Ian Perkins (Page 58)

Yeovil Town managed to drag themselves to three points last night against Truro City. It wasn’t pretty, but 3 points are all that matter. Here’s how Ian saw it from the press box…

That was scrappy. Our attacking play was pretty fluid against St Albans on Saturday, but for all the talent up front we struggled to break down a stubborn Truro defence and failed to get shots at their keeper. We started with wingbacks but quickly reverted to the formation from Saturday when we were struggling to keep the ball. The change saw gain control of the game but it was still a battle to get through. At points I was having flashbacks to last season as Josh Staunton and Charlie Cooper desperately tried to make things happen in the second half.

I thought Truro were good value and can feel hard done by not to have gone in 2-0 up at half time. They made some great chances and had our defence really stretched. Looking at their goal on the highlights, it looks like it could be offside but none of the Yeovil defence throws their arm up to appeal for it. There was a couple of moments where Andrew Neal (who was anything but a Spectator) left Staunton and Jake Wannell for dust on the break. The part timers definitely tired as the game reached the closing stages and thanks to Mark Cooper’s substitutions, we found a away though.

There is competition in this squad. One of the big problems last season was having players to come off the bench and change the game, but last night we saw game-changers make the difference. Against weary legs and tricky of Jordan Young caused issues and the pace and power of Olly Thomas really affected the Truro defence. Charlie Cooper’s pass to Thomas set him free but the finish had to be perfect in that high pressure moment. The main men up front have hungry players breathing down their neck.

A late winner is always so sweet. Honestly, I would take all that stress weekly if we managed to get a result in stoppage time every match. Yes it was scrappy, disjointed and uncomfortable, but Jake Wannell’s late header blew the lid off the Thatchers Stand. It gives added belief to this newly assembled squad and shows that never say die attitude you need to get results.

We have to be patient. Much like the supporters in front of the press box, I was willing the players to get the ball up the pitch at times. Sometimes it feels like were expecting this team (which has played 3 competitive matches) to play like peak Gary Johnson era sides. Last night may have felt like last season at points, but we turned round a one goal deficit to take all three points. We’re on a journey with this team and we’ve got to get behind them and the manager. 

The National League South season has begun, and fr*stratingly it was more of the same from Yeovil Town as the Glovers shot themselves in the foot to lose 1-0. Here are Ian’s conclusions from the press box at Hemel Hempstead…

That was a bump back to reality. We know this already, but all the optimism, hope and goodwill in the world will not win football matches. We came into kick off riding the crest of a wave but by the time we final whistle was blown, we’d suffered a wipeout. This isn’t going to be an easy season and we aren’t going to steamroll teams. We were told Hemel were well organised and had a good team spirit and they showed that in spades, and got a bit of luck for their winner after a mix up between Zac Bell and Will Buse.

We really struggled to maintain meaningful possession. It was a really bitty game. Most of our chances came from set pieces, or the aftermath of set pieces. Rhys Murphy had a couple of efforts that he should have done better with in the first half. Hemel Hempstead executed a brilliant game plan, disrupting the flow of the game and taking their time on the restarts. Their narrow midfield really crowded the centre of the pitch and I felt we struggled to get the ball through Matt Worthing and Charlie Cooper because of that.

Jake Wannell had a solid game. The left-sided centre back had a dominant display, winning his defensive headers and tackling aggressively. He was composed on the ball and I thought his partnership with Alex Whittle on the left looked promising. I think our defensive unit looked pretty steady, but for a couple of slips on the surface. As regular readers will know, I did not enjoy wingbacks last season, but we seem to have more suitable players this season.

“We’re going to have to find a way to adapt to and get results when we travel to clubs with them.”

I’m not sure if that was a good artificial pitch or not, but I didn’t like it. It didn’t seem like a very even surface and the way Hemel played in that second half was as if they were shooting downhill. The familiarity the Hemel players had with the pitch compared to ours was plain to see, our passing wasn’t quite there and I didn’t think we looked comfortable on it. We’re going to have to find a way to adapt to it though and get results when we travel to clubs with them.

We need to keep calm. The expectation following a rejuvenating summer has, perhaps, given us an over-expectancy. Don’t get me wrong, we should be putting teams like Hemel away given the quality of our squad, but there was 45 more matches in this season and 135 points to play for. The goal came from a sloppy error at the back rather than Yeovil’s goal coming under regular heavy pressure. Mark Cooper described the result as a ‘slap round the face’, Frank Nouble said it as a ‘wake up call’. Our big day out was spoiled by a team and manager who knows how to get a result in National League South. Next weekend St Albans City (off the back of a 2-1 win over W*ymouth) come to Huish Park and we’ll need to lay down a marker of how good we are with our home performance.