David Coates (Page 3)

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Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley admitted his starting line-up is patched up as he named a squad with three Under-19s players among six substitutes at Eastleigh on Eastleigh.

The Glovers’ boss is without captain Jake Wannell and striker Aaron Jarvis who both went off injured in the Good Friday home win over Truro City to add to a significant number of substitutes. The youngsters named on the bench are defender Jaydon Biss, midfielder Ollie Hughes and striker Liam Nardiello.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off, Rowley said: “It’s the biggest patchwork job ever. No disrespect to them, but we have three academy lads and it’s not a professional academy, it’s a college programme essentially. If you add Gouldy (goalkeeper coach Matt Gould), we basically have two (senior) outfield players. Joy (Mukena) is patched up to the brim, so we have two players to come on.

“I say that with respect (to the Under-19s’ players), this is a tough, National League game and the three academy lads are not exactly ready for that. That is not to say they will let us down, but it is needs must.”

Troy Perrett
Pic c/o Gary Brown

On loan Cardiff City midfielder Troy Perrett returns to the starting XI having missed the last three games through suspension after his sending off in the 2-0 win at Wealdstone.

Rowley said: “Troy was playing really well at Wealdstone before he got sent off. It was unlike him to make that type of challenge, so it was unfortunate, but I think it was something he has learnt from and we are happy he is back playing.”

Eastleigh are in need to points to maintain the six-point buffer between them and the National League Premier Division relegation places, whilst Yeovil look safe with ten points between them and the dotted line. But, Rowley insisted his side are not thinking about their summer holidays and identified Spitfires’ striker Aaron Blair as a danger man.

He said: “All the players are still playing for a lot. When you put on the Yeovil badge, there is a lot of history and a lot of great players and people who have been associated with this club attached to that, and it is an honour to play it in any game, that is first and foremost. We are not going to treat any game lightly, we are not looking at the end of the season, we are looking at this fixture as our next game. But for me personally I am continuing to learn the level, the opposition, what does and does not work, so it is a good few experiences.

“There are a couple of players in the team that I really like, Aaron Blair being one of those. He’s probably in the top three in the league for his movement, he’s got explosiveness, he can play off the shoulder, he has timing, so he is going to keep our back three really honest today. We are going to treat the game a bit more conservatively, we are going to sit a bit deeper and try and conserve our legs for the second half and I imagine Eastleigh in the (league) position they are in are not used to breaking down a block and being really creative in how they play. So we are hoping to catch the on a couple of counter attacks and that is the approach.“

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Injury-hit Yeovil Town name a starting XI of just about every fit player available as they travel to Eastleigh on Good Friday.

Midfielder Troy Perrett returns after serving his suspension and joins fellow loanees, Millar Matthews-Lewis and Will Merry, in attack.

There is no place for forward Terrell Works who is the unlucky sixth loanee, whilst defender Dan Ellison makes his first start for the club.

Youngsters defender Jaydon Biss and midfielder Ollie Hughes, who have both been on the bench in recent weeks, are joined by Under-19s’ forward Liam Nardiello amongst the substitutes.

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A late moment of magic from on loan striker Will Merry saw Yeovil Town snatch a Good Friday win to relegate Truro City back to National League South at Huish Park.

The game where the division’s bottom side had looked the better side for the majority of the match was settled when the Southampton Under-21s forward made a great run before finishing coolly past former Glovers’ keeper Aidan Stone.

But whilst three points pushed Yeovil past the mythical 50 point mark, there was concerning news as captain Jake Wannell and striker Aaron Jarvis both went off with injury to place more strain on an already ravaged squad.

First half

Having gone behind after four minutes at Southend on Tuesday night, Truro almost repeated the trick at the same time when former Glovers’ loanee Ryan Law spurned a glorious opportunity. A ball in from the right found the ex-Plymouth Argyle man in space inside the six yard box, but amazingly his header was off target. A huge let off.

Truro are pressing well in the opening ten minutes but are misplacing passes with the blustery conditions causing issues for both sides. The visitors seem far more able to have control of the ball much better and succeeding by keeping it on the deck, whereas whenever we try and go through the middle of the pitch there is no space for either Brett McGavin or Delano McCoy-Splatt.

Just before the 20 minute mark, McGavin lifted a shot over the bar after a good run from Will Merry, before the visitors had two good opportunities. The first on 27 minutes saw Charsley head wide before the frontman was denied by a fantastic save by Jed Ward just a minute later. That is three clear opportunities for Truro and we have offered nothing to counter their press. We look tired again, no energy to win it back and none to press ourselves.

Will Merry | Photo by Gary Brown

Five minutes from half-time, a good move from Aaron Jarvis saw him lay it off to Merry, but his effort rolled safely in to the hands of another Yeovil old boy, Truro keeper Aidan Stone. It is difficult to pick a Yeovil player who looks up for this contest, whereas bottom of the table Truro look up for it, just without the quality to do much about it.

Goalless at the break and another Rowley half-time rocket required.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Truro City 0

Second half

One minute in to the second half, Terrell Works burst in to the box fed the ball across to McGavin whose effort was blocked by the body of a Truro defender. Moments later, good play by Daly fed the ball out to Ryan Jones on the right side and his ball to the near post was bravely challenged for by Jarvis who needed treatment after colliding with Stone.

Much like the defeat at Southend (and the defeat at Woking a few weeks back), we have offered more in the opening two minutes of the second half than we did in the entire first half.

But, in the 50th minute a long throw was unwittingly flicked on by Jarvis to Luke Jephcott who unbelievably lifted the ball over the bar. Another glorious chance for the visitors.
Just before the hour, a great forward run by Merry fed Jarvis who made a good run but hit his shot straight at Stone who did well to deny him. Harvey Greenslade replaced McCoy-Splatt on the hour and it looks to have gone to right wing-back with Ryan Jones switching to the left allowing Daly to press further forward.
Having made the change to try and give Jarvis some support up front, the striker went down feeling his calf and was replaced by Millar Matthews-Lewis. He was walking down the tunnel when Wannell went down holding what appeared to be his hamstring, the medical team is back on the pitch and is replaced by Dan Ellison, recently returned from his loan spell at Weston-super-Mare. With an already threadbare squad, further injuries are another blow. Daly is operating in the middle of midfield following the tactical reshuffle and wherever he plays he gives so much effort.
A scramble in the box | Photo by Gary Brown
With Eastleigh winning at Woking, Truro knew they needed a win to prevent being relegated and with five minutes to go they came agonisingly close when a free-kick whipped in from the left flicked off the head of Max Kinsey and rattled off the crossbar and away from danger. With the woodwork still shaking, news came through that Woking had equalised and Truro live to fight another day…..maybe.
With four minutes of seven minutes of injury time played, a moment of magic from Will MERRY sealed the victory. The Southampton Under-21s loanee ran forward and fired past Stone to surely win it and relegate Truro back to National League South. You can’t say we deserve it, but with our misfortune with injuries, Lady Luck has looked kindly on us.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Truro City 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 3rd April, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Will Merry 90+5 (1-0)

Pitch: Almost there.
Conditions: Dry but a bit blowy

Attendance: 4,020 (286 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Harvey Greenslade 77, Kyle Ferguson 85
Truro City: Will Dean 70

Referee: Lewis Sandoe

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Harvey Greenslade (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 61), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Aaron Jarvis, 64), Dan Ellison (for Jake Wannell, 67), Alex Whittle (not used), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Truro City: Aidan Stone, Connor Riley-Lowe, Tom Harrison, Will Dean, Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain (for Zac Bell, 78), Ryan Law, Luke Jephcott, Max Kinsey-Wellings, Frederick Issaka (for Tom Dean, 78), Jack Stretton (for Kieran Wilson, 86), Harry Charsley.

Substitutes (not used): Will Howard, Tylor Love-Holmes, Shaun Donnellan, Yassine En-Neyah, Saikou Janneh.

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Josh Sims will miss the rest of Yeovil Town’s season through injury, according to manager Billy Rowley.

The Glovers’ boss confirmed the wideman would be out for six to eight weeks with an injury which has seen him miss the defeats at Gateshead and Southend United in the past week.

He said James Daly, who has been playing through the middle with some success, would be at left wing-back for the visit of bottom club Truro City to Huish Park on Good Friday, with Alex Whittle dropping to the bench having played a significant amount in recent games.

Rowley told BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah: “In an ideal world, JD would be up top as well, but Simsy has just been told he is out for six weeks. That is another killer blow, but luckily we only have four games left after this one and we had him when we really needed him against Wealdstone and Morecambe and I thought he was brilliant in those games. We are going to miss him for another eight weeks.

“So JD is going to have to fill in at a full-back position which he is good at, but we would rather have him higher up the pitch.”

Defender Dan Ellison returns on the bench having returned from his loan spell at National League South side Weston-super-Mare and Rowley said he had been monitoring the former Bristol Rovers player’s form.

He said: “I was watching his games on Wyscout and checking out his performances and he always looks good. (Weston) play a slightly different style, slightly less possession based than we are trying to be, but he was solid and he defends the ball really well. So we are welcoming him back in good form.“

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Aaron Jarvis returns to the Yeovil Town starting line-up as they take on bottom club Truro City at Huish Park on Good Friday (3pm kick–off).

The striker has come off the bench in the past two matches and replaces full-back Alex Whittle who drops to the bench in the only change from Tuesday night’s defeat at Southend United.

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Gloverscast Fans' Quiz #9

It's not a time to be an April fool, so get your lucky socks on and prepare to put your Yeovil Town knowledge to the test with our monthly fans' quiz. There's the usual categories to test your memories about green-and-white days gone by and those who are (hopefully!) fresher in your mind. Good luck everyone!

1 / 12

In August 2001, Gary Johnson signed a player who had been the youngest scorer in the Premier League during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. What was his name?

2 / 12

Who scored the final goal in Yeovil Town's final game at the old Huish stadium in May 1990?

3 / 12

Which father and son duo by the same name played for Yeovil Town in the 1960s and 1990s?

4 / 12

Including the current season, how many seasons have Yeovil Town played in the National League level, including National League South, since the formation of the league in 1979?

5 / 12

Who has scored the most goals for Yeovil Town in the fifth tier of the football pyramid?

6 / 12

How many goals did Mickey Spencer score for Yeovil Town in the fifth tier of the football pyramid?

7 / 12

The final game of the 2021/22 season saw Yeovil Town travel to Altrincham in what was Josh Staunton's only game in temporary charge of Yeovil Town. Who scored in a 1-0 win?

8 / 12

Yeovil Town were relegated to National League South in the 2022/23 season, but who was our final fixture of that season against?

9 / 12

The Glovers' final fixture of the 2019/20 season was against the same opponent we faced in the first fixture, which club was it?

10 / 12

Which Championship club did Carl Dickinson begin his footballing career with?

11 / 12

Which manager signed Carl Dickinson for Yeovil Town?

12 / 12

How many yellow cards did Carl Dickinson collect in National League action during his 61 games at Yeovil Town?

Your score is

The average score is 50%

0%

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Having clocked up 1,350 miles travelling in the past week, Yeovil Town travel sickness struck as they went down to a 2-1 defeat at Southend United last night. Glovers’ fan Ed Turnbull was among the 68 travelling supporters in the away end and here are his conclusions.

We looked knackered in the first half especially: And understandably so – I could’ve drafted this conclusion at 5pm on Saturday, and probably even a couple months ago as soon as the rearranged fixture dates were announced. But the minutes and the travelling really caught up with us in a bleak first half display. Southend out-ran, out-pressed and out-played us for the first 45 minutes, and it was this that ultimately meant they deserved the win after 90. I empathise with the players, but I lost track of the number of times our defenders were chasing shadows back towards their own goal only seconds after they had punted the ball up the line themselves unable to play any deliberate pass.

Jed Ward is helpless to keep out Southend’s Gus Scott-Morriss’ opener after his four minutes last night.
It was another game of two halves for us: Much like we deserved to lose the first half, I think we deserved to draw the second. We’ll probably never know whether the winner would have stood had goal-line technology been in use, but on another day we might have earned a very respectable point against a side which will almost certainly be in the play-offs this season. It was probably a mix of Southend allowing us more time on the ball, and us being more composed with it. There was still the big asterisk that we didn’t create much, but we held our own and, what I liked most was…
…the players showed they cared: You could say we’re more-or-less on the beach, but that wasn’t the mentality I saw on the pitch tonight. Whether it’s James Daly terrier-like in his pursuit to win the ball back in an unfamiliar central midfield position, or Alex Whittle coming bee-lining back onto the pitch out of nowhere with enough desire to get not only the ball but also a good chunk of substitute Aaron Jarvis, I am fully here for it. Once you consider the shift these players have had to put in of late, I was proud to partake in a good length applause of mutual respect between fans, players and coaching staff after full-time despite going home empty-handed.
Brett McGavin. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
We have some good players we need to build around for next season: James Daly has rightly got the limelight of late, but Brett McGavin has been immense. Following an injury-stricken and unimpressive first half of the season, he’s really proven his worth in the recent onslaught of fixtures. A near ever-present in a lightweight midfield department, not only has he shown his class on the ball that we’ve always known about, but he’s had to get through a heck of a load of dirty work. Moving on from Cannavaro, this guy is the Somerset Pirlo, our metronome if you will. I think he could be key to us becoming the free-flowing footballing side Rowley clearly plans to make us.
Time to finish the job now: There’s a good chance our current points tally will be enough to avoid relegation, but let’s not leave it to chance. Now’s the time for one or two big pushes to make it mathematically certain, and Truro City at home on Good Friday and Eastleigh are two favourable opponents to do just that. That’s not at all to say it will be easy, but let’s lick our wounds from tonight, keep our heads up and show why we’re above these two teams in the table.

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Yeovil Town fell to defeat after a game of two halves at FA Trophy finalists Southend United on Tuesday night.

The Glovers fell behind after just four minutes when Gus Scott-Morriss fired home to get Root’s Hall rocking and the home side were better in every department in the opening 45 minutes.

But, whatever was said by manager Billy Rowley at half-time, it worked and Yeovil deservedly levelled through a Goal of the Season contender from captain Jake Wannell who stroked a sumptuous effort in with 64 minutes on the clock.

Then with six minutes left Keenan Appiah-Forson headed home from close range for a hotly-disputed winner which the Yeovil players did not think crossed the line.

First half

If there was a nightmare start which Yeovil boss Billy Rowley dreamt about the night before, it could not have been much worse than the one he watched after four minutes.

A great ball in from the left side from Harry Boyes was met by the head of Keenan Appiah-Forson in the middle, Jed Ward made a fantastic stop to push it out but it only went as far as Gus SCOTT-MORRISS who lashed the Shrimpers in front. A lazy tackle to allow Boyes to get the ball in and only Alex Whittle was in the middle of the six-yard box to mark two Southend players. Ward did his best, but he can only do so much.

Jed Ward is helpless to keep out Gus Scott-Morriss’ opener.

We are playing slowly here and Southend are having the opportunity to reset every time we have it, the fatigue we have heard about looks to be kicking in already. We simply cannot keep up with the pace of this game. On 13 minutes, Charley Kendall, who was causing all sorts of issues down the left, broke forward and fired in an effort which Ward had to tip over the bar for a corner and shortly after a ball fizzed across the face of the Glovers’ goal where mercifully there was no-one there to turn it home.

The one way traffic continued as the game progressed and Southend are getting corner after corner whilst we can never get the ball out of our own half. It took more than 20 minutes for keeper Collin Ndeng-Adi to get his first touch, and that was to play the ball out. He did more in the warm-up than his has had to do in the first half of this half.
That man Kendall had time and space down the left cut in to the box and fed it in to Appiah-Forson whose effort went over the bar with two Yeovil in close proximity. Jed Ward goes down for treatment and Rowley screams for his players to come over for a new team talk. Into ’em, Billy!
On the half-hour mark, Wannell tried to head away under pressure from Andrew Dallas before Ward fell on the ball, before the keeper came to the rescue (yet) again this time to deny Kendall. The last few minutes we have at least made it a little more difficult for Southend, but the balls are still coming in from both flanks and we continue to be penned in to our own half. We are doing some of the ugly stuff which we were not doing in the first 25 minutes, but still not cutting off the source of the danger.
38 minutes played, Will Merry presses forward and has what we could charitably call a shot which Ndeng-Adi has to put his hands down to stop, but he barely broke a sweat. It’s a good forward run by the Southampton youngster but that’s about it.
A collector’s item, Yeovil Town in the Southend half.
Five minutes from half-time, a ball in to the box from the left (again) and its going towards Scott-Morriss who gets a hand (maybe two) in the back from Jake Wannell. Referee Abigail Byrne is unmoved, but I think we have got away with one there – and so does the home crowd.
As the clock ticked down to the interval, Rowley will have been hoping to get through to half-time just a goal behind. His heart would have been in his mouth on 43 minutes when Boyes fired in to the six yard box and Andrew Dallas was there to stab it home. Lady Luck was on Yeovil’s side again as the assistant’s flag was raised for an offside.
To say we are fortunate to only be one goal down at the break would be an understatement.

Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Aaron Jarvis arrived at the interval, replacing Delano McCoy-Splatt, and playing through the middle. Merry is on the right side and Terrell Works on the left, hopefully to try and get joy in wide positions as they watched

Two minutes in to the second half and Ndeng-Adi had his first work to do. Daly hits a low shot from distance and the keeper has to get down to turn it away for a corner. Five minutes in and we are already looking to compete for the ball more than the supporters who made the trip to Root’s Hall saw in the first half.

Whatever Billy Rowley said to his players at the interval, it has made a difference, we look a completely different side. Brett McGavin sails a free-kick over the bar around the hour mark, but we have shown more effort in this opening 15 minutes.

I told you it was getting better and on 64 minutes, Yeovil drew level – and in some style. A free-kick was easily cleared as far as as Works who gave it to Jake WANNELL inside the area and he caressed a sumptuous shot past Ndeng-Adi. What a finish that is from the central defender. Take a bow!

What a finish, Jake Wannell.
On 70 minutes, Boyes smashed a fantastic shot in from outside the box and Ward does superbly to tip it over the bar and from the resulting corner Golding has an effort punched away by the on loan Bristol Rovers keeper. Southend are rallying and they make a quadruple change with Jack Bridge, Tom Hopper, Sam Austin and Alfie Massey came on with 73 minutes played.
There is a second wind blowing in this Southend side, but Rowley and his assistant Darren Simpson have got his tactics spot in this half, they are stopped the hosts coming through the middle of the pitch as they were doing at will in the opening 45 minutes.
But, with six minutes of remaining, Southend’s pressure told and they regained the lead. A ball bouncing around the box and substitute Austin heads it to the back post where Keenan APPIAH-FORSON headed it goalwards, Ward seems to claim it but the assistant insists he can see through a crowd of bodies to tell it is over the line. Wannell goes in to the book for his protests, the Yeovil players are furious. That is harsh on the visitors, who have looked much better in this half.
Millar Matthews-Lewis was thrown on as an 87th minute substitute and in second half stoppage time, the on loan Burton Albion man did well to make time for himself inside a crowded area and thrashed an effort just the wrong side of the post.

Full time: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Root’s Hall
Date: Tuesday 31st March, 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Gus Scott-Moriss 4 (0-1), Jake Wannell 64 (1-1)

Pitch: Patchy in places
Conditions: Cold

Attendance: 7,793 (68 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 85
Southend United: Oli Coker 11, Gus Scott-Moriss 38, Harry Boyes 89

Referee: Abigail Byrne

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Aaron Jarvis (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Harvey Greenslade (for Terrell Works, 81), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Will Merry, 87), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Southend United: Collin Andeng-Ndi, Gus Scott-Morriss, Harry Taylor, James Golding, Joe Gubbins (for Jack Bridge, 73), Harry Boyes, Keenan Appiah-Forson, James Morton (for Alfie Massey, 73), Oli Coker (for Sam Austin, 73), Andrew Dallas (for Ben Goodliffe, 90+1), Charley Kendall (for Tom Hopper, 73).

Substitutes (not used): Noah Mawene, Josh Walker.

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has said that forward James Daly is “fresh” for tonight’s visit to FA Trophy finalists Southend United.

The forward, who has seven goals this season including two in his last three outings, was a second half substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Gateshead at the weekend, but has been brought back in to the starting XI in Essex.

He is joined by Southampton Under-21s loanee Will Merry, who appeared as a 62nd minute substitute on Saturday, in the line-up. The pair replace Millar Matthews-Lewis, who is named on the bench, and the suspended Finn Cousin-Dawson.

Speaking about the changes to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off, Rowley said: “The plan was to rest James Daly in the first half at Gateshead, he got through ridiculous running distance at Wealdstone (last Wednesday), even when we were down to ten men he was acting like two players for us. He was really tight and tender on Saturday, so we felt it would be stupid to wheel him out against Gateshead and in this game and on Friday (against Truro City), so we decided to pick the Gateshead game as a rest for JD with an eye on getting him fresh. He is fresh, he feels good tonight and will be ready to go.

“Will comes in for a debut, I liked what I saw from Will at the weekend. He is a technical footballer who has grown up in a great academy at Southampton, he carries the ball superbly and is a good athlete. I feel like on this pitch and with the way Southend are quite front-footed and are going to put us under pressure, we need people who can not only run in behind but carry the ball well and he is definitely one of those.”

James Daly | Photo by Gary Brown

Southend are sat in the National League Premier Division’s final play-off place with games in hand over the teams around them and will be on a high having booked a place at Wembley in the Trophy final with a win at Southport, the team which put the Glovers out in the quarter-finals, at the weekend.

Asked whether the high of success would work in his side’s favour tonight, Rowley added: “We will see. We both had similar travel at the weekend and had a similar type of game and had similar rests. We had a couple of good results before Saturday and I feel we are in good spirits in terms of clarity and shape, we are trying to keep things as straightforward as we can.

“We are coming up against a team (in Southend) which has play-off calibre players, they have a big squad, good manager, so this is going to be a very difficult game, probably one of our toughest in recent months. We are going to have to be at our best to get anything here, but I have a good feeling we could be at our best.

“We have a good group of lads who have been through a lot of turmoil this season. I am the fourth manager who has stood in front of them trying to motivate them, but I can honestly say they are good professionals. Regardless of the game, they are trying to run and trying to win. Sometimes we perform well and sometimes we don’t, that is natural, but we are looking for whether we can work really hard and can we play well tonight.“

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James Daly returns to the Yeovil Town starting XI for tonight’s visit to FA Trophy finalists Southend United (7.45pm kick-off).

The seven-goal forward is joined by Southampton Under-21s loanee Will Merry with Millar Matthews-Lewis, on loan from Burton Albion, returning to the bench having started in the 2-1 defeat at Gateshead at the weekend.

The other absentee is Finn Cousin-Dawson who is suspended after a late sending off on Tyneside.