David Coates (Page 186)

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The youth teams of the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust picked up four wins in their opening round of Junior Premier League on Saturday.

The Trust’s Under-11s, Under-12s, Under-13s and Under-14s sides all won in their opening fixtures, but the Under-15s and Under-16s went down to defeats.

The Trust does not publish scorelines – that’s not what it’s about at that age – but did confirm their sides scored 28 goals across their six matches – a pretty good average.

 

 

 

 

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Yeovil Town Under-18s suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Bridgwater United Academy in their second game of the new South West Counties League on Saturday.

Trailing 2-0, Jonny Lye scored a late goal to give the young Glovers a chance in the match at Alvington, but a late third from the visitors put the game beyond Yeovil.

Yeovil Town: William Armstrong, Callum Deemer, Max Dyer, Jake Graziano, Ollie Haste, Joshua John, Jonny Lye, Darren Mcalastair, Benjani Junior Mwaruwari, Callum Smalley, Fin Skiverton. Substitutes: Mason Alden, Korey Andrews, Samuel Hodges, Robert Holland, Joshua Sutton.

 

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Venue: Edgeley Park
Saturday, September 11 2021, 3pm kick-off.

Conditions: Dry but dull
Ground: Fine

Scorers: Wakefield 26 (1-0), Quigley pen 53 (2-0), Yussuf 86 (3-0)

Attendance: 5,231 (207 away fans)

Referee: Scott Jackson

Bookings:
Yeovil: Knowles 8, Gorman 78, Smith 79
Stockport County: None

Sendings off:
Yeovil: None
Stockport County: Palmer, 52

Yeovil Town : (4-4-1-1)
Grant Smith
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Luke Wilkinson, Jordan Barnett
Charlie Wakefield, Dale Gorman, Josh Staunton, Tom Knowles
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Joe Quigley

Subs: Alex Bradley (for Knowles, 76), Adi Yussuf (for Lo-Everton, 81), Toby Stephens (for Wakefield, 89) (for Wilkinson, 28), Max Evans (not used), Morgan Williams (not used).

Stockport County: Hinchcliffe, Hogan, Palmer, Barclay (for Fryers, 46), Southam-Hales, Rooney, Whitfield, Raikhy (for Walker, 32), Croasdale, Madden, Reid (for Dünnwald-Turan,66).
Substitutes (not used): Collar, Ross.

Summary

A complete performance saw Yeovil Town pull off the result of the as they cruised to a 3-0 win at one of the National League’s promotion favourites Stockport County.

Charlie Wakefield opened the scoring after 26 minutes before a second half penalty from Joe Quigley which led to the dismissal of defender Ash Palmer and a late third from substitute Adi Yussuf sealed the victory.

The performance was unquestionably the Glovers’ best of the season so far and one manager Darren Sarll described as “right up there” in the best during his time in charge.

It can be said that the expensively assembled Stockport side, boasting the likes of Paddy Madden, Ben Whitfield, John Rooney and last season’s top-scorer Alex Reid, did not look like a side worthy of their lofty credentials, credit must go to the visitors for nullifying their hosts.

Here’s how David Coates saw it from the away end…..

 

FIRST HALF

For the second weekend in a row, Darren Sarll was able to named an unchanged starting XI as he went with the same team that won 1-0 at home to FC Halifax Town seven days earlier.

We had been told to expect a Stockport side which dominated possession but did very little with it and that was how it proved to be with nothing that threatened the visitors’ back four of Moss, Hunt, Wilkinson and Barnett.

The game’s first meaningful opportunity fell to Wakefield who linked up with Sonny Blu Lo-Everton who was playing in the number 10 role behind Quigley for the third consecutive match. That set Wakefield away but his effort was turned around the post by Ben Hinchcliffe in the Stockport goal.

Following a performance which rather passed him by against Halifax, this was a very different Lo-Everton with the Watford loanee added a little more robustness to his undoubted quality on the ball.

Perhaps with opponents more akin to himself, he was not subjected to the rough and tumble he may experience against less cultured midfielder, but there was plenty to like about his performance.

That sparked a spell of pressure with Madden, who found himself playing almost permanently in midfield looking for the ball in the first half, having to scramble a corner wide before Josh Staunton‘s header called Hinchcliffe back in to action.

So when WAKEFIELD open the scoring on 26 minutes, there was no doubt it was a well-deserved advantage. Strong play for Quigley saw him find Lo-Everton whose lovely side-footed pass picked out Wakefield arriving on the right of the area to smash a superb angled drive in to the far corner.

Dale Gorman forced a flying stop out of Hinchliffe soon after before Stockport boss Simon Rusk made a tactical change to try with Tom Walker replacing Arjan Raikhy, who joined from Premier League Aston Villa where in the summer where he was a highly-rated member of the academy.

The move was testament to the tactics of Rusk’s opposite number whose tactics driven by the disciplined performances of Staunton and Gorman nullified their expensively-assembled opponents.

Half-time: Stockport County 0 Yeovil Town 1

SECOND HALF

With expectation almost palpable around Edgeley Park, it was no surprise when the home side came out of for the second half strongly.
But, for their initial pressure, a header wide by last season’s top-scorer Alex Reid was all Stockport had to show for it.
Meanwhile, down the other end a long ball forward found Tom Knowles the wrong side of his marker Ash Palmer who dragged him to the ground, gifting Yeovil a penalty and receiving a red card for his troubles.
Who else but Joe QUIGLEY stepped up to send Hinchcliffe the wrong way from the penalty for his fifth goal in the club’s opening five games after 53 minutes.
Seven minutes later the big frontman could had added to his tally but pulled his shot wide. Cue the departure of some home supporters and audible dissention amongst the County faithful – we’d been told there might be.
Kenan Dünnwald-Turan, a loan signing from Scunthorpe United in the week, replaced Reid who’d spent much of his afternoon in Max Hunt’s back pocket, and soon after the German was bearing down on Grant Smith’s goal – only to drag his shot wide.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts still saw plenty of the ball yet did little with it until the 79th minute when a lapse by Jordan Barnett released Madden whose shot was turned away by Smith – arguably the only meaningful stop the keeper was forced in to all afternoon.
It was left to Adi YUSSUF to complete the scoring. Pressure from Staunton in midfielder forced the hosts in to an error which the striker, who had just come on as a substitute for Lo-Everton, latched on to and coolly slotted away his third.

As he and his team-mates celebrated in front of the 200 travelling supporters, the boos rang out around Edgeley Park.

Full time: Stockport County 0 Yeovil Town 3

 

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Striker Adi Yussuf is starting to find his fitness having arrived late in to the Yeovil Town squad, according to manager Darren Sarll.

The 29-year-old arrived at Huish Park less than a month ago and has appeared as a substitute in the Glovers’ opening three mtches.

He opened his goal-scoring account with the third in a 3-0 win at Stockport County on Saturday having replaced Sonny Blu Lo-Everton with nine minutes remaining.

Adi Yussuf.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking after the game, the manager said: “The third goal was all about Adi’s pace and power. We have to remember a lot of these younger players have had (much longer) to prepare and it does take players coming in later time to get up to speed.

“I have felt in the last couple of games that Adi has been a huge presence at a time when we have needed pace, power and directness which is obviously a nice contrast to Sonny (Blu Lo-Everton).”

The former Solihull Moors and  Wrexham man missed two good chances having come on as a second half substitute in the 1-0 home win over FC Halifax Town seven days earlier.

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Darren Sarll said his side’s performance in a 3-0 win at Stockport County was “right up there” during his time at the club.

The Yeovil Town boss heaped praised midfielders Dale Gorman and Josh Staunton and defender Max Hunt for their performances ay Edgeley Park.

Goals from Charlie Wakefield, a penalty from Joe Quigley and a late third from substitute Adi Yussuf wrapped up a comfortable win.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, the manager said: “I thought we were very good first half, tactically we were excellent and (Dale) Gorman and (Josh) Staunton orchestrated that performance, they were brilliant in midfield.

“We certainly deserved to be 1-0 to the good (at half-time) and we had a couple of good moments before that.

“Charlie (Wakefield) has tried to improve (the goal-scoring) part of his game in the past couple of weeks and then it was about ensuring our mentality was not to hold on for dear life.

“We were more like ‘let’s go and play again’ whilst being aware of tactical situations but let’s try and get another goal.”

Of Hunt’s performance, the boss added: “I thought he was incredible. I think at the end of last year a couple of teams will have looked at Max and thought ‘maybe we can get some change out of him here.’

“But today he was fearless, he was confident and his heading from set plays was amazing.”

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Dale Gorman.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Midfielder Dale Gorman says the performance in a 3-0 win away at Stockport County was down to the structure which has been drilled in to the team by its coaching staff.

The Northern Irishman, who joined from Glentoran in the summer, was at the heart of the performance against an expensively-assembled opposition, but insisted that he believes his team-mates can put in performances against any side.

Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Sheridan Robins after the game, he said: “I don’t think it matters who we were playing today, I think we won today because we were well-structured and everything we learnt (in training) in the week manifested itself well.

“My form comes from the staff, it is drilled in to us every day and when you win like we have today it makes it that bit sweeter.

“The staff have been drilling us since Day One, we look organised, we look fit and it is starting to show now game by game.

“We know the calibre of player that Stockport has, but it is about players like me and a few of the other players using our experience. I don’t think that fazed any of us and today we were bang on it.

“We showed today how good we are and how together we are and it is good to get another win.”

Gorman has struck up an impressive relationship with Josh Staunton in the middle of the park and said that his team-mates had made his integration in to the squad an easy one.

He said: “The changing room is one of the easiest I have walked in to, sometimes that can be quite tough for a player.

“But we have some good players and some experienced players and when you join all that together, you have seen what we can do as a team today.”

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Yeovil Town  name an unchanged starting XI for the second consecutive match as they prepare to take on Stockport County at Edgeley Park (3pm kick-off)

The same team, including substitutes, is the same as the one which beat FC Halifax Town last weekend.

For the home side, former Glovers Paddy Madden and Ben Whitfield are named in the starting XI.


Yeovil Town: Smith, Barnett, Wilkinson, Hunt,  Moss, Staunton, Gorman, Wakefield, Knowles, Lo-Everton, Quigley.  Subs: Evans, Bradley, Williams, Stephens, Yussuf.

Stockport County: Hinchcliffe,  Hogan, Palmer, Barclay, Southam-Hales, Rooney, Raikhy, Whitfield, Croasdale, Madden, Reid. Subs: Ross, Collar, Walker, Dunnwald-Turan, Fryers.

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The youth teams of the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust get their Junior Premier League seasons underway this weekend.

The Trust runs age groups from under-11s through to under-16s in the league with its two youngest age groups facing Juventus Devon – quite a name!

Good luck to all the teams in their season openers.

 

 

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We had a dream at the Gloverscast, well, when I say ‘we’ I mean the pun-tastic Ben Barrett had a dream that this weekend’s trip to Stockport County would be ‘El Quigleyco’.

A clash of footballing titans which sees the free-scoring Yeovil Town striker Joe Quigley face his name-sake Scott Quigley, one of the big money signings who has arrived at Edgeley Park over the summer.

S.Quigley was Barrow’s top-scorer when they won the National League title a couple of seasons ago and then repeated the trick in League Two with them last season.

However, the good news (see injury news a little further down the page) is that a hamstring injury picked up in a 1-0 win at Southend the other week means their Quigley is unlikely to be fit – extinguishing the El Quigleyco dream.

He’s far far from the only quality addition since we lost 1-0 to Stockport on the final game of last season  though.

In midfield, they have former Yeovil loanee winger Ben Whitefield who has joined from Torquay and Arjan Raikhy, a highly-rated youngster from Aston Villa, and at the back  they have signed Ben Barclay from League One Accrington Stanley and Will Fish, who was previously under-23s captain at a club called Manchester United, who some of you may have heard of.

As Russ from County podcast ‘The Scarf Begara Wore‘ told us on the latest Gloverscast there’s an embarrassment of riches at Edgeley Park, yet the victory at Southend in their only one of the season so far.

An opening day defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge, coupled with 0-0 draws against Grimsby Town and Boreham Wood mean our hosts find themselves in 14th place going in to the weekend – we’re in tenth, incidentally.

Russ said: “If you are confident and your fans get behind the time, if it does not go well for us, you will hear the natives getting restless.

“It’s a mixture of everything, we finished last season going 18 unbeaten but drew the most games of any team in the division and we don’t seem to have learnt any lessons.”

A genuine case of being a 12th man for anyone travelling to Edgeley Park – you know what you need to do.

 

FROM THE MANAGER

Stockport manager Simon Rusk is a friend of Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll and believes the visitors to Edgeley Park have enough to “cause anyone a problem on their day.”

He said: “Darren is an experienced manager who understands this level and the type of player he has recruited is enough to cause anyone a problem on their day.

“I’m expecting a tough game, they will be well-organised, they have a good set up and a good staff including people I know.

“Their team is in a good place in terms of confidence (after two wins) I’m sure but they are coming to our ground.

“We have some excellent players that can cause anyone problems and we have to be as organised and as disciplined as we have been and do what we know we can do going forward.”

Asked about the frustration of only scoring twice in their opening four fixtures despite having an expensively assembled forward line including Paddy Madden, Alex Reid, and John Rooney, Rusk said he was confident they would come good.

He said: “Although we are not firing on all cylinders, we are not far away, we limited Grimsby to virtually nothing and at Boreham Wood. We have to keep plugging away and I am confident we can find a way.”

TEAM NEWS

Star signing striker Scott Quigley seems certain be missing for the weekend having picked up a hamstring injury in a 1-0 defeat at Southend the other week.

However, goalkeeper Ben Hinchcliffe is likely to return after suffering a nose injury in the goalless draw at Boreham Wood last weekend.

Long term injury victim left back Mark Kitching played 45 minutes in midweek having not played since picking up an injury in February. However, boss Simon Rusk said he had no plans to rush him back in to action.

Of injuries, the manager added: “We are not in a place we want to be (with injuries) but people are making progress, we came out of last weekend’s game with one or two knocks, so we have to wait and see on a few.

“It’s a bit uncertain with a few of them, but it’s good news with Mark Kitching stepping up his recovery and being part of training.

“We have to make sure we are not throwing him in to a situation which he is not ready for, he’s not far away but he still has a bit to go.”

 

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

If you don’t know the answer to this one – where have you been?! Mr Patrick Madden is a centre forward presently earning his trade at Stockport, having written his name in to footballing folklore in South Somerset.

24 goals in 42 games for the Glovers on the way to promotion to the Championship in the 2012-13 season – including a decent hit in the play-off final at Wembley that year – guarantee the Irishman a good reception from the travelling support.

However, there are many other player links between the two clubs. Winger Ben Whitfield is one we’ve already mentioned and seems likely to start on Saturday, whilst now-FC Halifax Town midfielder Matt Warburton who was at Huish Park last season is a hero at Edgeley Park for his time at Stockport in the National League North.

Then, in no particular order, other players who have a foot in both camps include:

  • Phil Jevons
  • David Poole
  • Andy Welsh
  • Joe Edwards

There’s probably more, but that’s enough to be getting on with.

If you are making the trip to Greater Manchester (or is it Cheshire?) then the advice from Stockport is that you buy your tickets in advance at there will be queues at the ticket office on the day.

For full details on tickets, see here,and if you haven’t figured out how you’re getting there you’ve left it a bit bloody late! But, details of the Green & White Supporters’ Club transport is here – you might get on….if you’re lucky.

If you fancy a bit of background about what to expect from Edgeley Park, don’t miss our Ciderspace Away Travel Guide which should bring you all you need, see here.

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Talk about potential new owners at Huish Park is unsettling for the club’s players, according to manager Darren Sarll.

The boss was asked about the statement issued by the Glovers’ Trust saying that two consortiums were in talks about buying the club ahead of the trip to Stockport County.

Speaking at his weekly press conference, Sarll said he had been made aware of the statement but was “not privy to anything” about the details of the discussions.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He said: “It has absolutely nothing to do with me, all I can say is it does not help the players.

“The first thing they were talking about especially on Tuesday was that and then they start thinking about ‘what if that happens?’

“Whilst they are thinking about all those permutations they are not thinking about football.

“I can control lots of things, but I can’t control these things.

“I want to enjoy my football this year and working with a group of people who are as ambitious and as focused as I am.

“The rest is down to the business owner and at the moment that is (current Chairman) Scott Priestnall and whatever happens, happens.”

In a statement issued earlier in the week, the Glovers’ Trust said it has been speaking with a consortium is “in the latter part of negotiations” around a takeover with a second group is also “at an advanced stage.”