Ian Perkins (Page 3)

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September was crazy wasn’t it?

Here’s how the results went, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story.

September    
02.09.25 Solihull Moors 1-0
06.09.25 York City 1-3
13.09.25 Woking 1-0
20.09.25 Tamworth 0-1
24.09.25 Aldershot Town 4-1
27.09.25 Altrincham 1-0
30.09.25 Sutton United 2-1

Danny Webb was named Yeovil manager on the 12th, taking charge on Tamworth on the 20th before his departure was announced on the 22nd with Richard Dryden being appointed as manager until the end of the season. 

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Luke McCormick said it was devastating to lose out in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, but that the Glovers would stick together and bounce back next weekend.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman, the midfielder said: “We’re devastated in there. We thought that we started the game slowly. The sending off definitely helped us. And then it’s about quality in both boxes. We definitely had the chances. And look, it is what it is. We’re very disappointed. Sorry to the travelling fans. It’s obviously devastating to to exit the FA Cup at this stage, but full focus back on the league and we need to stick together.”

McCormick said the team got a ‘livener’ at half time “It’s a little bit of a godsend, their sending off. And then, yeah, obviously it gives you a little bit more time on the ball. First half, I didn’t think we were at the races. We got a little livener at half time. And then, listen, we come out second half. It’s always tough, it’s a bit of a lottery when, when a team go down to 10 men but I think we created enough today to get a result. But listen, that’s football. Like I said, we’re bitterly disappointed, and we’ll stick together, and we will bounce back next weekend.”

The 26-year-old concluded: “We wanted to win the game. We wanted to progress. That didn’t happen. So we do what we normally do, win, lose or draw. We come in Monday, we analyse the game, we have honest conversations, we look how we can improve, and then full attention turns to the league, where we’ve been on a good run of late.”

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For the second season in a row, Yeovil Town fell at the first hurdle in the FA Cup to lower league opposition, this time at the hands of ten-man Hemel Hempstead.

Richard Dryden spoke to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman and said his side struggled to get going: “We didn’t start. We didn’t start at all. Rode our luck a little bit. The first 10-15, minutes, we didn’t play like we wanted to play. [We] went long, but they get a man sent off. And you think, right, let’s go and nail these to the post. But it never happened. We didn’t get going, didn’t defend well. We get done by a corner, which we should stop. We worked on them when they go short, some people have turned off. Is that down to us? Is it down to the whole group? It probably is, Yeah.”

Since taking over as manager until the end of the season, Dryden’s matches have featured a high-tempo, high energy Yeovil side but that just didn’t happen today, with Dryden saying the Glovers didn’t ‘turn up.’

“If you’re watching the game, you’re looking at them, how we’ve played the majority of the time, the last month or six weeks, where there’s been high tempo and we didn’t, I didn’t sense that today.  This is a big day: FA Cup qualifying round for the first round, and we, as a group haven’t turned up,” Dryden said.

Harvey Greenslade and Byron Pendleton combined in the second half, with Greenslade drawing Yeovil level and Dryden said they tried to exploit Hemel, who were a man down from the 25th minute, on the wings.

“We identified the wide areas when people are down to ten men is a big area. And we did it with with passing, we did it with big diagonals, and we got in and created enough. But again, we get done with a sucker punch in the last 10 minutes.”

Dryden reiterated the support he’s received from the board, but that the search goes in for new signings.

He said: “The board has given us money to spend. And we’ve inquired [about] two or three, like I said earlier before the game, they haven’t come off. We’ve got to keep looking and keep looking and getting players in. With the injuries we need to get them in quite quick, but again, we’ve got to get the right ones, what suit us.”

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It was a big old bump back to reality yesterday as Boreham Wood put Yeovil Town to the sword in a 3-0 defeat for the Glovers. Mike Hudson was at Huish Park and here are his Five Conclusions.

It was always going to be a tough one. Boreham Wood have readjusted to this level as if they never left, with Luke Garrard’s side scoring plenty of goals and winning plenty of games since returning to the National League. Meanwhile, we’ve been recovering from a turbulent start to the season with impressive wins against struggling Sutton, Altrincham, and Aldershot. This recent form has rightly created a lot of positivity over the last ten days. However, Saturday was always going to be a much bigger test, and give us a much clearer picture of where we are as a club. The answer was humbling. In truth, at times it looked like we were playing a club a level higher than us, rather than a few places in the table at the start of play. There was plenty of fast flowing, attractive and attacking football at Huish Park on Saturday, but it was coming from the away team.

Jed Ward
Pic Gary Brown

We had our backs to the wall from the outset. The warning signs came fast and early as we struggled to deal with the Boreham Wood press and attack. The boys in Green and White struggled to keep hold of the ball for any length of time, and we spent a lot of the game penned in our own half as a result. While there is much to say for not changing a winning formula, after the shift these players have put in of late, this game was probably the time to add some freshness. Of course hindsight is 20-20, but in a game in which we were always likely to spend large periods without the ball, legs were going to be important and unfortunately I think we were lacking them. As we neared half time, the huge positive was that we had somehow stayed in the game, but as the stormy conditions continued, their second goal on the stroke of half time knocked the wind out of our sails completely.

Too many players were off it. I’ll say it again… Boreham Wood are a good side. They are playing the type of football I dream that we one day might. But we won’t get anywhere by just admiring them as a superior team. We have to reflect on our own performance, and the reality was too many players weren’t at it. There were mistakes and poor decision a-plenty. It would have been a tall task with everyone firing at 100%, but with a lot of players below par and a few really struggling it was mission impossible. That’s not a criticism of this squad, who have been unreal of late. It was an almost an inevitable outcome of lots of games, lots of turmoil, a small squad, and two teams with seemingly different ambitions. They kept battling to the end, and we arguably had our best period in the last quarter of the match.

Jed Ward is ridiculous. I know it’s nothing new, but what a keeper we have between the sticks. It’s rare that you lose 3-0 and your keeper wins Man of the Match, but he deserved the accolade. Three goals did not flatter Boreham Wood at all, and without some brilliant stops and quick thinking, it could easily have been six. We were humbled at home, but Jed stopped it being an humiliation.

Jed Ward
Pic Gary Brown

This team need help from above. The games are going to keep coming thick and fast, and if we have any intentions of a much needed cup run, alongside remaining competitive in the League, this team will need some help. Charlie Cooper, Jacob Maddox and James Daly getting closer to a return, may just feel like new signings. The board tried to dampen the fan noise after Danny Webb’s departure by promising increased funds, but so far we haven’t seen that turn into scarf based social media posts. It would be good to see some fresh bodies through the door soon, especially with bookings piling up, and a couple of players picking up knocks on Saturday. We saw how quickly a season can ebb away in the second half of our last campaign, and we are going to be asking a lot of our paper thin squad to keep going through a busy winter period. More than that, it would be good to see some sign of intent from this new ownership, and plans that extend beyond the end of the season. Huish Park crowds are not growing back to the 3000 number at the moment, although they were in fine voice considering. Also I do have this nagging feeling of discomfort …  Yes, context is very important, and there is lots of that, but personally I don’t want this club to get too used to being content with home losses to ‘better teams’ at a level we should aspire to be getting out of. Not for long anyway.

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Three wins in a row for Richard Dryden’s Glovers! Ian and Ben welcome Ollie Marsh back on the Gloverscast to talk through the 2-1 win over Sutton and the impact Richard Dryden is having. We look ahead a bit and take your GCQs.

Thank you to Dan Franklyn and the car full of Essex Glovers for the voice note!

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Yeovil won their third match in a row since Richard Dryden was appointed manager in a 2-1 win at Sutton United.

Andrew Oluwabori scored the opener for the Glovers in second half, before Charlie Bell equalised for the hosts. Aaron Jarvis converted an 82nd minute penalty to clinch another three points as Yeovil climbed to 8th in the table.

First half

Richard Dryden named an unchanged side for the third match in a row, with the Glovers boss hoping the momentum continues.

The first half-chance fell to Junior Morias on the edge who, after a sharp one-two with Tahvon Campbell, struck a weak effort at Jack Sims’ goal.

Yeovil should have been 1-0 up in the 8th minute through Andrew Oluwabori. Yeovil broke at pace through Oluwabori, Morias and Luke McCormick but the Exeter loanee could only strike straight at Sims.

Yeovil continued the pressure, attempting to work an space in front of goal, with Sutton just about managing the clear their lines. Good pressure from Dryden’s side.

On the 22nd minute it was only the frame of the goal keeping the game scoreless. Another bursting run from Oluwabori saw him get the ball to McCormick who opened his body and shot a left-footed looping effort from outside of the box that struck the bar. So close!

James Plant was given a yellow for hauling down a Sutton player outside the box as the hosts broke. Former Yeovil loanee Lewis Simper’s low free kick was comfortable for Jed Ward.

Simper tried another curling effort in the 29th minute which didn’t stretch Ward.

If that didn’t stretch Ward, the save moments later did. Yeovil’s number one somehow managed to get a foot on the ball to scoop Ashley Nadesan’s ball over the bar. Unbelievable save. 

Sutton had the next chance, this time through Simper. A well worked move down the left saw a cross come into the box that the Glovers failed to deal with before Simper hooked an effort fairly wide of the goal.

Simper had another chance to test Ward from the edge of the box in the 39th minute. He could only volley into the houses behind the stand.

McCormick fired a free kick over the bar from a promising position just before the half time break.

Half time: Sutton United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Tahvon Campbell made way for Aaron Jarvis at half time, refreshing the Glovers’ frontline.

It was Ward who was called into action first though, saving low from Nadesan.

Yeovil could have had a chance at goal moments later but the referee blew up rather than play the advantage with the red and black shirts outnumbering the amber ones.

Oluwabori should have headed Yeovil in front shortly after with another golden opportunity spurned after combining with Jarvis.

Thankfully, Oluwabori finally made the breakthrough on the 51st minute with a low strike from the right side of the six yard box beating Sims in the Sutton goal! 1-0

Yeovil came close to doubling the lead afer a scintillating run from Sims saw him skip through the Sutton team before teeing up Morias who’s shot was deflected wide for a corner.

Sutton had an opportunity from a free kick, which after a long build up was high wide and handsome into the supporters behind the goal.

McCormick had half a sight at goal after Jed Ward’s free kick was knocked down into his path but he couldn’t connect cleanly to test Sims in the Sutton goal.

The hosts levelled it up in the 71st minute with a sumptuous left-footed finish from Charlie Bell leaving Ward helpless. 1-1

Yeovil very nearly fell behind minutes later with Brandon Njoku only able to direct his header over the bar  after getting on the end of a Vincent cross from the left.

Sutton looked to have all the momentum – and the legs – but in their quest for a winner were leaving spaces for Yeovil to exploit. Harvey Greenslade was released by Brett McGavin but could only fire over.

All that momentum was worth nothing, as Josh Sims earned the Glovers a penalty with his cross striking the arm of the Sutton defender and Aaron Jarvis fired the penalty home to restore Yeovil’s lead. 2-1 

With 8 minutes added on from who knows where, there was a nervy conclusion to hold on to all three points and make it the third win on the spin for Richard Dryden’s Glovers!

Full time: Sutton United 1 Yeovil Town 2

Match Details

Venue: Gander Green Lane
Date: Tuesday 30th September, 7:45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Andrew Oluwabori 51 (1-0), Charlie Bell 71 (1-1), Aaron Jarvis 80 (2-1)

Pitch: Lovely but cutting up a little
Conditions: Cold but dry with a strong wind going towards the away end

Attendance: XXXX (188 away supporters)

Bookings: 

Sutton United: Lewis Simper 48, Jayden Harris 67
Yeovil Town: James Plant 25, Cousin-Dawson 62

Referee: David Rock

Yeovil Town (3-4-1-2)

Substitutes: Alex Whittle, Aaron Jarvis (for Tahvon Campbell, 46), Brett McGavin (for Finn Cousin-Dawson, 65),  Harvey Greenslade (for Junior Morias, 61), Byron Pendleton (not used), Ben Wodskou ( for Andrew Oluwabori 86), Matt Gould (not used).

Sutton United: Jack Sims, Lewis Simper, Ashley Nadesan, Edon Pruti (for Vincent), Will Tizzard, Jack Taylor, Aaron Jones (for Ogbonna), Mo Dabre (for Bell), Noa Boutin (for De Silva), Brandon Njoku

Substitutes (not used): Aziaya, Odelusi, Eccleston

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Two wins on the bounce for Yeovil Town. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions after a breathless afternoon at Huish Park.

There’s something about Richard Dryden. Clearly it helps winning back to back matches (and let’s not forget the Woking win too) but there’s something about Richard Dryden that I’m finding quite endearing. He talks plainly, there’s a touch a humour to him and I think – alongside the stress – he’s enjoying it. There was a moment towards the end of the match, when we were backs to the wall where he turned around to the supporters behind them and urged them to up the noise and the crowd responded to it. He may not have been anyone’s first choice, but in a short time he’s built a spirit amongst a squad that crumbled against Gateshead, and picked up four wins from six.

Andrew Oluwarbori was the spark. He’s probably the first player we’ve had that gets people on their feet the second he gets the ball since…himself. You could sense the fear in the Altrincham defence every time Oluwabori got the ball yesterday. His direct running kept the visitors backpedaling and it was a matter of time until he made an impact. His super strike cannoned of the bar (and was so close to sneaking under the bar) and he should have doubled the lead when he was through on goal. But, his deft cross after standing up an Altrincham defender was perfect for Morgan Williams to nod the Glovers ahead. A constant threat and he’s getting closer to scoring each time.

We defended for our lives. After a really exciting end to end first half, the second was very different. After Junior Morias and Josh Sims spurned chances to make it 2-0, Altrincham upped the tempo and started to knock the ball around as we know they can. Richard Dryden had to make changes with tiring legs and the players showed unbelievable spirit to dig in and repel wave after wave of attack by Altrincham. With the supporters roaring every clearance and singing in unison, when that final whistle finally blew the sense of relief was huge.

We still need reinforcements. These two wins have shown the quality of this group, but for the last half an hour yesterday there was only one team with the legs to attack. We looked dead on our feet by the final whistle even with the subs entering the fray. We had a genuinely strong bench yesterday and with Cooper and Maddox still to come back there’s will be even more available eventually, but we still need more. I still worry about our lack of depth at fullback/wingback. If there’s few suspensions or another run of injuries we could quickly be very light again.

You can feel the spirit in this team. After the most ridiculous of weeks, this group of players and staff has shown unity and character in spades. They have a point to prove after this week and appear to have really galvanised around Richard Dryden and Jerry Gill. With Sutton, down amongst the relegation zone, on Tuesday there’s a great chance to take another three points with this momentum.