David Coates (Page 3)

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Defender Morgan Williams said next weekend’s game with Boston United will be “massive” for his Yeovil Town team-mates after they saw their winless run extend to eight matches with a goalless draw at Morecambe on Saturday.

The Glovers spurned opportunities to take three points against an opponent sat in the National League Premier Division relegation zone, none less than a 79th minute penalty which substitute Tahvon Campbell saw saved by hosts’ keeper Jamal Blackman.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins, the centre half said: “Playing away from home is always difficult and we always work hard and I feel we could have got more than a point, but we take a point and it is a step in the right direction. With the position we are in at the moment, we will take any points, so we have to be happy with it but it makes next week’s game (at home to Boston United) big and we have got to win next week.

“It is a point better than we had last week, we have to take it and take the positives. The fans were incredible again today, they have always been incredible and we will need their backing for the rest of the season. A point away from home you would take that if you win your home games, so next week is going to be massive for us.”

Following a disappointing first half, the Glovers came out for the second half with a different formation with James Daly and Junior Morias playing as a front two and, following the arrival of substitute strikers Campbell and Harvey Greenslade, had opportunities to take the win.

In 78th minute, Campbell was felled by Morecambe defender Mo Sangare inside the area to win the penalty, but his spot kick to the keeper’s right was tipped on to the post by the 6’5″ frame of Jamal Blackman.

Williams said: “It was a very good penalty and those things are going to happen. We had enough chances to score today and it might be someone else next week, but we are a peno away from three points. But we pick ourselves up and go again next week.“

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Yeovil Town manager Richard Dryden said he felt his side should have come away with all three points as they stretched their run without a win to eight games with a goalless draw at Morecambe on Saturday.

The Glovers spurned a glorious opportunity to snatch the win on a miserable day in Lancashire when they were awarded a penalty, but striker Tahvon Campbell saw his effort turned on to the post by goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.

Asked if the run without a win played on his mind, Dryden told BBC Somerset reporter Josh Perkins: “The media push it in to my mind because I am ready for the next game. We have had a run (of three wins following Dryden’s permanent appointment) and now we are on a run of not winning. It is not through a lack of trying, I think the lads are giving it a go and we have come away here disappointed we have not won the game.”

Neither side impressed in a disappointing first half, but the Glovers did have opportunities to threaten the Morecambe goal after the break with the introduction of strikers Campbell and Harvey Greenslade – but spurned every one of them.

Dryden said: “We had chances to win the game and created more than we have done in the last couple of games, so we just have to keep going and creating and make sure when it comes to Boston in the next game we put the ball in the back of the net.”

Asked for his assessment of Campbell’s penalty, the manager retorted: “It is a penalty and he missed it, that’s it. The keeper has saved it, someone had to step up and take it and the keeper has made a good save. There are other chances as well, more in the second half than the first. We tweaked the system a little bit in the second half to be more attacking but still safe at the back because I think if you watch the game, they are not a bad side. They overran Brackley quite easily on Tuesday night.”

On loan Port Vale man James Plant was forced off after 71 minutes having taken a flailing arm to the face in a challenge with Morecambe substitute George Thomas. Dryden said: “He has got six stitches in his face, it is quite a deep cut. He might have to get his stitches redone because it is a little bit of a mess at the moment. It is one of those things, you do not really see it until he is on the floor. Whether it keeps him out for games or not, we do not know.”

Next up, Yeovil host a Boston United side which are level on points with them in the National League Premier Division table and Dryden insists they will be going for the win.

He said: “We are going to go for three points (against Boston) but it is not the end of the world if we do not get them. You have got to keep the standard of play we had today and hopefully that will push us on towards three points.“

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Striker Tahvon Campbell missed a second half penalty as Yeovil Town drew another blank to end a run of three straight defeats but extend their run without a win to eight matches at fellow strugglers Morecambe on Saturday.

With 11 minutes of normal time remaining, substitute Campbell fell under pressure from Mo Sangare inside the box and the referee pointed to the penalty spot, but the frontman saw his spot kick tipped on to the post by Shrimps’ keeper Jamal Blackman.

First half

The opening ten minutes suggested two sides who wanted to keep possession, but Morecambe seemed to have a clearer idea of what they were going to do with it when they had it. There was a distinct lack of willing runners when we had the all instead relying on Morecambe to making mistakes. James Daly, playing in the middle of a front three for the second match in a row, is still not a number nine.

On 22 minutes, corner from Jack Nolan in to a congested six-yard box created pandemonium inside the Yeovil penalty area with Jed Ward coming and not getting anywhere near it. Shots rained in, a claim for a handball from the Morecambe players after a shot from Yann Song’o and eventually it is Ward who hacks it clear.

It took half-an-hour to see some attacking intent from Yeovil when Luke McCormick won a challenge in midfield, played a one-two with Junior Morias, and the midfielder burst forward but his ball into the box was cut out by Ludwig Francillette before it could get to Daly. From the resulting corner, our first of the match, Josh Sims’ effort was effectively a pass to the opposition defender. Chance over.

On 33 minutes, another moment of Yeovil pressure saw a long free-kick in to the box drop to Jake Wannell on the edge of the box but his effort was blocked by the head of Francillette. Three minutes before the break, Ward came to the edge of his area to punch a free-kick clear and it dropped to Gwion Edwards who could only put his shot over the bar.

Goalless at half-time and probably one of the most nil-nil games you have seen in a long time. Both teams tried to play the ball, but there was very little threat on either goal in the opening 45 minutes.

Half time: Morecambe 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Two minutes after the break, Morecambe’s half-time substitute George Thomas put a ball in from the left and it was just ahead of Harry Panayiotou who could have forced Ward in to action if he had slid in.

On 51 minutes, a great ball in from the left from James Plant found the head of James Daly, who has a remarkable leap and forces a great save out of Jamal Blackman who turns it around the post. The linesman’s flag was up for offside, but the goalkeeper did not know that. 

Two minutes later, Song’o brought the ball forward before laying it off to Nolan who drove in to the right side of the box and fired in an effort which Ward had to get down well to. The on 62 minutes, a ball down the right flank set Morias away, his effort could not find Daly but did find Sims whose effort was over the bar.

On 65 minutes, manager Richard Dryden made his first substitution with Harvey Greenslade coming on for Sims. A striker, thank goodness. The former Bristol Rovers’ striker went in to the middle of the front three but less than two minutes later Plant went in for a tackle with Thomas and the Port Vale loanee appeared to take a flailing arm to the face which led to him having to be replaced. Tahvon Campbell replaced him and Greenslade went out wide. Sigh.

With 77 minutes on the clock, another Yeovil opportunity as the ball found its way out to Morias who burst in to the right side of the box, but his effort was high and not that handsome. The striker went for glory and does not hit the tackle. What do we have to do to get a shot on target? Well, we found out a minute later as Morias played Campbell in to the box and he was pushed over by Mo Sangare inside the area. Penalty.

Morias, who scored a penalty at Halifax earlier in the campaign, asked about it, but the responsibility was taken by Campbell, who scored from 12 yards at Aldershot as well. The substitute stepped up and put it to the keeper’s right, but the 6’5″ frame of Blackman stretched out a hand and turned it on to the post. I ask again, what do we need to do to score a goal?!

There were opportunities for both sides before the final whistle with McCormick’s shot from distance with five minutes of normal time remaining looking like a poor decision when he could have fed Morias. Then, with two minutes of second half injury time played, Francillette almost broke Yeovil’s hearts with a back post header from a corner.

The final whistle was met by boos from both the home and away end suggesting that neither group of supporters were unhappy with the lack of quality going forward from either side. Having had a glorious opportunity to have taken all three points with Campbell’s penalty, this feels like two points dropped more than one gained.

Full time: Morecambe 0 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: Mazuma Mobile Arena
Date: Saturday 22nd November, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: None

Pitch: Slippery

Conditions: Misty and cold 

Attendance: 2,586 (110 away supporters)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: James Daly 41, Luke McCormick 75, Morgan Williams 90+4

Morecambe: Yann Songo’o 32, Harry Panayoitou 33

Referee: Declan Brown

Yeovil Town (3-4-3)

Substitutes: Harvey Greenslade (for Josh Sims, 66), Tahvon Campbell (for James Plant, 71), Andrew Oluwabori (not used), Brett McGavin (not used), Dan Ellison (not used), Leo Ramirez-Espain (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Morecambe: Jamal Blackman, Maldini Kacurri, Ludwig Francillette, Mo Sangare, Emi Sutton, Yann Songo’o, Jake Cain (for Miguel Azeez, 72), Gwion Edwards (for George Thomas, 46), Ben Tollitt, Jack Nolan, Harry Panayiotou (for Rolando Aarons, 86).

Substitutes (not used): Makel Campbell, Lewis Payne, Arjan Raikhy, Archie Mair.

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Yeovil Town have named an unchanged starting XI for today’s for today’s visit to Morecambe (3pm kick-off).

The only change from the 1-0 home defeat against Southend United last weekend comes on the substitutes’ bench where midfielder Brett McGavin replaces the suspended Aaron Jarvis.

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Yeovil Town were on the wrong end of a 92nd minute sucker punch as Southend United scored in the dying minutes of the game to stretch Yeovil’s winless run to seven.

The Glovers failed to register a single shot on target and Jed Ward pulled off multiple saves to keep the visitors at bay.

An improved performance from the home side, but another defeat and another blank in front of goal. 

First half

There were three changes from the 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United last weekend with Finn Cousin-Dawson, James Daly and Junior Morias returning to the starting XI. There was no place in the squad for defender Kyle Ferguson, who started in Lincolnshire, but on loan Exeter City winger Andrew Oluwabori returned on the bench alongside midfielder Leo Ramirez-Espain, who signed on loan from Watford during the week.

Daly lined up in the middle of a front three alongside Morias and Josh Sims, not exactly your archetypal number nine. The opening exchanges at Huish Park were dominated by Southend and when Yeovil got hold of the ball they looked to try and hold on to possession. There was also an early booking for Southend captain Nathan Ralph, who had a spell at Huish Park around a decade ago, for a foul on Sims after just ten minutes.

The visitors had a golden opportunity to open the scoring on 14 minutes when Jake Wannell totally misjudged a header back to goalkeeper Jed Ward and presented Southend top scorer Andrew Dallas with a glorious chance which he inexplicably put wide. The Glovers had another let off seconds later when a loose pass out by Ward almost let Southend in, but fortunately Cousin-Dawson was there to clear it up. Almost a fatal mistake of our own making – twice!

There’s lots of energy and running from Yeovil’s front three, but there’s definitely not a focal point. There’s definitely a desire to try and keep the ball as much as we can, but James Daly is struggling to get much change out of the visitors’ giant defence.

Morgan Williams vs Nathan Ralph | Photo by Gary Brown

With 35 minutes, great pressure from Max Jolliffe won possession and a good turn by Morias in the middle of the pitch saw him feed Josh Sims who burst forward down the right side but lifted his shot over the bar. Better intent from Yeovil.

Moments later, Dallas had another good opportunity after jumping on a sloppy attempted pass from Luke McCormick gifted the on loan Barnsley striker a chance, which he put straight in to the hands of Ward. Then it was Morias’ turn to have a shot at goal, he thundered a dipping shot in from 25 yards just over the bar with 36 minutes played,

Two minutes later there was another good chance for Yeovil. Morias broke away down the left and fed it in for McCormick whose shot was blocked by Ralph and broke to James Plant who had an open goal to shoot in to but Ralph got a fantastic block in to deny him.

Yeovil’s tails were up and again it was the tenacity of Jolliffe which won possession, Morias was involved feeding Sims and he managed to get it out to McCormick on the right of the box but his angled effort was blocked by Ralph again.

With four minutes of the half remaining, Yeovil almost became masters of their own downfall – again – when Cousin-Dawson’s poor pass saw Dallas set away, his effort was well saved by Ward who got up in time to push Oli Coker’s follow-up shot out. Four great opportunities for Southend in this match and they have all come from our mistakes.

A big improvement from the disappointing displays in the last outing at Huish Park against Wealdstone and the last match at Scunthorpe United. Our biggest threat seems to be ourselves with sloppy passes gifting Southend all their opportunities, but there’s some energy going forward and it is creating chances.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Southend United 0

Second half

It took just two minutes for the first chance of the second half and it came from another (yes, another) loose pass this time from Cousin-Dawson which gave Southend the chance to float a ball in to Dallas who rose highest to head it down in to the six yard box who was joined by Cousin-Dawson who managed to get it away. Big appeals for hand ball from the away end, but the referee uninterested.

McCormick had his own penalty appeal after 52 minutes following a run the full length of the pitch which ended with him tumbling under pressure inside the box. Three minutes later, we were grateful to Ward again when Guss Scott-Morriss’ superb cross found James Walker inside the area, but his header was superbly kept out by the on loan Bristol Rovers man. 

With an hour played, Andrew Oluwabori came on replacing Alex Whittle with Plant going to the left wing-back with Sims going right wing-back and the substitute moving in to the forward line. On 72 minutes, Aaron Jarvis replaced Sims.

There’s not been much for either side since the opportunity for Walker earlier in the half, but Southend are certainly dominating possession. On 76 minutes, Southend substitute Keenan Appiah-Forson had a shot saved by Ward, before Jarvis spun his man from a long ball forward, got past keeper Nick Hayes, and had a huge shout of a handball as he tried to shoot towards goal.

Luke McCormick tries to get the Glovers ahead | Photo by Gary Brown

Some great defending from Harry Taylor denied Jarvis with nine minutes of the match remaining. A great run and cross from Oluwabori down the right saw him play it in to the middle, but Taylor won out over the Yeovil substitute.

With time ticking, Southend continued to be comfortable on the ball, but for all their possession, numerous blocks and tackles kept the Shrimpers at arm’s length.

Junior Morias was replaced by Harvey Greenslade for the final couple of minutes, the front man feeling the effects of a busy afternoon and a couple of robust challenges.

Jarvis entered the book for a ‘strikers challenge’ before the sucker punch landed.

Jed Ward made his umpteenth save of the game but instead of keeping the ball safe in hands, the effort from Leon Parillon squirted out to Slavi SPASOV who made the telling touch to break Yeovil hearts.

A final minute corner for the Glovers was calmly claimed by Nicholas Hayes in the Southend goal. 

With players stretched, Chambers-Parillon skied a breakaway chance. 

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Southend United 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 15th November, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Slavi Spasov 90+2 (0-1)

Pitch: Held up well

Conditions: A chilly early winters day

Attendance: 3,060 (530 away supporters)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Max Jolliffe 45+5, Luke McCormick 51, Junior Morias 62, Jarvis 90+1, Jake Wannell 90+6

Scunthorpe United: Nathan Ralph 10, Guss Scott-Morriss 44

Referee: Scott Jackson

Yeovil Town (3-4-3)

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Alex Whittle, 60), Aaron Jarvis (for Josh Sims, 72), Harvey Greenslade (for Junior Morias, 90), Dan Ellison (not used), Ramirez-Espain (not used), Tahvon Campbell (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Southend United: Nick Hayes, Guss Scott-Morriss, Nathan Ralph, Ben Goodliffe, Andrew Dallas (for Tom Hopper, 90+3), Josh Walker (for Slavi Spasov, 64) , Harry Taylor, Cav Miley, Sam Austin (for Leon Parillon, 78), Oli Coker (for Keenan Appiah-Forson, 64) , Harry Boyes.

Substitutes (not used): Collin Anden-Ndi, Jack Bridge, Joe Gubbins.

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Yeovil Town owner Prabhu Srinivasan interviewed during a visit to Huish Park.

Yeovil Town owner Prabhu Srinivasan has said his family has invested “a lot of money” in to the club since he took over at the end of May.

The Dubai-based businessman said the investment had delivered “a lot of financial stability” and insisted that manager Richard Dryden was “following a blueprint” which he hopes will have the Glovers challenging for EFL status next season.

Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah at Huish Park ahead of Saturday’s game with Southend United, the owner also revealed he hoped that the club would be reunited with land around the stadium by the end of this season.

Speaking about investment, he said: “We as a family have invested quite a bit of money in the last five months, more than most clubs have, to do what is right for the club going forward. There is a lot of financial stability is the club, more than there was before.

“We have invested a lot already, a lot more than other clubs have done. I do not think there is any paucity of investment for this club.”

On plans to purchase the land from Somerset Council, he added: “It is our top priority, we are working with the council to get that organised. Hopefully if all goes well we will have it by the end of the season. That is the hope. It means a lot of us, the fans and I keep saying this to the fans ‘please be with us because we are in it for the long term and your support on the pitch is very important for us.’

“The stadium is one of the top stadiums in the National League and better than some of the League Two stadiums as well. From an infrastructure perspective, I do not think things will change too much.”

Yeovil Town manager Richard Dryden
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Yeovil go in to the match with Southend United in 18th place in the National League Premier Division table without a win in their last six games, including an exit from the FA Cup at the hands of lower league Hemel Hempstead Town.

Asked about his thoughts on the performance so far this season, Prabhu added: “It is on the plan. We have given Richard what he wants, he needs to deal with that on the pitch, that is what he is trying to do. Looking at the numbers we have seven new players in contract since the start of the season, we have let go of two players, one is on loan and we have five new loan players, so that is 12 new signings this year. We have to do this slowly, it is not something that is going to change instantly. Richard and the team is doing what they need to do. Do we want more from them? The obvious answer is ‘yes’, but we are all following a blueprint and it will take time to put that together. If we get the blueprint right, by the end of next season we will hopefully be in League Two, that is what we are aiming for.“

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Summer signing James Daly is back in the Yeovil Town starting line-up for the first time in almost three months as manager Richard Dryden makes three changes for the visit of Southend United to Huish Park today (3pm kick-off).

The winger, who has come off the bench in the previous three games as he returns from an injury picked up in late August, is joined by defender Finn Cousin-Dawson and striker Junior Morias, who started on the bench in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United.

New loan signing Leo Ramirez-Espain is named among the substitutes alongside Exeter City’s on loan winger Andrew Oluwabori, who was not in the squad seven days ago. Defender Kyle Ferguson, who started in Lincolnshire, is not in the squad along with full-back George Nurse.

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Yeovil Town went down to a 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United yesterday, a result which stretches their run without a win to six matches and pushes them in to 18th place in the National League Premier Division table. Dave was among the Glovers’ fans who made the trip to Lincolnshire and here are his conclusions on the match.

It was an improvement on four days earlier…..: Admittedly it is a very low bar after the team were booed off the pitch following the 2-0 home defeat to Wealdstone, but there was some improvement. Four days earlier, there was very little effort and even less quality from Yeovil and in this match you could not fault the effort the players put in. It was a stupid mistake which led to goal and we simply did not have the quality to get the breakthrough at the other end. In the second half, I was torn between thinking we were taking the game to Scunthorpe and that the hosts were just keeping us at arms length. We have seen a lot of the top sides in this division by this stage of the season and there was not much difference between us and Scunthorpe – but they are fourth in the table and we are 18th.

We huffed and we puffed, but (again) we could not blow the house down.

….but we still came away with nothing: I realise I just said it, but saying we put in the effort does not change the fact that we still came away with nothing. In his post-match interview, Harvey Greenslade said that the players and the management would “not paper over the cracks” with this thought and we absolutely cannot. The truth is that our league position is unacceptable for a club which should be pushing towards the top end of the table. That is not ex-EFL arrogance, when you look at the size of our crowds, the stature of the club and the quality we undoubtedly have in the squad, we should be doing much better than we are. Stating the obvious I know, but focusing too much on being a bit better than absolutely useless is not the way to change things.

Can’t fault the desire to change it: Having left it too late to make changes to tackle the poor conditions against Wealdstone, you cannot fault Richard Dryden’s desire to change personnel at Scunthorpe. Kyle Ferguson, who I had spoken about deserving an opportunity on the podcast the previous day, and Josh Sims, presumably still working his way back from injury, got hooked for Alex Whittle and Aaron Jarvis at half-time and then Junior Morias, Tahvon Campbell, James Daly and Dan Ellison all appeared in the second half. But, see next conclusion….

There were a few words exchanged between manager Richard Dryden and a couple of supporters after the match at Scunthorpe.

We have to admit that there’s some players who are just not good enough: The simple truth is that there are some players in our squad who are simply not good enough. Not every player, but when you come away from as many matches as we have over the past season-and-a-half empty handed, the facts do not lie. We have a squad which can probably muddle through until the end of the season and retain our league status, but is that really the ambition of the now not-so-new ownership? We were promised competitiveness – not a revolution, but a competitive squad – and yet today we lie exactly in the position where we finished last season. And we can all agree that was not good enough.

The supporters deserve better: Again, Harvey Greenslade said it in his post-match interview, the 93 supporters who travelled all the way to Lincolnshire deserve better. Actually, make it 92, I only travelled two-and-a-half hours across the country to get there and when I arrived home, the supporters’ coach was only halfway home. There were a few who voiced their opinions towards Richard Dryden at the end of the game and got a few verbals back from him. I understand that it comes at a very raw moment literally minutes after a defeat and I am sure the way their arguments were constructed were not the most nuanced, but that is not a good look. These people deserve better, listen to them, nod and say ‘I know, thankyou for coming’. The credit is not in the bank to be getting in to arguments.

93 Yeovil Town fans made the trip to Scunthorpe – they are not all in this picture!

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Striker Harvey Greenslade said that Yeovil Town’s 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United on Saturday was not down to a lack of effort from the players.

The frontman was brought back in to the starting XI for the match having not featured in the 2-0 home defeat to Wealdstone on Tuesday night, but we was unable to get a goal to deny the Glovers a loss which increases their run without a win to six games in all competitions.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the game, Greenslade said: “It was a tough one to take. Everyone wanted to try their hardest today and I think we did, but goals change games. Before the goal I thought we might be on it, we had a couple of shots and then the goal went it and from there the crowd was up. I think even after that we held our own and, if that goal does not go in, we come away with a good point against a side fourth in the league, but goals change games.

“We can’t be happy after a defeat, it might have been easier to take if they had played us off the pitch, but there was more in that for us. I am finding it hard to find the right words to describe it, it is a bit of a rubbish game with nothing really in it. We both fought well, both had spells, it is just the final product from the boys up front and mistakes at the back.”

The loss means Yeovil slip to 18th in the National League Premier Division table, seven points above the relegation zone, with seventh-placed Southend United coming to Huish Park next weekend.

Greenslade admitted that the run without a win was in the players’ minds, but said they would be committed to improving in the next match.

He said: “It is in the back of our minds, but all we can do is focus on the next game because that has always got to be different. Scunthorpe are a good side, but why can’t we be up there as well? We are Yeovil Town, we have got to be up there. We can’t paper over the cracks, we have to go through it and see what we could do better, but the next game is a different one. We have to work harder, run faster, and be better, but I don’t think it is down to a lack of trying.

“Come Monday and we are back in training, it is a good chance to show the fans who came to support us today and the ones who watch us at home that we want to put a show on for them. They deserve better than what we are giving them at the moment, they are the core of the club. We are in a rut but it is time to show them that we want to fight back for them.”