So, Saturday was carnage wasn’t it? Ian, Dave and Ben chat through the afternoon and look ahead to Thursday.
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.
Yeovil Town Women booked their place in the semi-final of the league cup, as they overcame Pen Mill Reserves by four goals to one in Sunday’s quarter final. Goals from Jess Hodge, Ceyda Fordrey and Chloe Perham ensured that the Glovers progressed into the semi-final of the league cup, as they seek further domestic glory.
Paul Knight made four changes to the team who beat Porlock in the previous round, as Les Spearing, Emma Brazell and Niamh Nicholls returned to the starting eleven. A debut was also handed to Chloe Bateman, who started the match at right back.
A quick start by Yeovil saw early pressure translate into an early lead as Jess Hodge netted her fifth goal in two games since returning from injury. In the fifth minute Yeovil’s captain received the ball on the edge of the eighteen-yard box, set herself and finished confidently to give her team an early lead.
Despite Yeovil’s confident beginning to the affair, the visitors struck back, making it 1-1 in the 26th minute of proceedings.
As half time approached, Pen Mill’s equaliser was cancelled out, as in the 41st minute. Chloe Davenport’s cross was met by an opposition defender who turned it into her own net, regaining Yeovil’s advantage.
Moments before the half time break the margin was extended further, courtesy of young substitute Ceyda Fordrey. After linking up well with Niamh Nicholls, Fordrey managed to convert with her second touch of the game to give the Glovers breathing space on the brink of the interval.
After the break, following another aggressive start, half time substitute Chloe Perham all but confirmed Yeovil’s place in the semi-final. After receiving the ball from Hodge, Perham’s well placed left footed finish evaded the Pen Mill goalkeeper and made it 4-1 to Yeovil.
A mostly uneventful second half, which saw Nicholls strike the crossbar and Abbie Carslake denied by an impressive save, finished with the score at 4-1, as Yeovil progressed. Poor weather conditions played a significant role over the course of the match, as the wind particularly took its toll in the latter stages of the tie.
Yeovil Town Women return to action on Sunday 14th April as they host Paulton Rovers Reserves in the Somerset Division One 14:00 KO.
Yeovil’s 19 year wait for a league title had to continue for just a little bit longer, as they were defeated 1-3 in controversial circumstances at Huish Park on Saturday. Let’s see what else happened across the division on a dramatic day…
It was not a day for goals, with Yeovil’s game being the highest scoring in the league (not a total surprise considering Worthing were involved), but we start with a relegation six pointer – it was Dartford who came out as winners in a 2-1 win away at Havant & Waterlooville, who could be relegated by next weekend if they don’t win their game on Wednesday against Welling United, who beat 10-man Torquay United 1-0 at home to further aid their relegation escape.
There were plenty of cagey affairs and 1-1 draws across the league, with Bath City and Tonbridge Angels cancelling each other out, Chelmsford City went down to 9 men but held on for a draw at home to Slough Town, who missed a penalty in a dramatic game; Taunton Town claimed a point away at playoff chasing Hampton & Richmond, while Hemel Hempstead conceded a 90th minute equaliser to already-relegated Dover Athletic.
There were also a few 1-0 wins too, with Eastbourne Borough claiming a vital win for their relegation battle, as they defeated W*ymouth at home. Both Maidstone and Braintree Town confirmed their playoff spots with their wins away to Farnborough and Weston-super-mare respectively, while St Albans City’s hopes took another dent as Chippenham Town left Clarence Park with all three points.
The final game of the day came in the evening kickoff in Gloucester, as Truro City kicked off a run of five games in eight days with a 1-1 draw against 10-man Aveley.
National League South results – in full
Bath City 1-1 Tonbridge Angels
Chelmsford City 1-1 Slough Town
Eastbourne Borough 1-0 W*ymouth
Farnborough 0-1 Maidstone United
Hampton & Richmond Borough 1-1 Taunton Town
Havant & Waterlooville 1-2 Dartford
Hemel Hempstead Town 1-1 Dover Athletic
St Albans City 0-1 Chippenham Town
Welling United 1-0 Torquay United
Weston-super-mare 0-1 Braintree Town
Truro City 1-1 Aveley
National League South table
Worthing well and truly pooped the party at Huish Park in front of another 6000+ crowd. Yeovil weren’t at the races and fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat. Here are Ian’s five conclusions from the press box…
Gareth Thomas had a shocker. Let’s get this one out of the way early doors. I can’t remember many referees who’ve gone through a game making no decisions in the middle of the pitch when they needed making, but being certain on decisions where there was doubt, in areas that make a difference. In truth, I couldn’t see the penalty decision, it looked like Pearce got the wrong side of Wannell and felt contact and went for it and looking at the highlights, there’s maybe a pull by Wannell. The offside is as tight as they get without taking 20 minutes to draw lines, but enough people (who would know and have access to see it again) told me it was on. Huish Park was denied a glorious moment which Thomas will always be remembered for now. The FA assessor was in attendance and in conversation with Yeovil’s coaching staff after the match. As woeful as he Thomas was, the scenes at the final whistle will surely see some form of punishment for the club.
We never felt in control. The praise in the aftermath of the Torquay win was how in control Yeovil were for the entire game, but it never felt like we had it against Worthing. We kept the ball at times, but it was a bit of a basketball match. We know Worthing score a lot of goals, and they can play some free-flowing stuff and they were effective in preventing us from playing out. The controlled possession we’ve enjoyed wasn’t there. Defensively we didn’t look comfortable and up front we snatched at chances when composure was needed and couldn’t get the final ball right.
We looked vulnerable at the back. I’ve not said that very many times at all this season, given how we’ve controlled games and how dominant we’ve been at the back. But, Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell didn’t look their best with the ball, and Cashman and Pearce seemed to pull them all over the pitch. Fage and Felix enjoyed plenty of space on the wings and Dolaghan caused problems from deep and got his rewards following Foulston’s error. The defence have barely put a foot wrong all season, and like Mark Cooper said, the forward players needed to take their chances.
We missed so many chances. I wanted an early nerve-settler and in the third minute, Sam Pearson has a 24 karat chance to settle the entire town. Clearly he didn’t expect a chance of that magnitude to fall to him in that fashion and he snatched at it and skied the ball. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton has a chance too, that Worthing’s keeper somehow saves, but Lo-Everton should score from such close range. Frank Nouble has a couple of half chances on his left foot from the edge of the box that he can only put over the bar. Half time substitute Rhys Murphy earns a penalty that he doesn’t convert. Morgan Williams goes close with a header, too. Yeovil could, and probably should, have been 2-0 up before Pearce converts his penalty.
We’re nearly there. As disappointing and infuriating as it was to not have our moment at Huish Park, a point against Truro on Thursday is all it will take to clinch the league. The expectation, anticipation and hype around Worthing’s visit would have made victory at home so much sweeter and maybe it was too good to be true. We’re Yeovil Town, and if we’ve learn something over the last decade, it’s that we never make it easy. It was a big game, with a lot of attention on it and as much as Mark Cooper tried to play it down in the build up and keep the players grounded, the pressure of the occasion seemed to get to the players. They’ll recover, learn from it and after 11 long years, we’ll celebrate promotion on Thursday.
Whilst things were going a little… pear shaped… for the Glovers at Huish Park there was plenty of action for the loanees out and about.
Firstly, upwards and Jordan Maguire-Drew wasn’t in the match day squad for high flying Barnet.
In the NLS, Bath City picked up a 1-1 draw in tough conditions at Twerton Park against Tonbridge Angels.
Will Buse played the full 90 for the Romans.
20′ Buse gets down well to tip Meade’s effort past the post.
— Bath City FC (@BathCity_FC) April 6, 2024
Dorchester continued their good run of form with a 1-0 win over Hayes and Yeading. Ollie Haste once more put in a solid 90 minutes for the Magpies.
Melksham played out an eight-goal thriller against Evesham, but unfortunately they conceded five of them. Benjani Jr was on the bench, information is a little thin on the ground as to whether or not he came on.
Shepton v Buckland was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch – The Mallet’s fixture list starting to pile up. Charlie Bateson will have to wait for more game time.
There were eight goals in Gillingham Town’s game against Brislington.
Again, unfortunately, the Gills only scored one of them – albeit coming from the boot of Harry Lock. Jack Bareham, Harrison Foster and Josh Haskett all started the game.
Welton Rovers v St Blazey also fell foul to the weather.
Mark Cooper’s Glovers fell to 3-1 defeat at the hands of Worthing at Huish Park and the Yeovil boss said he wouldn’t blame the referee for the defeat.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall, Cooper said: “If you’ve never been a winner or you’ve never got over the line you feel some nerves and we’ve only got a couple in there that I think have actually won something and it’s not easy to win. The big danger today, which I spoke about and everybody wants to hype it up and win, is the performance. And I spoke to the players about it Thursday, Friday, today not looking at ‘what if’, we need to perform and we didn’t. We played the occasion, I thought and not the actual game.”
Cooper confirmed he’d been to see the referee, Gareth Thomas, after the match and the scenes which followed the final whistle. When asked about the conversation, Cooper said: “I was calm. [There was] just a couple of decisions I wasn’t quite sure about. The first one, the penalty, obviously we have the benefit of seeing it back and it’s not a penalty and the offside Murphy’s clearly onside. Decisions of such importance, you’ve got to be really sure to give them, but I’m not gonna blame the ref for our defeat.”
Sam Pearson missed a glorious opportunity in the 3rd minute and although Cooper admitted his side defended poorly, he felt Yeovil should have been in control.
“We had some brilliant chances in the first, I think it was a minute, two minutes, where the ball’s, I don’t how far it was out, six yards? And you can have a touch and roll it in the in the bottom corner. Put it over the bar and we had numerous chances to really get control of the game and when we set up like we did to be aggressive and we took the ball off them and we had them chances they need to go in because the way they play, they always get a chance to play through you.
“You do well to create that many chances in the game and not win it. But we conceded some poor goals, though we didn’t defend well today. But again, the defenders have been brilliant. We should be winning that game with the chances we have.”
Yeovil conceded a poor second just before half time, but Cooper felt was a foul on Jordan Young in the build up. “Well, it’s a blatant foul on Jordan Young to start with on the halfway line, and then Jay just makes a bad error with a back pass. I was shouting at boys ‘just get into halftime’ and no issue. We had we had six or seven off colour today, we didn’t defend well, we were slipping. But their argument will be, ‘well, hang on a minute when are the forwards gonna get us out of trouble by taking their chances?’
“We had some bits and pieces where a little bit more quality would have done that [levelled the game] and then we scored a great goal, but which is onside and for some reason they disallowed it. I’ve just asked that question, but that the linesman was adamant it was offside.”
On to Truro…in Gloucester..
Yeovil Town’s Alex Fisher has said he is ‘gutted’ his side couldn’t force a late equaliser against Worthing on Saturday.
The Glovers missed a second half penalty and had a goal chalked off for offside in the final stages, with other results as they were, a draw would have been enough to secure the title.
There were a number of controversial moments in the game, not least the disallowed goal from Rhys Murphy and Fisher admits it’s tough to take.
“I imagine there is a feeling of injustice, I’ve not seen Murph’s goal back, but from my angle it looked onside, if it is onside, it’s a very important decision to make, it’ll be tough to take, but we’ve got four games left with everything to play for… we’ve got a fantastic opportunity on Thursday to seal the deal”
“[We need] one point in four games, but you don’t want to just limp over the line though, we’d like to take maximum points from every game we’ve got, [there’s] no complacency in the team, we look to go into the last four and try and everything out of them that we can”
After Fisher himself had halved the deficit to 2-1, the Glovers had plenty of the ball in attacking areas, but couldn’t force the second goal before a late sucker punch from Worthing wrapped up the game.
“I think we had the ball in some dangerous areas, you’ve got to play against a team that are good under pressure, good on the ball and respect them at the same time, they know how to see a game out… there was plenty of time left and I am gutted, to be honest, that we couldn’t get the second”
“I wouldn’t say there was a frustration, just a desire to get a result that the turnout today deserved, and we pretty much got it, if it wasn’t for the last five minutes, so I wouldn’t say frustration, just a solid desire to entertain the fans.”
The front man also said that he would back Murphy to score from the spot in high pressure situations after the Bagsman saw his spot kick saved just a few minutes into the second half.
“Murph is a really composed individual, I have a lot of confidence in him that he would do it, to the best of his ability, I think it’s a good save, I think it’s hitting the side netting, I’ve got no qualms with the person, under the pressure and circumstances taking that responsibility on themselves. It would have been fantastic if it goes in, but we’ve still got 40 minutes-plus to get ourselves into the game, I think it shows real character of the individual that he steps up and took it”
Now the squad look ahead to Truro (in Gloucester) on Thursday, where the maths are simple. One point wins the League.
“Forgive me for sounding slightly negative, but it’s just the fact that it was such an incredible end to a game – or could have been – those emotions are quite high in my system at the moment, but yes, one point in four games, you’d like to think we will clinch this title, in the next week or two, but we’re taking nothing for granted, we’ll go out on Thursday with a team, that we hope will take maximum points”
Alex Fisher’s goal
Video Credit: Debs Curtis
Yeovil weren’t able to get the job done today against Worthing, but our man Gary Brown was, and he got some snaps of the action.
Pictures courtesy of Gary Brown. Please ask for permission before using.
Well, that didn’t go to plan did it?
Anyway, who was your Man of the Match
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Yeovil’s wait for the National League South title continues until at least Thursday, as they were defeated at home by Worthing in a 1-3 result.
The hosts were the better side in the first half, with a littany of chances squandered, before Worthing capitalised on a questionable penalty decision to take the lead. Yeovil continued to probe, with no luck before an unfortunate mistake from Jay Fouslton left the Glovers with a hell of a task.
The second half didn’t fare any better, with even more mistakes from officials, and squandered chances from the Glovers making life hard for themselves. An Alex Fisher goal gave Huish Park hope, before it was so cruelly snatched away in controversial circumstances. Worthing nabbed a late goal with the last kick of the game to leave Huish Park with all three points.
Yeovil kept it consistent with just two changes from Monday’s clash at W*ymouth, with Sam Pearson and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton replacing Olly Thomas and the injured Jordan Stevens.
The first couple of minutes were cagey, with Yeovil and Worthing exchanging long balls and patchy possession, but the first action of note came in the 4th minute, where a wayward pass from Joe Rye inside the Worthing box ended up straight in the path of Sam Pearson, the young Welshman couldn’t keep his shot down as it fired over the Dorset Vehicle Rentals Stand.
Yeovil had the next chance 7 minutes in, where a Frank Nouble run turned into a cross-come-shot, but Ollie Wright collected it comfortably. The wind continued to wreak havoc as a long ball from Joe Day fell just ahead of Pearson, Wright coming to collect and ending the attack, before another shot from Frank Nouble shortly afterwards bounced off his own boot and over.
The hosts continued to show why they were top of the league with another chance 10 minutes in – a nice ball forward from Charlie Cooper found Sam Pearson in space on the left wing, he cut inside and played a dangerous ball into the box, but Jordan Young couldn’t get it in the net. Another good chance for Yeovil, as Worthing struggled to assert themselves early on.
Worthing almost found themselves with a chance just afterwards though, as a Morgan Williams slip gave the visitors a half chance, but Wannell came across well and recovered the ball with ease.
After 14 minutes, Worthing had good fortune come their way, as a weak penalty was handed to the visitors by referee Gareth Thomas. Jake Wannell earned a booking for his protests, and Ollie Pearce tucked the ball into the bottom left corner from the spot to make it 37 league goals for the season.
Following the penalty, Worthing took some time to have the ball and get themselves settled into the game, Yeovil defended well and snuffed out any potential attacks they looked to make. Worthing’s high press prevented Yeovil from making any forays into the opposition half when they did have possession, causing concern in the crowd, but there was a vociferous roar 24 minutes into the game when Kane Wills brought Sonny Blu Lo-Everton down just outside the box, the Worthing man finding his way into the referee’s book.
The resulting free kick was a palm stinger from Charlie Cooper, but Worthing got away with it once again – an extremely weak foul was then given against Sonny on Brad Dolaghan, drawing the ire of the Yeovil crowd.
Worthing triggered a press on Yeovil, but the hosts played out of it well, getting the ball forwards – a header from Pearson was wayward, before a long ball from Worthington had just a little bit too much on it for Pearson to reach.
Yeovil came forwards once again, Pearson once again the danger man – coming inside from the left, he laid a ball off to seemingly nobody, and Worthing scampered away once again. The next chance was again, for Yeovil, as a nicely worked run from Lo-Everton made space for him to put a ball into the box for Nouble, but his shot was wayward once again.
The visitors almost bundled the ball into the back of their own net, as Pearson and Colbran battled into the box, but Ollie Wright reacted quickly to stop it trickling into his own net.
Worthing earned themselves a corner following a block from Charlie Cooper, it came to nothing however the ball stayed with Worthing – the passage of play finished with an audacious attempt at goal from all of 40 yards flying wat wide of goal.
Yeovil then found themselves with a corner, some sloppy play allowed Worthing to break down the left hand side with Danny Cashman. He played a ball across the box for Jo Felix, but his shot flew over the bar.
From the resulting goal kick, Yeovil went down the other end and won a free kick, Worthing defender Alfie Young being booked for his cynical foul on Frank Nouble. The free kick was wasted however, as the ball simply floated into the hands of Ollie Wright.
The final five minutes of the first half were relatively uneventful, with the most notable event being a Worthing corner that was palmed away by Joe Day… until the clock just ticked over to the 45 minute mark, where Jay Foulston was pressed into a mistake by Jo Felix, his pass was soft and caught Joe Day off guard, allowing Felix to pounce, round Day and lay it off for Brad Dolaghan to finish into an empty net.
Yeovil went forwards once again but more wasteful work from the Yeovil forwards meant the hosts went into half time with a mountain to climb.
Before the half got underway, Mark Cooper made a change, Sam Pearson being replaced by Rhys Murphy. Straight off of kickoff, Worthing fired a shot from distance at Joe Day but it drifted wide. Yeovil went on the counter from the goal kick, a Frank Nouble charge earning Yeovil a corner; the resulting corner floating over everybody, allowing Worthing back on the ball.
Yeovil almost found themselves through once again, but Young couldn’t get the ball out from under his feet and Felix covered enough ground to recover the ball for the visitors. Worthing tried playing out but Yeovil pressed well, the ball ending up with Young once again. He cut inside, fired off a shot that got blocked, before Lo-Everton fired a ball over the bar.
Yeovil came forward once again, and on the 50 minute mark, Yeovil themselves were handed a penalty by referee Gareth Thomas, when Rhys Murphy was brought down. The number 39 stepped up, but it was a poor strike and Wright got down well to save it, knocking it over the bar for a corner.
Worthing came forward down the right hand side from a goal kick, but their final ball wasn’t there and Yeovil got away with it. The visitors continued to push, earning a corner shortly after, however their well worked header went over the bar, and out for a goal kick.
Worthing had the next chance too, as Ollie Pearce broke away, almost leaving Williams in a heap on the floor with his frightening pace. He laid a ball off for Felix, but Day did well to read the deflection from Williams and caught it well.
Yeovil countered from there and won a corner, however it was a heavy ball once again and Worthing gained possession. Worthing won themselves a corner when Worthington had to track back and blocked off Dolaghan, however it landed straight on Wannell’s head and was cleared away.
The next bit of action came in the 60th minute, where Matt Worthington worked his way into the referee’s book for a challenge on the halfway line on Danny Cashman. Yeovil tried coming forward again shortly after, with Nouble winning a free kick and Worthing player Joe Rye ending up in the book. What followed was possibly the worst free kick of the season, as Jordan Young launched the ball out of play.
Five or six sloppy clearances followed from Yeovil once Worthing worked the ball into their half, before a brief break in play allowed for Dylan Morgan to replace Brooklyn Genesini.
Jordan Yong pickpocketed the Worthing midfield and came forward, laying the ball off for Rhys Murphy but the ball was wide and caused the attack to lose momentum, the half chance was lost and Worthing got back into possession. Another half chance came shortly after, where more sloppy Worthing play allowed for Nouble to come forward, the ball being blocked and recycled back to Nouble, his cross however ended up straight in the hands of Ollie Wright.
Another Yeovil attack followed, as a ball forward ended up on the right wing with now-right back Matt Worthington, his ball for Nouble weighted well, the following cross blocked out for a corner.
Before the corner was taken, Jack Sprong was replacd by Finlay Chadwick for Worthing’s first substitution, the corner was wasted and allowed the visitors to regroup once again.
More Yeovil possession followed, with intricate play coming from Nouble and Foulston, but nothing came from it, a few more feeble attacks followed before Rhys Murphy was flagged for a foul for… having his shot blocked by Alfie Young. Shortly after, Gregory Luer took to the field to replace Brad Dolaghan for Worthing’s second sub.
Alex Fisher joined the action in the 77th minute, replacing Jordan Young, and his first involvement was good, carrying the ball in Nouble-esque style, before delivering a nice floated cross for Nouble himself, his header was straight at the keeper though.
More horrendous decisions followed, as Ollie Wright handled the ball outside his box under pressure from Rhys Murphy, the Yeovil striker tucked the ball home however Wright’s excellent “goalkeeping” inexplicably won Worthing a foul instead…
Worthing continued to dilly-dally, and they were finally punished, as Morgan took a shot and slipped, his shot being cleared high. Nouble headed the ball back into the danger zone, and Alex Fisher was there to tuck the ball home to make it 1-2.
Yeovil looked positive once again, but Worthing cleared the danger and won a couple of corners, none of which came to anything. The hosts attacked once more, with a nice ball from Foulston finding Dylan Morgan in space, his cross being put behind for a corner, Charlie Cooper’s corner was dangerous, but Wright pulled off some genuinely good goalkeeping this time, to clear the danger.
Joe Felix was replaced by Cameron Tutt as the 7 additional minutes were announced, and Yeovil almost had their equaliser shortly afterwards – Morgan Williams’ header flashed just wide of the post, firing up the Yeovil faithful. What followed was another hideous set of events… Rhys Murphy found his way through, and buried the ball this time, however Frank Nouble (who wasn’t involved in play) was flagged as offside… rule 1 of Gloverscast is about to be obliterated, what a horrific decision (and there were more awful decisions throughout the game, see Murphy’s first “goal”).
Yeovil came forward once again, and a throw in from Charlie Cooper was headed out of the danger zone. Another Yeovil attack followed, cleared away once more, before Worthing finished the game off with another goal to make Yeovil wait a game longer for their crowning moment.
Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 6th April, 15:00
Competition: National League South
Pitch: Good, slippery
Conditions: Blustery and grey
Attendance: 6,034 (143 away)
Scorers: Ollie Pearce 15 (0-1), Brad Dolaghan 45 (0-2); Alex Fisher 82 (1-2); Ollie Pearce 90+7 (1-3)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 14, Matt Worthington 60
Worthing: Kane Wills 24, Alfie Young 38, Joe Rye 63, Ollie Pearce 89
Referee: Gareth Thomas
Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)
Substitutes: Rhys Murphy (for Sam Pearson, 45), Dylan Morgan (for Brooklyn Genesini, 66), Alex Fisher (for Jordan Young, 77)
Worthing: Ollie Wright, Joel Colbran, Kane Wills, Joe Rye, Ollie Pearce, Jack Sprong, Dylan Fage, Jo Felix, Bradley Dolaghan, Alfie Young, Danny Cashman
Substitutes: Will Tillman, Cameron Tutt (for Joe Felix, 90), Gregory Luer (for Brad Dolaghan, 75), Josh Chambers, Finlay Chadwick (for Jack Sprong, 70)
