Ian Perkins (Page 21)

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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.

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Yeovil Town took home all three points from Southend this afternoon but Mark Cooper was far from pleased with his afternoon in Essex. The Yeovil boss praised the ‘incredible’ travelling support and his players, but during his interview with BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins, took aim at Southend, the FA and some of the things he heard during the match.

Here’s the full transcript of the interview:

Josh Perkins: Mark, I imagine you’ve got to be fairly happy with that one?

Mark Cooper: Yeah, I’m happy with the result. It was a horrible atmosphere. Yeah, I lost a little bit of what is in my soul about football today, some things I’ve seen and heard, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all.

Josh Perkins: Can I ask what you heard?

Mark Cooper: No, just ridiculous stuff.

Josh Perkins: Okay, focusing on the game when you’re in those moments, be it with the red card from their keeper and the red card for their head coach and things. How difficult is that to kind of get on top of? And you know, make sure that you play your game?

Mark Cooper: You have to stay calm, of course. All our players stayed calm. One of our players [Charlie Cooper] got a yellow card which means he’s suspended. Is, honest to God, some of the stuff like that. Again, I’ve seen and heard full respect to our players. They kept they kept it together, and played our football that we do, and dominate the ball for long periods and just a matter of time if we were going to score.

Josh Perkins: And, you won’t go in to what you heard potentially. But was it from a Yeovil or Southend contingent?

Mark Cooper: No comment. I’ll not comment on it, it’s just ridiculous. What I’ve heard.

Josh Perkins: Okay. And I guess happy with James Plant’s first goal for the club as well? You know, he said to me earlier, he didn’t mean it, but, you know, across ends up with a goal.

Mark Cooper: It was a great cross wasn’t it? So yeah, listen, we deserved to win the game. It was tough on them. The goalie gets sent off. It ruins the game as a spectacle. But I thought it was a sending off – he handled the ball outside the box. They appealed for a penalty. I’ve just seen it wasn’t a penalty. I feel really sorry for referees and fourth officials, because they’ve been put in a really difficult position where you can get booked, as a player, as a manager, for adopting a winning attitude. Or I’ve been sent off this season for raising my arms above my waist, so which was rescinded. Their manager has had the same, but the referees and the officials have nowhere to go with it because they’re instructed. And we’re just losing the spirit and the emotion of the game.

Josh Perkins: Okay. And looking forward, we’ve got the next game, you mentioned that Charlie Cooper is suspended for. But you know, what do you take from this game going into next week?

Mark Cooper: Three points. I can’t wait to get out, get home. I wanted to come and watch Southend last week, and they wouldn’t leave me a ticket. They wouldn’t even reply to our emails. They’ve refused to make any food for our players, which is a National League rule. So, yeah, I can’t wait to get home to be honest, Can I just say tremendous turnout from our supporters. Incredible. They follow us through thick and thin, and they’re unbelievable. Great turnout.