Ian Perkins (Page 52)

Yeovil Town’s 11th win in a row came against National League opposition yesterday, as the Glovers despatched Gateshead in the FA Cup. Here are Ian’s conclusions from Huish Park…

It felt pretty comfortable, despite the scoreline. As with the Southend game in the previous round, the early goal (sorry Rhys, it looks like an OG) got us off to the best possible start and it could have been 4-0 at half time. Stevens misses a sitter before he scores and Matt Worthington should have scored form close range too. There was no doubt about the third goal though as Murphy fired in after a slip from a Gateshead defender in the box. Gateshead’s two goals came from the softest of soft penalties and a lucky ricochet and while it was nervy in the stands, the players looked composed to see it out. For all the talk about Gateshead’s style, there was lots of style but they didn’t produce much substance against our defence.

It’s Michael Smith’s world and we’re just living in it. If he blocked one cross yesterday, he blocked one hundred. The impact he’s made on our performances and our right side is huge. Morgan Williams, who was already solid, has excelled with Smith outside of him. Jordan Steven’s attacking movement is better with Smith’s ability to pick out those runs. He’s composed under-pressure and yesterday was another quality performance. Does anyone else still feel like he’s in third gear?

Jordan Stevens is starting to show he’s a difference maker. Despite Mark Cooper saying he wanted to take him off after five minutes, Stevens showed his quality throughout. His pace is undeniable, just when you think he’s going at full-tilt he shows another level and leaves opponents behind. He took his goal well, when you watch it back he had a lot of time and gives it the subtlest Peter Dinklage of Mair’s leg. Without getting too Football Manager, he’s getting in all the right areas in an attacking sense, if he continues to improve as he has since returning from injury, we’ll have suitors to warn off.

We have so many attacking options. We left out Jordan Young yesterday. Just think about that. He’s arguably our most in-form player and he didn’t start. There was room for Will Dawes who impressed again. We reverted back to Nouble and Murphy up front too, which is my preferred pairing up top. We’ve seen how important partnerships are up front, Madden and Hayter, Jackson and Gall, Jevons and Tarachulski, Forinton and Patmore. If you get one that works you can become unstoppable. 

The supporters were out in force once again. 3241 were at Huish Park yesterday, many of whom would have had to negotiate some iffy roads after the storm. This wasn’t a part of any ticket deal or included in season tickets, but there’s a feeling building around the club. Each win brings more confidence on the pitch and that is now translating off the pitch. The grumbles about the quality of the football feel like they were a lifetime ago. If I said in April that Mark Cooper would lead Yeovil to 11 wins in a row by the end of 2023, I think most would have questioned my sanity, but here we are. And I like it…

Yeovil Town picked up their 10th win in a row on an afternoon where more than 3,700 showed up in the pouring rain to Paint the Park Pink. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from the press box.

This one was quite the tactical battle. Yeovil’s first half plan seemed to involve drawing the Braintree forward-line out, beating their press with a ball into Jordan Young who was given acres of space to work his magic. While the goal – a composed finish from Matt Worthington – came from a goalkeeping error on a set piece, there were plenty of occasions where Young was given freedom in between the midfield and defence of Braintree, however the final ball was lacking. Before half time, Braintree made the change to match up the Glovers in a 4-2-3-1 and then put four up top in the second half forcing Yeovil to revert to a back five and just get out of the game with the points. While we struggled with the pitch in the second half, Braintree seemed to control the ball well and showed what a credible outfit they are.

We have an unbelievable defensive unit. If you’d told me at the start of the season that we’d settle on a back line that didn’t include Josh Staunton I wouldn’t have believed you. But, such is the quality of the partnership of Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell that Staunton wasn’t even afforded a place on the bench yesterday afternoon. We’re running out of wax and lyrics for Michael Smith, but he was given sponsor’s man of the match for his performance. Alex Whittle had another excellent game. He’s quietly gone about his business so far this season, putting in consistent performances week after week and I think yesterday was probably his best given he started at left-back and had to play centre-back in the second half. And, where would be without Super Joe Day in goal?

It was another match where Mark Cooper got to show off the depth of his squad. In any other season, taking out Josh Owers, Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble in their vein of form would prompt cries of derision amongst supporters. However, given Sonny Cox’s cameo against W*ymouth, the technical ability of Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and recent heroics of Will Dawes no one can begrudge them getting an opportunity. Cooper said he felt Jake Hyde wasn’t ready, but when he and Nouble did enter the fray they combined well for the goal – albeit after struggling to get into the game at all. This was a fixture where Rhys Murphy was rested, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Josh Staunton missed out altogether and Charlie Cooper was still unavailable.

The Huish Park pitch is in need of a rest. The downpour was relentless yesterday. From before the kick off, through the entirety of the match and after the final whistle it absolutely p*ssed it down. By the time the referee blew the final whistle, players were struggling to stay on their feet, the ball was getting held up in the water and the surface was tearing up with every kick of the ball. With Gateshead visiting next Saturday and the weather forecast looking iffy this week, the ground staff at Huish Park will have their work cut out. Water from the pitch had found its way into the walkway in the Thatchers stand and the main stand too and the home games are still coming, with three of the next four at Huish Park. 

It’s been a brilliant week for this football club. With the record attendance for National League South well and truly smashed on Tuesday night, yesterday was a different kind of event for the club. The support and spotlight the club has given on the amazing work of the Yeovil Hospital Charity and final boost it needed will leave a lasting impact in Somerset. To see all the pink at Huish Park, and the number of people who came out despite the weather was proof that Glovers will come out in their numbers to support a community cause. We’ve not had a lot to be proud of in recent years, but this week has left me full of pride for Yeovil Town FC.