Ian Perkins (Page 18)

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Frustration was the word of the day at Huish Park as Woking came from behind to salvage a point from a scrappy and bitty game.

The Glovers took the lead in first half stoppage time, but an impressive second half performance from the visitors saw them claim a goal to take a share of the spoils. Here’s how it went down.

First half

Ciaran McGuckin returned to the starting line up at the first time of asking on his second loan spell in place of Kofi Shaw with Chris Todd in the dugout and Mark Cooper in the stands.
 
The first half was an even affair with both sides enjoying spells of possession. There was an early booking for Charlie Cooper who collided with Dale Gorman in the 3rd minute.
 
Gorman was in the thick of the action again in the 15th minute with a low shot from the edge of the box helped wide by Ollie Wright via a Jake Wannell deflection.
 
The Glovers had moments in the attacking areas with Frank Nouble and Josh Sims finding space out wide to get crosses into the box. Sean McGurk was inches away from getting on the end of a Nouble cross before Dion Kelly-Evans’ diving header directed it out for a corner.
 
Woking enjoyed a spell of possession without doing as great deal with the ball and lacked quality with their deliveries into the box with Wright enjoying some catching practice.
 
Throughout the first half, Yeovil looked likely to get something from a cross or set piece, with the deliveries from open play causing Woking problems.
 
Eventually into first half stoppage time, the opener came. Charlie Cooper’s wonderfully flighted cross from deep was matched by an equally wonderful looping header from Aaron JARVIS. The route to goal was only over the top of Jaaskelainen to the back post and Yeovil’s number 9 met it with precision. 1-0.
 
Jarvis was in the wars moments later following a collision with Gorman which went unnoticed by the referee although it drew a fierce reaction from Chris Todd in the dugout. 
 

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Woking 0

Second half

With neither side making any changes, the game restarted in brisk conditions.
 
The visitors had the first half chance has Harry Beautyman and Inih Effiong combined to give Jermaine Anderson an opening, but the Glovers defence smothered out the chance.
 
Adam Chicksen gave Ollie Wright some catching practice on 48 minutes, and it wasn’t until the clock ticked 50 did the Glovers make their first foray into the Woking half, but Aaron Jarvis couldn’t latch onto a through ball originally aimed for Frank Nouble, but the Guvnor was in an offside position.
 
Charlie Cooper and Brett McGavin were linking up nicely and with the latter winning a free kick, nothing came of it though and the sides began a short exchange of giving the possession back to one another.
It was Frank Nouble who put his foot on the ball, despite nearly losing the ball, he got himself free and was brought down by Harry Beautyman, who found his name taken.
 
The set piece was dealt with by a Woking side defending on the edge of their box, Sean McGurk twisted and turned but couldn’t quite find a green and white head with a well placed cross.
 
A short break in play as Dion Kelly-Evans needed treatment, with Woking in the ascendancy it was possibly not at the best time for the visitors, the appropriately named Ben Wynter coming on his place.
 
The game was edging towards the scrappy nature, Finn Cousin-Dawson went down off the ball, and got booked on 51 minutes, when the football did get going again, the Glovers tried to get forward again, Josh Sims couldn’t find a cross, Dom Bernard’s effort was claimed by the Finnish Keeper, Will Jaaskelainen.
 
Sims was next to have his name taken, a challenge on Beautyman deemed worthy of more than just a ticking off.
 
With the hour mark coming and going, the game was still yet to really settle down; Woking sub Wynter tried a cross which came to nothing and Charlie Cooper managed a heart-in-mouth moment well with a calm clearance… (can you tell I’m struggling to really make a lot of this game!?)
 
What this game needed was an explosion of quality, and it almost came from Aaron Jarvis who was within touching distance of getting to a through-ball ahead of the keeper, what followed was a good free kick set up as McGavin laid the ball into the path of Nouble, but the Glovers number 10 could only offer a pea-roller towards goal.
 
Two changes for Woking with 65 minutes on the clock, Anderson and Francis taken off and Aiden O’Brien and Lewis Walker entering the fray.
 
They both were involved in the action fairly quickly, Walker’s shot forced behind for a corner. 
Gorman’s set piece was headed away, but another shot came in, this time from Beautyman was deflected over by the head of Jake Wannell, another corner, another chance to get the ball into the area for Woking. But this time, Effiong could only put it wide.
 
The first change for the Glovers saw Frank Nouble replaced by Michael Smith, Jacob Wannell taking the armband.
 
The change seemed to just give the Glovers a chance to get going again and with 72 minutes gone, Sean McGurk picked up a lovely pass from Charlie Cooper only to see his curled effort clip the post.
 
Up the other end, quick movement between Lewis Walker took the ball down and his shot seemed to flick in off the other sub Aiden O’BRIEN.
 
That evened the game up at one a piece. Both sides were now looking for a second goal with 15 minutes left.
 
A few minutes later, Ciaran McGuckin went down under a challenge from Cian Harries – nothing doing from the referee, the Rotherham loanee hobbling back to his feet.
 
With ten minutes to go, Woking were once again in the ascendancy, earning a corner after Effiong’s shot was skewed wide off Jake Wannell.
The resulting set piece, taken by the pantomime villain, Gorman, dropped kindly for a Woking fan only for some combination of Michael Smith and Dom Bernard, just about, doing enough to keep the ball out.
 

Momentum was well and truly with the away side now, Chris Todd choosing to bring on a Glovers’ debutant – Jacob Maddox in play of Sean McGurk for the final eight or nine minutes.

This brought a slight chance of formation, Bernard switching to left back and a flat back four for the Glovers.

 
Michael Smith won an 84th minute corner, which was only half cleared by the visitors, the hosts came back though and tried to create another chance through Josh Sims, but his one-on-one with Chicksen only trickling out for a harmless goal kick.
 
The clock ticked past 90 minutes and it’s fair to say that the possession was very much in favour of Woking, five minutes added on.
 
Could either side find a final chance? Yeovil held possession in and around the final third but without a final ball to really give someone, anyone a sight at goal.
 
One final change for Yeovil as McGuckin was replaced by Harvey Greenslade to try and squeeze something out of the final seconds.
 
Yeovil were still using the ball nicely, but when Jacob Maddox went down there were some half hearted cries for action from the official, nothing doing. When Josh Sims when down late on there were some half hearted cries for action from the official. Nothing doing again.
 
That, was, that. One all. Point each. 
 

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Woking 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 11th January- 3pm kick-off 

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Aaron Jarvis 45+1 (1-0), Aiden O’Brien 74  (1-1)

Pitch: You wouldn’t have thought it had snowed on and barely above 0 this week.
Conditions: Dry and cold

Attendance: 3188 (213 Woking fans)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 3, Brett McGavin 37, Finn Cousin-Dawson 59
Woking:  Harry Beautyman 54

Referee: Paul Johnson

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

Substitutes: Michael Smith (for Finn Cousin-Dawson 71), Jacob Maddox (for Sean McGurk, 83), Harvey Greenslade (for Ciaran McGuckin, 90+4), Matt Worthington (not used), Pedro Borges (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used). 

Woking: Will Jaaskelainen, Cian Harries, Jamie Andrews, Harry Beautyman, Dale Gorman, Inih Effiong, Adam Chicksen, Tunji Akinola, Jermaine Anderson (for Aiden O’Brien, 67), Dion Kelly-Evans (for Ben Wynter, 58), Frank Vincent (for Lewis Walker, 67).

Substitutes (not used):  Jacob Jones, Dennon Lewis,  Rohan Ince, Oliver Webber

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The return of Ciaran McGuckin will provide some much-needed firepower up front for Yeovil. His recall back to Rotherham in October left us short on support for Aaron Jarvis – and with Harvey Greenslade not fully fit and then loaned out to Weston-super-Mare – the attacking combinations have quite clicked like they did with McGuckin in the forward line.

Aaron Jarvis has toiled so far this season, dropping deep to bring other players into the game and generally warring with defenders to keep the shirt on his back. McGuckin’s return will take the pressure off Jarvis somewhat, and add another dynamic to an attack that has struggled to break down teams higher in the table.

Ciaran McGuckin scores his first Yeovil goal. Pic by Gary Brown.

Speaking of the top of the table, over the weekend York City completed the permanent signing of Josh Stones from League One side Wigan Athletic. The 21-year-old hasn’t played a lot of football but scored seven goals in 10 appearances over two loan spells for Oldham and the rumours are that the Minstermen have spent six-figures on the striker.

The signing adds to the mountain of evidence that it takes big money to get out of the National League. Stockport, Wrexham, Notts County, Chesterfield have all spent fortunes to get back to the EFL and with York City not afraid to splash the cash and Forest Green Rovers bankrolled by Dale Vince, who in 2022 had a net worth of more than £100m, it’s going to take something special to lay a glove on the top of the table.


It’s not like we’ve not been here before though. Think back to that 2012/13 season and Gary’s heroes. On paper we had no right to be in the conversation with Doncaster, Bournemouth, Brentford and Sheffield United at the top end of the table – half of those four have become Premier League stalwarts since. But, we managed it with a brilliant team spirit and a togetherness with the supporters that has the potential to be the difference-maker on the day. If the January reinforcements arrive and this run of home games returns some performances and points, I believe we can keep the pace with the play off chasers.

FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE BILL

In the broader picture of the game, the Football Governance Bill has passed its second reading in the House of Lords, with some phases still to go, but an email from the Fair Game organisation popped into my inbox on the 30th of December and they think there’s further to go still. If you fancy settling in for a read they have plenty of suggestions about adding more teeth to the bill here. We’re an associate member of the Football Supporters Association and they’ve provided five suggested amendments too. Two of which are specifically around engagement with supporters. One thing is for sure; robust supporter organisations and representatives will be crucial when the bill comes into effect.

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2025 didn’t quite kick off how Yeovil would have hoped with defeat at Forest Green Rovers. Here are my Five Conclusions from the 2-1 loss at The New Lawn.

I hate talking about the officials. At this point it feels like an inevitability that there will be contentious decisions at the heart of a Yeovil game. Interestingly, Steve Cotterill said after the match that Forest Green were due a penalty having had none all season, although I’m not sure that justifies it. Kofi Shaw’s first yellow card, a classic case of six of one, half a dozen of the other was harsh in my opinion. The penalty decision is a close call too, and it’s hard to say with the angles I’ve seen whether it’s inside the box or not. However, once again we’re left complaining about the officiating in a match and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s bored of it. 

Ref, Referee, Match Official
Pic Gary Brown

I thought we were excellent. The first half performance from the Glovers was what you’d have wanted away at one of the top sides in the division. Only once did the defence get really stretched and Yeovil stuck to their principles and moved the ball calmly and patiently. The opening goal from Kofi Shaw shows some real bravery from Ollie Wright to throw it out to Shaw over the Forest Green midfield and the 18-year-old took it from there. We had a couple of overloads where, on another day, we could have taken advantage of.

The nippy fellas are key. I thought Josh Sims had the best match of his time at Yeovil so far. There was a lot to do on our left both defensively and offensively and but for a couple of misplaced passes in the final third, he did really well. Kofi Shaw continued doing Kofi Shaw things – the kid’s a maverick and we should celebrate and encourage that in football. I was also impressed with Sean McGurk – nippy, technical and not afraid to shoot – it’s early days but he appears to be an upgrade on Dylan Morgan in that part of the pitch. We know we need to do more in the final third and with some help for Aaron Jarvis, I think we can find it.

We are so close. The first half performance showed me that this group are so close to being a team that flirting with the top end of the table. We’ve clearly got the quality in the team and when it clicks we look comfortable defensively and really assured on the ball. Forest Green were always going to be a bit more open than sides we’d play at home as they’re gunning to get out of the league straight away, but until they brought on two giants in Cardwell and Quigley we handled everything they threw at us. Once again though, it was the attacking moments that we didn’t take advantage of.

Kofi Shaw. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Reinforcements are much-needed. It was reassuring to hear Mark Cooper talk about freshening up the squad in the next ten days. With two youth players on the bench (and two goalkeepers) the depth is sorely lacking at the moment. I thought Aaron Jarvis had another tough task in the second half, especially after the red and substitution of McGurk. The energy that Sims and Worthington brought in the first half wasn’t there in the second, naturally. I actually thought the game could of have done with Frank Nouble from the bench, just to see if something stuck and took the pressure of the back line as Forest Green bombarded the Yeovil box. 

 

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Mark Cooper bemoaned the officiating once again, as a red card for Kofi Shaw in the 75th minute changed the course of the Yeovil’s New Years Day match against Forest Green Rovers. The hosts went on to win 2-1 with a stoppage time winner from Ryan Inniss, but up until the sending off, the Glovers were well worth their 1-0 lead.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah in the aftermath of the match Cooper praised his side’s performance: “First half, we were outstanding. [We] dominated the game with the ball. [We] played through a really good team and caused them untold problems, and we deserved to be winning. The game turns on another contentious decision. I just think when you come to the big boys – deemed big boys in the league – I don’t know what it is, I think if you give a pen for that, you give 10 a game. You could say [Kofi Shaw] doesn’t need to do it, but he clearly kicks the ball. Is it in the box? Very, very debatable. So I’m not sure you can give a penalty for that.”

Cooper also said there was a handball in the passage of play which resulted in the corner than Forest Green Rovers scored their winner from: “Well there was a handball. But, what they’ll say, is ‘it was accidental’. But listen, they’re gonna make it up as they go along, and make sure that Forest Green get a decision.”

With two goalkeepers on the bench and only Finn Cousin-Dawson and Michael Smith used from it, Cooper said he was working on ‘freshening’ up the squad in the next ten days and that the club had agreed a ‘really good one’.

“We played brilliantly well today. The first half, we were amazing,  that’s how we want to play. But when we look at the bench, we didn’t have too much where we could change it and freshen it up. And that’s what we’re going to be working on in the next 10 days. We’ve agreed one –  a really good one, and, [we are] still after a left-sided wing back.”