March 2026 (Page 4)

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Ref, Referee, Match Official

Mr George Laflin is the man in the middle for Yeovil Town’s trip to Wealdstone this Wednesday evening.

His ability to referee a game is no Laflin matter – actually, it is, isn’t it? … anyway!

He has 20 games under his belt so far this season, across the National League and Premier League 2 divisions, those 20 games have seen 88 yellows and a grand total of ZERO red ones issued.

That does include the Glovers’ 2-1 defeat away Brackley where Kyle Ferguson and Josh Tobin both got bookings.

It was the second time he’s taken charge of a Glovers’ game, the other being a 1-0 win over both Havant and Waterlooville, Jake Wannell on the scoresheet on that occasion.

Dan Cook and Anastasiya Voloshchuk will be assisting with the flags, David Pilling on stand by just in case and dealing with the subs boards etc.

Referee, George Maflin
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Wealdstone FC (First Team) v Yeovil Town FC (First Team)
National League – Premier
Referee: Laflin, George
Assistant Referee: Cook, Daniel
Assistant Referee: Voloshchuk, Anastasiya
Fourth Official: Pilling, David

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Yeovil Town’s topsy-turvy season continued on Saturday, as they defeated Morecambe at Huish Park in what had been billed as a six-pointer. Tom Bailey was there for Green and White Radio, here’s what he thought.

Well that was great fun… What an entertaining game of football! Entertainment value has often been criticised at Huish Park this season, with Cooper-ball and Copper-lite-ball under Richard Dryden leading to some turgid performances. If this is what we should expect under Billy Rowley next season, then sign me up! It was a game of high quality, but it didn’t disappoint in the entertainment department!

James. Daly. Boy am I glad we have James Daly in this team. A slow start to the season, followed by injury saw Daly’s stock fall as Christmas approached. But after finding fitness, and a regular run of games allowing him to build momentum, he’s come into his own, particularly following the absence of Luke McCormick.

His pressing and relentless energy makes him a joy to watch, and his goal was well taken today, taking his league tally to five for the season. Even his 99th minute press of the Morecambe ‘keeper was the perfect example of why we need to play to Daly’s strengths next season.

James Daly reflecting the mood inside Huish Park.

The players showed a bit of something today. I mentioned above that while entertaining, the quality of the game wasn’t necessarily great. Both teams were desperate to win this game, which was a stark contrast to the drab midweek defeat at Woking for the Glovers. Everyone put in a hell of a shift to earn those three points today, and even if they aren’t staying beyond the end of the season, that is a performance that Yeovil fans should be proud of.

Delano McCoy-Splatt, welcome to Yeovil! When McCoy-Splatt’s signing was announced midweek, there were mixed responses, with some relief that we had more midfield depth, but some concern over his age and lack of game time. Thankfully, he made a brilliant start to life in green and white, coming on as a substitution on the right hand side. His linkup play with Josh Sims and Finn Cousin-Dawson was excellent, and his vision for the pass to Terrell Works for Daly’s goal was awesome. More of that please and thank you!

Onto Wealdstone. Let’s take the positive feeling following a hard-earned victory and carry that momentum into the midweek game at Wealdstone. A lot of people earmarked these three fixtures (plus Gateshead next Saturday) as our three biggest games of the season, and with three points on the board already, let’s carry on this good work into Wednesday’s game.

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New boy Delano McCoy-Splatt has hailed the impact of Yeovil Town boss after he impressed on his debut in a crucial 3-2 home win over Morecambe on Saturday.

The 21-year-old joined on loan from League One AFC Wimbledon, where he has been under the eye of Dons’ assistant manager and Glovers’ legend Terry Skiverton, and was introduced as a 53rd minute substitute and had a hand in his new side’s second and third goals.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, he said: “Billy just filled me with confidence.  Since I got here, the gaffer’s been very good with me, speaking to me a lot, just telling me that I’ve got the ability and telling me that when I got on the pitch I needed to show it. When you’ve got a gaffer like that who believes in you, it’s easy to go play.

“I’ve been kind of linked (with a loan move) for a little while, but it’s just about the right time. In football sometimes timing’s key, so I think it’s just got over the line now. A lot of people that I know also know Billy, so that is going to make me want to go. I just feel comfortable.”

Delano McCoy-Splatt. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

He replaced fellow loanee midfielder Troy Perrett with the game tied at 1-1 and worked well with Terrell Works to tee up James Daly for the second before Ryan Jones added a third to put Yeovil 3-1 up shortly after the hour mark. Jack Nolan added a penalty with 15 minutes left to play and set up a nervous finish at Huish Park.

The debutant said: “At 1-1, it’s easy to go 2-1 down, so the next goal is important. I just tried to come on and change the game for the team and then even when it went 3-2 from a controversial penalty, I feel like we did well to just stay at it.

“When I got on the pitch, I knew I just got to make sure that he’s working hard, I’m working hard. The link-up with Terrell (Works, who he played alongside in Fulham’s academy) I feel like it just came to life again.”

McCoy-Splatt has featured in a number of cup competitions for his parent club this season and just a couple of weeks ago Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson said the midfielder was “back in the reckoning“ for his first-team having returned from injury. The youngster admitted that he had not had long to get to know his new team-mates having linked up with them on Friday.

He said: “I think I had about 40 minutes of training with the team, so I was blowing! I feel like obviously I’ve still been training at Wimbledon, but the drive down was long. I think when I got in, I was just ready to train, I had a matchday minus-one session with the team, so we gelled very well, done a bit of shape. It didn’t really feel that different today, everyone’s just good people, so it was just easy to kind of fit in.“

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Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley said the club deserved the vital 3-2 home win over Morecambe after a difficult few weeks which left them staring the National League relegation places in the face.

Goals from midfielders Brett McGavin, James Daly and Ryan Jones saw them pick up three points which leaves them seven points adrift of the dreaded dotted line on Saturday night with almost all of the teams around them failing to pick up wins.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, the manager said: “I am really supporters, really happy for the lads, everybody associated with the club in terms of staff. It’s nice to turn up today on a beautiful sunny day when the pitch is looking good and deliver a win. Everybody can enjoy this win and we can just  breathe a little bit and move onto the next one.

“It’s just nice, it’s relief to get a win. I just said to the boys inside we’ve been through some tough weeks, we’ve had some really hard fixtures, playing midweek, playing weekend, non-stop, hard training, small squad, all that stuff and some of our performances, not all of them, some of them have been decent and we probably haven’t got the rewards we’ve earned.

“I feel like today we weren’t perfect,  but we were good enough with the ball and we were good enough without the ball to deserve the win, so I was happy with that.”

Brett McGavin celebrates his opener after ten minutes. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

McGavin gave the Glovers the lead after just ten minutes when his long range effort took a fortunate deflection off the post and visiting keeper Jamal Blackman on its way in to the net in front of the Thatcher’s Stand, before Gwion Edwards rifled the visitors level ten minutes before half-time.

Two stunning strikes from Daly and Jones gave a Yeovil side which has struggled in front of goal this season a two-goal advantage shortly after the hour mark before a late Jack Nolan penalty for the visitors set up a nervy finish.

Rowley was full of praise for all three goal-scorers, saying: “Brett’s was obviously a tiny bit of luck, but he’s an unbelievable striker of the ball. He might be one of the best ball strikers I’ve ever seen with both feet and when he’s lining up to shoot from there like I never really doubt it, but it’s obviously hit the post and come off the keeper’s back I think, so bit of fortune there, but we need that in these positions.

“Jonesy does what he does, he’s a little wizard. I think aiming for the near post, it’s always a risk doing that, but he’s snuck it in and his ball striking again is really good. Then JD’s like the Swiss Army Knife of Yeovil, he’s does every job, can play on the left, right, midfield, striker, at the back, like does everything, just a great athlete, top lad and I’m really happy for him. He just shows at the end what it means to him, slide tackling the goalie.”

There was also praise for young midfielder Delano McCoy-Splatt, who signed on loan from AFC Wimbledon in the week, and appeared as a substitute at the start of the second half and impressed. The 21-year-old, who has been under the guidance of former Yeovil legend Terry Skiverton at the South London club, and was instrumental in the goals for Daly and Jones.

Rowley said: “I think we’re very lucky and fortunate to get Delano. He’s had a few injuries this season that have kept him out of the Wimbledon team, but all of my friends that have worked with him (in the academy at) Fulham and all the staff at Wimbledon are convinced he should be playing for (Wimbledon) really. We’re very lucky to have received a Football League player on loan really for nine games and he makes football look easy. He’s physically so good, he can hold people off and then he’s actually got skill and tricks to like get facing forward and put people in on goal.”

Delano McCoy-Splatt, signed on loan from AFC Wimbledon, appeared as a 53rd minute substitute. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

The performance was a complete turnaround from the 1-0 defeat at Woking on Tuesday night when Rowley was left fuming after seeing his side fail to show up for the opening 45 minutes. He was pleased with the performance of his side in both halves against a Morecambe side which had lost just once in their previous six matches – and that was a last minute winner at home to high-flying York City.

Rowley said: “If you play one half a seven and the other half a four it doesn’t always end in your favour. Irwas really good and that was the message today, win the half,we drew it, win the second half, we won it, so we’ll keep with that message and try and strip it back and make things easier for the lads. I felt tactically we were good today, the pitch helped, I thought we made some decent enough passes and, and we had good ideas of how we were going to hurt them and we did enough to win.”

Next up Yeovil travel to Wealdstone who lost 2-0 at Forest Green Rovers on Saturday on Wednesday night, three days before their FA Trophy semi-final date with Marine next Saturday.

Asked about his next opponents, Rowley added: “I’ve seen a fair bit of them, they’ve got some really good athletes, some exceptional one-v-one players, a lot of talent in their team, like all teams at this level. They’re still doing well in the Trophy. so they’re doing well, they’ve had a change in manager, and their form’s on the up, so they have got some talent, got some ability. We’ll start reviewing them in the next 24 hours and go there and and try and get more points on the board.“

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All photos courtesy of Gary Brown

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Yeovil Town picked up a crucial three points in the battle to drag themselves away from the foot of the National League Premier Division table with victory over Morecambe on a glorious day at Huish Park.

The Glovers showed plenty of the fighting spirit supporters have been calling for in recent weeks and three goals with Brett McGavin opening with a thunderous strike after just ten minutes before Gwion Edwards levelled ten minutes before half-time.

First James Daly and then another goal for Ryan Jones’ scrap book gave Yeovil a 3-1 advantage with just over an hour played before a penalty from Jack Nolan after 76 minutes ensured a nervous end to proceedings.

As the game entered the ninth minute of second half injury time (no idea where that came from!), James Daly saw a ball out for a goal kick and thumped his chest screaming before the final whistle sounded and players dropped to their backs. They had given everything for three points which puts seven points between them and the relegation places.

On a day where all of the bottom four – with the exception of bottom club Truro City – lost and Sutton United, Aldershot Town and Eastleigh all dropped below them, this was a big result for the Glovers.

First half

The first real chance of the game led to an opening goal for the Glovers courtesy of midfielder Brett McGAVIN after ten minutes. From fully 25 yards out, he found space to take a shot from range and his effort hit the inside of the post and Morecambe keeper Jamal Blackman on its way in to the net. A slice of good fortune maybe, but it’s what happens when you have a shot.

Morecambe keeper Jamal Blackman can’t believe his misfortune. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

A good work from Terrell Works after 23 minutes saw him play it to James Daly down the left who fired a cross in to the area but there was no-one there to do anything with it, before Yann Songo’o tried an acrobatic effort to turn a Jack Nolan free-kick towards goal, only for it to be blocked by the Yeovil defence.

But, with ten minutes of the first half remaining, the visitors equalised. A well-worked corner from Morecambe saw them move it past a sleepy Yeovil defence and it fell to the experienced Gwion EDWARDS whose effort deflected through a Yeovil players’ legs and in to the net.
McGavin had a free kick deflected for a corner, Troy Perrett put one in to the side netting, but there was nothing which constituted a meaningful effort on Blackman’s goal as 45 minutes of attacking the Thatcher’s End – which included owner Prabhu Srinivasan – came to nothing more. Level at the break.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Morecambe 1

Second half

The first half had lacked too much in the way of quality from either side, but a nice combination between Works and Perrett led to the Cardiff City loanee having a low effort stopped by Blackman just five minutes in to the second half.

A minute later, there was a shout for a penalty for the home side when Terrell Works went to the floor as he attempted to turn home a rebound after Ryan Jones’ effort was well-saved. Not given, but it was better for Yeovil.

With 54 minutes played, Yeovil boss Billy Rowley introduced new loan signing Delano McCoy-Splatt (are we going for DM-S?) in to the midfield replacing Perrett. The AFC Wimbledon youngster’s first touch in green-and-white saw him find Works with a nice long ball.

Then on 58 minutes the both DM-S and Works, who had played together in the Fulham academy, were at the heart of a second goal. Initially it was Josh Sims who kept the ball in play, picked out DM-S who worked well with his fellow loanee before playing an excellent through ball to Works on the right of the box and he picked out James DALY who still had a lot of work to do and did it superbly to smash Yeovil back in to the lead.

But anything Daly can do, Ryan JONES can do better. The winger’s corner was cleared and worked back out to him on the right wing, he worked it inside and from just inside the penalty area unleashed a thunderous low effort which screamed in to the corner. 3-1 with 62 minutes played and some vital breathing space.

Ryan Jones celebrates Yeovil’s third. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

McCoy-Splatt and Works continued to link up well and there was plenty of fighting spirit on show from those in green-and-white with no shortage of full-blooded tackles against a Morecambe side who need the points for their own battle to get out of the drop zone.

Huish Park was in good voice with the home supporters more than playing their part to drive their team on. Then with 76 minutes on the clock, Paul Lewis went down after feeling contact from McGavin on the edge of the box and Jack NOLAN fired home a penalty to leave more than a hint of nerves around the stadium.
The biggest groan inside Huish Park (probably) came when the fourth official held up the board to indicate nine minutes of squeaky bum time. Two minutes in to the nine, Jed Ward had to move his feet quickly to deny Morecambe substitute Ben Tollitt whose cross-come-shot almost caught the keeper out, but he managed to push it out for a corner.
Come the final whistle, many of those in green-and-white collapsed on their backs having put in a huge shift to pick up a vital three points on a day when everything else went right for them at the foot of the table. Massive effort, massive win.

Full time: Yeovil Town 3 Morecambe 2

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 21st March, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Brett McGavin 10 (1-0), Gwion Edwards 34 (1-1), James Daly 58 (2-1), Ryan Jones 62 (3-1), Jack Nolan pen 76 (3-2)

Pitch: You’re almost there, just hang on a little longer!
Conditions: Absolutely glorious

Attendance: 2,715 (66 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: None
Morecambe: Lewis Payne 36, Paul Lewis 39, Ben Tollitt 90+6

Referee: Aaron Farmer

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Delano McCoy-Splatt (for Troy Perrett, 53), Alex Whittle (for Terrell Works, 67), Harvey Greenslade (for Ryan Jones, XX), Millar Matthews-Miller,  Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Morecambe: Jamal Blackman, Kyle Jameson (for Miguel Azeez, 68), Harlee Dean, Liam Hogan, Lewis Payne, Paul Lewis (for Ben Tollitt, 87), Yann Songo’o (for Ben Williams, 68), Mo Sangare (for Dan Ogwuru, 77), Gwion Edwards (for Joe Nuttall, 87), Jack Nolan, Chris Popov.

Substitutes (not used): Tim Akindileni, Miles Boney, Jake Cain.