With paperwork issues leading to Yeovil Town’s parent company being at risk of being struck off, our resident cartoonist Alex ‘Distant Glover’ Russell takes his regular sideways look at life at Huish Park.
Goalkeeper Jed Ward was the happiest man inside Huish Park as he collected his 11th clean sheet of the season in the goalless draw at home to FC Halifax Town.
The on loan Bristol Rovers man pulled off a number of the type of excellent saves which have become his trademark in a season which has seen him nailed on for the Player of the Season prize.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah after the game, the 22-year-old said: “Goalkeepers are judged on keeping clean sheets and that is 11 in the league which is amazing by my standards, so I’m really happy with that and I just want to keep that for the next two games as well.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve found got myself into a really good form this season especially off the back of last season. I’ve loved playing in front of the fans, they’ve been brilliant, the staff, everyone around the place has been brilliant with me, so I have really enjoyed it.”
No questions around his future of the keeper who is under contract at Bristol Rovers until the summer of 2028, and is a player who Glovers’ fans would love to see back at Huish Park next season.
The match against FC Halifax Town is not one which will live long in the memories of anyone attending with two sides cancelling each other out. Yeovil suffered an knock before kick-off when defender Kyle Ferguson pulled up with an injury and had to be replaced in the starting XI by Harvey Greenslade with Finn Cousin-Dawson dropping back in to defence.
Ward said: “It was a tough game. They’re fighting to get into the playoffs which means it’s a big game for them, but I think we played some really good stuff today. It is definitely something that we, well, the lads, can look positively at going in to next season, playing that style of football, creating loads of chances.”
On the late change in defence, he added: “I think that goes down to the gaffer giving really good detail on what he wants from his players, I think anyone can slot into that. You’ve seen Dan (Ellison) come back from his loan and he’s done really well in the past two games, that is because he is a good lad and he’s willing to absorb information, he’s come in and done really well.”
There was one moment which got Ward’s pulse racing with three minutes of normal time remaining as Halifax’s Jay Turner-Cooke spotted him off his line and tried an audacious effort which skimmed the crossbar.
Ward said: “I saw it late which probably made it look better than it was, but I was just happy to make the save and keep us in the game at that moment. It definitely took me by surprise, especially that wind today. He’s caught it really well and it’s just traveled and kept going, so it’s a great strike from the lad and I was lucky that the crossbar was there.”
Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley admitted his side’s goalless draw at home to FC Halifax Town was not one for the footballing purists, but said he was pleased with some of what he saw from his side.
The Glovers’ boss admitted the similar styles of both sides cancelled each other out as they played out a contest which screamed of a long season coming to an end.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah after the game, he said: “I thought we more than matched them in a lot of aspects, but we are quite similar in terms of our style, which probably made the game for the supporters and the average punter quite boring because we kind of cancelled each other out in a lot of ways.
“I thought the first half we weren’t amazing, we adjusted a couple of ideas at half-time, more so just to like get in behind the opposition a little bit more, try and threaten their back line because they were playing quite high and we ended up with some half-decent chances. I would like to see us sustain the attack for a bit longer at times, we get in the final third and we’re a little bit rushed with our decision-making.
“But on the other hand, we’ve had good chances. Terrell (Works) has gone around the goalkeeper and missed kind of a one-on-one and then (Ryan Jones) has come up with a bit of magic at the end and he probably should have scored. On another day, we could win this game 2-0 and it’s an incredible result, but it’s not a bad performance, not amazing, and not a great result, but not a bad one.”
The Glovers suffered a blow just before kick-off when defender Kyle Ferguson pulled up with an injury in the pre-match warm-up and had to be replaced by Harvey Greenslade with Finn Cousin-Dawson, who was returning following a suspension, dropping back in to defence.
Rowley said: “It’s one of those innocuous ones. We have to probably wait 24-48 hours to see if it swells up, and then if it is bad, obviously have to wait for a scan. It’s on his knee, just in the warm-up. He got a knock from Harvey when he tried to pass the ball and his knee went inwards. So we had to change two or three ideas for the starting line-up which wasn’t ideal, but I felt like the boys adapted well. It wasn’t an amazing start for us, but the boys adapted well.
“We obviously planned the game quite well, they’re a good team but they’re quite structurally like positional-based, so you can plan quite well around them. I felt like we got our press right and I thought that the boys at the back—I thought Joy (Mukena), Finn, and Dan (Ellison) were all really good. We defended the box well, we were good in one-v-ones and I thought some of their build-up was really good as well. I just wish I was standing here a little bit more happy with, with getting three points because I felt like especially the last 20 minutes probably deserved that.”
Midfielder Jonathon Page, who has played just 136 minutes of competitive football, appeared as a 72nd minute opportunity as he begins his comeback from a injury which has hampered him since arriving in Somerset in mid-January.
Rowley said: “Pagey has got a top football brain. I think he gave the ball away once when he tried to play a one-two with Brett (McGavin) and they didn’t read each other, but apart from that I thought he was faultless. Apart from that I thought he was faultless, he’s always in the right position, he offers good angles, he’s comfortable on the ball. I feel really sad for Pagey because we got him in halfway through the season, he got injured against Brackley and then he got injured in his third game against Sutton or Aldershot. We’re probably not going to see Pagey at the top of his game because he’s only got two more games to get fit, but he is a top player and really good lad.”
Next weekend, Yeovil travel to title-chasing York City, who were 1-0 winners at Tamworth in the early fixture on Saturday, knowing they are up against a winning machine.
Rowley said: “I wish that we were playing for a playoff spot or something, but if we were to go there and get a point, it would add a little bit more spice to it. But we’re going to go there and we’re going to try. I think it’s a great learning opportunity for me and for the players and the staff, because we’re going to play against a team that are ridiculously good, have got some unbelievable players in front of a crowd that’s probably going to be a sell-out. It’ll be a real good learning curve for going to play in a top pressurised game and see what you can kind of get away with and how you can adapt to those situations. We’re going to go there and try and win, as simple as that, and hopefully we can spoil their party.“
On loan Cardiff City midfielder Dakarai Mafico has been limited to just 30 minutes of game time by his parent club, according to Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley.
The 19-year-old has been missing for the Glovers for almost a month due to injury before returning to training with the Glovers this week, but he is not in the squad to face FC Halifax Town at Huish Park.
The club currently have seven players on loan with a limit of only five in the starting XI, meaning Mafico and Burton Albion striker Millar Matthews-Lewis are out.
Explaining the decision to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah before kick-off, Rowley said: “We have left Dak out today due to the fact that we’ve got we got seven loans in our squad at the moment and we can only obviously use five on a match day. So Dak, because of his injury, he’s only been given a 30-minute protocol through Cardiff, so it probably makes no sense to use him today. Hopefully we can get 45 or 60 minutes out of him next week (at York City).“
Midfielder Jonathon Page is named amongst the substitutes for a second game having been missing for a month and defender Joy Mukena, who came on as a half-time substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Eastleigh with on Easter Monday and then going off with a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury, starts having recovered from the knock.
2.45PM UPDATE: Defender Kyle Ferguson has left the pre-match warm-up at Huish Park with what appears to be an injury, meaning there is likely to be a change to the starting XI before kick-off. It looks as if Harvey Greenslade is coming in with Finn Cousin-Dawson moving in to the defence in a last-minute reshuffle.
The game is almost the dictionary definition of a dead rubber for both sides with Yeovil mathematically safe from relegation and Halifax relying on an almighty slip-up from Southend United to sneak in to the play-off places.
Asked how he was motivating his side, Rowley said: “The supporters were a massive factor in the (team) talk today. They have been so good in the past couple of weeks and were incredible at Eastleigh. They want us they want us to come here and just fight for every yard, every inch, and every point we can and that’s the message for the lads, we want to finish strong. I think the challenge for us, we’re going to try and get like five or six points out of these last three games. You would imagine (next weekend’s trip to title-chasing) York is kind of a free hit, but we want to win today and we want to win against Solihull on the last day.”
“It is really difficult (for Halifax) because of how well they’ve done this season, but I hope that they’re a bit edgy and they’re really dthinking deeply about ‘what ifs.’ We just need to go and play the game in front of us and hopefully we deliver.”
3PM UPDATE: An injury to defender Kyle Ferguson in the pre-match warm-up means he is out and Harvey Greenslade has been brought in with a tactical reshuffle seeing Finn Cousin-Dawson moving in to defence.
Yeovil Town have made four changes from the Easter Monday defeat at Eastleigh as they take on FC Halifax Town at Huish Park (3pm kick-off).
Terrell Works and James Daly return to the Glovers’ forward line with Finn Cousin-Dawson back in the starting XI having served his suspension and Joy Mukena in at the back despite suffering a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury five days ago.
Troy Perrett and Harvey Greenslade, who both started against Eastleigh, are named among the substitutes whilst defender Millar Matthews-Lewis and Alex Whittle are not named in the squad.
There is no place for Cardiff City loanee Dakarai Mafico, who returned to training this week after a spell out through injury. He and Matthews-Lewis fall foul of the five-loanee limit.
York City have taken tickets off sale for Yeovil Town’s visit on Saturday 18th April for the penultimate fixture of the National League Premier Division season.
The Minstermen are currently sat top of the table and two points clear of the only other club which can clinch the title, Rochdale, who they visit on the final match of the season.
In a post on its social media on Tuesday afternoon, they said: “We are speaking with the relevant stakeholders regarding the North Stand usage for our match against Yeovil Town at the LNER. The East, South and West Stands have all sold out. We will communicate once we have a further update.”
Travelling supporters are due to be housed in blocks NA and NB of the North Stand behind one of the goals which presumably means York are trying to negotiate for more home tickets to be made available. Tickets for the fixture have been on sale since February but were taken off sale on Tuesday.
In response Yeovil have posted on their social media: “We have been made aware that tickets for our final away game at York have been temporarily taken off sale due to high demand in the home end. We will provide an update once we learn more.”
Survival in the National League Premier Division is now a mathematical certainty for Yeovil Town, but it was Groundhog Day again as the injury-ravaged Glovers went down to defeat at Eastleigh on Easter Monday. Dave was watching in on the stream and here are his conclusions – expect Jed Ward to be brilliant, us to have lots of injuries and there to be a need for investment this summer.
582 heroes: The first conclusion of this match has to be that away end. 582 Yeovil Town supporters made the 150-mile round trip on a bank holiday for a fixture which meant very little to us at the end of a season to forget – on top of the season to forget before that. And they did not stop singing and supporting their team for the entire 90 minutes. Yes, we supporters have our moans and groans, but if anyone ever thought to question the commitment we have to this club, the response is right there. The Man/Woman/Child of the Match without question.
What I wouldn’t give for Aaron Blair up front: Before the match, Yeovil boss Billy Rowley was singing the praises of Aaron Blair and the Eastleigh striker showed exactly why with his performance. Even if you put aside two very different goals – the first a poacher’s finish and the second a lovely chip over Jed Ward – Blair and his strike partner Harvey Saunders did not give the Glovers’ defence a moment’s peace all match. Full of energy, a complete pest to play against, makes lovely runs in behind and he knows where the goal is.
The Jed Ward Show – again!: How many times have we written this?! I’d say give Steve Evans at Bristol Rovers a blank cheque, but given his previous with financial misdeeds, that may not be wise. In all seriousness though, has one player ever stood so far head and shoulders above everyone else in the Player of the Season vote? In the first 30 seconds he air kicked at a ball and almost let Blair in, but he more than made up for it with another string of outstanding saves. Some goalkeeper.
Dead on our feet or simply not interested: It’s been said in conclusions for weeks, but we have players who are literally running on empty. James Daly and Brett McGavin both played through injury and illness, Joy Mukena was so injured he came on and then came off again and these are the players that started against Eastleigh. The “small squad of quality” which was the brainchild of former boss Mark Cooper is really coming back to bite now. There were players out there putting their bodies on the line on Monday, but there were some who simply looked disinterested. With safety now mathematically assured, I think I would rather give the Under-19s who at least looked like they care a taste of first-team action than some of these others.
Let’s do our part as supporters: Saturday’s visitors to Huish Park, FC Halifax Town, still have a (very) outside chance of the play-offs and then it’s the small matter of a trip to title-chasing York City the following weekend. It is going to be a tough ride for the next couple of weeks and whoever turns out in green-and-white between now and the end of the season is going to need every boost they can get. The unbelievable support which was at Eastleigh and that which has been at Huish Park in recent week is the perfect example of what we can do to help. We’re across the mathematical safety line now, we just need to close this season out. The Community can remain Calm and supportive and then it’s over to the owners to show their commitment to Competitiveness in the summer.
Defender Dan Ellison is looking to stake his claim to be in Yeovil Town’s starting XI next season between now and the end of the season.
The 21-year-old was signed from League Two Bristol Rovers by former boss Richard Dryden in October but did not feature much under him and was loaned out to National League South play-off chasers Weston-super-Mare where he has impressed.
He made his first start for the Glovers in the 2-1 defeat at Eastleigh on Bank Holiday Monday and popped up with a late consolation goal in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the game.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, Ellison said: “It has been a tough season, tough mentally. Moving on from Bristol Rovers and coming here and then going on loan at Weston which was brilliant to actually play. I felt I did really well at Weston and really enjoyed it there, but coming back here is everything I wanted, I have a point to prove and I am getting chance until the end of the season. I am grateful to be back here.
“I feel I deserve (the opportunity). I came in here to be starting in the team but it did not end up happening which is fine, so I have gone to Weston and I feel like I have earned my place, earned the chance so I am going to enjoy playing until the end of the season.”
With captain Jake Wannell missing through injury, Finn Cousin-Dawson out suspended and fellow centre half Joy Mukena struggling with a hamstring injury, Ellison was recalled from Weston last week and was a second half substitute in the home win over Truro City on Good Friday.
He said: “I felt like I did fairly well (against Eastleigh) and to get a goal as well, it has been a while since I have scored so I was happy with that. It would have been nice to get a result as well, we were not a million miles off it but I am just happy to be playing.
“It was a tough game, the boys are playing through injuries and stuff, but we have to say thanks to the fans for being brilliant today and in the last game as well and we want that to continue.”
Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley was forced to bemoan his side’s bad luck as the walking wounded Glovers went down to a 2-1 defeat at Eastleigh on Easter Monday.
The boss said a number of the players which took to the field in Hampshire were suffering injuries or illness which meant they should not have even featured in the matchday squad.
They finished the match with Under-19s players defender Jaydon Biss, midfielder Ollie Hughes and striker Liam Nardiello on the pitch and saw defender Joy Mukena come on as a half-time substitute before having to go off again after 77 minutes with a re-occurrence of a hamstring injury.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, Rowley said: “The performance and the game was always going to be difficult today. Overall, I was not thrilled by a 2-1 loss here, there were patches where I thought we were okay, on the whole we were pretty poor, but the reason is that the squad is playing on one leg at the minute, with an eye patch on and an empty tank! Even today we have had to bring James Daly on the pitch even though he is injured and sick, Brett (McGavin) has had to play when he shouldn’t have really, Joy Mukena had to come on due to an injury and then come off injured and we finished the game with three academy lads on the pitch. So, to even escape this game with a 2-1 defeat you will probably look back in a few weeks and say ‘it’s not bad’ on reflection.
“Players had to come off because they are injured and we are putting players on that are injured and one of those has to come off because they are injured. It is boring for me to have to stand here and say this, but any of our hardcore supporters (will know what I mean). (The supporters) were incredible today, that is the best support that I have ever witnessed away from home, it was unbelievable. All of those who know the squad in and out will look at that (differently) to supporters who look at the result on the Teletext** will say ‘bad loss’, but the hardcore ones will understand what we have gone through here. I have so much respect and time for anyone who made the trip and gave the boys a nice send off at the end. It was a really difficult day for us, it was always going to be. The idea was to just limp over the line with maybe a draw today.”
In his pre-match comments, the Glovers’ boss described defender Mukena as “patched up to the brim” and it was a surprise when he appeared as a half-time substitute following a(nother) injury to Alex Whittle.
Explaining the decision, Rowley said: “I am really sad for Joy because I really did not want to put him on the pitch today. He suffered a hamstring injury at Crawley which he had when we got him in and we have tried to nurse him and get him back to top fitness, but because of the schedule and the injuries he has had to play a set of 90 minutes every few days which is not ideal for him. We suffered a couple of injuries in the first half and we have had to tell him he is coming on and he has pulled up with his hamstring again. I am so annoyed and it breaks my heart, he has been brilliant since he came in and I am just really sad that has happened to him.”
There was a moment for the 582 supporters in the away end at the Silverlake Stadium to cheer about when defender Dan Ellison headed home a consolation goal in the second minute of second half stoppage time. The former Bristol Rovers’ man was making his first start for the club he joined “for a fee based on performance-based incentives” in October.
Having bizarrely been signed by and then not featured under former boss Richard Dryden, the 21-year-old was sent out on loan to Weston-super-Mare by Rowley at the end of December before returning as the injury/suspension crisis took hold at Huish Park.
The Yeovil boss was full of praise for his performance at Eastleigh, saying: “I thought Dan was great today, he has shown great character to come back from his loan and he did not really put a foot wrong today. He is learning a different style (of play today), he has not really trained, so to top it off with a good header, and that is what he brings you, he is elite in the air. I thought he was decent with the ball today, he showed a lot of composure in build-up and he is a real threat in both boxes.”
With results elsewhere going in their favour, Yeovil’s place in the National League Premier Division is now mathematically secured for next season with three matches of the season remaining. They take on FC Halifax Town, who still have an outside chance of making the play-offs, at Huish Park next Saturday, followed by a trip to title-chasing York City seven days later and then a final day home match with Solihull Moors.
Rowley had on loan midfielder Troy Perrett available following a three-match suspension against Eastleigh and is hopeful that his Cardiff City team-mate Dakarai Mafico will return having not featured since the middle of March due to injury. Midfielder Jonathon Page, who has managed just 136 league minutes since arriving in mid-January, was an unused substitute and may also be available for next weekend.
Rowley said: “When I first came in we were (in 17th place), I was the fourth manager of the season and all that jazz, so it was always a difficult challenge. We have had some indifferent results and we have turned in to a ‘win one, lose one’ team which is mid-table form. I am really happy (to be mathematically safe) given what we have gone through in these past couple of weeks, the injuries and suspension we have which a lot of the time has been our own fault, we have to own that. To be safe with three games left, I will take that.
“I think Dak will be back, Pagey possibly, Troy has played today, but I am going to have to check in with the medical team to see where we are at but we will start planning for that and we will be prepared as always.”
** – Teletext was a service which offered text-based news and sports including football results on your television between 1993-2010.
A goal in each half saw Yeovil Town go down to an Easter Monday defeat at Eastleigh on the same day their safety in the National League Premier Division was confirmed.
Spitfires’ striker Aaron Blair opened the scoring on the half-hour mark with a poacher’s finish before adding the second on 57 minutes when he chipped visiting keeper Jed Ward before Glovers’ defender Dan Ellison, making his first start, added a late consolation goal.
But results elsewhere mean Brackley Town, who occupy the top of the division’s relegation places, now cannot match Yeovil’s 50 points in their remaining three matches.
Unsurprisingly goalkeeper Jed Ward was in the thick of the action inside the first 30 seconds. Firstly the on loan Bristol Rovers man air kicked an attempted clearance and almost let Eastleigh striker Aaron Blair in, before diving at his feet to turn the ball out for a corner. From the resulting flag kick, the ball was worked back to defender Jayden Moore whose header was acrobatically tipped over the by Ward. The warning signs are there early.
Seven minutes in Blair was brought down by Kyle Ferguson right on the edge of the area and received a yellow card. Ward was the hero again saving the first effort from Jake Vokins and then got up in time to deny Temi Eweka from the rebound. “Jed Ward, in the middle of our goal…” sings a busy-looking away end.
The next moment in Ward’s one-man crusade to save Yeovil in this match (season?) came on 22 minutes. Blair burst through and was one-on-one with the keeper who stayed upright and made himself big to block the shot. Yet another glorious opportunity for Eastleigh and another glorious save for Ward.
On 32 minutes, the Ward wall could not hold any longer. A lovely through from Eweka found Harvey Saunders who bombed in to the box and laid it across for Aaron BLAIR to poke home. It was nothing less than the hosts deserved, we look every inch the patched up side we are. Blair is everything we have missed in a striker for so long – relentless in his pressing and give him a chance and he’ll take it……except if Jed Ward is in his way, see above for explanation.
Blair and Saunders, who is on loan from League Two Tranmere Rovers, are causing us all kinds of trouble with their running in behind our back line. A shot from Delano McCoy-Splatt after about 20 minutes which I didn’t mention before because it didn’t really seem worth mentioning, is as near as we have come to troubling the Eastleigh keeper. Will Merry looks like one of the few players with the desire to go forward on the rare occasion he receives possession, but the rest look either knackered or uninterested – or both.
Billy Rowley made three changes at the interval – perhaps agreeing with much of the paragraph above – with defender Joy Mukena, winger James Daly and young midfielder Ollie Hughes coming on. Off when McCoy-Splatt, Millar Matthews-Lewis and Alex Whittle. In his pre-match comments, the Glovers’ boss described Hughes and his Under-19s’ team-mates Jaydon Biss and Liam Nardiello, who are also on the bench, as “not quite ready” for the cut and thrust of the National League. It says something about the first half display that he has felt compelled to bring on an untested youngster.
One thing you cannot question is the commitment of the travelling supporters. For a game which means little, they have made the trip to Eastleigh in numbers and they have not stopped making a racket all half.
Venue: Silverlake Stadium
Date: Monday 6th April, 3pm kick-off
Competition: National League Premier Division
Scorers: Aaron Blair 31 (0-1), Aaron Blair 57 (0-2), Dan Ellison 90+2 (1-2)
Pitch: Bare in places
Conditions: Beautiful Spring day
Attendance: 2,682 (582 away supporters)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Kyle Ferguson 7, Harvey Greenslade 79
Eastleigh: None
Referee: Ross Martin
Yeovil Town
Substitutes: Joy Mukena (for Alex Whittle, 46), James Daly (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Ollie Hughes (for Millar Matthews-Lewis, 46), Jaydon Biss (for Joy Mukena, 77), Liam Nardiello (for Brett McGavin, 85), Jonathon Page (not used), Matt Gould (not used)
Eastleigh: Josh McNamara, Josh Lundstram, Temi Eweka, Jack Baldwin, Jayden Moore, Archie Harris, Ricky Aguiar, Jordan Cousins (for Richard Brindley, 84), Jake Vokins (for Kieron Evans, 20), Harvey Saunders, Aaron Blair.
