July 2023 (Page 3)

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper was pleased with what he saw from the experienced arrivals he brought on to complete a comprehensive 5-0 win at Dorchester Town on Tuesday night.

Having led 1-0 at half-time through a goal from trialist Walter Figueira, the boss made wholesale changes around the hour mark with Jordan Maguire-Drew (2), Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble completing the rout.

Speaking after the game, the manager said he had started with a youthful side due to the artificial surface at the Avenue Stadium but was happy with the impact his wiser heads made.

He said: “We chose quite a young side in the first half with the idea of bringing on a more experienced side on for the last half-an-hour.

“I wanted to try and protect some of the older boys that are not too fond of the 3G (surface), but we know we are going to have to get used to them.

“That was the plan to limit their chances of injury, so it was a good work all round. The first half with that young team, we were comfortable but in the second half we brought on more firepower and they did well.”

On his forward players, he added: “We have got some patterns of play we have worked on. Frank’s goal was pretty similar to the one we scored at Buckland (Athletic in the first pre-season friendly) with little dummies, round the corner and a good finish.

“So the forward play is coming together, there is still plenty of work to do but it is looking strong.”

He said he thought the three trialists who saw action in Dorset “acquitted themselves well.” Cooper started with striker Figueira, who last saw action at Isthmian League Premier side Bognor Regis Town last season, alongside play-maker Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, who was at Huish Park in the 2021-22 season, and a young defender believed to be Torquay United youngster Brandon Quinn.

The Glovers were without a number of players with minor injuries which the manager described as “nothing too concerning.” Defender Jamie Sendles-White has tendonitis in his Achilles whilst midfielder Jordan Stevens (hamstring) and Jake Hyde (back) both missed out with minor injuries.

Wing-back Will Dawes went off at half-time with cramp in his thigh, but Cooper said he expected him to get treatment when the side trained on Wednesday.

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Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton has revealed he will miss eight matches next season having been advised not to play on artificial surfaces due to a knee injury.

The skipper told 3 Valleys Radio‘s programme ‘Football Bloody Hell’ that he would miss the opening three away fixtures of the National League South season with Hemel Hempstead Town, Maidstone United and Havant & Waterlooville all having artificial pitches.

He was not involved in Tuesday night’s 5-0 pre-season friendly win at Dorchester Town due to the 3G surface at The Avenue Stadium.

Asked about the matches he would miss, Staunton said: “My target is ever single game other than 3G games, that is my target every single season.

“I know I can’t run around like a 21-year-old anymore so I will adapt and find a way, but my aim is to be available for 39 games. They are all unfortunately marked down. There’s no grey territory, it’s a green light or red light.

“I won’t be available for an away game until September, our first three games are all on 3G surfaces. The gaffer is taking me on as part of the coaching staff, so I will be there in a different form.”

Josh Staunton rises highest for a header. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

According to our resident National League expert, Seb White, the following clubs have artificial surfaces:

Aveley
Eastbourne Borough
Havant & Waterlooville
Hemel Hempstead Town
Maidstone United
Slough Town
Tonbridge Angels
Worthing

 

He said that a decision to play on the 3G surface at Bromley last season had nearly ended his career after suffering a painful reaction to playing on the pitch, and said that he was now having to have a tailored programme of training during the current pre-season campaign.

Speaking of the impact of the 4-1 defeat at Bromley in January, the 27-year-old said: “It nearly ended my career it was that bad. I have never felt anything like it, I was not the same after and we had such a flurry of games thereafter, so I could not settle my knee down.

“It all came from the impact of playing on 3G, I just could not get the swelling back under control and I did not have time for injections because games were coming thick and fast.”

On his pre-season fitness regime, he added: “I try and keep the pounding out of my knee, so every time they do a run, I substitute it with a bike, so I do non-impact stuff. I have trained a lot more than I expected to, I am trying to get some bedding back in to it.

“I had a summer where I was completely off it and I was not allowed to do any running, so I have bedded it back in through careful management and I hope to be in a much better position that I was last year.

“It is just a case of trying to keep low impact where possible until I can build up a tolerance of it, but hopefully I will be managing it and will be available for 39 games of the season.“

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Four second half goals saw Yeovil Town cruise to a comfortable 5-0 win at near neighbours Dorchester Town in their fourth pre-season friendly on Tuesday night.

A double from playmaker Jordan Maguire-Drew and further goals from strikers Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble added to a first half strike from trialist Walter Figueira.

Here’s how Ian saw it from his spot on the terraces at The Avenue Stadium….

 

First half

The visitors began with a youthful looking line-up with Under-18s graduates Jacob Shore and Aidan Skiverton lining up alongside another product of the youth system Ollie Haste and Will Dawes.

There were three trialists with one familiar face in play-maker Sonny Blu Lo Everton, who played 36 times in green-and-white in the 2021-22 season and was released by League One side Derby County in the summer.

The other two trialists were less familiar faces with social media identifying one as forward Walter Figueira, who last saw service for Bognor Regis Town, with the other being Torquay United youth team defender, Brandon Quinn.

Lo-Everton did not take long to make an impact as his great footwork after 15 minutes created space for a cross and the ball landed to Dawes whose effort rattled the Dorchester bar.

The Glovers opened the scoring four minutes later when good work from Benjani Junior saw him square the ball FIGUEIRA just inside the box and his powerful effort went in to the bottom corner.

Trialists Walter Figueira, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Brandon Quinn.

The trialist almost bagged a second on 25 minutes. He was sharpest after Dorchester keeper Lloyd Thomas spilled a Benjani effort at his feet but the keeper recovered to deny.

Lewis Williams, who finished last Friday’s friendly victory at Tiverton Town, had a couple of scary moments where he was caught off his line but Dorchester couldn’t capitalise.

The first half ended on a low point for Yeovil as Dawes went off injured. The wing-back appeared to be back-peddling on the artificial surface at the Avenue Stadium and went down.

Half-time: Dorchester Town 0 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

Unsurprisingly Alex Whittle replaced Dawes at the interval and there were a couple of half chances in the opening stages after the restart with Ollie Haste clearing off the line after a good run and cross from the hosts’s Shaquille Gwengwe.

At the other end, Jordan Young had an effort blocked on 53 minutes before Haste threw a leg at at Josh Owers corner a minute later, but his effort went wide.

But the difference came on 56 minutes when the obligatory mass of substitutions by visiting boss Mark Cooper saw the Glovers’ XI take on a far more first team feel.

Frank Nouble headed a Zac Bell cross over three minutes later and then on the hour mark Jordan Maguire-Drew found Rhys MURPHY who twisted and turned inside the box and fired in a trademark cool finish to double the advantage.

On 78 minutes, MAGUIRE-DREW went from creator to scorer adding Yeovil’s third with a sublime strike from outside the box. The number 10 picked up the ball and picked his spot with immaculate precision.

Despite hurting himself with his thunderbolt, MAGUIRE-DREW grabbed his second and the visitors’ fourth on 82 minutes with calm right-footed finish moments later, after a mix up in the Dorchester defence.

Then, with four minutes remaining, NOUBLE got in on the act shortly after. A great move between him, Murphy and Alex Whittle. A through ball from Murphy found Nouble who fired home.

Full time: Dorchester Town 0 Yeovil Town 5

 

Yeovil Town: Lewis Williams (for Will Buse, 56), Aidan Skiverton (for Jordan Maguire-Drew, 56), Jacob Shaw, Will Dawes (for Alex Whittle, 46), Ollie Haste (for Matt Worthington, 56), Brandon Quinn (for Rhys Murphy, 56), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Charlie Cooper 56), Josh Owers (for Jake Wannell, 56), Benjani Junior (for Zac Bell, 56), Jordan Young (for Morgan Williams, 56), Walter Figueira (for Frank Nouble, 56).

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Striker Malachi Linton has joined National League South opponents Taunton Town on  a season-long loan deal.

The 22-year-old, who joined Yeovil on a two-year deal following his release by Wycombe Wanderers last summer, scored five times in 35 appearances last season and has featured for the Glovers in pre-season.

However, the arrival of Rhys Murphy, Jake Hyde and Frank Nouble in recent weeks has added extra competition for places at Huish Park.

Speaking to the Peacocks’ website, Linton said: “I’m excited to be here. The gaffer (manager Rob Dray) was a big pulling factor in getting me here and I just can’t wait to start playing for him and with my new team-mates.

“Playing at different clubs under different managers you pick up something from each so hopefully I can implement what I have learnt to help the team achieve their goals this season.”

Neither Yeovil or Taunton mention whether a recall clause is part of the deal although one assumes that Linton will not be available to play when the two sides meet for a Boxing Day-New Year’s Day double header,

Dray described the arrival of the former Ipswich Town youngster as “a bit of a coup” for the county town side.

He told tauntontown.com: “Signing Malachi on loan from Yeovil shows how far we have come and where we want to go.

“He ticks a lot of boxes and is different to what we have got in our other forwards. He’s going to be a super lad to have in the team and he has a great attitude.

“Sometimes you find with loanees that they don’t buy in but straightaway I could see he had a massive buy-in and wanted to help us.“

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Yeovil Town will be coming to a streaming service near you in the upcoming season.

The National League has confirmed that its streaming service will include National League South and National League North during the 2023-24 campaign.

All of which means that from week commencing Monday 14th August all midweek matches and those starting any time other than a 3pm on a Saturday will be available to stream.

General Manager Mark Ives said: “It’s great to be moving forward with our plans to stream National League North and South games domestically next season.

“It means over 300 extra games will be available to supporters on top of what is already a brilliant offering on our streaming platform.

“The games being streamed will be available to both domestic and international supporters.

“Attendance figures suggest streaming hasn’t had a negative impact on crowds. In fact, our spectator base has massively increased over the course of last season.

“Across the three divisions, attendances were over three million last season, up by 22 per cent.“

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Yeovil Town skipper Josh Staunton has been awarded a Community Champion award by the Professional Footballers Association.

The award, for the 2023/23 season recognises those who have made a difference in their communities.

Staunton was heavily involved in the battle against the National League’s contract changes and led the division’s captains in working with the League to resolve the issue.

He fronted up to supporters during a difficult season and lead the club’s acknowledgement and apology following relegation and has been a constant presence in the local, Glovers’ community.

He said on twitter that he was ‘proud and honoured’ to have been given the award.

All that whilst tending to his new lawn… sorry  child. His new child!

Congratulations, Captain.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side’s performance in a 4-2 win at Tiverton Town had shown him his squad’s ability to pull through when things were not completely to their liking.

The boss said the pitch at the Southern League side was “not great” but saw his side race to a 4-0 half-time lead with a hat-trick from striker Rhys Murphy and another from strike-partner Frank Nouble.

Speaking after the win, the boss said: “We have to realise we are going to go to places which are not how we like it. The pitch was not brilliant tonight, but we have to deal with that and have a mentality that whatever the situation is.

“However bad the pitch is, however bare the stadium is, whatever the opposition do, we have to match that and beat it and make sure we come out on top and that is what we have done tonight.”

He was full of praise for Murphy who set up Nouble for the Glovers’ third on the night. Cooper said: “If you asked the players that play behind them, they love playing with them because they look after the ball and the positions they pick up  are very good. There is a good partnership there and obviously you have to throw Jake Hyde in to that mix as well when he is ready, so we have got some real firepower.”

Speaking after the game, Murphy said: “It is good to be feeling sharper and fitter and I thought the team worked well tonight after Tuesday (night’s 2-1 defeat at Wimborne Town).

“It is just a case of building it up because we are still only the second or third week of pre-season, so it is still early days. It is good to see the boys are gelling and moving forwards.”

Cooper said that midfielder Matt Worthington’s deeper position having appeared after 40 minutes was just an opportunity for him to get some minutes having come off as a precaution in the midweek defeat at Wimborne.

The boss said: “It was just a case of Worthy coming off in the first half at Wimborne and I just wanted to give him 20 minutes to open his lung. His position meant nothing, I just wanted to get him to run and open his lungs again.”

 

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A first half hat-trick from Rhys Murphy saw Yeovil Town return to winning ways with a solid performance against Southern League outfit Tiverton Town in the third match of their pre-season campaign.

Having opened the scoring after just three minutes, the frontman embarrassed Tiverton keeper Ollie Saunders to add a second on 13 minutes, turned provider for strike-partner Frank Nouble on 32 minutes before completing his hat-trick before the break.

Manager Mark Cooper made a number of changes in the second half as the home side pulled two goals back, but he will have been pleased with what he saw of his side who bounced back after a 2-1 defeat at Wimborne Town on Tuesday night.

Once again, our thanks to Callum Hallett who was on the ground in Devon to witness the win, here’s how it went……

 

First half

The Glovers’ starting line-up included defender Morgan Williams, who sat out the defeat at Wimborne three days earlier after limping off in the opening friendly of the summer against Buckland Athletic last weekend. Mifdielder Matt Worthington was also named among the substitutes, quashing a concerns over his fitness after being taken off as a precaution on Tuesday.

Having kicked off a little later than planned it took just four minutes before the partnerships which manager Mark Cooper had spoken about being important in pre-season became apparent. Frank Nouble won the ball off a defender and fed strike partner Rhys MURPHY who dinked the ball over the keeper.

The striker, who returned to Huish Park in the summer, had a half-hearted penalty appeal turned down (he’s still in to those, it seems) before doubling the advantage on 13 minutes. Saunders thought he was Ederson and ended up red-faced as MURPHY nicked the ball off him to make it 2-0.

Tiverton midfielder River Allen had a great chance to reduce the deficit on 24 minutes when his shot was well-saved by Will Buse, only for the hosts’ player to put the rebound over.

On 32 minutes, Murphy turned provider with a great ball through to NOUBLE who had all the time in the world to finish in to the bottom corner.

Debutant Zac Bell, who joined on loan from Bristol City in the week, had a good shot saved soon after before Williams headed just over the bar from a Jordan Maguire-Drew corner kick.

It took until five minutes before the break for MURPHY to complete his hat-trick. The striker won a penalty and stepped up to make no mistake from the spot.

Half-time: Tiverton Town 0 Yeovil Town 4

Second half

Mark Cooper rang the changes after the break with goalkeeper Lewis Williams, who had previously played for Tivvy, replacing Buse, Josh Owers coming on for Charlie Cooper and Will Dawes replacing Alex Whittle.

Within eight minutes of the restart there was another enforced change as Maguire-Drew went down under a heavy tackle and was replaced by Jordan Young following an impressive performance from the initial Jordan.

Jordan Young in action at Tiverton Town.

Two minutes after his departure the hosts pulled a goal back. A corner bounced around inside the box before Jamie Richards slotting through the legs of Williams.

Murphy was denied following a Dawes long throw, before another good chance fell to the frontman after good play by Owers. He was denied a fourth by a great challenge from Jamie Richards on the hour.

On 63 minutes, Yeovil introduced Malachi Linton, Ollie Haste and trialist Matt Buse in place of Murphy, Jake Wannell and Nouble.

Then, in true pre-season fashion, another round of changes came with 70 minutes on the clock. Benjani Junior, Jamie Sendles-White, Matt Worthington and Under-18s player Aidan Skiverton, replaced Jordan Stevens, Williams, Bell and Josh Staunton respectively.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the much-changed Glovers began to give the hosts more of the game with Saunders’ long ball found to Niall Thompson whose 20 yard effort went over.

Sendles-White was off again on 74 minutes being replaced by Unde-18s’ player Jacob Shore. Perhaps a bit of a knock for the experienced head.

Worthy had a great run and shot soon after before brilliant platy from Linton on 83 minutes set up Benjani Junior for a chance which forced a fine stop out of Saunders in the home side’s goal.

Tiverton got a second on 84 minutes. The ball dropped nicely for Jack Rice to hook the ball in past Williams after the ball had ricocheted around the box. Jordan Young had an effort well saved by Saunders soon after – he’ll score one day, we’re sure.

Full time: Tiverton Town 2 Yeovil Town 4

 

Yeovil Town: Will Buse (Lewis Williams, 45), Morgan Williams (for Jamie Sendles-White, 70, for Jacob Shore, 74), Josh Staunton (for Aidan Skiverton), Jake Wannell (for Ollie Haste, 63), Alex Whittle (for Will Dawes, 45), Zac Bell (for Matt Worthington 70), Charlie Cooper (for Josh Owers, 45), Jordan Stevens (for Benjani Junior, 70), Jordan Maguire-Drew (for Jordan Young, 53), Frank Nouble (for Matt Buse, 63), Rhys Murphy (for Malachi Linton, 63).

Attendance: Approx 250 Yeovil Town supporters.

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Yeovil Town’s first match in regional football since the mid-1990’s sees us head to Hemel Hempstead Town and tickets are now on sale via the home team’s website.

Click HERE to purchase yours.

Tickets are priced at

Adult: £15
Concessions: £10
Under 18s: £5
Concessionary price is available for over 65s, students in full-time education, military personnel and emergency services. Identification will be required.

IDENTIFICATION
For concessions, Under 18s, the following forms of identifications are acceptable:

Current Passport
EU National ID Card
Current Full UK Driving Licence
Student Identification Card (or ISIC)
UK Armed Forces ID Card
OAP Travel Pass

The Glovers’ opening game of the season is a 3:00pm kick off on Saturday 5th of August at the Focus Community Arena

The imperious Ciderspace Away Guides will return in full for the upcoming season with Huish Hugh working through them all – you can read a not quite completed version of the Hemel Hempstead FC one HERE

At time of writing there has been no indication about potential segregation at the ground, something which we’ll try and keep on top of this season.

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On this episode of the Gloverscast, Ian and Dave welcome Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper and club captain, Josh Staunton, to the podcast. They share an insight into what it was like at the club towards the end of last season, their views on pre-season so far, the business we’ve done in the transfer market and their message for supporters ahead of this season.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

If you have an idea for the website, want to contribute or just want to send us a message, feel free to email ian@gloverscast.co.uk.