Two wins out of two under Billy Rowley and our resident cartoonist Alex ‘Distant Glover’ Russell has been inspired by being among the 98 in the away end at Hartlepool United yesterday.
New Yeovil boss Billy Rowley maintained his 100% record in the dugout as the Glovers picked up a brilliant 2-0 win at Hartlepool thanks to goals from Aaron Jarvis and Luke McCormick.
Rowley told BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman how happy he was with the victory: “I’m really, really pleased for the lads. They’ve left it all out there today. It was, always going to be a tough game, especially with the pitch and the conditions. Hartlepool are excellent at what they do, [they] caused us some problems, but I felt for the most part, we were not comfortable, but we were defensively quite solid. We restricted them to probably some sort of half chances. But yeah, just a really pleasing afternoon for us.
“I think it’s always sweeter on these long journeys as well. You know, you never want to sit on a coach for five hours or down in the dumps and reviewing the performances and why you didn’t win or why you didn’t create so, first and foremost, I’m so, so happy for the fans. I thought brilliant today. They were almost louder than the Hartlepool [fans], although I thought they were excellent as well. It was a great game and atmosphere. So really happy for the fans to come here and get that win. And of course, the lads as well, I think long overdue a couple of wins.”
Aaron Jarvis opened the scoring for Yeovil in the 14th minute and Rowley was full of superlatives about the striker.
“He was excellent today. He was brilliant. He led the line. Well. We felt that we were going to try and build the game a little bit slower in the first half, and then always having the option of using Aaron in, like, throwing the ball up to him a little bit more directly. I thought he dealt with that excellently. I felt that we were getting a lot of joy from that, and then we decided to, I don’t know, maybe just get more bodies around him and make that a little bit too predictable at times. But yeah, the plan for Aaron to do that role for us today kind of worked for us.”
Hartlepool had only lost one match at home before today and the Glover haven’t won there since 2011 and Rowley waxed lyrical about the organisation of the team.
“It speaks a lot for the boys and their organisation. We worked a little bit on that yesterday. We reviewed that from a video this morning and they took everything we asked to a T. There’s also times where you have to think on the spot, and you know, the loud crowd here, we can’t always get information on so I thought Jake, Morgs and Fergie organised the boys in front of them expertly. We really restricted them to just sort of putting in long crosses towards the end. And Jed came in and claimed a few of those brilliantly. And what a keeper he is – unbelievable.”
The manager made changes from last week’s win over Boston and when about how his players reacted to the changes, Rowley said: “It’s so hard as a manager to not get players on the pitch. Sometimes the state of the game and even the environment and conditions dictates that so really, really pleased with the boys, I thought, Whitts defended well when he came on, Max [Joliffe], he does what he does. He covers ground, he put a few good balls in as well to spring some counters. Tav [was] brilliant when he came on, Jarvs pulled up with a calf injury a little bit and and the idea was to bring on Tav late in this game and use his subtle touches and skill to retain the ball for us and I thought he did that really well.”
On the scenes at the final whistle, Rowley was pragmatic, if not frustrated with what happened.
“The final whistle blew, and it erupted into a lot of joy for our players and a lot of despair for Hartlepool’s, which naturally caused a bit of friction between a few of them. I don’t think there was any malice in it. It’s just one of those things, but obviously really frustrated that Morgan got a straight red for that altercation. Look, I’m not going to let that overcast, the great day and the great win, but yeah, just a little frustrated that that happened at the end, but it is what is.”
Aaron Jarvis bagged for Yeovil Town as they picked up their first win at Hartlepool since 2011 and he praised the performance from the Glovers as ‘perfect’.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman he said: “I thought from start to finish, it was a perfect away performance. We felt comfortable out of possession. In possession. It was just a bit, you know, kind of sums up an away game for us. But we kept the ball at times, and we went long when we needed to. And, two good goals as well”
It’s now two wins from two for Billy Rowley and Jarvis gave an insight of what its been like under the new boss: “It’s been a breath of fresh air, really. Him and Daz have got a great, great way of coaching us during the week. You know, their philosophy and style of play, drilling it into us, and the lads are buying into it, as you can see, the last two results have been positive, and hopefully we can keep building on it and climbing up the table.”
There was a kerfuffle – to say the least – after full time and Jarvis said the togetherness in the squad showed up in the result and the post-match shenanagins.
“I just think good togetherness, [it] couldn’t have been a better away result for us. And yeah at the end, that’s all good that we’ve got each other’s backs, and I think our performance proved that as well.”
Yeovil Town turned in a textbook away performance as they picked up their first win at Hartlepool United since 2011.
The Glovers took the lead after 14 minutes when a burst down the left from Luke McCormick picked out Aaron Jarvis in the middle to sweep home the opener.
They had to withstand intense pressure for much of the game, but sealed three points in style when the persistence of McCormick to attack down the left and curled a sumptuous strike in to the net with four minutes of second half injury time played.
There were chaotic scenes at the final whistle with an enormous melee in front of the dug out leading to both Glovers’ defender Morgan Williams and Pools’ substitute Jermaine Francis being sent off after the final whistle.
Disgracefully these fracas included a Hartlepool fan running on to the pitch and swinging a punch at Finn Cousin-Dawson who was forced to push away his attacker with no Victoria Park steward in sight!
Billy Rowley made four changes to the starting XI which won 2-1 over Boston United in his first match in charge seven days earlier. Aaron Jarvis and Harvey Greenslade was restored to the forward line, Finn Cousin-Dawson returned to bring midfield stability and Michee Efete replaced the injured Josh Sims at right wing-back.
After an even opening ten minutes, the first meaningful opportunity of the game fell to the home side on 12 minutes as striker Adam Campbell laid ball off to Matt Daly whose low shot was turned aside by Jed Ward.
But three minutes later, Yeovil took the lead. Luke McCormick burst away down left side and squared the ball to Aaron JARVIS who stroked the Glovers in front with 14 minutes. You can’t help but think that a few weeks ago McCormick might have checked back and played a pass back to his defence. It appears Rowley’s promise of ‘front foot football’ (a line often parroted but rarely delivered by his predecessors) is starting to come true.
Three minutes later Jarvis, who had been making a nuisance of himself from himself the start, was brought down on the edge of the box by Maxim Kougoun who earned himself the first booking of the game. From the resulting free-kick, Brett McGavin curled on just wide of the post.
The play which created the goal almost repeated itself on 28 minutes as McCormick got away down the left again and this time forced a good stop out of Hartlepool keeper George Evans.
At the other end a nice move involving Campbell and Daly found Alex Reid inside the six yard but he put his chance wide of the post with the offside flag up anyway. A minute later, McCormick came even closer to doubling the advantage as he beat Evans but not the post.
Hartlepool were starting to see more of the ball as the half wore on and with ten minutes remaining of the first half, Jay Benn was found in space on the right of the box and his driven ball was pushed away from danger by Ward inside a crowded penalty area. Daly flashed a good opportunity past the post on 37 minutes and moments later another driven ball from Benn was cut out by Michee Efete.
We are definitely standing firm, but the Hartlepool are turning the screw. Possession stats will be in favour of the hosts in the final 20 minutes of the first half, but other an Ward’s stop to deny Daly – which was ultimately offside – there have not been any meaningful stops for the keeper to make.
The half-time whistle was met by a roar from the away supporters who had been non-stop in their support from the opening whistle. Amazing what attacking football and solid and sensible defending can do for a fan base!
The second half started with the home side dominating possesion again. There were chances for Hartlepool with Ward having to be alert to keep out Daly’s chance before a towering header from giant Pools’ centre half Tom Parkes flying just past the post.
The pressure was all Hartlepool’s in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, but the next chance fell to Yeovil. On 63 minutes, it was another attack down the left led by James Daly who forced a stop out of Evans.
On 65 minutes, Billy Rowley made his first substitution with Tahvon Campbell replacing Aaron Jarvis with Alex Whittle coming on for Harvey Greenslade after 73 minutes.
Hartlepool, who were unbeaten in the previous seven matches going in to the game, enjoyed much of the play but Yeovil’s hard work held them at bay. As in the first half, the home side saw most of the ball but never really seriously troubled Ward in to one of his trademark stunning stops. The 98 travelling fans in the Victoria Park away end – bravo, we were non-stop in support of the team throughout!
It was left to Luke McCORMICK to seal the win. He showed amazing persistence to not give up on a ball in the fourth minute of injury time before curling a shot around the keeper and in to the bottom corner to send the away end in to delirium. Even with four minutes of second half injury time played, the thought was to attack and get a second goal and not hold the ball in the corner. You love to see it!
As the final whistle sounded, a huge melee involving what seemed like every player and member of staff from both sides exploded in front of the dug outs. From the distance of the away end it was difficult to tell exactly what happened, but the result was sendings off for both Yeovil’s Morgan Williams and Hartlepool’s Jermaine Francis after the final whistle.
This was a black mark on an otherwise faultless away performance for Yeovil at a ground which has not made for happy hunting for many Glovers sides in years gone by. The Rowley revolution rolls on – bring on the FA Trophy next weekend!
Venue: Victoria Park
Date: Saturday 6th December, 3pm kick-off
Competition: National League Premier Division
Scorers: Aaron Jarvis 14 (1-0), Luke McCormick 90+4 (2-0)
Pitch: Didn’t look too bad
Conditions: Cold, wet. It’s December in Hartlepool.
Attendance: 3,014 (98 away supporters)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Aaron Jarvis 37, Jake Wannell 58, Kyle Ferguson 66, Luke McCormick 86.
Hartlepool United: Maxim Kougoun 17
Sendings off:
Hartlepool United: Jermaine Francis – after the final whistle
Yeovil Town: Morgan Williams – after the final whistle
Referee: Dean Watson
Yeovil Town (3-5-2)
Substitutes: Tahvon Campbell (for Aaron Jarvis, 65), Alex Whittle (for Harvey Greenslade, 73), Max Jolliffe (for Brett McGavin, 82), Dan Ellison (not used), Leo Ramirez-Espain (not used), Andrew Oluwabori (not used), Matt Gould (not used).
Hartlepool United: George Evans, Jay Benn, Cameron John, Tom Parkes (for Besart Topalloj, 74), Maxim Kougoun, Adam Campbell, Nathan Sheron (for Danny Johnson, 74), Jack Hunter (for Jermaine Francis, 54), Jamie Miley, Alex Reid, Matty Daly (for Pharrell Brown, 62).
Substitutes (not used): Adam Smith, Nathan Ferguson, Joseph Aungiers.
Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has made four changes to his starting line-up for today’s visit to Hartlepool United (3pm kick-off)
Strikers Aaron Jarvis and Harvey Greenslade return alongside Michee Efete and Finn Cousin-Dawson with Tahvon Campbell and Max Jolliffe dropping to the bench and Josh Sims and James Plant missing through injury.
It’s one of the biggest trips of the season today as The Glovers head to Hartlepool. Jordan Richardson gives Dave the low-down on what’s been going on at the Pools since our opening day draw in August.
Striker Junior Morias has left Yeovil Town to join National League South side Hornchurch after just four months at Huish Park.
The 30-year-old arrived in Somerset following his release by Notts County at the end of last season and scored four times in his 18 appearances for the club.
In a social media post, the club said the decision had been made to allow the frontman to “move closer to home to be nearer his family” and he joins a side sitting three points clear at the top of National League South.
Morias was an unused substitute in last weekend’s 2-1 home win over Boston United and his last appearance saw him play the full 90 minutes in the goalless draw at Morecambe seven days earlier.
This weekend will see Yeovil make one of their longest away trips of the season, as they take on Hartlepool United on Saturday afternoon.
It happened. We can finally add a win to the form column. After seven games without three points manager Billy Rowley started life at Huish Park with maximum points, and two goals. The Glovers have struggled to score this campaign, so it will certainly come as a relief that Luke McCormick got a brace.
Not to be a party pooper, the form over the last five games is still not great, with three losses, a win and a draw. The team will be aware of this, but we should proceed with caution as this is still the same team just with a new man at the helm. But to end on a happier note, the last two games have been a positive with a win and a draw, which will help the confidence of the team.
Rowley has a lot to do, but after his first game, there is definitely signs to be optimistic for Glovers supporters.
Although sitting in eighth in the table, The Pools have been much better than that position suggests. Over the 21 games played they have only lost four. The toughness that Nicky Featherstone has instilled is clear to see over the last five games too, with three wins and two draws for his side.
Last time out, the north-east coasters beat Truro City 3-1 at Victoria Park. Goals for Adam Campbell, Jamie Miley and Alex Reid secured the three points. This is reminiscent of most of The Pools games this season, not many opportunities for their opponents. If you are going to beat Hartlepool this season you need to be able to score goals.
Home form has been good this term for Featherstone’s men with just the one loss all season at Victoria Park.
It seems when Yeovil play well, the midfielder has had an impact on the match. Against Boston we saw how Rowley will look to deploy the 26-year-old. It was also telling of his importance to his new boss when Rowley said this after the victory: “What a player. He can play in a few different roles…and he’s taken both goals really well.”
The striker has found a bit of form in recent weeks, with three goal contributions in the last three games, the type of output who need from your frontman. The forward is Hartlepool’s top scorer as well this term with five goals to his name. The caveat to this though is he bagged the first three of them within the first five matches of the season, so it hasn’t always been rosey for the 30-year-old.
Standing at 6ft2, Reid is a big presence, that will strike a bit of fear into opposition defenders. A bonus for the Glovers however is their centre-backs are no Lisandro Martinezes.
It’s the battle of the young managers this weekend as Billy Rowley’s opposition is Nicky Featherstone.
On the eve of our trip to the North East, the Poolies appointed their midfielder, who was an unused substitute in the goalless draw on the opening day of the season at Huish Park, in the role permanently.
The 37-year-old was player-coach at Victoria Park but took the interim manager role when Simon Grayson was dismissed in mid-October.
Since taking over, Hartlepool have not lost a game. In fact it seems he has taken his side to another level, with a stronger defence but also getting his team scoring goals, with 13 netted in that time.
This is his first role as a manager, but as a player, Featherstone is a Hartlepool legend, with over 400 appearances for the County Durham side. This also means he has never faced the Glovers from the dugout.
The two sides last met back on the opening day of the season. The game that day was boring to say the least as a 0-0 draw was played out at Huish Park.
A lot has happened since that game, Yeovil are now onto their fourth manager of the season, Hartlepool are on their second. The two sides form have also gone in opposite directions with the Hartlepool outside the playoffs and the Glovers languishing in mid table.
The last time they played at Victoria Park was in 2024 when The Pools won 2-1. Goals from Gary Madine and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe guided the home side to a win that day, with Kofi Shaw getting the Glovers a consolation goal.
There are a couple of old Yeovil boys in the Hartlepool team. Adam Smith is now on the books at Victoria Park. Although not first choice for Nicky Featherstone, he will be remembered for some great performances here in Somerset. Defender Tom Parkes is the other former Glover in The Pools side. If you don’t remember his name in the Green and White don’t worry he only played two games on loan in the 2010/11 season.
Dean Watson takes charge of the fixture, and as usual read Ben’s full article here.
Ian, Dave and Ben chat about the week, we preview the Glovers trip to Hartlepool tomorrow and take your questions.
We’d also like to say a huge thank you to those who’ve donated money to the Gloverscast cause this week. It is genuinely appreciated.
