Yeovil Town’s Under-18s have been drawn away at Eastleigh in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Youth Cup.
The young Glovers are through to this round after a 7 (seven) – 0 win over the Bovey Tracey Under-18s on Thursday evening. You can read more on the young Glovers’ win – here.
Eastleigh progressed with a 3-0 victory over AFC Totton.
Ties in this round are due to take place week commencing 10th of October.
Yeovil Town’s Under-18s progressed to the next qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup Cup on Thursday evening with a comprehensive 7-0 award victory at Bovey Tracey.
Matt Percival’s side were in complete control throughout and we’re already looking comfortable when the hosts were reduced to ten men in the second half.
A hat-trick from striker Charlie Bateson, a brace from Aiden ‘son of‘ Skiverton and goals from Josh Sutton and Jacob Shore wrapped up the win.
Nice work lads!
We’ll let you know details of the next round fixture when they become available.
Ian and Dave welcome Marcus Duncomb back to the Gloverscast to talk about the week in YTFC. Ben chats to the Southend Echo’s reporter Chris Phillips to get the low-down on the Shrimpers and we take your questions!
Thanks for listening!
Chris Hargreaves said he is focussing on the players at the club but that he has ‘the support’ to get the right player and the right deal for Yeovil Town should he need to enter the transfer market.
The Glovers are without a win in five matches, but have enjoyed good performances against Chesterfield and Boreham Wood at Huish Park over the last two weekends. As with previous weeks, Hargreaves reiterated that his players were getting through the socks in training this week ahead of our trip to Southend and that he was keeping his faith in them.
Speaking at his pre-match presser via a dial-up internet connection (who’s our main shirt sponsor?) Hargreaves said: “We have some very good players here and we want them to be the ones that say ‘I am your man’ and we have to be patient with some others. But, as the games are ticking on, we want wins and we want to score goals. Our play has warranted (wins) and the feedback I have had is positive.
“We will always face criticism because we are not where we want to be, we feel that more than anybody because we are working our socks off. We go back to the training ground and try and replicate situations we’ve had, so we are doing everything to try and help the players on Saturday.
“Every club at any level has to live within their means, but we can be very competitive with the players we have and I think we are. Every club in the country is always looking for new players and that won’t change, but there are enough players at the club to be successful and we are asking them to be the ones to go and do it,” he said.
Asked by Three Valleys Radio’s Adi Hopper whether he felt he needed “a good, old warhorse” of a player to add to his squad, the boss agreed insisting he had the financial backing – if he wanted it.
Hargreaves said: “There’s backing from everybody, the club are fully behind me but it has to be the right person at the right value. We have experience in our squad, we are going to need to draw from that at the moment. I’m not afraid for the young players, but I do lean on those experienced players and I need them to be leaders.”
As for the bit, players are champing at it ahead of the visit to the Shrimpers but there are a couple of injuries ahead of Friday. Hargreaves added that on loan Walsall midfielder Sam Perry is back in the reckoning after missing the previous three matches with concussion.
The Glovers welcomed back Owen Bevan from Wales Under-21s international duty and the manager said the Bournemouth loanee had “plenty of juice left in the tank.” The AFC Bournemouth youth team captain played just ten minutes of a friendly against Austria in the week.
Hargreaves gave a a bit insight into Jake Scrimshaw, too. The 22-year-old has only made a couple of substitute appearances since signing a two-year-deal from Bournemouth in August and the manager said: “It has been a tough position for him coming from Bournemouth to us, the National League has different elements to under-21s at Bournemouth. He’s fighting for his spot and there’s competition for places with Gime Toure who has scored and Malachi Linton, but Scrimmy certainly working hard to get that start.”
A new “fan zone” could open at Huish Park in the coming weeks – if the club’s application for a licence is approved.
Director Stuart Robins said the club is looking to “take part of the marquee” which has been sat unused at the stadium since before the COVID-19 pandemic to create a structure behind the terrace.
He told Three Valleys Radio‘s ‘In Conversation With….’ programme on Tuesday night, that he hoped the zone would help improve the matchday experience.
He said: “In the short term we are trying to take part of the marquee and create a fan zone behind the Thatcher’s Stand.
“We still have to apply for a licence and then we can move part of the marquee to behind the Thatcher’s to create a better environment.
“It’s a semi-permanent structure, but it will be better than what we have at the moment. Our goal is to have some form of fan zone.”
The plans were mentioned by chairman Scott Priestnall in the minutes of the Supporters’ Alliance meeting at the end of June which quoted him saying: “Plans are in place to put a marquee behind the Thatcher’s stand where a bar and live bands can play before matches.”
In our most first monthly YeoGov opinion poll covering the month of August gave the matchday experience a below average 2.76/7 rating and Robins admitted the club was “trying desperately” to make improvements at Huish Park.
But, he added: “It’s not something that can overnight.”
The director also said that plans for a big screen at Huish Park would happen “before the end of the calendar year“, so watch this space on that one….
In the interview, recorded ahead of last weekend’s 1-1 home draw with Boreham Wood, the director said he believed manager Chris Hargreaves was “building something special.”
He said: “Out of the games we’ve played we’ve had two poor games, against York City we were poor and at Eastleigh we were poor.
“I still say Eastleigh was a good point. When you see we more than competed against Chesterfield, really well against Barnet and Wrexham.
“We’ve kept the spine and a number of players from last year, but we are playing a different brand of football and the players are still adapting to that.
“I was at training this morning and the guys looked sharp and hungry. I think Chris is building something special and I’m pretty confident we will build from here.
He added: “Have we got a team that’s ready for promotion? Who knows what’s going to happen, but you can’t fault the players for their effort. We are playing, for the most part, attractive football, most people who were at the game against Chesterfield (would say that).“
It’s an extra special, midweek Brucey bonus edition of the Loan Watch with some added international pizzazz to throw in too.
Let’s start at Truro where Ollie Haste continues to rack up the minutes for the White Tigers.
Another 90 for him on Tuesday with his side grabbing a late, late winner against Yate Town.
Haste also had a great chance to score his first goal for his adopted side shortly before half time, but saw his header go wide
Toby Stephens was not named in the match day squad.
Off to Gloucester we go, and Olivier Hulbert, our (not in any way) French winger was a second half subtitute for the Tigers in a 1-1 draw away at Banbury Utd in the National League North.
Hulbert came on in the 63rd minute with his side equalising in the 65th!
On loan Bournemouth defender Owen Bevan was in Vienna, Austria with the Wales Under 21 side on Tuesday evening.
Sadly, Matty Jones’ side lost 2-0 in the friendly fixture with Bevan coming on in the 82nd minute for his international debut.
Get back to Somerset, sharpish Owen, we’ll need you at Southend!
Yeovil Town director Stuart Robins has said the decision of owner Scott Priestnall to sell the Huish Park site is the reason the club has survived the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shareholder, who owns a 20% stake in the club, said the sale of the stadium and surrounding land to South Somerset District Council in a deal worth £2.8m “had to take place for the club to survive.”
He also told Three Valleys Radio‘s ‘In Conversation With…..’ programme on Tuesday night that he “had it on pretty good authority” that no bidders for the club, including the Simul Sports consortium led by former Cardiff City director Julian Jenkins, put “any money on the table” despite months of takeover talks.
Robins said: “We all have to remember COVID was devastating for so many clubs, including our own, there was no revenue whatsoever and only costs, except obviously there was furlough and whatever.
“The losses are substantial for a club at this level and it had to be financed and we are still here.
Asked about the sale to SSDC completed in May, he said: “A transaction of that type had to take place for the club to survive. There was always the opportunity before the SSDC deal that a developer could have come in and done goodness knows what.
“That was certainly said by (SSDC portfolio holder Councillor) John Clark when he’s been interviewed a number of times and the club has survived because of what Scott has done.
“There were a number of debts that had to be settled and that was driven by the council. Some money has gone in to the football, but there was some moneys that went in to buying the convenents back, so there was a number of areas where that money had to go.”
We certainly know of one interview conducted by Councillor Clark on the Gloverscast back in May, which you can listen to – here.
Robins was asked by Three Valleys Radio presenter Adrian Hopper, a former club press officer, whether he had thought he might be going in to business with a group including Simul Sports, well, he referred to him them as “this fella Jenkins.”
For your recollection, the Simul consortium also including former Yeovil Town midfielder Marc Bircham, investment specialist Darren DeLandro and, following the collapse of the bid, Damien Singh, the Chief Financial Officer of online graphic design tool firm, Canva, revealed himself as part of the bid. And “this fella Jenkins“, of course,
In response, the director said: “I was pretty confident it was only going to be with Scott (I went in to business with) because there were a number of parties that had not put their money where their mouth is.
“I have heard a number of parties had put money on the table, but as I understand it that never happened, I have it on pretty good authority.
“The difference with me was I did and when the time was to sign the cheque, I did it, as you would with any transaction of this nature.
“There was never any danger of working with the other parties you have mentioned, because they simply did not put the money where it should have been to conclude that transaction.
He added: “From what I know now, a lot of the stuff you read and here whether it’s on Twitter or via other parties simply is not true.
“I know on very good authority I was the only one that was prepared to put the money in.”
He spoke about his introduction to Priestnall via a mutual friend, saying: “My pal, Dave, introduced me to (Scott), I was invited down to have lunch, one thing led to another and one day Scott asked if I would like to be involved.
“I said I would like to be involved at a meaningful level and I am quite prepared to invest, that’s how it all started and we concluded the transaction four to five months ago.“
Ben, Dave and Ian talk about Saturday’s draw with Boreham Wood and try reconcile it with a mid-pod synonym search of ‘frustration’.
A late consolation goal from defender Jacob Shore was all Yeovil Town’s Under-18s had to show from a 3-1 defeat at home to Bridgwater United on Saturday.
The young Glovers were unable to get their noses in front despite a strong first half showing and their visitors took advantage with three goals after the break before Shore struck with five minutes to go.
It leaves them still searching for their first win in the South West Counties Youth League having drawn their first two matches.
There is no fixture for the Under-18s next weekend with their next outing coming at Wimborne Town on October 8th.
Yeovil Town Under-18s: Robert Hollard, Josh Sutton (for Joshua Haskett), Max Dyer, Jacob Shore, Harrison Foster, Jake Graziano, Sam Hodges, Jack Bareham (for Alex Stevens, 52), Charlie Bateson (for Nathan Hart, 66), Benjani Junior, Ethan O’Sullivan (for Aidan Skiverton, 66).
The age group teams representing the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust picked up two victories but suffered three defeats at the weekend.
The Under-14s were the only side to get the better of their counterparts from Torquay United with the Devon side’s Under-13s, Under-15s and Under-16s getting the better of their Somerset rivals in the Junior Premier League.
There was success for the Trust’s Under-12s who defeated Taunton Town. The results in full:
Under-12s – won v Taunton Town
Under-13s – lost v Torquay United
Under-14s – won v Torquay United
Under-15s – lost v Torquay United
Under-16s – lost v Torquay United
It was a caveat-ridden performance which saw Yeovil draw (again) against Boreham Wood. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from Huish Park…
I’m not sure how we’ve not that won that. Luke Garrad was gushing about our performance in his post-match interview after his side managed to escape with a point. Nathan Ashmore made some good saves and was by far the busier keeper, but we should have put Wood to the sword. Alex Fisher was quickest to react after Ashmore fumbled a fairly routine save from Toure, but that was the only joy we had. Fisher had chances, Touré had a gilt-edged chance in the first half which he should have put away, instead he tried to round the keeper who made a phenomenal stop. We had the better of the chances but in familiar fashion, we weren’t good enough to take them.
We can’t hold a lead. That one might be stating the obvious, but in the ten games so far this season we’ve gone ahead seven times (twice against Altrincham and Chesterfield) and we’ve let the lead slip six times. There’s a pattern emerging that needs to be broken. Boreham Wood’s equaliser in stoppage time was so deflating and there was a sense of inevitability about it. As supporters the expectation that we’re going to let a lead slip is getting a little ingrained. Hopefully we can buck the trend at Southend.
After his impressive performance against Chesterfield, we missed Chiori Johnson. I think most people went into yesterday hoping to see Johnson in at wingback, but an injury in the last kick of training this week forced him out. If, and I think we know now, we’re going to stick with the 3-5-2, Johnson has staked his claim to be the 1st choice in that position. No one has looked particularly comfortable/effective in there until him. Charlie Wakefield made an impact in the second half when Boreham Wood decided to play for a point, but I don’t think anything clicked quite so well as last weekend.
There’s so much frustration at the moment. It was a slow start yesterday and it didn’t take long for the grumbles amongst the supporters seeing the ball go backward for the umpteenth time. When we conceded the equaliser there was a lot of finger pointing and anger amongst the players on the pitch that we’d let another lead slip. At times, Matt Worthington was getting annoyed at his lack of options when he picked up the ball and when Gime Toure turned one too many times rather than look up, Worthy let his feelings be known. We’ve heard about angry conversations in the changing room before this season, and I’m sure there were more of those yesterday. I worry about how sustainable angry conversations are if they don’t start producing results.
Off this pitch, there’s a hangover from last season. After a great performance the weekend before against the top team in the league, you’d have hoped that might have spiked attendance a bit but we’re still hovering around that 2000 mark. I’ve not done a matchday ‘properly’ this season but evidently whatever we’ve added to the day hasn’t brought back folks who might have been thinking about it. There’s only so much over-promising and under-delivering you can take, and boy have we been promised some things.
That’s the conclusions. However, we’re ten games in and we sit in 19th with nine points, the bottom four are all on eight points. I’m not sure how long we can say ‘we’re so close’ or ‘we’re not a million miles away’ until you find yourself cut adrift. I know there’s a long way to go but the start of the season has not been good enough. With inconsistent performances, an inability to hold on to leads, apathy amongst supporters and dwindling gates, we are in serious danger of sleepwalking this season into nothing.