We always ask after every game so, it is not without a little trepidation that we ask who was your Man of the Match for tonight’s 3-1 defeat at home to Chippenham Town?
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A second half horror show saw Yeovil Town fall to their second home defeat in succession (and this season) as Chippenham Town stunned Huish Park on Tuesday night.
The Glovers had bossed the first half and taken the lead when Alex Fisher headed home Olly Thomas’ cross with five minutes of the half remaining, but things began to unravel when visiting defender Aaron Amadi-Holloway levelled from a corner on 58 minutes.
After that, Yeovil did not offer a great deal going forwards and were punished as the visitors’ Matt McClure and Craig Fasanmade hit them with two goals in three minutes to snatch the three points for Chippenham, leading to boos from inside Huish Park at the final whistle.
The only saving grace was that second-placed Chelmsford City went down 2-0 away at Maidstone United, meaning the nine-point lead at the top of the National League South remains, but that was scant consolation for Yeovil.
The opening exchanges saw Yeovil dominate possession, but the first chance of the game fell to the visitors. There were a couple of occasions where the ball was given away cheaply in midfield and Ed Williams laid it to Luke Spokes whose effort whistled just past the post.
The visitors’ bright start continued when a well-worked corner saw Williams have a shot well saved by the feet of Joe Day in Yeovil goal, before Jake Wannell cleared a follow-up effort off the line. From the clearance, Olly Thomas broke away down the left and fed the ball in to Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and then Alex Fisher, but the striker was beaten by the offside flag.
As is often the case, the visitors came in with a game plan to play a defensive style and wait for Yeovil to make a mistake and, when the Glovers have, they have created chances. You could hear the frustration coming from the Huish Park stands, even though they were watching their side largely dominate the game despite having blue shirts around them all the time they did.
Despite losing the possession game, it was Chippenham who had the game’s next chance after 22 minutes. Tyreke Johnson’s ball in from the was in towards Tom Owen-Evans who could not get anything on it, but if he had Day would have been in trouble.
At at the other end, a ball in from the Yeovil left from Alex Whittle saw Fisher flash a header across the face of goal and, with 30 minutes gone, Lo-Everton drove forward and fired in an effort which forced a fine stop from Will Henry in the Chippenham goal. That led to a flurry of corners which lifted the home crowd – a little.
With 33 minutes, Charlie Cooper went down in the middle of the park and, after a lengthy period of treatment, he was forced off and replaced by Josh Owers.
Then, with five minutes of normal time remaining, Yeovil took the lead. Good pressure started by an excellent reverse pass by Jordan Young ended up at the feet of Thomas down the right and his superb cross found the head of Alex FISHER who rose like…..well, a fish, to put a superb header in to the net.
Having come through a tricky first half-an-hour, Yeovil began to find their rhythm and took their chance which their opponents did not. That’s football, folks.
The first meaningful of the effort came after 48 minutes when Young stole the ball off his former team and fed Pearson, the striker bore down on goal but tried to curl it in without much power behind it and the ball went behind for a corner goal.
Following that chance, Chippenham enjoyed a sustained spell of possession as they looked to find a breakthrough and it came on 58 minutes when they drew level. A corner from the left was met by a towering header from defender Aaron AMADI-HOLLOWAY at the back post.
On 62 minutes, Thomas was replaced by Jordan Stevens and the substitute combined nicely with Young on the right side to set the former Chippenham man away to break in to the box and fire in an effort which Henry did well to parry away.
Morgan Williams pulled an effort from a Young corner wide soon after before Frank Nouble replaced Pearson with 72 minutes gone.
Everything which Yeovil were doing coming forwards seemed to be coming down the right side with Young in the thick of it. But, it was the first chance created by Chippenham that led to them taking the lead.
Soft defending from the home side substitute Matt McCLURE find space inside the box to fire an easy chance with 83 minutes gone. Too much space given by the Glovers’ defence and, even more concerningly, the body language which followed showed that goal had rocked the hosts.
If you thought that was bad, it got worse three minutes later as the visitors took the lead. Craig FASANMADE was the latest player to find space inside the box and he hammered a close range effort past Day. Two quickfire goals and there are people leaving Huish Park.
The only positive we can find from tonight was that second-placed Chelmsford City fell to a 2-0 defeat at Maidstone United. That means the nine point advantage at the top of the table remains, but a poor, poor second half display from Yeovil.
Venue: Huish Park
Date: Tuesday 12th March
Competition: National League South
Pitch: Soft in places, but held up well
Conditions: A cool night with a gentle breeze
Attendance: 2,838 (59 away supporters)
Scorers: Alex Fisher 42 (1-0), Aaron Amadi-Holloway 58 (1-1), Matt McClure 83 (1-2), Craig Fasanmade 86 (1-3).
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Matt Worthington 66,
Chippenham Town: Luke Spokes 71, Tyreke Johnson 78, Matt McClure 90+6
Referee: Callum Fisk
Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)
Substitutes: Josh Owers (for Charlie Cooper, 37), Jordan Stevens (for Olly Thomas, 62), Frank Nouble (for Sam Pearson, 72), Jay Foulston (not used), Dylan Morgan (not used).
Chippenham Town: Will Henry, Craig Fasanmade, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Luke Haines, Tyreke Johnson, Tom Owen-Evans (for Caine Bradbury, 90+5), Tom Mehew (for Jack Evans, 75), Luke Spokes, Dan Ellison, Ed Williams (for Matt McClure, 67), Will King.
Substitutes (not used): Alex Bray, Nathaniel Williams.
Yeovil Town full-back Michael Smith is expected to be missing for the next couple of weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Mark Cooper has said.
The Glovers’ boss revealed the Northern Irishman will have a scan on Wednesday on the injury he sustained early in Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Welling United.
Captain Matt Worthington fills in at right-back for tonight’s match with Chippenham Town as the Glovers look to strengthen their position nine points clear at the top of National League South.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins ahead of the game at Huish Park, Cooper said: “Michael will have a scan tomorrow, we think he will be a couple of weeks. That is obviously not ideal but it always gives someone else an opportunity to play and Matt Worthington will play like he did (in the win over Slough Town) and did it quite well.
“Sonny Blu (Lo Everton) will play next to Charlie Cooper in a two in midfield and then we will have Jordan Young on the right, Alex Fisher as a number nine, Olly Thomas on the left and Sam Pearson in behind him. So, a 4-2-3-1 with four quick players at the top of the pitch.”
On loan Bristol City youngster Thomas appeared off the bench after 75 minutes at the weekend and had one of Yeovil’s best chances dragging a shot just wide moments after coming on.
Cooper added: “(Olly) came on on Saturday and he gave us a bit of a spark, so you have him up there, Fisher up there, Pearson up there and Young up there, so we have got plenty of creativity, pace and physicality.“
Strikers Alex Fisher and Olly Thomas are paired together up front as Yeovil Town attempt to break a goal-scoring duck which has seen them draw a blank in their last two matches.
The pair are in up front for tonight’s visit from Chippenham Town to Huish Park with captain Matt Worthington filling in at right-back in place of the injured Michael Smith, who suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Welling United, while frontman Frank Nouble is named among the substitutes.
Yeovil Town are back at Huish Park looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Welling United, their first of the season on home soil.
They take on a Chippenham Town side which suffered heartbreak in their match at the weekend going down to an injury time winner at Hampton & Richmond at the weekend.
The Bluebirds had taken an early lead through midfielder Tom Owens-Evans before being pegged back in the second half and then Alex Gibson-Hammond snatched the three points in the sixth minute of injury time.
The big injury news for Yeovil Town is the anticipated absence of influential full-back Michael Smith, who was forced off after just 16 minutes at the weekend.
Manager Mark Cooper admitted the Northern Irishman would be “a doubt” for the midweek match and the question is who will replace him if he is, as expected, unavailable.
Jay Foulston, who spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Chippenham from Newport, came on to fill in on the right side of defence in what proved a difficult afternoon for him.
Will Dawes, who was not named on the bench against Welling having picked up a knock in the goalless draw at Aveley last Monday, is an option if he is available, as is captain Matt Worthington, who has filled in that position already this season.
Up front, on loan Bristol City youngster Olly Thomas came off the bench with some effect in the closing stages of Saturday’s loss and will be a consideration for a starting place. However, having only recently come back from injury himself, Cooper may decide it is too soon for him to be thrust in to the frontline.
Both Worthington and midfield colleague Charlie Cooper have now passed the cut-off point for a suspension for ten bookings, meaning their slates have now been wiped clean.
Manager Gary Horgan said he believed his side more than matched fourth-placed Hampton & Richmond at the weekend, but admitted defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.
The boss is hoping that his side can pick themselves up as they go up against the National League South leaders.
Speaking after the game he said: “We always go in to games looking to win them. We have had a tough game here and put an awful lot in to it against a side with huge ambitions and we have more than matched them.
“We will try and do that again on Tuesday and see where we are in terms of bodies and everything else and then we will go there with no fear, as we always do.”
Midfielder Alex Bray has returned on the bench in recent weeks having had a spell on the sidelines with injury and could be in contention for a start, but defender Eddie Jones is still expected to be missing through injury.
Defender Nathaniel Williams is available to Horgan having sat out the last two games through suspension.
The Bluebirds sit in 16th place in the table and their form away from home is equally mid-table having won one, drawn one and lost two of their last four games on the road. The losses came on Saturday at Hampton and at Tonbridge Angels with a draw at in-form Slough Town on February 17th and at win at Dartford four days earlier.
Back in November, a Jake Hyde goal gave Yeovil the lead in Wiltshire before an error from Jordan Maguire-Drew saw him gift Chippenham possession in the middle of the park.
The Bluebirds flew forwards and a header from on loan defender Duncan Idehen deflected off his defensive team-mate Morgan Williams to hand the home side a point.
In Tuesday night’s other matches, second-placed Chelmsford City face a tricky trip to a Maidstone United side with strong ambitions of securing a place in the play-offs.
Worthing will be looking to bounce back from a shock 3-1 defeat to Taunton Town at the weekend as they take on Farnborough.
Hampton host Welling United, still high from their successes at Huish Park, St Albans City travel to Weston-super-Mare, Braintree host Dartford and Bath City face off against Hemel Hempstead Town at Twerton Park.
Aveley snuck back in to the division’s final play-off spot at the expense of Bath with a 2-1 win at home to Tonbridge on Monday night.
Coatesie’s back to chat Saturday’s loss at home against Welling with Ian and Wattsy. We chat through the impact of Michael Smith’s injury, where the attacking flow went and look ahead to Chippenham.
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It was a first home defeat for Yeovil on Saturday, as they fell to a 1-0 loss against Welling United. Let’s see how the rest of the league got on, and how it impacts the table…
We begin in Devon, where Torquay United won for the first time since a win in January over basement-side Dover, as they thumped Dartford 4-1, lifting them back into the top half of the table and leaving the visitors perilously close to the drop zone. A big shock came at Worthing, where Taunton Town registered their first win of 2024 in a 3-1 win over the hosts to boost their own survival hopes. Havant & Waterlooville played host in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Tonbridge Angels, former Glover Ryan Seager continuing his goalscoring run with the relegation threatened side.
10-man Maidstone couldn’t recover against St Albans, as they fell to a 2-1 defeat to further boost the visitor’s playoff ambitions; Hampton & Richmond continued their own playoff push with a dramatic 96th minute winner over Tuesday’s visitors Chippenham Town, while Aveley’s promotion hopes took a hit as they fell to a Malachi Linton double against W*ymouth. In Essex, there was a 1-1 draw between Braintree Town and Slough Town, while in East Sussex, Eastbourne Borough boosted their hopes of survival in a 1-0 win over new manager Alan Dowson’s Hemel Hempstead side.
In the 4pm kickoffs (you read that correctly, an RTC on the M4 delayed these games), the wait was worth it for visiting side Farnborough, as they defeated Bath City in a 2-0 win. In the other later kickoff, Weston-super-mare defeated bottom side Dover Athletic in a 1-0 win. In the “even later” kickoff, the 7:30pm game between Truro City and Chelmsford City did not disappoint. In the second game played at Gloucester City’s Meadow Park by Truro, the Clarets romped to a 4-1 win, two George Alexander penalties contributing to their victory.
National League South results – in full
Aveley 0-2 W*ymouth
Braintree Town 1-1 Slough Town
Eastbourne Borough 1-0 Hemel Hempstead Town
Hampton & Richmond Borough 2-1 Chippenham Town
Havant & Waterlooville 2-2 Tonbridge Angels
Maidstone United 1-2 St Albans City
Torquay United 4-1 Dartford
Worthing 1-3 Taunton Town
Bath City 0-2 Farnborough
Weston-super-mare 1-0 Dover Athletic
Truro City 1-4 Chelmsford City
National League South table
With Yeovil’s dull Monday night draw with Aveley over and done with, let’s see if anyone was able to capitalise on the dropped points at Parkside…
There was another huge clash at the top of the table on Monday night, as 2nd placed Chelmsford City hosted 3rd placed Worthing. If you’ve read one of these before, you’ll know that Worthing won (thanks to the bold font), and it was a thunderbolt from Jack Wadham that separated the two sides in a narrow 1-0 win for the visitors.
There were four more games to cover, and we begin at the Gallagher Stadium, as Maidstone twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Bath City. Saturday’s hosts Farnborough got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Saturday’s visitors Welling United, while Hampton & Richmond continued their playoff push with a 1-0 win over 10-man Eastbourne Borough. In the final game of the night, Weston-super-mare won on their travels in a 1-0 victory over Chippenham Town.
Taunton were meant to host Slough Town, but of course, their pitch was deemed unplayable, resulting in a postponement…
National League South results – in full
Chelmsford City 0-1 Worthing
Chippenham Town 0-1 Weston-super-mare
Farnborough 1-0 Welling United
Hampton & Richmond Borough 1-0 Eastbourne Borough
Maidstone United 2-2 Bath City
Taunton Town P-P Slough Town
March Of The Day: https://www.justgiving.com/
Welling United secured their second win over Yeovil Town this season, completing the double and ending the Glovers’ unbeaten record at home. It was not a pretty afternoon at Huish Park, and here are Ian’s Five Conclusions…
It all fell apart when Michael Smith went off. His quality is undeniable and we’re a significantly better team with him in it. But, surely he’s not THAT important. After Smith’s injury in the 15th minute, Yeovil lost all flow, rhythm and patterns of play. There was a very brief switch to a back three, with Jay Foulston left of the three, but that quickly shifted back to a back four with moved Foulston to right back. He really struggled. He didn’t look comfortable offensively or defensively and the part of Jordan Young’s game that depends on the overlapping and defensive security of Smith was lost too.
Our attackers are struggling. Mark Cooper said that the goals had ‘dried up’ following the match and it was a match where there was little flow from the forward players. Frank Nouble and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton swapped positions in the first half to try and make things happen. (I thought Nouble looked more effective through the middle.) Jordan Young had another game where nothing clicked. He had some sloppy moments in possession and didn’t make the impact we’ve come to expect. Sam Pearson wasn’t able to get into a full flow and show his pace and neither was Jordan Stevens. It was only when Olly Thomas came on and he had a couple of decent chances, that Yeovil really threatened.
You have to give credit to Welling. They’ve done us in league twice now, and with two very different teams. They weathered the early storm from Yeovil and managed to create a few half chances and shots from distance. Their goal came from a calamitous error from Charlie Cooper, but it was a great finish from Anthony Grant who rifled the ball into the top corner from a tight angle. With less than 20 minutes on the clock, it then became an exercise in seeing the game out and the Wings did it masterfully. Time taken in dead ball situations, patience in the corners keeping the ball away from Yeovil.
We seemed to lose our composure. Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell have been a calming influence at the back all season, but there was a mad spell in the second half where they were caught out by Welling and conceded fouls. Wannell relished the first half battle with Reece Grant and largely controlled it, but in a second half where most players seemed to get shaky, it was noticeable when they struggled. Perhaps because their standards have been so high. Through the midfield we kept trying to go long, hitting hopeful balls towards Sam Pearson, who was on a hiding to nothing against Welling’s big back line.
Don’t panic! With Chelmsford’s win against Truro City yesterday evening, the gap at the top is nine points with a game in hand. There’s a chance to move on quickly against Chippenham and Tuesday and with a bright cameo from Olly Thomas, we could soon have a focal point at the top of the pitch. It was hard to stomach defeat at the final whistle, and there was almost a stunned silence when proceedings came to an end. So remarkable has the home form been, that defeat was hard to take. However, we have the buffer at the top and a chasing pack that’s inconsistent. On to Tuesday!