Ian Perkins (Page 75)

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Mark Cooper watched on from the stands as his Yeovil Town side conceded a stoppage time penalty to draw 1-1 with Maidstone this afternoon, and the new Glovers boss was pleased with aspects of the performance – but said his side had to get the balance right.

Speaking to BBC Somerset following the match, Cooper said: “We asked the players to be more front foot, to play more in the opposition’s half, to try and get more balls in the opposition box, which is where the goal came from. We had another couple of little bits that we maybe we could have extended the lead – that was good.

“And the second half we conceded too much possession, and we allowed the opposition to have too much of the ball. so that’s the big part, we’ve got to get the balance right between playing too much football and being effective.”

Chris Todd was in the dugout, but in constant communication with Cooper, who *we think* was serving game seven of his eight match ban picked up when manager of Barrow. From his vantage point, Cooper said he noticed the side’s commitment and defensive strength.

“I think you saw the commitment. We defended really well, we cleared lots of balls, headed lots of balls. Listen all you can ask for is commitment, 100%, they gave us that and a little bit of quality. But, like I knew, we’ve got work to do and that’ll start again on Monday.”

He refused to be drawn on the penalty decision, which appeared to be a soft one: “I think when you get that deep into a game, you expect to win it. With seconds to go, you should really win the game. I don’t want to talk about the goal, I don’t want to talk about the penalty. I think when everybody sees it back, they’ll make their own assumptions about what it was.”

Alex Fisher opened the scoring in the 13th minute with his second of the season and Cooper was impressed with his front man’s performance and that his goal came from a result of the gameplan.

“It was ball in the box. We wanted to put more balls in the box to give the striker something to go off. I said to him today, I don’t want you running in the channels, I want you sating the width of the six yard box, always in the frame of the goal and that’s how the goal came about.”

Before the match, Cooper said he would be looking to add a couple of players to ‘freshen up’ the group and when asked after the match he reaffirmed the point. “We need to try and make us more competitive. More competition [for places], a little bit more legs, athleticism. So, if we can make the team better, we’ll try and do it.”

The new manager apologised for not being able to thank the travelling support and hoped that with spirited performances, supporters would continue to get behind the team.

“[Getting more supporters at games] only comes with winning games and getting spirited performances. If you do that they’ll come. So we have to keep doing that and if you keep getting results the fans will support the the team. They were great today,. I’m sorry I couldn’t get down to thank them today because I was up in the stands, they were great.”

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Venue: Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone
Saturday 29th October, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Unseasonably hot for late October
Pitch: Fluffed plastic

Attendance: 2,147 (133 away supporters)

Scorers:  Alex Fisher 13 (0-1), Regan Booty 90+6 pen (1-1)

Bookings:

Yeovil Town: Clarke 45, Richards-Everton 60, Worthington 71
Maidstone: Odusanya 23, Barkers 37, Booty 41, Galvin 45, Greenidge 52,

Referee: Jacob Miles

Yeovil Town:

Grant Smith

Morgan Williams   Owen Bevan   Max Hunt   Ben Richards-Everton

Josh Staunton

Matt Worthington (Ollie Hulbert 72)    Sam Perry (Charlie Wakefield 63)

Ewan Clarke (Chiori Johnson 63)                                                           Malachi Linton

Alex Fisher

Substitutes (not used): Gime Toure, Will Dawes

Maidstone United: Sandford, Hoyte, Galvin, Barham, Mensah, Odusanya, Booty, Pattisson, Greenidge, Deacon, Barkers. Subs: Mersin, Ellul, Alabi, Fawole, Gurung

Match Report

A stoppage time penalty from Regan Booty prevented Yeovil Town from recording their first away win of the season at fellow relegation zone residents Maidstone United.

David Coates⁩ (almost inexplicably) travelled from Lancashire to Kent for the match, here’s how he saw the Glovers’ eighth draw of the season.

First half

New Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper watched his first game in charge from the stands in Kent, shielding his eyes as he looked out on the pitch – much like every travelling supporter risking a late October sunburn from behind the goal defended by hosts’ keeper Ryan Sandford.

An effort from Josh Staunton skied high, wide and not so handsome over the bar after just seven minutes was as close as the visitors got in the opening exchanges.

Maidstone were the first to carve out an opening when on nine minutes when a defence-splitting pass from Regan Booty picked out Christie Pattison whose cross evaded everyone.

Five minutes later, Yeovil were ahead. A beautifully struck ball forward from Owen Bevan was met by the head of Alex FISHER who beat his defender Jacob Mensah from the edge of the box to loop a ball over the out-of-position Sandford and give the Glovers the lead.

On 22 minutes, the ball was in the net from the visitors when Ewan Clark’s free-kick was flicked in to the net by Ben Richards-Everton following a scramble, but was adjudged to be offside. From behind the goal with the sun burning my corneas, it did not look offside but I’ll give the official the benefit of the doubt.

In the 40th minute, Yeovil should have doubled their advantage. A deft touch forward by Fisher played Matt Worthington on who didn’t either try to touch it round the susceptible Sandford or leather it and it ran harmlessly through to the keeper.

If there’s one thing the Mark Cooper era brought in that first half, it was more fight. Ethan Clark, quite possible the slightest player in the Yeovil line-up, gave a shove in the back of his marker and sent him flying over a chair on the sideline.  The foul he drew from his marker immediately afterwards told you that this may be exactly what he needed to do a against a Maidstone team low on confidence. [Okay, having seeing this on the highlights, the Maidstone player made more of it than it was, but I will wager the push in the back would not have happened four days earlier].

The first half finished 1-0 but should have been more.

Half time: Maidstone 0 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

A early Richards-Everton header saw Yeovil come close after, but it was Maidstone who came closer on 53 minutes. They were given time and space on the edge of the visitors’ box to work Booty in to a shooting position which was nothing more than routine for Grant Smith, but cue some alarm bells.

Two minutes later, Smith was called in to his first meaningful action of the day to turn Jack Barham’s header from a left-wing cross over the bar.

The home side certainly came out with more of a spring in their step, but they were met by a more resilient response from Yeovil. But, whilst managing to keep their opponents out, the tendency to sit deep which has cost us so many times this season still appears to be there. And, if Cooper’s wild gesticulating was anything to go by, the new manager saw it too.

As the home side grew in confidence, the scars of the season so far on Yeovil’s confidence began to show. Substitute Josh Fawole poked an effort wide and with ten minutes to go Ryan Galvin’s speculative header hit the bar.

With two minutes to go Gavin Hoyte was given a free header from a corner which he should have done better before Fawole was denied by a well-timed tackle from Owen Bevan.

To say the second half was attritional would have been an understatement, but just when you thought Cooper’s reign may begin with a win, the fourth official held up six minutes of injury time. My heart wavered at that, I admit.

And in the fifth minute of time added on, Yeovil paid the price for their defensive second half display when Roarie Deacon tumbled under a tackle from Ollie Hulbert. From the angle I was at it did look like some of Hulbert’s boot connected with Alabi’s but the attacker was on his way down long before the contact was made.

When home supporters outside the ground tell you that it was never a penalty you know your luck is out. BOOTY fire the spot kick expertly in to the corner and the spoils were settled.

Alex Fisher, Chiori Johnson and Max Hunt applaud the fans at Maidstone
? David Coates

Full time: Maidstone United 1 Yeovil Town 1

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New Yeovil manager Mark Cooper spoke to BBC’s Matt Mesiano ahead of the his first match in-charge of the Glovers against Maidstone.

MM: First thing to say, welcome to the club, how have the first day for you been?

“Busy as you’d expect, trying to get to know the players, the staff, how the club works. So, it’s been hectic but enjoyable.”

MM: The fans have been left fr*strated for most of this season, with just two victories from 15 league games and a disappointing exit from the cup. I suppose the questions the fans want to know is can you turn this team around and give the fans something to smile about again?

“Well I wouldn’t have come if I didn’t think I could, which is the first thing. I think the previous manager got a bit unlucky, played some decent football and probably didn’t get what they deserved in some games. So we’ve got to try and get the players to feel good about themselves, get some confidence back and get them on the front foot and get the fans behind them again. And that’s the aim, certainly from the start today.

MM: A bit of baptism of fire today, after just one day with the players. I understand you’ve had an input in todays game but Chris Todd will be actually taking it from the touchline?

“That’s right yeah, I’m going to watch the game from upstairs today so I can get a really good picture of it, a good view and I’ll be on the phone to Chris if need be.”

MM: I think an issue that a lot of the fans had is that they didn’t really feel like the formation was working, they said 3-5-2 didn’t have the suitability for the players. How do you like playing and what have you seen so far that gives you an idea of how you’d like to play with this team?

“I don’t want to get to het up about systems. It’s more of a mentality and intent. Its more about committing to the game plan and how you’re going to play. any system can be adapted within five yards so whatever system we play its about the intent and committing tot he gameplan which is what were going to try and do to today.”

Would you like to try and bring in some new blood to help you go forward with that?

“I think its natural that well add a couple just to freshen the group up, not to replace anyone but to freshen the group up and give us a little bit more depth and bit more competition.”

MM: I suppose on of the big issues is your top scorer is a left back with three and he’s suspended today so where are the goals going to come from?

“Well, I hope you brought your boots, firstly. No, we want the goals to come from all around the team, of course we do. But its about the mentality to get in off the balls in the penalty area for different sorts of goals and for the opposition to make mistakes.”

MM: I suppose today is quite a good chance for you to get back on a winning track because your playing a team in a similar position to yourselves who’ve also not been able to score recently?

“They did brilliant last year to get promoted. And obviously coming into the this league as a part time or hybrid team is tough. Its a tough game obviously, it’s a plastic pitch which is a huge advantage for the opposition. But we have to try and concentrate on us, which is what we’ve tried to do in the last two days.”

Finally from me, what are the realistic aims for this season? Promotion would be fantastic but I suppose sustaining where are currently is the first goal right?

“Promotion, first thing I haven’t got a magic wand. And I think its important that wejust deal with the immediate future and that’s today. If we look too far ahead we can get in a bit of a mess, so it’s importasnt we just concentrate on today and that’s trying to get three points.”

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130 supporters shared their views on the month of September and gave now former-manager Chris Hargreaves a score of 2.9 out of 7 and scored the players performance at 3.47 out of 7 – both a drop of the August score.

Off the pitch, with the average score to the question ‘What would score the ownership/board this month?’ dropped from 2.13 to 1.88 out of 7. With regards to communication the score was 2.19 out of 7 and supporters scored the matchday experience 2.6.

Thank you to the 130 supporters who took part, keep an eye out for the October tracker in a couple of days.

Aug 22Sep 22Oct 22Nov 22Dec 22Jan 23Feb 23Mar 23Apr 23Aug 23Sep 23Oct 23Nov 23
What would you score the ownership/board this month?2.131.881.652.352.11.892.133.252.583.915.56.365.08
How has the manager performed this month?3.372.91.935.545.165.094.292.82.494.325.646.345.16
What would you score the communication from the club this month?2.322.191.942.472.21.842.543.51.365.275.385.885.21
What would you score the match day experience this month?2.762.62.13.243.122.93.163.61.225.225.285.435.2
How have the players performed this month?3.603.472.325.344.784.753.293.252.345.55.315.65.35
Responses2191301401481419437401292071507680

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Halloween came early at Yeovil Town last night as a second 2-0 defeat in as many matches saw the Glovers slide in to the National League’s bottom four.

Ian was in the stands for the Huish Park Horror Show and here’s how he saw it…..

That was as sorry as it gets. I don’t think I’ve ever known Huish Park be so toxic. Boos in the first half for misplaced crosses and passes. There was a section of supporters on the Thatchers willing things to go wrong so that they can pile in. That’s not conducive to creating a winning atmosphere and if that’s the sentiment going into matches under Chris Hargreaves, we may as well call it now and prepare for part time football in the National League South.

Alex Fisher.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The performance was devoid of anything. It’s really sad to see how low these players are on confidence, which is not helped by the above. There’s a reluctance to get the ball forward and the balance between patience in possession and fear of a mistake has been crossed. Alex Fisher chased things down as a the isolated striker, Josh Staunton put himself wherever he could to make a difference, Matt Worthington tried to run things in midfield, Grant Smith did what he could. It’s a moot point assigning blame now, everyone is culpable.

Change in the dugout needs to come immediately. The manager can’t survive off of Wrexham, Chesterfield and Solihull. Those results are the outlier in what has been a dreadful season so far. We were playing well but drawing, and now we’re playing badly and losing. There’s no recovering this sentiment. There’s no turning it round. It boiled over last night to an element of nastiness wasn’t even reached when Darren Way was leading us to this dismal League.

I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like it at Huish Park. When the final whistle blew, the boos from the supporters that were left inside were clear. The anger and shouting at players as they walked round the pitch was a level I’ve not witnessed. The club is in a dark place at the moment and it needs to be addressed, dealt with and steered in a direction of positivity. Will our owner grab the wheel and put us back on track?

The Thatcher’s Stand. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We need to come together. Everyone who was there last night witnessed us at our lowest ebb and we need to harness that feeling to make a difference. Whether it’s the Glovers Trust, the Green and Whites, the entire SAG or another. There is structure in the Supporters Alliance Group that exists to align supporters and groups, although in my experience its been quite handy for creating division. That group needs to come together, away from the club and hold an open forum for an honest and open discussion. The need for change is clearer than ever and if we can’t come together after last night then what is the point is supporting a club? The club is on its knees and genuinely in danger. I fear relegation would be a death knell rather than an opportunity to reset.

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Elliot Watts was at Taunton and he’s joined Ian, Ben and Dave on this episode of the Gloverscast to chat about the game, the aftermath of the game and what happens next. We speak to the Boundary Park Alert System about our opponents on Saturday, Oldham Athletic. We take your questions, and we have another Fan’s Five with Ian Whatmore!