going well and we think we’re a good home for him. He’s a player who will work his socks off as a minimum and hopefully there’s bright things to come from him.”

Winger Charlie Wakefield is expected to be out for the Bank Holiday Monday visit to Wealdstone after pulling up with a thigh injury on Friday, whilst Hargreaves was unsure whether on loan Sam Pearson will make it for the trip.

The boss said: “We were faced with a decision during the latter end of training where Charlie pulled up with a thigh injury, and we have the options.

If he felt he carried on training he felt he could have been out for a while so he has taken the sensible option.

Sam Pearson is still feeling it and he’s struggled to get over this back injury. I’m not sure if he’ll make it for Monday (at Wealdstone) but hopefully he will.

 

 

Yeovil Town have made three changes as they search for their first National League win of the season against Dagenham & Redbridge today (3pm kick-off).

Ben Richards-Everton is back in the starting XI after recovering from a knee injury which has kept him out since the opening day and young Exeter City loanee Alfie Pond are named in defence with Max Hunt and Chiori Johnson dropping to the bench.

Gime Toure, who scored his first goal in the 2-2 draw at Altrincham last weekend, replaces Charlie Wakefield who drops out of the squad, presumably through injury.

New signings striker Jake Scrimshaw and defender Callum Rowe are on the bench which features no goalkeeper with Will Buse dropping out.

Yeovil Town: Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Alfie Pond, Ben Richards-Everton, Josh Staunton, Jamie Reckord, Matt Worthington, Lawson D’Ath, Gime Toure,Alex Fisher, Malachi Linton. Substitutes: Callum Rowe, Max Hunt, Chiori Johnson, Sam Perry, Jake Scrimshaw.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Hare, Onariase, Longe-King, Weston, Tavares, Robinson, Sagaf, Ling, McCallum, Walker. Substitutes: Strizovic, Mussa, Zouma, Vilhete, Morias.

After the first couple of man of the match votes, we’ve upped the ante a bit and added some extra options to get more views.

We have asked you for your first, second and third choice man of the match to give you some options and give credit to players who deserve it. With that in mind, the 1st choice will get five points, the 2nd will get three points and the third will get one point. Come the end of the season we’ll have an actual points total of who has performed the best over the course of the season (take that Morgan Williams’ Twitch mates!). Probably.

Anyway, in first place for the Barnet match on Tuesday 16th August was Sam Pearson with 33% of the vote.  Well done to the joker who voted for three unused subs.

 

Picking up three points for 2nd choice and one point for third place was Mr Matt Worthington – its fair to say that he’s undergoing a bit of a renaissance under Chris Hargreaves.

 

We also asked for general feedback on the team performance and entertainment value and evidently, people were pleased with what they saw in the results below. Looking forward to the Gladiator-esque “Are you not entertained?” from the manager at some point this season.

Thanks for sharing your views and please keep the votes coming in through the season.