A big 4-1 victory on Friday night, but conspicuous by his absence was captain Luke McCormick. Chris Fox joins Ian and Ben to discuss the win and the absentee skipper and everything in between.
Thanks to the Essex Glovers Dan and Charlie, Tim Hubble and Stoney and Andrew Foot for the voice notes.
Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley praised his squad’s defensive organisation and teamwork following the 1-1 draw at Aldershot that saw the Glovers play with ten men for an hour after Loick Ayina’s first half red card.
Yeovil went ahead through Slavi Spasov after a good team move and looked in the mood following a run of two defeats. Yeovil were denied a late winner and penalty and Rowley expressed his disappointment with some of the officiating on the night.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah, Rowley said: “It’s bitterly disappointing, especially as I’ve just heard – maybe shouldn’t say this, but it’s the truth – I’ve just heard whispers of, you know, a referee assessor in the stadium sort of saying, ‘well, you know, it was a penalty, and it was a foul on JD’. So we’ve had some really, really strange decisions against us tonight. But that is what it is, I hope they are swings and roundabouts. It seems like it’s not at the moment for us, but we hope that changes.
“Sometimes you win a game, and you feel like you’ve lost, for emotional reasons and quality reasons, but I feel the performance tonight and the connection with the supporters and the heart and the grit that we showed, it feels like a win. It feels like a win from an emotional standpoint and a progress standpoint. We’ve lost out on two points that we probably should have had. I think we defended incredibly well, even when obviously we went to ten men pretty early. I felt like the boys rolled up their sleeves, they stuck their chest out a little bit and I felt like it was just a proper team performance.
“So, I’ll say it again, sometimes you play great and you lose a game, and I’ll praise the lads for that, and sometimes we win and we’re not so great, and I’ll also talk about that as often as I can, but tonight, like I say, it feels like a win from a team bonding perspective but equally [I’m] really disappointed to not win the game.”
The Glovers combined brilliantly to open the scoring through Spasov and the manager praised several of his team for the build up in the goal, which started with a ball from Joe Gubbins: “[It was] brilliant from Gubbins. I thought he was superb tonight, and we spoke a little bit to him yesterday in training about opening up that pass. It’s a really wide pitch here, they defend in a back four. I felt like if we ran the slot between their full-back and centre-back, we could free up [Ryan] Jonesy quite often, which Archie does really well. Gubbo’s picked it out incredibly and I think it was Zain [with the] good run. I thought Zain was superb as well, and I’m really, really happy for Slavi to score. He’s the model pro. He’s such a good lad. I love watching him train, and we’ve not seen the best of him yet, so I’m really happy that he’s off the mark.”
The game turned in the 29th minute when Ayina followed up his loose touch with a high, rash tackle giving the referee little choice other than a red card.
Speaking on the Salford loanee’s sending off Rowley said: “Look, naturally, I can’t praise and speak highly enough of Loick as a lad. He’s such a good character in the changing room. All of the players absolutely love him. I’m naturally frustrated with him. He’s obviously kicking himself inside, but sometimes when you’ve sat on the bench for the last five weeks and you don’t get on, and you travel to Barrow and you don’t get on, you have so much built-up adrenaline, and you want to prove yourself, and – I haven’t seen the tackle, so I don’t know what that looks like – but I kind of feel for him in a sense, because he just obviously wants to impress and show what he’s about, and I love that aggression as well, like I want defenders that want to defend and defend for their team, so I’ve got no bad words to say about Loick on that. It’s obviously a frustrating one, but that is what it is.”
The Glovers could (should?) have won it late on following Michee Efete’s equaliser with James Daly penalised for a foul after assisting Luke McCormick and a cynical trip on Ryan Jones as he entered the penalty area. On those moments, Rowley said: “Well, again, I’ll have to watch these things back to give a clear view on it. My gut feeling and my emotional feeling, being Yeovil manager, I thought it was a penalty, and I’m hearing from the bench it was a penalty, and I’ve heard the referee assessor whisper that in the stand as well, so a bit early disappointed with that. We just can’t control that now, so we just move on from that.”
Following defeat at the weekend and the spirited draw, Yeovil head into Friday against Solihull Moors tired but buoyed by ‘incredible’ support.
“While I’m so annoyed with the ref, it sort of killed us and at least if you come out of this game with three points, it feels a little bit sweeter. We are fully aware that we have to play again on Friday.
“The boys are in a good spot. There’s going to be a few tired bodies out there, a few tired legs, and a few tired minds probably, but it’s going to be down to us as a staff now to recover properly. Solihull is going to be a really tough game. I think they’re really unlucky to be where they are, um, looking at a lot of the data and metrics in the league. For all the nerds out there, there is a stat called expected points, and if you base it on that, they should be in the playoffs. So, it’s going to be a really difficult fixture for us, and we’re going to have to recover properly and make sure we’re right for that game.
“I actually had goosebumps again at the end, and I can’t thank them enough for that. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this is not going to be a linear process for us with signing 15 players. We’re going to have our ups and downs. We’ve got a lot of young players in that changing room that, you know, a fair amount of them have come from a level below this, if not two levels below this. I appreciate, we’re a big club, we want to win every match – we will come good. I was really happy with a lot of aspects of our performance tonight, and I can’t thank [the travelling supporters] enough,” Rowley added.
Well, that wasn’t the plan. Yeovil were humbled by AFC Fylde on Saturday in a 4-1 defeat. Foxy is back with Ian and Ben to chat about the defeat and a look ahead to Aldershot on Tuesday.
Thanks to Andrew Foot and Michael Stone and Tim Hubble for their thoughts!
AFC Fylde came to town yesterday put Yeovil Town to the sword in a 1-4 defeat at Huish Park. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions…
A bump back to reality. If last week was a ‘well Southend are pretty good’ sort of reaction, this result was a massive bump back to reality. The Glovers were second best from the coin toss and Fylde controlled the game from the moment they turned Yeovil around. They may have only had four shots on goal, but I thought they nullified most of play, unless we went long for Archie Davies.
It could have been so different. At 0-1 in the 44th minute Archie Davies found himself with a golden opportunity and hit the post when he looked sure to repeat last weekend at Southend. Moments later Fylde got the second and totally killed our momentum. It was a real sucker punch but shows the fine margins in the National League this season.
I think we need more options up top. Another game of two halves for each of our strikers and it’s fair to say neither of them set the world alight yesterday. Walker was hooked at half time so that Yeovil could “change the press” with Slavi. Both have their strengths but neither could provide the solution yesterday. Could the answer be James Daly? Charlie Lennon? Or are we waiting for Joe Haigh? I think we’re lacking a nippy Adam Stansfield-esque striker.
Fylde were impressive. I think they were the best team I’ve seen at Huish Park this season. Well-organised with an effective press, we really struggled to play out from the back. The visitors were also able to get into that shape which seems to make everyone stand still and do nothing which Joy Mukena seemed to fall victim to when he had the ball. They moved the ball nicely and took their chances when they came. You can they’re a side with momentum following a domination of the National League North last season.
We’re still a work in progress. The early results and brief flirt with top spot saw a lot of rational thinking go out the window and the Green Day rule (no league table discussion until September ends) left in tatters. But the last two games have shown how much of a work in progress we still are, and given us a reminder that this group is still in its infancy as a team. Injuries to Ben Radcliffe and Joy Mukena only disrupted things further. There’s no time to dwell on it though, with Aldershot and Solihull around the corner in yet another busy week and a chance to get back on form.
All photography courtesy of Andy Preston – AP Photography
Welcome to another Mini Matchday edition of the Gloverscast! This week, the opposition focus turns to AFC Fylde as they make the long journey down from Lancashire to South Somerset to face the Glovers.
We’re delighted to be joined by Jack Connor to get the inside track on the opposition camp and how things are shaping up for the visitors.
In this episode, we discuss:
We were top of the league…but we tasted defeat for the first time this season at Southend. Andy Craig is back to discuss the 3-2 loss at Roots Hall with Ian and Dave.
Thanks to Tim Hubble and Dorset Jim for the voice notes.
In this episode of Glovers Past, we sit down with Charlie Lee, calling in all the way from the Gold Coast of Australia, to reflect on his deeply eventful spell at Huish Park.
Arriving in the summer of 2019 after Yeovil Town’s relegation to the National League, Charlie was a key part of Darren Sarll’s sweeping squad rebuild. He takes us inside a dressing room packed with massive characters—including Carl Dickinson, Luke Wilkinson, and Lee Collins—and breaks down the momentum that saw the team rack up six consecutive wins before the world ground to a halt.
Charlie speaks candidly about the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during his time in Somerset, moving from his playing days into his first taste of management when he stepped up as interim boss.
In this episode, we discuss:
Whether you’re looking for dressing room anecdotes or honest reflections on one of the most turbulent periods in the club’s recent history, Charlie delivers incredible insight into what it truly meant to wear the green and white during this era.
On this episode of the Gloverscast, Ian met with a Sahil Prabhu at Huish Park to talk about his role at Yeovil Town, what part he’s played so far and what the future holds. Dave caught up with Jonny from the Barrow Fanzine, Give ‘Em Beans.
Enjoy the match!
Well that was excellent wasn’t it?
Ian, Dave and Ben wax lyrical about a wonderful afternoon at Huish Park where the Glovers turned it on to triumph over Gateshead. We talk an unbelievable first half, a controlled second, Luke McCormick, Ste Walker and the rest.
Many thanks to this week’s plebstensions: Don Gibson, Tim Hubble, Chris ‘Jaegerbomb’ Fox, Dan Franklyn and Michael Stone & Andrew Foot.
Ian was at a resplendent Huish Park for the lunchtime kickoff as the Glovers carved through Gateshead again and again. Here are his Five Conclusions…
The first half was as complete a performance as I can remember. The Glovers were scintillating from the off. Breaking forward at pace, perpetual motion from the forward players and it took just 2 minutes for Ste Walker to bag his second goal in green and white. In truth, it should have been four by half time. Ryan Jones hit the bar, Walker couldn’t get his feet untangled, Charlie Lennon caused all sorts of problems and the Glovers had 8 shots on target in the first half. It was probably the first time since Gateshead at home last season that we’d seen such a performance…
The midfield duo are finding their feet. Brett McGavin, who Gateshead clearly hadn’t watched, was given the license to dictate all afternoon. When McGavin is given the sort of time he was afforded he will control the tempo and pick out pass after pass after pass. But, he has had the perfect partner in Zain Westbrooke. Westbrooke is the ever-willing runner who quietly goes about his business. He’s one of those that may go unnoticed during a game, but lose him and it’ll leave an almighty hole.
We’ve got fantastic depth. It’s a testament to the recruitment and the ownership group that we’ve got the most depth I can recall us having in National League, if not further back. The be able bring on Loick Ayina, Mason Obeng, Hayden Muller, Slavi Spasov and Johl Powell and have the levels not drop shows how far we’ve come. They’d be starters in previous seasons and there’s still the likes of Jack Kingdon, Joe Gubbins, James Daly and Joe Haigh that weren’t available or didn’t get on the pitch.
Super Luke McCormick. It’s only taken three matches but the skipper looks to be back to his mercurial best. His goals yesterday were calmness personified, in those moments he was the coolest head in Huish Park we needed that to finally put a game to bed this season. We saw that sort of performance so many times before his injury last season and to see it this soon is promising. Chants of ‘Super Luke McCormick’ rang out of the Thatchers yesterday, the chant solly reserved for Super Gav has been passed on.
What is this feeling? Is it confidence? Is it comfort? Have you ever seen such a one-sided highlight package in our favour? There was a moment yesterday where we had Gateshead chasing shadows and it reminded me of us, and how teams come to Huish Park and give us the run around. Yesterday, we were the dominant team and we have set a benchmark now for what we are capable of. Next weekend will be another challenge with two fixtures so close together but for the first time in years, I’ve got confidence in the Glovers.
