December 2022 (Page 5)

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

The stars aligned this weekend, a stomach bug combined with the launch of a National League streaming service meant Ian was able to stay warm and watch Yeovil’s 0-0 draw with Scunthorpe from the comfort of home. Here are his Five Conclusions…

That was a drab affair. This game won’t go down in history as the Notts County 0-0 will. With a heavily depleted squad, players on the pitch on antibiotics, two of the League’s poorer sides and an increasingly difficult surface, the quality was at a premium at Huish Park. In hindsight, a postponement of the match probably would have benefitted the Glovers. Mark Cooper said given the circumstances with the squad, it’s one of our best points of the season. But his comments after the match made it abundantly clear that…

The playing budget is tight, and that is an understatement. We knew it already right? Chris Hargreaves leant on the local loan network to bring in players and was definitely not shopping in Waitrose. Yesterday we named three subs, with only two outfield players, in a week where we let Gime Toure leave and had to let Anthony Georgiou return to his parent club to ‘balance the books’. The manager cited Jamie Reckord, Morgan Williams, Matt Worthington and Ben Richards-Everton as players missing, but Jake Scrimshaw has vanished, Will Dawes (our five-figure fee signing no less) has got back from whence he came on loan and Hulbert has gone out too. Parts of the summer recruitment has left a lot to be desired and a combination of factors left us really short yesterday. We’ve had two managers this season, who’ve both talked about the lack of budget, what exactly has the injection of taxpayers money done to the playing budget?

I think there should have been a red card for Scunthorpe. There was a heated 20 seconds in the second half where a great tackle gets penalised for a free kick to Yeovil and what followed was a blatant punch to the side of Ewan Clarke’s head. The referee’s intention was solely on sorting out the tackle (which ironically didn’t need sorting) so he misses the hit, if he keeps his eye on Clarke for a split second longer there’s no way he doesn’t give a red. National League refs, eh? What do you think?

Scunthorpe looked like they were there for the taking. There were moments in the first half where we seemed to have acres of space inside the 18 yard box, but rather than shoot we tried to over work it and the chance went away. Friend of the Gloverscast Chris Weale said on commentary that he thought the Iron’s defence was big, slow and narrow and that that Yeovil could get round them. Unfortunately we didn’t seem to do that enough and gave Scunthorpe their first clean sheet of the season.

And they probably should have won it. Scunthorpe grew into the second half as we tired and they looked much more of a threat. In a game that looked like it was going to be settled by one goal, they had the chance of the afternoon through a combination of Tom Pugh and Rob Apter, who somehow conspired to miss. It was the biggest chance of the afternoon and fortunately for the Glovers, Scunthorpe didn’t capitalise.

It was the kind of game where you’re grateful for the request to build a bug hotel during it.

On to Barnet…

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper described his side’s goalless draw with bottom club Scunthorpe United as “the best point we will get all season.”

The Glovers fielded a depleted side with injury, illness and suspension denying him defenders Morgan Williams, Jamie Reckord and Ben Richards-Everton as well as midfielder Matt Worthington meaning he could only field two outfield substitutes.

He also confirmed in his post-match interview with BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins that winger Anthony Georgiou had ended his loan from League Two Leyton Orient early as the club looks to “balance the books.”

Cooper said: “With the way the day unfolded and the lack of numbers, players that played that were ill and could only play a certain amount of time and then we had to bring off.

“It was a resilient performance, we rallied towards the end but with the circumstances towards today, I think it is a brilliant point.

“We didn’t play well and we had to be careful we didn’t get caught late on with no substitutes left because we only had two, so we had to time it really well.

“I can’t question the effort and commitment of the players again, it’s another clean sheet and when it’s like that you have to make sure you don’t lose.”

He confirmed that midfielders Ewan Clark and Charlie Wakefield, who both departed as second half substitutes, were suffering with illness which required antibiotics, and hit out at a supporter in the Main Stand who had questioned his decisions during the match.

The manager said: “I have been here for seven games and to get told I don’t know what I’m doing numerous times by the same individual I find staggering. I can take it but that is wrong in my opinion when we are doing what we are trying to do and we have had the results we have had.

“Everyone today can see the circumstances and I think that is out of order. They don’t understand the players we are bringing off are ill and there’s a reason (we are bringing them off) not because I don’t know what I am doing.

“The players need support, they need everyone behind them, everyone is trying their socks off and on the whole the majority are really good, but we need everybody together.”

Georgiou, who signed on a “short-term deal” a month ago, made two appearances for the Glovers before returning to his parent club – but Cooper admitted he was still looking for reinforcements.

He added: “We have to balance the books and we have other players we can play. I am always looking for quality but it has to be better than we have got.

“Whatever money we have to spend we have to try and find a bit of quality which is really hard.”

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town have been drawn away at Paulton Rovers in the Quarter Finals of the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup.

There are still nine sides left in the competition with Bath City still to face off against Tickenham from the second round, the winner of that will face Larkhall Athletic.

Elsewhere, Bridgwater host Weston Super-Mare and Bishop Sutton will welcome Frome Town.

Paulton Rovers and Yeovil have previously met in the Competition in 2015, a very young Glovers side progressing 3-2 thanks to a brilliant all round performance from Ollie Bassett

Full date and ticket details are yet to be confirmed.

The full draw is as below.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Match Reports

Venue: Huish Park
Saturday 10th December, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Sunny but cold
Pitch: Icy – in particular in the shade of the Thatcher’s Stand – and got slippier as the game progressed

Attendance: 2,744 (78 away supporters)

Scorers: None

Bookings:

Yeovil Town: None
Scunthorpe United: Colin Daniel 55, Marcus Carver 55

Referee: Elliott Swallow

Yeovil Town (5-3-2)

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Ewan Clark, 68), Malachi Linton (for Charlie Wakefield, 72), Will Buse.

Scunthorpe United: Foster, Ogle, Boyce, Beestin, Carver, Lavery, Taft, Shrimpton, Daniel, Apter, Pugh. Substitues: Dewhurst, O’Malley, Rowe, Butterfield, Wilson.

Match Report

Yeovil Town’s struggle in front of goal continued as they failed to break down a battling Scunthorpe United side who took a point from a freezing Huish Park.

The Glovers failed to muster a meaningful effort on goal with a first half header over the bench from Alex Fisher and late clearance off the line from Josh Staunton as near as they got to finding a breakthrough.

Indeed, it was the visitors, who arrived on the back of six straight defeats, who created the clearer chances and will feel harder done by to finish the game with just one point.

 

First half

Manager Mark Cooper named just three substitutes, with only two of them were outfield players in Malachi Linton and Andrew Oluwabori, having lost defenders Jamie Reckord and Morgan Williams through injury and illness ahead of the match.

They were already without the suspended Matt Worthington, centre half Ben Richards-Everton still missing through injury, and Anthony Georgiou missing…..for some reason as well. Jamie Scrimshaw, who played on loan at Scunthorpe last season, who knows?!

Louis Britton put an early chance over and on seven minutes his strike partner, top-scorer Alex Fisher, headed Jamie Andrews’ right wing cross just over the bar.

Despite the better chances going Yeovil’s way, Scunthorpe looked bright going forward with defender Reagen Ogle causing problems going forward down the right, but the visitors failed to force Grant Smith in to action defending in the shadow of the Thatcher’s Stand end which was very icy.

There was a nervous moment on 20 minutes when a lapse in the home defence gave Scunthorpe an opportunity to get a strike in, but the chance was well blocked by Max Hunt.

Two minutes later, a great turn by Ewan Clark saw him burst in to a pocket of space inside the box but his effort was well blocked by teenage goalkeeper Owen Foster. Then, on 25 minutes, a good break forward from Scunthorpe saw striker Marcus Carver inside the box but he turned his effort wide.

The game was the first to be screened on National League TV – and this was the view streamers got.

As the game progressed towards half-time, it began to got scrappy with both sides struggling to break the other down. The visitors, who had lost their previous six matches, were trying to hit their hosts on the break, whilst Yeovil tried to get Wakefield and Clark on the ball.

Charlie Wakefield showed a good touch having been found in acres of space down the right by Fisher’s ball, but his effort was well held by Foster.

Not much to warm your spirits in that first half, but enough to think that a little bit more attacking intent from Yeovil could unlock the Scunthorpe defence.

 

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Scunthorpe United 0

Second half

Cooper made a tactical switch to a 4-4-2 formation after the interval with Wakefield pushed forward in to the right wing with Clark on the left side with Chiori Johnson dropping back to left back and Bevan slotting in on the right.

On 52 minutes, great play by Clark found Wakefield on the right, but the winger wasted his opportunity putting an effort high, wide and not so handsome.

With ten minutes of the half game, Colin Daniel went in for a forceful tackle which earned him a booking – which seemed a little harsh – but in the ‘afters’ which followed Marcus Carver appeared to strike Clark in the face. The Bristol City youngster went down clutching his face but referee Elliott Swallow was unmoved – if he’d seen the replay those watching on the stream saw, he may have had a different view.

 

Despite not creating a great deal, Scunthorpe created the best chance of the match on 64 minutes when a high ball from the right was met by the head of Carver whose effort came off the post and away to safety.

Four minutes later, an even more gilt-edged chance fell to Tom Pugh who appeared to slip and fluffed his lines and then Carver sent his effort over the bar. The visitors had their tails up and were looking the more likely to score, if anyone thought the bottom club would be a push over, they were mistaken.

On 73 minutes, another chance fell to the visitors with Boyce’s effort being blocked triggering a scramble where Daniel’s effort was landed on by the grateful Smith.

Andrew Oluwabori, who replaced Clark after 68 minutes, made some blistering runs down the right side but without creating much in the way of attacking opportunities. He cut

Two minutes from time, a free-kick in to the box was cleared as far as Staunton whose effort was headed off the line by Scunthorpe, although Foster in goal probably had it covered. Aside from Fisher’s effort in the first half, that was about as near to a scoring opportunity as it got for Yeovil.

To look it glass half full, it was another game unbeaten and another clean sheet – but half empty, it was the visitors’ first clean sheet of the season and they broke a run of six straight defeats.

On the face of it, the Iron will feel harder done by to not win the match.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Scunthorpe United 0

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town have named just threebstitutes on the bench for the National League match at home to Scunthorpe United (3pm kick-off).

Morgan Williams and Jamie Reckord are missing through illness and injury respectively with captain Josh Staunton dropping back in to a three-man defence.

Malachi Linton and Andrew Oluwabori are the only outfield players on the bench alongside substitute goalkeeper Will Buse. There is no Anthony Georgiou, who started the abandoned game at Bromley last weekend.

Louis Britton, who got his first goal as a Yeovil Town player in the midweek Somerset Men’s Premier Cup second round win over Taunton Town in midweek, is named up front alongside top-scorer Alex Fisher with on-loan Bristol City man Ewan Clark expected to play more advanced midfield position.

Yeovil Town (5-3-2):

Substitutes: Will Buse, Andrew Oluwabori, Malachi Linton.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

The cold weather in Somerset has led to the postponement of Yeovil Town Under-18s’ match and matches involving the club’s other age group sides.

The Under-18s had been due to take on Wimborne Town at Alvington in the South West Counties Youth League, but after a week of freezing temperatures the match was postponed on Friday.

The Under-11s, Under-12s, Under-14s and Under-15s matches in the Junior Premier League were postponed on Friday with a pitch inspection scheduled on Saturday morning by Exeter Regional Talent Centre to decide whether the Under-13s and Under-16s fixtures would go ahead.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News
Gime Toure fires in a shot. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town have announced that striker Gime Toure has left the club by mutual consent.

The Frenchman was signed then manager Chris Hargreaves on a “short-term deal” in August following his release by League Two side Carlisle United.

He impressed on his debut coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes of the 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham and got his first goal in the third game, the 2-2 draw at Altrincham.

However, the 28-year-old has played just 34 minutes of football under new Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper with his last appearance coming on for the final six minutes in the goalless draw with Maidenhead United.

He departs having made 12 appearances, scoring twice, getting sent off once.

Go well, Gime.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town’s home match against Scunthorpe United this weekend will be streamed live on a new service offered by the National League.

nationalleaguetv.com launches on Saturday with matches available at a cut price £4.75 per match for the opening two weeks before rising to £9.50 per match from Boxing Day.

In a statement, the National League said: “The National League will be using the first two-week trial period, to launch further platform functionalities ahead of its full launch.”

Basically, if the streaming service turns out to be s***, then you can’t complain too much because you are getting it half-price.

However, providing you declare the fact you are a Yeovil Town supporter when registering on the National League website – see here – then 60% of your fee will go in to the Huish Park coffers. A further 25% goes in to a pot which is distributed among the other 71 teams in the National League pyramid – yes, that means W*ymouth do get a bit of your money.

The other 15% goes in to another pot which the League says will be “retained by the league for reinvestment.”

We obviously look forward to hearing what that reinvestment looks like – we’re sure it will not be long before they tell us.

The National League has previously said the service would screen “non-televised matches” whilst “also respecting the need to comply with Article 48 restrictions.”

Article 48 is a UEFA regulation which prevents matches being televised in England and Scotland between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday, which presumably means the new streaming service will only cover midweek, bank holiday fixtures and any rescheduled kick-off times.

However, Article 48.2 (are you still awake?) states that there is no blackout between November 12 and January 14 – presumably to enable matches to be streamed during the World Cup – and therefore the visit by Scunthorpe to Somerset is available.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Young Yeovil Town striker Benjani Junior has joined Western League Premier Division side Sherborne Town  on a one-month loan.

The 18-year-old signed his first professional contract in October and goes out on his first loan spell with the Zebras.

He is likely to be available for their league match at home to Clevedon Town at Raleigh Grove at the weekend.

Benjani was prolific for the club’s Under-18s last season, earning himself a professional deal, and scored for them in their 2-1 defeat at Bridgwater United in the Gary Else Memorial Cup, the cup competition of the South West Counties Youth League, last weekend.

He also appeared as a 71st minute substitute in the midweek 2-1 home win over Taunton Town in the second round of the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup.

The youngster is the son of former Manchester City and Portsmouth striker, Benjani, who made more than 300 professional appearances.