October 2023 (Page 9)

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Yeovil Town Under-18s went down to a 5-1 defeat at third-placed Mangotsfield United as their difficult start to the South West Counties Youth League season continued.

The young Glovers, who have lost four, drawn one and won one of their opening six matches, went three goals behind after a fast start and did not recover. 

Morgan Alexander got the visitors a consolation goal, but could not stop them dropping to third-from-bottom of the table.

Yeovil Town Under-18s: Jacob McKenna, Morgan Alexander, Harrison Foster, Josh Ansell, Jacob Shore, Aidan Skiverton, Mason Alden, Nansimir Nanev, Max Dyer, Corey Koerner, Kristian Woods.

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Ian was in the Thatchers Stand for Yeovil’s 3-1 victory over Aveley yesterday. Here are his Five Conclusions from a jubilant Huish Park.

What a wonderful first half. I can honestly not remember the last time I watched us play with such dominance in a League match. We blew Aveley away in the first half and could have gone into the break five or six goals ahead was it not for some wonderful saves from Jonathan North and a bit of sloppiness in front of goal. We were composed, we moved the ball quickly, especially in the wide areas and it was a complete performance.

What a different second half. Aveley changed shape, upped the aggression and gave Yeovil a very different battle in the second half. Moments before Charlie Hughes grabbed their only goal of the game, the Miller’s number 9 blatantly kicked Morgan Williams off the ball and shouldn’t have been on the pitch.The Glovers composed themselves, changed things up on the pitch and while it wasn’t as electric we managed to keep our opponents at arms length for second 45. 

Will Dawes was my man of the match. With Jordan Stevens still nursing his hamstring, Mark Cooper had to make a decision out wide and what a decision it was. Will Dawes, on the mend after his glandular fever, had a brilliant first half. He was direct with his running, careful with possession and had the beating of his full back every time. His cross for Jordan Young was pinpoint and it was because of his determination that Yeovil got the third as he chased down and dispossessed the Aveley defender. Stevens has been effective since his return, but based on yesterday, it looks like he has competition in Dawes.

Josh Owers
Josh Owers. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

Josh Owers gets better with each match. Owers can feel hard done by on my previous conclusion, but he was a very close second. He’s had to be patient and wait for the inevitable suspensions of his fellow centre midfielders, but he’s really grabbed the opportunity. It was another all-action, combative centre midfield performance. He’s a gifted footballer and I think having that left-footed player adds such balance. He’s a tackler, he’s a passer, he’s a runner and as we’ve seen he’s got an eye for goal too. 

It feels good to be at the top. It’s been a long long time coming and to hear “we are top of the league” being chanted from the Thatchers was a great feeling. The evolution and improvement of these players is evident and credit goes to Mark Cooper for making decisions that have brought us to this point. The signings of Joe Day and Michael Smith have been inspired, if not beyond belief. His post-match comments suggest to me that he’s settling on the centre back pairing of Jake Wannell and Morgan Williams. At the top of the pitch things are really clicking, with Jordan Young, Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble finding their rhythm. 

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We. Are. Top. Of. The. League!

How did that happen?

This is how.

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Three Glovers loanees were in FA Trophy Qualifying action on Saturday, but all were on the losing side.

We start at Dorchester where Ollie Haste played the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 defeat to Merthyr Town, Benjani Jr was brought on as an 87th minute substitute, with the game already taken away from the Magpies.

Over at Tiverton, goalkeeper Lewis Williams could do little about his side’s misfortunes against Swindon Supermarine, again, a 3-1 loss for the Yellow Army.

As a note, as per FA Challenge Trophy Rule 15, subsection (e) – which reads as below – all three are cup tied and cannot represent the Glovers later in the competition.

15. PROVISIONS CONCERNING PLAYERS
(e) A player shall not play for more than one Club in the Competition in the same season.

On a slighty better note, goal machine Charlie Bateson was back with Shepton Mallet and very nearly back among the goals, they ran out 3-1 winners against Saltash.

 

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Competition for places is driving Yeovil Town’s players on to fight for their place in the starting line-up, according to star striker Rhys Murphy.

The frontman scored his ninth and tenth goal of the season in the 3-1 home win over Aveley, a result which lifted the Glovers to the top of the National League South table, before being replaced by Jake Hyde with 16 minutes remaining.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Murphy said: “There’s so many good players in the squad, we are in a really good place with competition for places. Everyone needs to be on it and whoever has got the shirt, you are confident they are going to go out and put in a performance.

“I was a bit frustrated because I could have had a couple (of goals before I scored) but the team has created so many chances today, it felt like just a matter of time.

“I knew when the next chance was going to come and it did and they weren’t pretty goals but they were in the right places.

“The Gaffer is big on positioning, so thankyou to him and to the team for getting the ball in the right positions. Long may it continue, whether it is me or whoever, it really doesn’t matter.”

With early season pace-setters Bath City and Taunton Town both dropping points, the victory lifted Yeovil to the top of the National League South table on goal difference, with second-placed Taunton have played a game more.

Murphy added: “I am more pleased to find out that we are top of the table. I thought it was a really good team performance today, first half and then it was always going to be a trickier second half, but I thought we dealt with it okay.
Another home win, the fans were brilliant and it is nice for them to go home knowing we are top of the league.

“The Gaffer said we needed to have energy and start brightly because (Aveley) had a long week and then had to travel down today, so he was really on us to start well.

“Thankfully we did, everyone was on the front foot and it just seemed to click and it is always enjoyable when it goes that way.”

Having raced in to a 3-0 half-time lead, Aveley, who remain sixth in the table even after the defeat, came out strongly in the second half and showed why they have are the division’s surprise package of the season so far.

Murphy said: “You know they were going to react (in the second half) so it is about managing the game, taking the sting out of the game, but you know you want to be scoring more goals.

“It felt like there was the potential there for more goals, but I thought we managed it well. There was a bit of space in behind which we didn’t quite exploit, we just wanted to get the game done and win and we are top of the table.

“The team is full of confidence, we are in a good moment but we know it is only a moment. It’s not a case of job done, it’s a nice little reward and evidence we are doing the right thing.

“We are not going to pat ourselves on the back, we want more and the manager’s going to demand it from himself, the staff and the players as well so we are looking forward to the next game.”

The next game sees Murphy’s former side Southend United visit Huish Park in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round next weekend.

The last time the two sides met it ended with a 2-0 victory for the Shrimpers – with Jake Hyde and Rhys Murphy on target.

Murphy said: “I hope it is a good game and I hope we can twist it round and me and Hydey are on the scoresheet for Yeovil. The main thing is whoever scores, let’s win. The most important thing is being in the first round and take that momentum in to the next game.”

You can listen to the full interview with Sheridan Robins Here:

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Yeovil Town midfielder Josh Owers was on official post-match media duties following the Glovers’ 3-1 win over Aveley.

The former Bristol City man was happy with the performance as a whole as to extend the winning streak to six matches. 

“(We’re) really happy, I thought it was a really good performance especially first half, I thought we were really dominant and played well, then obviously in the second half, they got their goal early on but we saw it out – I thought it was solid all round.” 

“We got off to a flying start and to be fair, I think it could have been more, we missed two or three really good chances, on another day they probably go in, but we’re really happy with how it went.

I think it could have been more, we missed two or three really good chances,

With the points all but sewn up in the first half, the message at half time was about carrying on and making sure the win was as comfortable as possible.

“(Mark Cooper said;) just keep doing what we were doing really, they came out and gambled second half and they put their front four on our front four, so we just had to manage the game out, just keep doing what we were doing and make sure we didn’t do anything stupid

“They didn’t have anything really, I think they had one chance first half and obviously the goal – (they) sort of toe poked it over the line, a bit unfortunate”

The Glovers end the day top of the table – and will stay there for at least a week – Owers is feeling the positivity and has his letter to Santa written already… 

“Everything is more positive, we’re at the right end of the table, but now we’re there (top) we have got to make sure we stay there and keep the momentum going – hopefully by Christmas, try and be as clear as we can really”

That would be a lovely present to take into Boxing Day, Josh!!

 

 

 

 

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper said he will not get carried away his side’s position at the top of the National League South table.

A double from Rhys Murphy and another from Jordan Young earned a 3-1 home win over Aveley and lifted the Glovers to the summit with early season pace-setters Bath City and Taunton Town both dropping points on Saturday.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, the boss said he was pleased to hear the Thatcher’s Stand at Huish Park burst in to a rendition of “we are top of the league” towards the end of the match.

He said: “We have been really strong at home and hopefully the crowds will continue to grow and we can keep sending them home happy.

“If you are to be a successful team, you need a really strong home record and we have one at the minute.

“Being top is great, but you don’t expect me to get carried away, do you? The challenge now is to stay there for as long as we possibly can.”

Rhys Murphy. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Having raced in to a 2-0 lead with goals from Murphy and Young, Yeovil added a third just before the break and Cooper said he was pleased to see what the squad had practiced in training come to the fore.

He said: “The most pleasing thing as a coach or manager is when the stuff you work on in the week comes to fruition and a lot of the stuff (you saw today) was stuff we worked on. So I was really pleased for the players that it reinforces what they were shown.

“We worked on the two wide boys and the reason I played Dawesy was his pace, but he’s been out with glandular fever and you could see after 50 minutes he had completely gone. But we managed to pin them back with the two wide boys.

“The only disappointing thing was we should have been four or five up by half-time and then the game is definitely over, but at 3-0 one goal changes it and that is what happened to a certain degree.”

The manager reserved praise for Dawes, playing his first National League South match having been missing through illness in recent weeks. The former Stratford Town player was at the heart of the side’s scintillating first half display before being replaced by Jordan Maguire-Drew after an hour.

Will Dawes
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

Of Dawes, Cooper said: “He was very good, I was very pleased with his performance. With the way we are playing with the box in midfield, the two central midfield players and the two really wide wingers, they need to be quick to affect the game when they get one-v-one and Dawesy with his pace and trickery and he used it really well.”

Having got his two goals, Murphy was replaced by Jake Hyde in the 74th minute which the manager said was a deliberate plan with next weekend’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie against Southend United in mind.

He said: “I promised Rhys and Jake Hyde that I would try and manage (their minutes) and make them more available for more games than they have ever been before.

“They have not played a lot of football in the last two years and I said when they signed that if we could get Murph and Hyde on the pitch enough times, they will score goals.

“To sacrifice Murph for 25 minutes is much more valuable than him getting an extra goal and making sure he is fit for next week.”

On the Cup tie, Cooper added: “It is a free hit for us. We have had two games (in the FA Cup) when we are expected to win and now we have got one where we are playing a team which has just been saved, their fans will be in such a joyous state and we have to fight that because that will give their players energy.

“But there’s no pressure on us, we can go out and play like we did today we will cause them problems.”

You can listen to the full interview with Sheridan here:

As is the way this season, Cooper spoke separately to the club’s official YouTube channel after the match and here is that interview…..

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A scintillating first half performance from Yeovil Town saw them move to the top of the National League South with victory over the division’s surprise package at Aveley at Huish Park.

A quickfire double from Rhys Murphy (who else?) and then Jordan Young saw the Glovers’ domination repaid with less than 20 minutes gone and it was Murphy who added a third before half-time.

The visitors’ Charlee Hughes pulled one back with three minutes of the second half played, but the home side managed out the half to seal the three points.

First half

The Glovers were without Charlie Cooper through injury with captain Josh Staunton and midfielder Jordan Maguire-Drew dropping to the substitutes’ bench having started the 2-0 FA Cup win over Didcot Town seven days earlier.

They were replaced in the starting XI by Matt Worthington, who also took the armband, Will Dawes, who was given his first start of the season, and Alex Whittle, who returned at left back.

Shooting towards the Thatcher’s End, the early exchanges saw Rhys Murphy and Jordan Young’s pace both cause problems to a solid-looking visiting defence, but it was midfielder Jon Benton who had the first effort on goal after three minutes with his shot turned away by Joe Day in the hosts’ goal.

A foul on Dawes earned a free-kick on the left-hand side which was whipped in by Jordan Young was flicked on by Frank Nouble but Jake Wannell could not steer it in  from inside the six yard box. Superb delivery from Young again.

Day was called in action again to deny Dara Dada, before Murphy was felled inside the box after eight minutes – nothing given by referee Ross Martin, put that in the “seen them given” category. But, that riled the striker who forced Jonathan North in the visitors’ goal in to a great stop followed by another with his legs before Young curled it wide. Should be 1-0.

But the striker got his goal on 13 minutes. A great ball across field by Wannell to Nouble and you know who was going to be there to tap home his eighth of the season. It was MURPHY, if you were wondering. It had been coming.

The Thatcher’s End celebrates an opener from Rhys Murphy.

And it was 2-0 within four minutes. A jinking run from Dawes chipped a perfect ball back in to the six-yard box and it was a fantastic first time volley from Jordan YOUNG to double the advantage. Dawes had made the left-hand side his own and that goal owed everything to him.

Josh Owers tried to get in the act on 24 minutes when his long range effort was turned away by North. That seemed to do more damage than good to the ‘keeper who went down holding his shoulder before being declared fit to continue. Tactical delay from the visitors? Either way, both sides got the chance to have a drink and a chat with their respective coaching teams.

The third came just past the half-hour mark again. Will Dawes who found himself in the centre of the park and did superbly to win the ball back, fed Nouble who unselfishly (again!) fed strike partner MURPHY to get another. Another goal which was all about former National League South promotion winner (with Oxford City last season!) yet again – what an impact.

The goal was announced as Nouble – let’s hope that riles Murph up enough to get that picture holding up that many fingers and the match ball, of course.

How Nouble did not make it 4-0 on 35 minutes? Brilliant work down the right-hand side by Young and Nouble stretching for the ball should have turned it home. You get the impression Yeovil Town are enjoying themselves.

Aveley had an opportunity with six minutes of the first half remaining as Jonathan Nzengo drives in to the box, but his shot (or was it a cross) was blocked.

North was back in action again, this time to deny Alex Whittle. A patient bit of play, started by Josh Owers, saw the left back upfield to get in a volley which the keeper did superbly to turn away. Could be six without exaggeration.

Perhaps inspired by his opposite number, a superb free-kick by Benton from 35 yards was superbly turned away by Day, who used all his experience and physicality to punch away the corner which followed. Easily the best chance for the visitors and an excellent stop from the on-loan Newport County player.

What a first half. Take a breath, Huish Park.

Half time: Yeovil Town 3 Aveley 0

 

Second half

There were no changes from either side at the half-time break, but there were some ‘dark arts’ employed by the visitors’ striker Charlie Hughes backing in to Morgan Williams. When the Yeovil Town defender made his feelings known to the referee, he got a booking.

If that was the plan from Hughes, it worked perfectly as he pulled a goal back with just three minutes of the second half played. A cross in to the box and HUGHES was the only visiting player inside the box, he made a nuisance of himself and the striker poked home a goal.

Just before the hour mark, the excellent Dawes was withdrawn and replaced by Jordan Maguire-Drew.

It took Maguire-Drew just five minutes to make an impact. The playmaker took it forward, shaped to shoot before laying it off to Murphy but the Aveley defence did just enough to put him off. The visitors certainly looking a lot more solid at the back since the restart.

Captain-for-the-day Worthington went down in need of treatment on the 70th minute. Jake Hyde saw his opportunity and got changed. No surprise to hear Worthy wanted to continue…..and did.

But, Aveley were not giving up. Substitute Nana Kyei took a shot from the angle and Hughes was inches away from turning home a second. The striker’s frustrated reaction spoke volumes.

Remember I said Hyde was getting ready to come on? It was for Rhys Murphy who was replaced with 74 minutes played. 

Hyde was immediately where you’d want him to be, loitering inside the six yard box when Maguire-Drew’s cross dropped to Young. On his weaker right foot and his effort went over.

Goalscorer Young was replaced by Sonny Blu Lo-Everton with 78 minutes gone.

As five minutes of injury time were put up by the fourth official, a chant of ‘we are top of the league’ rang out from the Thatchers Stand as news that second-placed Bath City had been pegged back by at Braintree United. Still five minutes to go though….

Five minutes later and it’s confirmed. It’s October, so we can look at the league table now – right? Go on, treat yourself.

Full time: Yeovil Town 3 Aveley 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Saturday 7th October – 3pm Kick Off

Pitch: Looking alright, chopping up in places
Conditions: Glorious sunshine

Attendance: 2,793 (69 away supporters)

Scorers: Rhys Murphy 13 (1-0), Jordan Young 17 (2-0), Rhys Murphy 32 (3-0), Charlee Hughes 48 (3-1), 

Bookings: 
Yeovil Town: Jordan Young 45+1, Morgan Williams 47, Josh  Owers 77
Aveley: Michael Dada 52, Charlee Hughes 90, Alex Hernandez 90+2, 

Referee: Ross Martin

Yeovil Town (4-4-2)

 

Substitutes: Jordan Maguire-Drew (for Will Dawes, 60), Jake Hyde (for Rhys Murphy, 74), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Jordan Young, 78) Zac Bell, Josh Staunton.

Aveley: Jonathan North, Jon Nzengo (for Jason King, 79), Eduino Vaz, Siju Odeulusi, Jalen Jones, Harry Gibbs (captain), Matt Rush (for Alex Fernandez, 84), Garrett Kelly, Charlee Hughes, Jon Benton, Michael Dada (for Nana Kyei, 59). 
Substitutes: Tommy Davis, Kenny Aileru.

 

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Injured Yeovil Town striker Alex Fisher is hoping to be available for selection at the start of November as he continues his recovery from a horrific leg break.

The 33-year-old has not featured which suffering a broken tibia and fibula and severely damaged his ankle after an accidental collision with Southend United goalkeeper Colin Andeng-Ndi in the Glovers’ 2-0 defeat at Huish Park in April.

He is providing co-commentary on BBC Somerset for today’s National League South home match with Aveley and was asked about his recovery ahead of the fixture.

The frontman said: “It’s been going really well. I don’t want to speak too soon, but it looks like I am going to be making a return a good two months ahead of when was originally planned in January. 

“So it could be the beginning of November that I could be back with the guys and there’s lots to look forward too.”

He revealed he has a scan of his injury during the start of November and is hopeful this will give him the green light to make himself available for selection again.

He said: “This week has been nice, back on the grass, kicking balls again, it is amazing how much the body aches when it has not been used.

“It’s nice to get back down and see the guys and hopefully I will be training competitively soon. Hopefully, the worst is behind me and I can get back again.“