Ian Perkins (Page 19)

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Despite late drama at Huish Park again, it was another defeat for Yeovil. Here are my conclusions from a cold night in Somerset.

We took a while to get going again. It’s now two home matches in a row where Mark Cooper has had to make tactical tweaks to enable Yeovil to get a foothold in the game. Up until half an hour – when Yeovil switched to a 4-2-3-1 – it was all Barnet and they could have gone in two or three up. We saw similar when Halifax came to Huish. At times this season when we’ve matched other teams in a 3-4-3 we’ve come unstuck and the same happened last night. Once we changed shape though, I felt we nullified most of Barnet’s threat.

After our equaliser I thought we’d go on to win. We certainly had the momentum in the second half and James Plant’s hard work earned a well deserved equaliser. Instead, we allowed Barnet back into it and they could have gone back in front almost immediately with Stead and Kanu fluffing chances. That gave Barnet a bit of life and Collinge’s header really took the wind out of the green and white sails. Following the strife at York, I felt we gave Barnet a bloody nose and showed that we’re not a million miles away, but I saw the difference between a side that now sits top and a side that’s trying to keep pace with the playoff pack. That said…

I think it was a penalty. There’s been plenty of debate about the penalty decision right at the end of the match and I think the referee got it wrong. You can normally tell from the reaction of the defending team if they feel a player has gone down easily and the Barnet players didn’t react in an angry or aggressive way to debutant Ed James. Looking back at the highlights, replay and super-slowmo video, it looks like the kind of the decision that more often than not goes the way of the home team. Unfortunately we’re Yeovil Town, and it feels like we never really get those 50-50 decisions.

I felt we were missing the nippy fellas. In the first half, we were crying out for some pace and dynamism and only once we shifted shape did we see James Plant get his legs really pumping. I thought we could have introduced Josh Sims or Dylan Morgan earlier to get some runners in behind. We’ve gone from having the little technicians like Pearson, Morgan, Young, even Sonny to the taller lads, Nouble and Borges supporting Jarvis up top but, I thought it slowed us down.

This was the tricky run of fixtures. Some will be surprised that there’s not uproar around last three results, but I think the context of the matches and general expectations has left quite a balanced response. For all the hyperbole and expectation at the start of the season, most realistic supporters will see a mid-table finish as success. Despite the three losses on the bounce, we’re still two points outside the playoffs, and now with Woking and Braintree either side of W*ymouth, there’s a chance for the Glovers get back to winning ways ahead of the Christmas period.

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Yeovil boss Mark Cooper spoke to BBC Somerset’s commentator Chris Sykes following the 4-0 loss at York. The boss described the afternoon as ‘wasted’ and that he’d need to sign a couple of centre halves before the visit of Barnet on Wednesday. Here’s the transcript of the conversation. You can listen here at 38:50.

CS: A difficult afternoon. Mark. What your initial thoughts off the back of that?

MC: Yeah, the game’s over as a contest after 10 minutes with the sending off and then the goal – game’s over. So yeah, then it was just a long afternoon. We can’t make that mistake at the back, you know, we’ve got a centre half trying to Cruyff turn on the edge of his own box. Compounds it by getting sent off, and then they scored for the free kick. Game over. So it was an afternoon wasted. It was a trip wasted. Our chairman paid for us to stay in a lovely hotel last night. Supporters, 340, or whatever of them, traveled untold miles in horrendous weather and we played a 10 minute game, and the rest was just a waste.

CS: Is that kind of the point you’ve made to the players, after about fans making the trip?

MC: Our fans always make the trip. So we, we know we’ve got brilliant fan. I’m about more disappointed with the discipline and decision making of some in some key areas. You know, that’s two more defenders sent off today. We’ve already lost Jake Wannell. You know, the players know that we’re struggling for defenders, and then one of them gets sent off in the last minute with a ridiculous tackle, which probably is yellow, but referee can’t wait to send him off. But for me, that’s just ridiculous decision making.

CS: Ultimately, he’s put himself in that position when you’re whether it’s yellow or red. He still put himself in position when he didn’t need to?

MC: The ref was only gonna book green shirts today, he was never going to book reds. But he [Bernard] still shouldn’t put him, if he knows that as well, he shouldn’t put himself in that position. The game’s over. No point making that tackle. So the discipline is something that I have to address, because that’s too many now.

CS: The fact that it now has left you very short in defense ahead of, ahead of the next few matches.

MC: Yeah, we have to go and sign. We have to go and sign a couple of players, because we’ve only got Morgan Williams. He’s the only centre half. So yeah, we’ll have to go and sign a couple of centre halves before Wednesday.

CS: How frustrating is it for you as a manager when you when you know you’re in the situation, the team knows in situation without Jake Wannell, and then two more get sent off. How frustrating is that it’s

MC: It’s just the level we’re at. Players make more bad decisions than the level above that and level above that. When we have our best defensive unit on the pitch, we don’t concede. So when we don’t have that on we’re in trouble.

CS: In terms of the you obviously went one nil down, down to 10 men very early on. What did you make of your side and the reaction to that throughout the first half

MC: Yeah. But then we the goalie throws one in. Ollie’s been fantastic, but he had one of those games today which keepers do. You, he’s thrown the second one in, it’s definitely game over then, because you’re playing against a good team that’s possession based. I said at halftime to the players, I take 4-0 now, so we got away with it.

CS: And you know, another game against a tough opponent, again, Barnet, coming on Wednesday. You know, where does this kind of leave you?

MC: Good game for us. Good game. We know we have to be at it, otherwise we’ll get turned over. I’ve just asked the players now, like, they just need a bit of honesty, a little bit of humility. And people to put their hand up, and say I’ve let the club down today, and we need a response. So as a staff we”l certainly be doing that. I’ve just asked the players there, that we need a little bit of honesty after that game. And it’s not about, ‘well, it wasn’t me, it was somebody else’. Everybody’s got to have luck in the mirror today and say we need to be better than that.

CS: Is there kind of a feeling of obviously bad results there, but generally speaking, it’s just one?

MC: Not really no, because we wasted an opportunity last week to get three points. With this game in mind it put us in a real position to attack this game. And last Saturday has put us in the difficult position now where we’ve come to York and got beat and now we got to play at the top team in Barnet so players have to respond.

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Florent Hoti’s effort flies past Ollie Wright to put FC Halifax Town in to a 1-0 lead. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

The unbeaten run has come to an end, but there was plenty to like about the last half an hour yesterday. Here are my conclusions from a fiery finish at Huish Park.

 

It lived up to its pre-match billing. We didn’t anticipate a goalfest and we didn’t get one. Halifax don’t score many and don’t concede a lot either. For the first hour, Yeovil didn’t particularly lay a glove on the visitors, while they had pot-shots from distance and one big (offside?) chance where Ollie Wright made a great save from Billy Waters. I think the difference that Charlie Cooper makes when were in a 3-4-2-1 was clear. We needed that fire in the middle of the pitch and we really missed him.

We didn’t get going until the changes. Halifax’s goal saw Mark Cooper change things up and Yeovil came to life. The return of Michael Smith and Josh Sims – showing more than he has so far in a Yeovil shirt – lifted everything. The players started finding space and putting a load of pressure on Halifax’s back line. That energy lifted Huish Park and for the final 20 minutes there was belief that an equaliser was coming.

Goalmouth Scramble v Halifax
Pic: Gary Brown

I’m not sure how we didn’t score. The relentless wave of green and white tried it’s best to suffocate Halifax but somehow couldn’t get back on level terms. Sims had chances, Wannell had chances, there was scramble after scramble, tussling in the box, shouts for penalties and everything else under the sun but no goal and more drama…

I think it was a red card. As the match ticked closer to the 90th minute it became a powder keg and it was either going to explode into a goal or something else. Sadly, it was something else. Jake Wannell gets caught in a tussle inside the Halifax half and as he tries to stand up, he stands on the opponents leg. My gut feel at the time was that it was a stamp. The ref didn’t see it, the assistant on the Screwfix Stand side didn’t see it, but the official furthest away did. There was certainly some of that classic football hustle and bustle in the moment but I can see why the red was given. 

Jake Wannell is flabbergasted at the decision to send him off.
Pic: Gary Brown

Finn Cousin-Dawson was excellent. He was awarded sponsors man of the match and it was well-deserved. FCD has been on the periphery up until suspension season and he’s taken his chance. Preferred to the available Dom Bernard yesterday he was calm and composed defensively and strong stepping out with the ball. With a potential four match ban for Wannell should an appeal be unsuccessful, he deserves to retain his place in the team.

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Yeovil Town’s seven-match unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of FC Halifax Town in a match which saw defender Jake Wannell red carded late in the game.

Following a thoroughly forgettable first half, the visitors took the lead on 57 minutes when Florent Hoti rifled home from the edge of the box, but it was a double substitution nine minutes later which changed the game for the home side.

Michael Smith and Josh Sims replaced Frank Nouble and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton as Yeovil pushed for an equaliser with Sims spurning some great opportunities and Pedro Borges forcing a fine save out of Halifax keeper Sam Johnson.

With 90 minutes on the clock, Wannell was given a straight red after an off-the-ball tangle with visiting defender Will Smith, who accused the Yeovil man of stamping on him.

The result means Halifax leap-frog their hosts in to seventh place in the National League Premier Division table with the Glovers dropping to eighth.

 

First half

Yeovil were on top from the start and were spraying some lovely accurate passes around Huish Park, but there was nothing to trouble either Ollie Wright or Sam Johnson in the opposing goals in the opening 15 minutes.

The first chance fell to the visitors’ Billy Waters on the 15 minute mark. A long ball over the top saw the Yeovil defence stand still expecting an offside flag which did not come and they were indebted to Ollie Wright who made a superb save with his legs. Seconds later Florent Hoti flashed an effort just wide of the left-hand post. A let off for the Glovers.

Ollie Wright dives as Florent Hoti’s shot goes wide. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

For the next 15 minutes, the similar formations and styles of the two sides boasting the third and fourth-best defensive records in the division rather cancelled each other out.

On 33 minutes, Hoti called Wright in to action again, this time with a long range effort which the on loan Southampton keeper got down smartly to parry away. 

There were no efforts on goal for Yeovil but Kofi Shaw gave the crowd something to get excited about on 35 minutes. He produced a Cruyff turn about 25 yards from the visitors’ goal, drove forward and fired a ball back across goal which Johnson did well to cut out with green-and-white shirts arriving behind him.

The half finished with Waters’ chance in the 15th minute the only meaningful effort on goal from either side. Stalemate.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 FC Halifax Town 0

Second half

The first opportunity for the home side came three minutes after the restart and a great opportunity for Nouble to play a sideways pass to Shaw who was in a great position, but instead he tried to chip it forward to Jarvis. Almost a great opportunity. Almost.

The opening ten minutes of the second half were more lively than the opening 45 minutes. The game has become a bit of a scrap with Hoti firing another effort wide for the visitors.

But on 57 minutes, Hoti broke the deadlock. A free-kick in to the box was not dealt with by the Yeovil defence, Adam Adetoro laid it off to Florent HOTI on the edge of the box and he smashed it through a crowded area past Wright.

Florent Hoti’s effort flies past Ollie Wright to put FC Halifax Town in to a 1-0 lead. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

With still no efforts on goal from the home side and Halifax having the best defensive record in the division on their travels, this is a test.

On 66 minutes, Yeovil rang the changes with Michael Smith and Josh Sims replacing Frank Nouble and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. That mean a back four with Whittle, Wannell, Cousin-Dawson and Smith, whilst Borges moved in to the middle alongside McGavin.

Sims almost had an instant impact when he got his head on a left wing cross from Whittle a minute after his arrival, but it was straight in to the hands of Johnson.

Soon after the same combination saw Whittle’s ball drop to Sims on 70 minutes and the former Southamnpton man’s volley went over.

But the best opportunity came from Jake Wannell two minutes later when he got a close range header in from a superb cross from Shaw, but Johnson was there. We have definitely upped the tempo since the changes, but Johnson’s not really been tested yet.

The keeper was at full stretch with 79 minutes on the clock. A scruffy clearance from the Halifax defence landed to Borges who did superbly to chest the ball down and fire in a shot which Johnson parried wide.

On 85 minutes, another great opportunity when Sims burst in to the box and side-footed it to Shaw who went down in a bundle inside the six-yard area. The roar went up from the Huish Park crowd, but it was not given by the referee.Two minutes (yet) another chance, McGavin’s corner fell to Shaw (I think) and it was scrambled away, then seconds later Wannell found himself inside the box and yet he could not get enough on it to scramble it home. How Yeovil have not scored in these last ten minutes, I do not know.

Undoubtedly, the impact of Michael Smith and Josh Sims has had an impact, ever since their arrivals it has been chance after chance – but still nothing over the line.

“1-0 to the referee” was ringing around Huish Park and they got louder with a minute of normal time remaining when Jake Wannell was sent off. An off-the-ball incident between the defender, who had been playing up front for the past five minutes, and Halifax’s Will Smith led to loud complaints accusing Wannell of stamping on his opponent from the visitors and a red card shown by referee Jason Richardson.

Jake Wannell cannot believe his eyes. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

No way could the referee have seen that incident, presumably one of his assistants did. If there is no appeal (or an unsuccessful one), that would be Wannell’s second red card of the season and a four-match ban.

That did not stop the Yeovil efforts to find an equaliser, so much so that Ollie Wright even went forward for a free-kick deep in to injury time. It was not enough.
 
You would never have predicted that second half after a tepid first half, but the changes from manager Mark Cooper made all the difference and they pushed hard for an equaliser. Not to be.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 FC Halifax Town 1

 

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 16th November 2024 – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Florent Hoti 57, 

Pitch:  Skiddy
Conditions: Grey, cold, damp 

Attendance: 3,829 (69 away supporters)

Bookings:
FC Halifax Town: Florent Hoti 82
Yeovil Town: Sonny Blu Lo-Everton 32, 

Red Cards:
FC Halifax Town: None
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 90

Referee: Jason Richardson

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

 

Substitutes:  Michael Smith (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 66), Josh Sims (for Frank Nouble, 66), Dom Bernard (not used), Dylan Morgan (not used), Harvey Greenslade (not used), Matt Gould (not used) .

FC Halifax Town: Sam Johnson, Adam Senior, Angelo Cappello (for Jack Evans, 75), Will Smith, Jo Cummings, Adam Adetoro (for Adan George, 72), Tom Pugh, Jack Jenkins (for Andrew Oluwabori, 83), Jamie Cooke, Billy Waters, Florent Hoti (for Owen Bray, 84).

Substitutes (not used): Nathaniel Ford, Frankie Sinfield, Zak Emmerson.

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Yeovil Town top scorer Aaron Jarvis is back in the starting XI for today’s National League Premier match with FC Halifax Town at Huish Park (3pm kick-off).

The frontman is one of two changes from the Glovers’ side which started the 1-0 win at Southend United last weekend with Brett McGavin coming in for the suspended Charlie Cooper.

Full-back Michael Smith, who has been missing since the start of December with a hamstring injury, is named among the substitutes alongside defender Dom Bernard, who is available after serving a one-man ban seven days ago.

For the visitors, former loanee Andrew Oluwabori is named on the substitutes’ bench.