David Coates (Page 2)

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Yeovil Town got another big three points on the board courtesy of goals from Terrell Works and another from James Daly to pick up a win at Wealdstone.

The Glovers’ performance was all the more impressive as we played the final 40 minutes of the game with ten men after Cardiff City loanee Troy Perrett was red carded.

There are now nine points between us and the relegation places at the foot of the National League Premier Division and just three from the top half of the table.

First half

With an eye on their FA Trophy semi-final at the weekend, Wealdstone made seven changes to their starting XI whilst Yeovil kept their line-up changed from the 3-2 home win over Morecambe on Saturday. The only change came on the bench where young midfielder Ollie Hughes was missing with the Glovers naming just six substitutes.

But if anyone thought the changes would mean a slow start from the home side, they were proven wrong within seconds as Wealdstone had two half-chances on the Yeovil goal within the opening seconds.

Then in the second minute former Glover Olufela Olomola had an effort well blocked by Joy Mukena and at the other end a good ball through to Terrell Works set James Daly through and his shot across goal was well saved by Dante Baptiste in the Stones’ goal.

Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.

Yeovil looking to be more considered when they have the ball against their more fast and furious opponents. With ten minutes gone, Jake Wannell found himself on the edge of the box and he dragged a shot wide.

Five minutes later, Sims created a great opening having been played into the box by Troy Perrett, Sims pulled off a great bit of skill to beat his defender but his effort flew past just past the post. The best opening either side have created in the opening 15 minutes. We are starting to take the game to Wealdstone after the hosts’ frenetic start, plenty of energy and attacking purpose.

On the 23rd minute, Yeovil had the ball in the net as Brett McGavin’s corner found its way to a crowd of heads and the ball went in to the net. Referee George Laflin seemed to point to the centre circle before deciding it was a foul on Baptiste. The keeper will be breathing a sigh of relief as he looked weak from that one.

The next opportunity came just before the half-hour mark when a beautifully weighted ball from Works found Daly running forward, he lifted it but a Wealdstone defender got a foot to it and turned it away for a corner.

Yeovil were in the ascendancy and on 38 minutes they took the lead. Ryan Jones did superbly to nick the ball off a Wealdstone player, burst forward and fed it in to Terrell WORKS who showed some great footwork to fire in to the net. A great move and a great finish and thoroughly deserved it. This first half performance could not be more different to the opening 45 minutes at Woking seven days earlier.

Nice one, Terrell, nice one, son…..

Half time: Wealdstone 0 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

Wealdstone came out brighter in the second half and you felt the next goal was going to be crucial – and it came for Yeovil just three minutes after the restart. A ball over the top towards James DALY on the right wing saw the in-form frontman have a great first touch, beat his defender and slot it under the keeper.

He’s done it again. James Daly celebrates his seventh goal of the season.

But, just when you thought this was going to be an easy night, Perrett was given his marching orders. The Cardiff City loanee challenged for a high ball with Connor McAvoy and referee Laflin saw it as malicious and got his red card straight out. One can only assume the referee felt Perrett led with an elbow, but interestingly assistant Anastasiya Voloshchuk did not put her flag up and the referee did not talk to her. Either way, we are down to ten men for the rest of this.

On 53 minutes, there was a great opportunity for Olomola who was found on his own inside the box by a ball forward from Enzio Boldewijn, but his header was high over the bar.

A double change for Yeovil with Alex Whittle and Delano McCoy-Splatt coming on for Josh Sims and Terrell Works with 55 minutes on the clock. Billy Rowley looking to shore it up as we have a numerical disadvantage. Five minutes later, Wealdstone responded with a quadruple change, presumably these are their more regular starters sensing blood.

On 70 minutes, Olomola was in the thick of it against his old employers again. Cook’s ball in was deflected in to the path of the striker and Jed Ward did well to go down bravely to turn it out for a corner.

Olomola had another opportunity turned over three minutes later and from the resulting corner Yeovil had to defend well to get it away. Wealdstone are knocking on the door and we are going to have to be focused and organised to keep them out. It is one-way traffic and a big test of our resolve.

Wealdstone have been going for it ever since the red card and Baptiste is out to the centre circle to get it forward. But it took until a minute from normal time for the next chance, great footwork from substitute Terrell Agyemang whose effort just crept the wrong side of the post for him.

From the resulting corner, Daly made a typical lung-busting run as he got on the end of McCoy-Splatt’s ball and burst in to space, rounded Baptiste only for Boldewijn to get back and deny him. What a run from that man Daly in the final minute of normal time. Immediately after McCoy-Splatt was replaced by Harvey Greenslade.

Delano McCoy-Splatt is not sure why he has been subbed.

Five minutes in to the nine added on, a breath-taking bit of skill from Jones who spun past two Wealdstone players and put a ball forward to Greenslade to chase one in to the corner. It’s been mostly defending for Yeovil here, but those were two great moments.

Those were two very different halves. The first was full of effort and attacking play, but we had to dig deep for much of that second half with ten men. Clean sheet and three points. Real character.

Full time: Wealdstone 0 Yeovil Town 2

Match Details

Venue: Grosvenor Vale
Date: Wednesday 25th March, 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Terrell Works 38 (1-0), James Daly 48 (2-0)

Pitch: Plenty of slope, but plenty of grass as well
Conditions: To put it mildly (no pun intended), it’s on the chilly side

Attendance: 1,165 (135 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 82
Wealdstone: Dominic Hutchinson 81

Sendings off:

Yeovil Town: Troy Perrett 50
Wealdstone: None

Referee: George Laflin

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Alex Whittle (for Josh Sims, 56), Delano McCoy-Splatt (for Terrell Works, 56), Harvey Greenslade (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 90), Jaydon Biss (not used), Millar Matthews-Lewis (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Wealdstone: Dante Baptiste, Mason Barrett (for Jack Cook, 62), Connor McAvoy (for Michael Adu-Poku, 77), Junior Tiensia, Enzio Boldewijn, Jack Wells-Morrison (for Terrell Agyemang, 62), Jack Hinchy (for Shay Spencer 62), Dylan Kadji, Dominic Hutchinson, Olufela Olomola, Sean Adarkwa (for Micah Obiero, 62).

Substitutes (not used): Endurance Johnson, Charlie Waller.

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Yeovil Town have named an unchanged line-up from Saturday’s 3-2 home win over Morecambe for tonight’s visit to Wealdstone (7.45pm kick-off).

The only change comes on the substitutes’ bench where Under-18s’ midfielder Ollie Hughes is missing with the Glovers only naming six subs.

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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.

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The roller-coaster season took yet another dip as defeat at Woking last night put Yeovil Town fans’ stomachs in their throats. Ollie Marsh was among the almost 500 who turned out for the rearranged midweek fixture in Surrey and here are his thoughts.

You know what I’m going to say don’t you? The ‘some halves maybe good, some halves maybe s***’ trend continued, albeit in reverse to Saturday’s defeat at Boston. This time we got the rubbish half out the way first, and marginally improved in the second – and it was at least encouraging to see us come out after the break with a bit of spark. Unfortunately, that 15 minute spell of pressure and a late surge failed to create any clear cut chances of note.

Second half action inside the Woking area. Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.

These players don’t look like they’re standing up to be counted. We’ve now entered the final ten games left of the season, and you’d hope for players to be raising their levels – whether that’s for the club’s position, or for their own Yeovil Town careers. There are a few individuals who can come out of last night with a modicum of credit in that regard, but there are also so many members of our team that simply aren’t showing what you’d want to see from the players in their roles.

Billy’s post-match interview didn’t make for pleasant listening. Our gaffer criticised the mentality of the team, urging them to “show some passion.” I’ll be honest, I haven’t noticed a complete lack of effort or commitment from the group – as they have been throughout this season, they look simply unfit and low on confidence rather than not trying. But a group of professional footballers playing in front of 400+ fans who have travelled on a Tuesday night shouldn’t have to be reminded at half time to “give their all.”

Screenshot

Millar Matthews-Lewis, the floor is yours. With Aaron Jarvis now missing two games through suspension thanks to a tenth yellow card – and it was a bit of a silly booking to pick up in truth – we’ll surely be seeing a bit more of our new man against Morecambe on Saturday. It’s partly for this reason that I was surprised he wasn’t introduced earlier last night, instead being brought on with just six minutes of normal time remaining. In his limited game time – he also got 12 minutes against Boston – MML has at least shown he’s capable of getting in good positions, and has held the ball up well on a couple of occasions.

With this defence, we’ll do well to keep the Shrimps out. Morecambe have scored 17 goals in their last six games, and that fills me with dread. Woking cut us open incredibly easily last night, destroying us in the channels without really having to do too much. Our back line will have to be far more resolute at Huish Park this weekend, in what could be a season-defining clash. A win is almost essential and could see us rise enough places in the table to quell the nerves. Lose, and I fear an impending sense of doom could loom over us…

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley called on his players to show “passion” after a 1-0 defeat at Woking pushed them just four points from the National League Premier Division relegation zone.

The Glovers’ boss described his side’s performance as “terrible” in the first half in Surrey and they went in to the break fortunate to only be 1-0 down to Harry Beautyman’s strike on 30 minutes, but there were signs of improvement after the break.

Two of the teams below them in the division picked up points with Gateshead continuing their renaissance with a 1-0 win over Wealdstone and Brackley Town, who sit below Yeovil in the table, picking up a point at home to Solihull Moors. The result performance and league position all make Saturday’s home match with Morecambe a crucial one.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the match, an obviously angry Rowley said: “We can’t seem to play two good halves in one week. We deserved to be losing at half-time, probably deserved a draw for our performance in the second half. The words at half-time were ‘show some passion’, we are very privileged to be in professional sport and some of these lads have been working hard since they were five years old to be playing for a club like Yeovil, and I can’t wrap my head around any professional athlete not turning up and giving their all. If you do that, you will have half a chance, so our words were to run around a little bit more and fight a little bit more.”

Yeovil Town’s pre-match huddle at Woking.

Having gone in behind at the break, Yeovil showed the type of desire and intent which was lacking in the first half from the start of the second half. Midfielder Brett McGavin’s free-kick eight minutes from time was kept out by a fantastic stop from Woking keeper Will Jaaskelainen as the visitors drew a blank in front of goal.

Rowley concluded: “We should have scored a couple of goals tonight, no doubt, we should have a two or a three next to our name on that scoreboard, not a zero. But that is the story of our season, isn’t it? We have not scored enough goals, we start games slow or start fast and then come out for the second half slow, so it is a recurring theme which we have to address because it is the same thing every week and it has probably been the same thing all season.

“It is down to mentality, psychology in sport is huge, confidence, tapping in to what motivates you and understanding what it means to be a professional athlete, fight hard and run for every ball. If you don’t do that, you lose games, and that is the minimum requirement to play for a club like this. You have to run and fight hard every minute of the game and, if you do that, you will have half-a-chance and if you don’t, you lose.”

The defeat, the Glovers third in a row following the home loss to Scunthorpe United and last weekend’s defeat at Boston United, means that the visit of a Morecambe side who remain in the relegation zone – but are undefeated in their last three matches.

Rowley admits the Huish Park fixture is “another massive game” for the club and vowed that his players would “give everything for the badge” to claw the side away from the bottom four.

Speaking ahead of the game at Woking the boss was asked if he felt his side had enough to get out of trouble and insisted they did. Asked again after the game, he replied: “If we play like we did in the second half, yes. If we play like we did in the first half, we may as well throw the towel in now – so it is up to the lads what we do now. We are playing for a brilliant football club with fans that have travelled all this way to watch us. We rolled our sleeves up and put in a decent second half and showed that we can be the better team against a team which probably should be in the play-offs in Woking. I just need to understand why we can’t do that from the first minute, it’s a mentality thing which we need to understand and tap in to.

“There is definitely pressure on all of us, everybody associated with the club, I just want the kick-off on Saturday now. Let’s just go there and try and win the three points.”

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Another game of two halves saw Yeovil Town come away with nothing from Woking as a first half strike from Harry Beautyman sunk the Glovers in Surrey.

The home side were in total control during the first half and could have been ahead before Aaron Drewe cut in from the right flank to pick out the experienced Beautyman inside the area and he stroked his side in to the lead.

Yeovil came out for the second half showing an intensity and intent to go forward which had been lacking in the opening 45 minutes and caused problems for the opening 15 minutes. Perhaps the best chance came eight minutes from time when a thunderous free-kick from Brett McGavin was superbly denied by Will Jaaskelainen.

The gap to the National League Premier Division relegation places now stands at just four points, albeit with a game in hand over the five teams below Yeovil, with one of those sides, Morecambe, coming to Huish Park on Saturday for what feels like a real six pointer.

First half

There was a blow for Woking early on as they lost midfielder Roy Syla with an injury after just nine minutes. He was replaced by substitute Tim Akinola.

With ten minutes gone, Yeovil had a bit of good fortune when Brett McGavin handled on the edge of the area according to referee Richie Watkins, there were plenty in the Woking side who thought it could have been just inside. Jake Forster-Caskey bent one in and Jed Ward did what Jed Ward does and pulled off a great save to keep the chance out and push it away from danger.

Yeovil Town’s pre-match huddle at Woking. Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.

With 17 minutes, Aaron Jarvis, who only needed to get through this game without a booking to reset his four yellow cards, got a yellow card for tangling with Timi Odusina. That will see him miss the home game with Morecambe at the weekend.

Moments later, a ball in to the box and Harry Beautyman fired in a shot which the in-form Olly Sanderson tried to flick past Ward, but the keeper was able to collect it. Then Matthew Ward got past Josh Sims down the left side and the ball landed at the feet of Beautyman who fired over the bar. Another big let-off for Yeovil.

On 27 minutes, a beautiful ball from McGavin picked out Josh Sims in space down the right side and he flashed a shot across the face of goal where Jarvis could not quite get a touch. Good move from Yeovil, need to do more of that.

Despite that chance, the first half-an-hour had been Woking’s and they took the lead with 30 minutes on the clock. Aaron Drewe cut in from the right side with ease and picked out Harry BEAUTYMAN who was able to stroke it home with ease. Immediately after the goal, Yeovil boss Billy Rowley called his side over for some instructions.
The Glovers were being pulled apart in wide positions and just three minutes after they suffered on the right, they suffered on the left as Sanderson found space on the edge of the box and laid it back to Beautyman who pulled his effort wide. Another big chance. You just feel Woking are sensing blood here.
The half-time whistle was a relief to everyone in green-and-white. The first 15 minutes was a little more even, but Yeovil will be pleased it is only 1-0 to the home side. It could (should?) have been more and we have not asked enough questions in to the Woking back line.

Half time: Woking 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Was there a Rowley rocket at half-time? Whatever was said, Yeovil came out looking much brighter from the start. Two minutes after the restart former Card James Daly burst forward and looked to curl a shot in to the top corner, it took a deflection off two Woking defenders and Will Jaaskelainen had to stretch to tip it wide for a corner. From the resulting flag kick, the ball dropped to Jarvis inside the box but his effort went wide.

In the opening three minutes there was intensity, desire and intent to put the first half performance to shame. This is what we need more of. On 53 minutes, Woking showed that they still have plenty of threat. Joe Gbode got away down the left, cut inside and found Ward at the near post and he shot wide and three minutes later a corner flashed across the face of Jed Ward’s goal and mercifully there was no-one to turn it in at the back post.

Second half action inside the Woking area. Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.
With 65 minutes gone, Terrell Works replaced Harvey Greenslade, who had not really got in to the game. A bit of pace and trickery from the young Fulham loanee being looked to to try and re-inject the energy which had dropped a little after the first ten minutes.
On 68 minutes, Daly got a ball across the face of goal but neither Jarvis or Works looked like they were getting close to being in the position for a touch. You just get a feeling there is something else in this game – either an equaliser, or Woking will get a second goal to kill the contest.
Eight minutes from time, Works was brought down on the edge of the box in McGavin territory. That man stepped up and hammered in a fantastic shot which was matched by an equally fantastic shot from Jaaskelainen to push it out but neither Jarvis or Kyle Ferguson got get enough to turn home the rebound.
Millar Matthews-Lewis and Troy Perrett were thrown on in the closing stages. We need to just go for it and, in an effort to keep spirits high, someone (some weapon) in the away end let off a green pyro. Goodness me.
On two occasions, Terrell works showed the the pace and trickery which he was introduced to bring, but on both occasions he failed to find a team-mate. There was an agonising moment when McGavin’s free-kick was met by the head of Jarvis but flashed across the face of goal.
It was a much better performance in the second half than the first, the exact alternate of last weekend’s defeat at Boston. There was applause from the 436 fans who travelled to support their team at the final whistle, but it’s the same number of points heading back to Somerset.

Full time: Woking 1 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: Kingfield
Date: Tuesday 17th March, 7:45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Harry Beautyman 30 (0-1),

Pitch: “Alright, not great” – Billy Rowley, pre-match. He was being generous.
Conditions: Cold

Attendance: XXXX (436 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Aaron Jarvis 17, Jake Wannell 67, Alex Whittle 83
Woking: Tim Akinola 28, Aaron Drewe 82

Referee: Richie Watkins

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Terrell Works (for Harvey Greenslade, 65), Millar Matthews-Miller (for Alex Whittle, 83), Troy Perrett (for Kyle Ferguson, 90), Joy Mukena (not used), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Woking: Will Jaaskelainen, Aaron Drewe, Chinwike Okoli, Timi Odusina, Caleb Richards, Roy Syla (for Tim Akinola, 9), Jake Forster-Caskey (for Jamie Andrews, 46), Matt Ward (for Kian Pennant, 84), Olly Sanderson, Harry Beautyman (for Tunji Akinola, 68), Joseph Gbode (for Tariq Hinds, 84).

Substitutes (not used): Dale Gorman, Craig Ross.

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley said he is hoping that injury and illness to midfielder Dakari Mafico and defender Joy Mukena will allow his side to play a more simple game as they take on Woking tonight.

Cardiff City loanee Mafico has returned to his parent club for treatment on an Achilles injury whilst Mukena woke up on Tuesday morning suffering from flu and is only among the substitutes in Surrey.

The lack of depth in the Glovers’ squad is underlined by the appearance of the ill defender alongside two under-18s players, defender Jaydon Biss and midfielder Ollie Hughes, for a fixture where Yeovil are looking to pick up much needed league points.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off, Rowley said: “We have simplified how we are going to do things and I really feel the boys are in a good place and the reaction (to the defeat at Boston) has been positive, obviously it means nothing as we have got to go out there and deliver and run and fingers crossed that at 10pm it has been a good night for us.

“We are going to defend in a back four when we are out of possession. Joy (Mukena) has woken up with the flu, so we only have three recognised centre backs although Finn (Cousin-Dawson) is going to be playing in midfield tonight. We are low on numbers at the minute and injury and illness has not been too kind to us, but the changes might be a good thing to reset a couple of ideas and principles and we have made the game plan a little easier tonight.”

Dakarai Mafico has returned to Cardiff City for treatment. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

The Glovers go in to the fixture seven points adrift of the National League Premier Division relegation places, albeit with at least one game in hand of every team below them, and looking to turn around back-to-back defeats and get the necessary points to survive.

Asked if he was confident they could do it, Rowley said: “I am confident. We have had a very turbulent season, I say ‘we’, I have only been here three months, but the lads have had a turbulent season. I am the fourth manager which has stood here and probably bored people every week, but it has been a very tricky season. It is not easy having four different managers and being asked to do four different things, play multiple different shapes, those are not excuses, that is facts and reality. No successful team in world football would have that and we need to fight for every point we can and we are going to do that. I am confident we will do that and hopefully get a decent time to rest, reset and come back for what I am sure will be a much better season next season.”

The manager also revealed that Mafico had been forced to turn down the chance to link up with Wales’ Under-21s squad due to the injury.

He said: “Dak has got tendonitis in his Achilles. Sadly for us, we heard a few days ago that he was going to be missing for three games due to a Wales (Under-21s) call-up which is great for him, sad for us. Injury has kept him out of that international call-up, so he has gone back to Cardiff for the next week and, as much as it would have been great for him to go on an international camp, he was going to miss three games for us. It might mean now if we can help him with this Achilles problem, he might only miss two games for us.“

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There is no Cardiff City loan midfielder Dakari Mafico for Yeovil Town as they take on Woking in Surrey tonight (7.45pm kick-off).

The youngster, who manager Billy Rowley said suffered “a slight knock” in the 2-1 defeat at Boston United on Saturday, is missing from the Glovers’ squad.

Finn Cousin-Dawson replaces him in midfield with striker Harvey Greenslade and winger James Daly also handed starts whilst defender Joy Mukena, who has a hamstring injury, and on loan Fulham attacker Terrell Works also on the bench.

There is also a place among the substitutes for youngsters defender Jaydon Biss and midfielder Ollie Hughes.

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The curse of the old boy struck as former Yeovil Town striker Jody Hiwula scored a second half winner to sink the Glovers at Boston United on Saturday.

The frontman, who had a forgettable spell on loan at Huish Park in 2014, had only been on the pitch five minutes when he stroked home the winner after 73 minutes.

Yeovil had gone in front when Aaron Jarvis netted his third goal of the season after 17 minutes but the lead lasted just six minutes as Jake Rooney headed Boston level.

In the second half it was all the home side with the Glovers indebted to Ward who kept the Pilgrims out again and again before Hiwula struck the winner.

First half

The opening 15 minutes was a nip and tuck affair with neither side really creating an opening. There was some good interplay involving Josh Sims and Ryan Jones down the right side, but without threatening Dan Cameron in the Boston goal.

Then almost out of nothing a well-worked move picked Aaron JARVIS on the edge the box with 17 minutes gone and much maligned striker hit an effort which crept in at near post.
Aaron Jarvis celebrates his opener.
The lead lasted just six minutes when a free-kick from Matty Carson was met by a thumping header from defender Jake ROONEY.
Just before the half-hour mark, a lapse in defence saw Luca Barrington get away and find Frankie Maguire who unleashed an effort which needed a strong pair of hands from Jed Ward to keep it out.
McGavin free kick in to the box caused a bit of panic inside the Boston box, Joy Mukena’s header was flicked away by keeper Cameron and cleared by Rooney for a corner. Shortly after a suicidal back pass by Jake Wannell almost let in-form Boston striker Tom Cursons whose effort was fortunately off target.

Half time: Boston United 1 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

The home side started the second half with some intent and a long ball forward found Aboh on the left, his ball in clipped off the heel of Mukena and in to the grateful hands of Ward with three minutes gone.

Two minutes later, Yeovil’s defence was carved open again as Maguire ghosted in to space and Ward was forced to pull out another stop. Cursons created another opening on 57 minutes as he rounded Ward but Kyle Ferguson was back on the line to clear the danger.

There’s a feeling of Boston knocking on the door whilst we can’t seem to get them away. There were two changes for the visitors with James Daly replaced Terrell Works before Finn Cousin-Dawson came on for Ryan Jones.
Yeovil’s goal continued to live a charmed life as Cursons got away again after 66 minutes, but once again Ward came to the rescue. The keeper came to meet the frontman inside the area and got enough on it to force him wide but not clear the danger, it breaks to Aboh whose effort was deflected wide.
After knocking on the door all half, Boston blew it down and took the lead after 73 minutes – and it was Yeovil old boy, striker Jody HIWULA. Having appeared as a substitute five minutes earlier, the former loanee was found by a pass from Maguire and rounded Ward to put the hosts in the lead.
The visitors had shown nothing in terms of attacking intent so de the restart, but at least made attacking substitutions. Striker Millar Matthews-Lewis and Troy Perrett replaced Ferguson, who appeared to have picked up an injury, and Whittle.
Suddenly with six minutes remaining, we fashioned a chance as Daly burst through and hit a shot straight at Dan Cameron who did well to push it out. Either side of the keeper and it could have been a different story.

Full time: Boston United 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Jakemans’ Community Stadium
Date: Saturday 14th March, 3:00pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Aaron Jarvis 17 (1-0), Jake Rooney 23 (1-1), Jordy Hiwula 73 (1-2)

Pitch: In good condition
Conditions: A glorious Spring day

Attendance: 1964 (80 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: None
Boston United: Oisin Gallagher 58

Referee: Paul Johnson

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Finn Cousin-Dawson, Jaydon Biss, Troy Perrett, James Daly, Harvey Greenslade, Millar Matthews-Lewis, Matt Gould (not used).

Boston United: Dan Cameron, Connor Teale, Luca Barrington, Frankie Maguire, Matty Carson, Tom Cursons, Jordan Richards, Jake Rooney, Jamie Grimes, Ken Aboh, Oisin Gallagher.

Substitutes (not used): Rhys Lovett, Ged Sloggett, Lennell John-Lewis, Jordy Hiwula, Alex Lankshear, Marcel Lavinier, Liam McCarron.