David Coates (Page 35)

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Yeovil Town goalkeeper Grant Smith says securing survival in the National League is still in the hands of his team-mates.

The Glovers’ stopper, who has kept 13 clean sheets in all competitions this season, follows the thinking of his manager Mark Cooper that midweek defeats for Aldershot Town and York City have pulled them back in to the relegation scrap.

Yeovil go in to Saturday’s home game with Southend United occupying the top spot in the division’s bottom four with only Gateshead, who now sit two points and one place above them, having played fewer games.

Speaking on Thursday, Smith said: “All we can do is focus on ourselves, if we win our games that’s all we can do. Obviously teams around us play each other and we have to play those teams, so if we can get some wins then that will lead to others not getting results. So it is truly in our hands.

“By Saturday we will be fully focused on what we are doing, we can’t affect anything else so ultimately it doesn’t matter if other teams don’t get results. If we don’t win the game, it doesn’t matter if others win, lose or draw.”

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He admitted that the team’s poor form in front of goal – just 32 goals in 38 matches which is 11 worse than bottom club Maidstone United – was putting extra pressure on the defence not to concede.

The Glovers have the best sixth best defensive record in the division and you have to go up to 12th place to find a better goals against tally – which is Saturday’s opponents, Southend United, incidentally!

Smith said: “It adds pressure on us defensively because we need to be perfect because we do lack in goals, but we have faith in the boys and hopefully starting Saturday that will come.

“When you know we don’t create five, six, seven chances, we know we might only create one chance that does add pressure because we know that if we let in one or two goals, the stats don’t lie, so it does add pressure.”

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Striker Jordan Young is “touch and go” for tomorrow’s visit from Southend United in front of the television cameras at Huish Park.

The 23-year-old has been missing for the past two games with a hamstring injury and is one of a number of fitness doubts for manager Mark Cooper going in to the weekend.

The boss said ruled out any chance of midfielder Jordan Stevens being fit and said a thigh injury sustained by recent arrival Callum Harriott in last weekend’s 1-0 home defeat to Bromley could keep him out.

Speaking on Thursday, Cooper said: “It’s about the group, it’s about that spirit, togetherness and desire and a group of players are desperate for Yeovil Town to retain its National League status.

“The core group have that connection and it’s down to me to galvanise that and make it more powerful. We might lack in quality, but we don’t lack in effort.

“There is a togetherness in the changing room and the players are desperate for the club to stay up. It’s all about what happens on the pitch, we can’t effect or control what goes on off the pitch, from my point of view I can only put the best team possible on the pitch and get them to have a right go in a Yeovil shirt.”

Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He confirmed striker Malachi Linton, who scored the equaliser in the 1-1 draw at FC Halifax Town a fortnight ago but was an unused substitute against Bromley, was available. The manager said: “Mal is okay, but we have a selection of forwards and we have to try and find a combination which leads to us scoring more goals.”

Asked about the number of injuries suffered by his squad, Cooper added: “There are reasons for it. We have found ourselves in a position where we are having to get players fit during matches because they can never replicate the tempo, speed and adrenaline of a match in training. Some players are going to break down, that is just nature.”

 

Following last weekend’s defeat both Cooper and captain Josh Staunton made it clear issues behind-the-scenes had been a major distraction and this week owner-in-waiting Matt Uggla revealed that former Tottenham Hotspur and QPR assistant manager Kevin Bond had joined the club as (we think) Director of Football.

There has been no statement made by the club since Uggla tweeted the arrival earlier in the week, but Bond has been meeting with various people at Huish Park this week.

Asked about the news, Cooper said: “I can’t go in to that. That’s up to the club to answer that. It’s difficult because you see and hear what is going on, but it is important I try and protect the players because we all get things wrong. We will take some stick, but we only have the club’s best interests at heart and we will try our best to do the best job we can.“

In midweek, victories for Gateshead and Dorking Wanderers saw Yeovil drop in to the National League relegation places.

They now sit 21st, two points behind Gateshead, who are in FA Trophy semi-final action on Saturday, and five points behind Dorking, who travel to Dagenham & Redbridge at the weekend.

But, a midweek defeat for Aldershot Town and a draw for York City, who have both played two more games than the Glovers, means they are within striking distance as well.

Cooper said: “I think the results have dragged more teams in to it. Certain teams won but there are another couple of teams that lost that are bang in it, there’s more teams involved in the scrap to stay up than there was on Tuesday night. Look at Aldershot and York now, they are bang in trouble.

“We have got eight games, we want to win eight games, that is the challenge and hopefully we can get enough players fit to give us that lift.”

The bottom of the National League table going in to this weekend.

Asked about how he and his backroom staff had lifted the players who were booed off the pitch by the Huish Park crowd after the defeat to Bromley, Cooper said: “With good training, reinforcing messages that they can be good players, there is no point in me hammering the players and expecting them to run through brick walls on a Saturday.

“It is more arm around the shoulder, they are good people and we have to drain every last minute of ability out of them.

“We started really flat last weekend and that was a culmination of a number of things that have happened, but there’s no excuses, it’s about the players being the best version of what they can be when they cross that white line. We need to get at least eight or nine of the eleven to be right at it, last Saturday we had two or three.

“The intent is to out have two corners, a few shots and crosses in the first five minutes and not be 1-0 down, but that comes down to personal pride and concentrate. The players will be prepared and we hope we get good performances.”

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Kevin Bond, who counts Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Birmingham City among his former employers, appears to be the new Director of Football at Yeovil Town.

On Monday afternoon, owner-in-waiting (still not had official confirmation on a takeover) Matt Uggla posted on his Twitter account: “Kevin Bond in the door what a man.”

This followed a somewhat more lengthy post on Sunday night where he said: “Tomorrow we have our new director of football coming in and I’m excited by working with both him and Mark.”

One therefore assumes that the post about Bond relates to his appointment in this role, however, assumption can be a dangerous thing. No doubt we will find out more in the coming days.

In his last role, Bond was part of the first-team coaching set up at Bristol Rovers, which he held from August 2021 until last October.

His departure followed the arrival of Glenn Whelan Danny Ventre as coaches at the Memorial Ground in the summer with Rovers’ boss Joey Barton saying: “I just felt we had too many cooks and with where we’re at and how we need to do it, we needed to streamline it a little bit. It’s unfortunate for Bondy that it’s him that exits the building, but we’ve got to be efficient and effective and I don’t think we were moving as efficiently as we could.”

Prior to that role, he was notably assistant to Harry Redknapp, who was a guest at Huish Park for the recent home win over Eastleigh, during spells at Portsmouth, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers.

He spent two years in charge at Bournemouth in the mid-2000s when the club suffered a ten-point deduction and were relegated to League Two in the 2007-08 season, and then hit with a further 17 point loss the following campaign leading to Bond being dismissed in September 2008. He went on to be re-united with Redknapp at Tottenham Hotspur and latterly QPR.

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A new Director of Football will join the Yeovil Town set-up on Monday as the club comes under the ownership of SU Glovers, according to  Matt Uggla.

The owner-in-waiting has also apologised for any offence he caused during Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Bromley which saw manager Mark Cooper and captain Josh Staunton both talk openly about difficulties in the dressing room.

In a series of posts on his Twitter account on Sunday, Uggla said he would learn from mistakes and said he was “fully behind” Cooper as the club battle to avoid relegation from the National League.

He said: “If the supporters think I have anything but love and respect for them then I’m shocked. We have inherited a relegation battle and this is a baptism of fire. At the end of the day the supporters are here for the rest of time and as owners we plan to be here for decades to come.

“Frustrations yesterday were high amongst everyone at the club. But I am fully behind Mark and think he is more than capable of turning results around. But more than anything we have to come together as one. 

“I apologise if I offended anyone but certainly never have and never will aim anything at the fans who I have nothing but love and praise for. I’m young and new to this so will make mistakes which I will learn from and maybe should learn to not speak so much in the heat of the moment and in pure frustration.

“This is a long journey and we need to be on it together. Tomorrow we have our new director of football coming in and I’m excited by working with both him and Mark. Let’s stick together on and off the pitch.”

Following the defeat, pictures posted on social media showed Uggla talking at length with Cooper and his son and midfielder, Charlie, who picked up the sponsors’ man of the match award for his performance in the defeat, on the Huish Park pitch.

During the game, Uggla posted on his Twitter account calling on supporters in the Thatcher’s Stand to get behind the team. The tweets have since been deleted from his timeline.

In his post-match interview, Cooper admitted there had been a difference of opinion in some recent signings with new arrivals winger Callum Harriott going off with an injury at half-time and striker Reo Griffiths and midfielders Zanda Siziba and Scott Pollock, who all appeared in the second half, failing to have much of an impact.

Cooper said: “We are always going to differ on targets and players we are going to bring in, that’s just the way it is, Matt has made it clear he is going to recruit the players he is going to recruit and that’s fair enough – it’s his money and it’s his club.”

Staunton called for unity in the dressing room and admitted the integration of a number of new arrivals during the heat of a relegation battle had not been easy.

He said: “It is important every single player is pulling in the same direction and it is my job to unify the dressing room. People are under pressure and pressure does strange things to people in terms of decision making and characteristics, this would be a much easier integration if we were relaxing in the middle of the table.

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Debutant Bobby Hilton came off the substitutes’ bench to score for Yeovil Town Under-18s, but he could not prevent them falling to a 2-1 defeat at league leaders Bridgwater United.

The schoolboy, a member of the Yeovil Town Community Trust’s Under-16s set up, appeared on the hour mark in the match at the Bridgwater & Taunton Sports Arena on Saturday. Also coming off the bench was Under-16s player Joey Beckey, who came on in the 65th minute.

The team which included top-scorer Charlie Bateson and goalkeeper Rob Hollard, who had both been on loan at Tiverton Town and Gillingham Town respectively.

Billy Hilton, a member of the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust Under-16s, chips the keeper for his first Yeovil Town goal. Picture courtesy of Matt Partridge.

Hollard returned from his loan spell last week whilst Bateson was available due to his loan club’s match being postponed on Saturday.

The result saw the Under-18s drop to third in the South West Counties’ Youth League behind Bridgwater and Torquay United.

 

Yeovil Town Under-18s: Rob Hollard, Mikey Archibald (for Bobby Hilton-Jones, 60), Harry Lock (for Corey Koerner, 45), Aidan Skiverton, Harrison Foster, Mason Alden, Jack Bareham, Charlie Bateson, Freddie Beale (for Joseph Beckey, 65), Josh Haskett, Max Dyer.

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Now this one could really challenge you and don’t bite our heads off for asking, but which Yeovil Town player impressed you most in today’s 1-0 home defeat to Bromley?

If you need any inspiration, take a look at the picture in the banner (above) to see who we think you might want to consider.

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Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton had called on his team-mates to unite to pull the club out of the relegation scrap at the bottom of the National League table.

The skipper admitted the recent influx of a number of new players in recent weeks had proved difficult to integrate in to the group which started the season.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the 1-0 home defeat to Bromley, he said that he was “taking the pressure” on behalf of his team-mates and urged them to play with a “freedom” which was obviously lacking at Huish Park this afternoon.

He said: “It is important every single player is pulling in the same direction and it is my job to unify the dressing room. People are under pressure and pressure does strange things to people in terms of decision making and characteristics, this would be a much easier integration if we were relaxing in the middle of the table.

“It is clear to see that we look like we have the weight of the world on our shoulders and it is my job to relieve that pressure and keep it on myself and let the boys play with a sense of freedom they should have.

“I would run through a brick wall for this football club and it is important that everyone in that dressing room has the same mentality. You will never find me blaming my body – I hurt, I ache but will go out there and do everything for the football club. The boys do look tired, but when I am looking them in the eye I am asking them to give everything for the club and I wanted every single player to find that extra 10%.

“It’s essential (we have that unity) and if we don’t have it we will be in a very difficult position in a few weeks time. Characters at this stage of the season are worth points, they make a difference, stand up, run through brick walls for each other and get you those few points when you really need them. So it is important we all take the time to realise what we are playing for and it has to be your driving force.”

He gave his backing to manager Mark Cooper who is looking to lift the team which could be in the National League relegation zone before the kick a ball in the televised fixture against Southend United next Saturday afternoon.

Gateshead, who sit one point and one place below them, host Dagenham & Redbridge in midweek and a win for the North East side would see them go above the Glovers.

On his manager, Staunton said: “I support Mark Cooper, he is one of the best managers I have ever worked under. As a person, he is a fantastic person and there’s not a better man to deal with the pressure. I trust the Gaffer and I respect that he takes a lot of the responsibility and I will try and take as much pressure off every single player in the dressing room as I can.”

On the performance against Bromley, he added: “The first five or ten minutes we were in disarray, but we managed to gain some sort of control and finished the first half well. I thought second half they had a lot of territory and really could have hurt us on the break but we had lot of balls in the box and we are clearly trying to do things the right way. But we had no answers to any questions today.“

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper pointed to the absence of a number of energetic midfield players as the reason for his side’s lacklustre performance in today’s 1-0 home defeat to Bromley.

He said that it was unrealistic to expect new signings Callum Harriott, Zanda Siziba and Scott Pollock, who all featured in the loss, to hit the ground running having not played in recent months.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, the boss said: “We had a lot of the ball today but we had very little to show from it, we have been crying out for that impetus at the top of the pitch and we just haven’t got it.

“If we are expecting the new lads to come in and just be fit enough to cope with it, it’s just not going to happen. Apart from Miguel (Freckleton) the rest are going to play catch up and it is going to take them two or three games to get up to match fitness.

He added: “I can’t question their effort, the boys gave everything that they had and it was not enough. I have to be there for them, put my arm around them and find a way of getting enough points (to keep us in the league).

“If you take Stevens, Young, Worthington out of our team it takes away a lot of impetus. Our team is based on energy and legs, if you take the legs out of the team, you are not going to be the same.”

He confirmed that Harriott, who was replaced by Pollock at half time, suffered a quad injury towards the end of the first half and defender Chiori Johnson also appeared to be struggling with a hamstring injury at the final whistle.

With permanent signings Harriott, Siziba, Pollock all featuring alongside loanees Miguel Freckleton and striker Reo Griffiths, the boss was asked whether the recruitment led by new owners SU Glovers had made a difference.

Speaking the week, owner-in-waiting Matt Uggla had said the new recruits had been selected by group of people involved with the owners rather than “the old school model” of the manager being in sole charge of recruitment.

On this, Cooper said: “We need players that are match fit and they only way we are going to get them match fit is to keep putting them on the pitch, but then we risk them getting injured.

“It is a bit of a puzzle that we have got to find the right answers to. We are always going to differ on targets and players we are going to bring in, that’s just the way it is, Matt has made it clear he is going to recruit the players he is going to recruit and that’s fair enough – it’s his money and it’s his club.”

The manager added that “the last week has really effected” his team, saying: “There was three or four that kept going as they do every week, the new boys have to add to that now and be really effervescent and bubbly, even if it is only for 20 minutes.“

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, 25th March, 3pm kick-off

Pitch: Sticky after some heavy rain overnight
Conditions:  On and off rain and a strong wind
Attendance: 3480

Scorers: Besert Topalloj 5 (0-1),

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Grant Smith 65
Bromley: Ryan Stirk 56, Arthurs 65

Referee: Richie Watkins

Yeovil Town (4-3-3)


Substitutes: Scott Pollock (for Callum Harriott, 46), Zanda Siziba (for Jordan Maguire-Drew, 54), Reo Griffiths (for Andrew Oluwabori, 54), Max Hunt (not used), Malachi Linton (not used).

Bromley: Charles-Cook, Reynolds, Sowunmi, Whitely, Dennis (for Krauhaus, 86), Cheek, Stirk, Arthurs, Topalloj (for Bingham, 46), Elerewe, Fisher (for Vennings, 66). Substitutes (not used): Kendall, Forster.


Match Report

A dreadful display from Yeovil Town saw them fall to a 1-0 home defeat against Bromley which pushed them within a point of the National League relegation places.

A fourth minute goal from Besert Topalloj was the difference on the scoresheet but the visitors spurned numerous other chances and Glovers’ goalkeeper Grant Smith pulled off a number of fine stops to prevent the scoreline being greater.

Perhaps more worrying was the complete lack of effort from many in green and white who were met by boos at the end of either half from second biggest crowd of the season at Huish Park.

 

First half

It was the worst possible start for Yeovil as they fell behind after just five minutes. Kellen Fisher got away down the right for Bromley, Andrew Oluwabori got to him but the wideman still got the ball in and a complete failure to clear by the Yeovil defence saw it break to Besert TOPALLOJ who slammed it past Grant Smith.

Besert Topalloj celebrates his fourth minute strike.

That was the first attack of the game but it set the tone for a start which saw the visitors completely on top. It was on 10 minutes that a terrible pass by Oluwabori saw the ball break to Michael Cheek who burst in to the box and was denied by a point blank save from Smith. From the resulting corner a header by visiting defender Deje Elerewe, on loan from Charlton Athletic, was turned over by Smith.

Every time Bromley are coming forward they look like they can score. The visitors looked every inch a side pushing at the top end of the table and whilst looking threatening on the attack, they also looked confident in snuffing out anything approaching forward play from Yeovil.

It took until the 24th minute for Yeovil to get their first effort on goal when a long ball forward found Oluwabori who did well to bring it down, cut inside and Harriott took the ball off his team-mate who hammered in a shot which took a deflection and was well turned aside by Reice Charles-Cook in the visitors’ goal.

That sparked a bit of possession for the home side but balls in from Chiori Johnson down the right and then Oluwabori from the left were about as near to a threat on goal as Yeovil got as the game ticked past the 30 minute mark.

On 32 minutes, a beautiful ball over the top found Louis Dennis who had time to take a touch on the edge of the area but lifted his effort over the bar. Bromley will be baffled as to how they are only 1-0 up.

The half-time whistle was met with boos from a bumper home crowd boosted by visitors coming as part of Non-League Day and the #PackThePark ticket offer. A very poor first half from Yeovil.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Bromley 1

 

Second half

The interval saw Harriott, who had not played a competitive minute since the start of January, replaced by Pollock. The winger appeared to be playing with a knock at the end of the first half.

Scott Pollock in action for Yeovil Town. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

On 51 minutes, Yeovil got a huge let off as Bromley waltzed through the hosts’ defence and lifted a ball over the top to Cheek (don’t worry, he’s only one of the best strikers in the division, lads) who put his effort over from a tight angle.

By the 54th minute, manager Mark Cooper had clearly seen all he needed to see as Maguire-Drew and Oluwabori, neither of whom had affected the play in a positive fashion, were replaced by Reo Griffiths and Zanda Siziba. But with a spark desperately needed, Yeovil simply could not get the ball off their comfortable visitors.

From the crowd to the players to the dug out, energy was completely missing – literally no-one was up for this one. Except Bromley, of course, who seemed to be quite happy to let their hosts get frustrated. This could not be more different to the feeling in the previous home game, the 1-0 win over Eastleigh.

 

 

With 63 minutes gone, Billy Bingham’s challenge broke to Cheek who slid it in to Dennis, from the resulting scramble Smith was able to grasp it and took a kick in the process. The referee booked Arthurs for Bromley for the kick and Smith for his protests.

Dennis smashed a shot over a minute ago and it was the visitors who were asking all the questions and Corey Whiteley had another effort over the bar.

At the other end, there was a scramble in front of the away end after 68 minutes with Ryan Law and Fisher in close proximity but neither were able to prod the ball home.

Ugh. We simply don’t look like a team at the moment. Cooper was full of running, Johnson got forward well in the second half and (as ever) only captain Staunton seemed interested in driving forward whilst Smith did his part at the back. The rest? The body language spoke volumes, lots of arms waved in the air and very little else.

On 82 minutes, Griffiths won a free-kick just outside the penalty area, Cooper did superbly to pick out Fisher in the middle of the box but his header flashed wide. Four minutes later Dennis bent one round the post. How are they not more than a goal ahead?

From minute one to minute 90+5, Yeovil were second best and the final score flattered them thoroughly.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Bromley 1

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New signings winger Callum Harriott and defender Miguel Freckleton are handed debuts as Yeovil Town go in search of victory against Bromley at Huish Park today (3pm kick-off).

Harriott, who joined on a short-term contract in the week following his release by Gillingham last month, is expected to start on the right of a three man attack including top scorer Alex Fisher and Andrew Oluwabori, whilst Freckleton is expected to play in the middle of the park.

Chiori Johnson comes in on the right side of defence in place of the injured Edwin Agbaje, who has returned to Ipswich Town after his loan spell.

There is also a place for midfielders Scott Pollock and Zanda Siziba on the substitutes’ bench which also features defender Max Hunt, on loan striker Reo Griffiths and frontman Malachi Linton, who came off the bench to score a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at FC Halifax Town last weekend.