Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper was satisfied with a point from the opening day stalemate against Hartlepool United at Huish Park.

The Glovers put in an improved performance in the second half after a drab opening 45 minutes and had a great chance to win it through substitute striker Ben Wodskou with seven minutes remaining.

Cooper said the arrival of Wodskou and fellow forwards Junior Morias and Tahvon Campbell brought added life to his side, but was pleased with the solidity his side showed to keep a clean sheet.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah after the match, he said: “Last year we would have lost that game. I think you saw the impetus the forwards (Junior Morias, Tahvon Campbell and Ben Wodskou) brought when they came on and we kept it solid behind the ball and had some good chances. You saw Junior and Tav’s quality when he came on and Ben had a great chance, they gave us a lift when they came on. 

“When you look at our bench, we have people who are going to improve us or not make us worse and that has not always been the case. It was a cagey first game of the season, players getting their breath but it was important we did not lose. The fans kept going, they got behind the boys brilliantly and we need to keep that spirit among the club.”

The opening 45 minutes belonged to the visitors, who ran out 1-0 winners at Huish Park on the opening day of last season, with Yeovil indebted to new goalkeeper Jed Ward, who has joined on a season-long loan from Bristol Rovers, to keep them in it.

Cooper gave four debuts in his starting line-up with Birmingham City youngster wing back Byron Pendleton and midfielders Luke McCormick and  James Daly named alongside Ward.

The manager said: “You could tell we have some new players and the first half was very scrappy and we never really got going, but our back three and our two midfield players looked really solid which they have to do. We waited for the forwards to spark which they did in the second half when we looked more of a threat and we had some really good chances and looked like we would go on and win it. But if you are not going to win the first game, you do not want to be beaten and we will take a point and move on.”

The next test sees Yeovil travel to big-spending Forest Green Rovers who picked up a point of their own on the road at Solihull Moors on the opening day. The Gloucestershire outfit, now managed by footballing gobshite Robbie Savage, played against ten men after Solihull’s Darius Lipsiuc was sent off after just six minutes. 

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said his side will line-up with a three central defenders for today’s opening National League fixture of the season against Hartlepool United at Huish Park today.

Captain Jake Wannell, Morgan Williams and Alex Whittle will make up that defensive trio with on loan Birmingham City wing back Byron Pendleton and summer signing James Daly playing as wingers or wing backs depending how you want to see it.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of kick-off at Huish Park, the manager spoke about the line-up, he said: “Like it has done in most of pre-season, it is Whittle, Wannell Williams which on paper is a good back three with a bit of height and a bit of pace there and plenty of tenacity and no little ability on the ball. We have Byron (Pendleton) on one wing and James Daly on the other, I don’t think there will be any quicker wingers in the league than those two today.

“We want to try and be a little bit more solid on the first game of the season, we have got quite an expansive front five with the two wingers (Pendleton and Daly) and the two number tens in Luke McCormick and Josh Sims and Jarvis (up top). So we feel it is important the back three and the two midfield players (Charlie Cooper and Finn Cousin-Dawson) are solid. Brett (McGavin, who is on the substitutes’ bench) picked up a little niggle a few weeks ago so he is, in my opinion, a week undercooked, so we have good options.”

Both strikers Junior Morias and Tahvon Campbell are also on the bench for the curtain raiser. Campbell has suffered with a knee problem in pre-season and Morias, whose signing was announced during the week, has not had a full pre-season.

Cooper said: “Tahvon and Junior are still catching up. Tav has missed two weeks of training and Junior only joined us at the start of the week and due to his wife having complications with a pregnancy he has not done loads of training, so we have to be careful with him. But they are definitely have good options off the bench.

“I said at the start of pre-season that we wanted everyone through pre-season and available for the first game and we have done that. I said we might be 90% fit but everybody is fit and we can grow in to the rest and try and use our bench and try and keep away from as many injuries as we can. So to have everybody fit is testimony to the staff and medical team that we have got them through safely.”

Hartlepool have named a number of their summer signings in their starting XI including strikers Alex Reid, who Cooper revealed he tried to sign last season, and Danny Johnson.

Cooper added: “You can judge them on the quality of players they have brought in. They brought Alex Reid in, who we tried to sign last year but he did not want to move, they have Danny Johnson in from Walsall who is a proven goalscorer and throughout the team they have lots of new signings with quality. So they have been backed in the summer and we are expecting a tough game.”

One other new arrival at the North East club is manager Simon Grayson, who is yet to lose a game against Yeovil in his managerial career. The former Preston North End and Blackpool boss arrived at the club in June having been managing in India and Nepal in recent years.

Cooper said: “It is good to see him back, I have known him a long time, he is a Leeds fan as well so he is back from his exploits in Nepal and India and looking forward to the challenge.”

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his summer recruitment has been intended to add goals and creativity to his squad.

The Glovers get their National League Premier Division campaign underway with a home game against Hartlepool United on Saturday as they look to better their scoring record of 51 goals in 46 league matches last season.

In the past week, the manager added striker Junior Morias and trialist midfielder Luke McCormick to the permanent ranks and brought in young Birmingham City striker Ben Wodskou on a season-long loan deal.

They followed the arrivals of permanent signings defender Kyle Ferguson, winger James Daly and striker Tahvon Campbell and loanees defender Byron Pendleton and goalkeeper Jed Ward.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Thursday, Cooper said: “Because it was a protracted takeover which took some time (completing at the end of May), we did not know what we were doing until the middle of June which put us behind quite a long way so we had a late set-up in terms of recruitment, but we are there now and it has been a long summer.

“We spoke a lot about whether we scored enough goals or created enough chances (last season) compared to the year before and the answer was ‘probably not’, so we have tried to address that and stack the forward areas with players gives us the best chance and create more goals with the money we have available.”

Morias, 30, was the final addition announced on Tuesday following his release by League Two side at the end of last season. He arrives with a record of scoring 30 goals in 96 appearances at National League level and having played at League level with Peterborough United, Northampton Town and Notts County.

Last season he had two loan spells at this level at Dagenham & Redbridge (6 goals in 19 appearances) and Woking (2 goals in seven appearances).

Speaking about the striker, Cooper said: “We needed somebody with a decent goal-scoring record in the National League. He became available a couple of weeks ago, he has had some issues with his wife being pregnant, so he did not join (pre-season training) until this week. He has a history of scoring goals at the level and hopefully we can get him fit and give him those chances (to score), I am sure he will take plenty of them.”

Goalkeeper Ward, who has joined from League Two Bristol Rovers on a season long-loan, was brought in following the mutual decision to end Aidan Stone’s contract at Huish Park. The keeper, who joined  in February, has subsequently signed for National League Premier Division newcomers Truro City.

Cooper said: “Aidan was a good professional and had been a good goalkeeper, but we felt we needed a fresh outlook on that, we needed someone who was going to make some saves and we had a chance to get Jed. Once we knew we had a chance, we had to go and do it. Pre-season is pre-season, it means nothing, but I have seen a general calmness to his play and his general demeanour and I think that is important for a goalkeeper. We will see how he goes at the start of the season, but I have been impressed so far.”

One of the new arrivals who has excited Glovers’ fans is former Birmingham Under-21s captain, Pendleton. The 18-year-old wing-back has impressed with his attacking player in the pre-season friendlies against Bristol Rovers and Weston-super-Mare.

The manager added: “When I spoke to the fans after the takeover, we said that our recruitment was going to be late and we wanted to use the money we had available to get as much quality in as we could and try and bulk the squad out with two or three loans. We had our eye on Byron and we were not convinced we would get him, I have a decent relationship with Birmingham and they asked if he could come down so we could have a look at him in one of the (pre-season friendly) games. So he came down and played really well (in the 2-1 defeat against Bristol Rovers) and we signed him as quick as we could on a season-long loan. He has got terrific pace, he is very good going forward, he is a young lad and he is going to make mistakes, but we just have to encourage him to get forward and get balls in the box which is his forte.”