Ben Barrett (Page 22)

An injury time equaliser saw Yeovil Town snatch a point from the jaws of victory as high-flying Forest Green Rovers nicked a point at Huish Park.

It was former Glovers’ loanee Ryan Inniss, who scored a late, late winner in the reverse fixture in Gloucestershire on New Year’s Day, who was there to stab home after a late corner was headed goalwards by substitute Joe Quigley.

The result was a harsh reflection on another impressive performance from Yeovil against one of the division top sides. They took the lead when Sonny Blu Lo-Everton continued his good goal-scoring form after 24 minutes and thoroughly deserved their half-time lead.

They continued to dominate in the second half, but a flurry of substitutions which saw former Glovers Tom Knowles and Quigley both come off an expensively-assembled bench shifted the momentum of the game and Inniss struck late to grab a point.

First half

Yeovil were without captain Jake Wannell, who was not in the squad, and defender Michael Smith, who dropped to the substitutes’ bench with former Forest Green man Dom Bernard filling in on the right side of a back four. Harvey Greenslade came in for his first start in a month-an

The first chance came after just three minutes after Dom Bernard lost the ball down the left and the ball found its way out to Christian Doidge who headed it back in to Harry Cardwell, but he could not get any connection on the ball and it landed safely in to the gloves of Aidan Stone.

In the tenth minute, a great move forward by Sonny Blu Lo-Everton brought the ball forward, he laid it off to Harvey Greenslade whose low cross in to the box was sliced over the bar by ex-Glovers loanee Ryan Inniss for a corner. Soon after a short corner was clipped in to the area where Morgan Williams met it with a header at the back post which went wide.

With 20 minutes gone, Ben Tozer’s foul on Greenslade gave Yeovil, Lo-Everton’s ball in was helped back in by Harry Kite and found it through to Ciaran McGuckin who turned brilliantly but a superb tackle from Sean Long denied him. It is all Yeovil at the moment.

That pressure paid as Yeovil took the lead in the 24th minute – and it was that man Sonny Blu LO-EVERTON again. Good play down the left by Kite saw him play in his midfield colleague inside the box, Sonny took a great first touch to control it and struck it coolly past Ted Cann in the visitors’ goal.

Harvey Greenslade came close to doubling the advantage when he had a shot from 20 yards out which fizzed just past the post, and from the resulting goal kick Forest Green made a mess of it and Greenslade’s persistence saw him get an opportunity inside the box to fire a shot past Cann but Inniss was on the line to clear it. 

The next opportunity for Yeovil came following a massive goalmouth scramble after Lo-Everton’s free-kick in to the box was headed in to the danger area by Finn Cousin-Dawson and a chaos ensued. Eventually it broke to Frankie Terry (I think) whose effort looked to be cleared on the line. Big “handball” appeal from the Thatcher’s End.

Yeovil were by far the better side and will perhaps be disappointed to only go in to the half-time break only one goal to the good. But they thoroughly deserved their advantage.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Forest Green Rovers 0

Second half

Ciaran McGuckin had a strong appeal for a penalty ten minutes in to the second half. Josh Sims’ ball in to the box found McGuckin who appeared to be clipped by Tozer. McGuckin had the goal gaping and had no reason to do anything other than go for goal. Rule 1.

On 66 minutes, a foul about as close to the edge of the penalty area as you can get gave Lo-Everton another opportunity to have a go at goal. He got his free-kick over the defensive wall, but also just over the angle of post and bar.

Immediately after there was a pre-season-esque flurry of substitutes for both sides. The three from Yeovil saw Marcel Lavinier, Charlie Cooper and Otis Khan replace Harry Kite, Morgan Williams and Josh Sims.

The visitors made four changes with former Glovers Tom Knowles and Joe Quigley among them alongside Jordan Garrick and Teddy Jenks the other replacements.

The changes definitely increased the threat for the visitors and with ten minutes remaining a ball in from the right came to Knowles at the back post, he played it back across a completely unguarded net, but there was no-one there to turn get there and Bernard cleared it out for a corner.

Kyrell Wilson replaced McGuckin after 84 minutes and five minutes later the Swansea City loanee had a shot superbly blocked inside the area after great work for Lavinier.

With one minute of second half injury time played, the visitors grabbed a late equaliser. A corner was met by the head of Quigley and Ryan INNISS was there to stab it home at the back post. The former Glovers’ loanee ‘had a word’ with some Yeovil fans in the Thatchers’ Stand as he celebrated a second late goal against his old employers – having done exactly the same time at the New Lawn back on New Year’s Day.

The substitutes definitely rescued Forest Green, but Mark Cooper will take heart from another impressive performance against one of the division’s highest-ranked sides.

Substitutes:  Marcel Lavinier (for Harry Kite, 67), Charlie Cooper (for Morgan Williams, 67), Otis Khan (for Josh Sims, 69), Kyrrel Wilson (for Ciaran McGuckin, 84), Michael Smith (not used), Lewys Twamley (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Forest Green Rovers: Ted Cann, Long, Ben Tozer (for Joe Quigley, 68), Ryan Inniss, Emmanuel Osadebe (for Teddy Jenks, 68), Kyle McAllister, Charlie McCann, Christian Doidge (for Jordan Garrick, 68), Jamie Robson (for Brandon Fleming, 75), Adam May, Harry Cardwell (for Tom Knowles, 68).
Substitutes (not used)  Liam Sercombe, Harry Bunker.