Five Conclusions (Page 10)

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Ian was in the Thatchers Stand for Yeovil’s 3-1 victory over Aveley yesterday. Here are his Five Conclusions from a jubilant Huish Park.

What a wonderful first half. I can honestly not remember the last time I watched us play with such dominance in a League match. We blew Aveley away in the first half and could have gone into the break five or six goals ahead was it not for some wonderful saves from Jonathan North and a bit of sloppiness in front of goal. We were composed, we moved the ball quickly, especially in the wide areas and it was a complete performance.

What a different second half. Aveley changed shape, upped the aggression and gave Yeovil a very different battle in the second half. Moments before Charlie Hughes grabbed their only goal of the game, the Miller’s number 9 blatantly kicked Morgan Williams off the ball and shouldn’t have been on the pitch.The Glovers composed themselves, changed things up on the pitch and while it wasn’t as electric we managed to keep our opponents at arms length for second 45. 

Will Dawes was my man of the match. With Jordan Stevens still nursing his hamstring, Mark Cooper had to make a decision out wide and what a decision it was. Will Dawes, on the mend after his glandular fever, had a brilliant first half. He was direct with his running, careful with possession and had the beating of his full back every time. His cross for Jordan Young was pinpoint and it was because of his determination that Yeovil got the third as he chased down and dispossessed the Aveley defender. Stevens has been effective since his return, but based on yesterday, it looks like he has competition in Dawes.

Josh Owers
Josh Owers. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

Josh Owers gets better with each match. Owers can feel hard done by on my previous conclusion, but he was a very close second. He’s had to be patient and wait for the inevitable suspensions of his fellow centre midfielders, but he’s really grabbed the opportunity. It was another all-action, combative centre midfield performance. He’s a gifted footballer and I think having that left-footed player adds such balance. He’s a tackler, he’s a passer, he’s a runner and as we’ve seen he’s got an eye for goal too. 

It feels good to be at the top. It’s been a long long time coming and to hear “we are top of the league” being chanted from the Thatchers was a great feeling. The evolution and improvement of these players is evident and credit goes to Mark Cooper for making decisions that have brought us to this point. The signings of Joe Day and Michael Smith have been inspired, if not beyond belief. His post-match comments suggest to me that he’s settling on the centre back pairing of Jake Wannell and Morgan Williams. At the top of the pitch things are really clicking, with Jordan Young, Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble finding their rhythm. 

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Another round of FA Cup Qualifying done and dusted then, and Yeovil got the job done against lower league opposition once again, this time in the form of Didcot Town.

Tom was perched in the Screwfix stand watching over proceedings, this is what he thought of yesterday’s match…

Menacing Murphy! This man doesn’t know how to stop scoring does he? A tidy penalty from the 32 year old took his tally to 8 for the season, and 5 in his last 3. Murphy’s on a roll, and he’s hitting the levels he showed from his first spell in green and white, reminding us of just what a talented striker we have on our hands. Wonderful movement, as well as keeping the Didcot keeper busy with plenty of shots made him my personal man of the match, among plenty of candidates.

Rhys Murphy slots home his penalty.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Will Dawes is here! A topic of conversation among Yeovil fans (or at least the fans I’ve been around) has been the absence of Will Dawes. After coming down with glandular fever, following a good pre-season, the winger’s introduction to the first team picture has been delayed longer than most fans would’ve wanted (myself included). But in the 64th minute, we finally got our first competitive glimpse of Will Dawes, and he was… good! Sharp in possession, and busy off the ball, he slotted in seamlessly on the left hand side with Josh Owers for support. Perhaps we’ll be seeing more of him in the coming weeks, with some potential fixture congestion coming our way.

Jake Wannell’s getting better and better. Today I saw a defender who was confident in every decision he made, excelled in a good defensive line-up, contributed to our first clean sheet in a month and also made some good passes. That defender was Jake Wannell, and at risk of forgetting/missing a fixture or two, I don’t think I’ve personally seen a bad game from him in a Yeovil shirt. A ball over the top in the first half for Rhys Murphy was almost perfectly weighted, and absolutely would’ve been a goal if Leigh Bedwell hadn’t come to collect in the Didcot goal. Great defensive work as always from the number 6, and long may it continue!

 

Jake Wannell.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Individual excellence got us over the line. There were some bright spots yesterday for Yeovil, with the aforementioned Jake Wannell and Rhys Murphy being two of them, but that seemed to be the tale of the tie, as I can’t say I was particularly inspired by the overall performance. Nothing really stood out to me (except for the individuals) as far as a team performance goes, it was professional, it did the job and that’s as much as I can say. Perhaps my expectations were too high following the Stoneham fixture, but at no point did it feel like ever reaching those levels, even if Yeovil did dominate the first half in its entirety.

Didcot are no pushovers. As much as I’ve gone on above about Yeovil not being great, we must also give credit to the visiting Didcot Town, who did well to hold off the possession-hungry hosts until a somewhat unfortunate penalty handed Yeovil the lead. They demonstrated courage, and tenacity to keep the score at 2-0, and in the second half, they really began to take the game to Yeovil, forcing Joe Day into action on multiple occasions. Didcot can go home with their heads held high, and credit to the 75 travelling supporters who made their way down from Oxfordshire to watch today. Good luck for the rest of the season to Didcot Town!

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We’re now in to double figures for the National League South season and it was a third (fourth in all competitions) win in a row for Yeovil Town.

Dave was on the terraces of The Beveree Stadium yesterday and here are his conclusions on what he saw…..


All we want is a decent referee: I have praised referees on the podcast (well, one referee!) and therefore make no apologies for starting with the conclusion that referee Eugene Robinson did everything he could to ruin yesterday’s game.
His decisions to stick to the letter of the law and book players for what he interpreted to be time-wasting and not book others (on both sides, I hasten to add) for blatant fouls is beyond me. Jordan Young was dumped on the ground and left to lie there whilst Mr Robinson played on, Morgan Williams got a two-handed shove in the back and nothing, yet Jake Hyde contests an offside which, as someone who was in line with that play, I can confirm he was completely right to contest, and he’s booked. 
Mr Robinson made yesterday all about him and when both sets of supporters are complaining about an official – you know it’s a stinker.

Jordan Stevens is the difference: From the off it was clear that Jordan Stevens was an outlet and what an outlet he was.It was my first sighting of him (not via a stream) this season and he’s got the pace and the trickery to beat anyone at this level and add to that he’s not afraid to do the dirty work as well. For those crying out for wide players, he almost literally hugged the touchline all match and, when we went down to ten, he chased everything down until the very end. Take a bow!

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Strength in depth is a dream: Last season, Josh Staunton played on literally held together with sticky tape, but yesterday we were able to rest him – until six minutes from the end. The reason? Michael Smith. Quality, leadership and experience, he brought it all yesterday. Then to be able to introduce Josh Owers and Jake Hyde (albeit briefly!) off the bench again shows the quality is there. Jordan Maguire-Drew must be wondering what he has to do to get a game, albeit I don’t think the second half was one for him.

We have to be more clinical: The two goals were everything you want to see from your team – a stunning first and an ice cold second – but we had so many chances to make it more. Jordan Young needs to strike from open play the way he does from free kicks (admittedly not yesterday’s free-kicks), Frank Nouble needs to give one a proper welly-ing and set pieces didn’t do anything for us at Hampton. When you have a liability in charge of the game (yes, you Mr Robinson!), you can’t leave anything to chance and, if the ref had given another penalty with the final kick, this would have been the story of the match.

Rhys Murphy made it seven goals (in all competitions) this season.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Ten (league) games gone and September’s ending: So, whether you used to ten game rule or the Green Day Clause, we can comfortably make an assessment on Yeovil Town’s season so far.
In all competitions the results are, P11, W7, D2, L2, second in the National League South table and progressed in the only cup competition we’ve played in. It is difficult to find too much to dislike about it. 
The patient/slow/controlled/dull (pick you description) way that Mark Cooper has us playing is not to everyone’s taste, but we are improving every time I see us play.
This isn’t Jose Mourinho-esque dull but winning football, there’s more than enough there to enjoy and it’s hard (impossible?) to argue with those results.

 

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Yeovil progressed through to the next round of the FA Cup with a 7-1 win over AFC Stoneham yesterday with the gulf in quality clear from the kick off. Here are Ian’s conclusions from Huish Park…

We got the job done professionally. We knew this had the potential to be a banana skin. Mark Cooper described it as a no-win game for his team but I thought it was a job well done by the Glovers. They peppered the AFC Stoneham goal in the first half, kept their opponents at arm’s length and didn’t seem to need third gear. Frank Nouble’s early goal in the second half really killed Stoneham’s chances and Yeovil cruised to the final whistle bagging seven goals.

Michael Smith was impressive. It’s hard to read too much into this performance given the opponents, but Smith made a good first impression. He got forward, he orchestrated, he stepped into centre midfield to try and speed things up through the lines, he picked out passes that others couldn’t and his extra quality was clear. Smith clearly has high standards too, berating his teammates for allowing crosses into the box and urging his teammates to make things happen.

 

Michael Smith, left, celebrates with Rhys Murphy.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Rhys Murphy proved a point. Since the switch to the 4-3-3, Rhys Murphy hasn’t had a chance to make an impact through the middle with Frank Nouble’s impressive recent form. He entered the fray yesterday with the bit between his teeth. While some goalscorers seemed apologetic for beat the keeper, Murphy was ruthless and determined to get on the scoresheet. His first was a good move from Smith, to Maguire-Drew, to Stevens, who’s cross into the six-yard box was Murphy’s bread and butter. His second game from him chasing down a loose pass from Stoneham defender to finish from a tight angle and the third was a lovely through ball from Maguire-Drew for Murphy to coolly finish for the match ball.

Jordan Stevens did nothing to quell my excitement. I will caveat this in the same way I did with Michael Smith, but in Jordan Steven’s first start he roasted full backs, he gave us natural width and showed the explosive pace we’ve been waiting for. He started on the left and provided that natural balance to Jordan Young on the opposite side. There’s still a bit of rustiness there but once he gave us a glimpse of what he’s about.

Jordan Stevens.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

AFC Stoneham deserve enormous credit. Their goalkeeper Callum Lee made some unbelievable saves in the first half and Duarte Martins never gave up and took his goal well. Their supporters were noisy throughout and enjoyed their afternoon at Huish Park. While the score line wasn’t what they would have wanted, the club made the most of the occasion and soaked up the atmosphere at the final whistle with their 208 travelling fans. Best of luck for the rest of the season!

AFC Stoneham supporters (and the Yeovil Press’ Steve Sowden!) celebrate their consolation goal.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

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The 3-2 win over Eastbourne Borough was the second in a row to take Yeovil three points off the top (not that we’re looking) and continue the unbeaten run at home. Here are Ian’s conclusions from Huish Park…

You can’t say we weren’t entertaining. Was it classic National League South? I hope to not find out, but it sure was entertaining. The early goal from Nouble, shooting ourselves in the foot and conspiring to concede 2, Nouble’s second goal with an onrushing keeper, Joe Day making huge saves, Josh Owers sublime winner. It was a toasty day which undoubtedly led to errors from both sides, but it was an enjoyable end-to-end game of football that ended with us getting the three points.

How has he saved this?

Joe Day had to makes some big saves again. Both Day and Will Buse have been busy in goal this season with the amount of opportunies we give oppostions. Day had to make two brilliant saves in the first half, the first of which seems impossible to get to. There’s little doubt he has improved our defensive unit and we walked away with the sponsor’s Man of the match for his performance.

That the best we’ve seen of Frank Nouble so far. For someone who’s best position is allegedly not at centre forward, Nouble has had two good games leading the line. He rose above everyone to head home, held the ball up nicely, had the desire to get on the end of Sonny Blu Lo Everton’s ball before the Eastbourne Borough goalkeeper to get us level before half time.

Frank Nouble.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The changes were needed at half time. Mark Cooper said he thought Eastbourne Borough were the better side and certainly in the first half they were cutting through our midfield and defence like a hot knife through butter. The introduction of Charlie Cooper and Jake Hyde saw us match up Eastbourne and change to a 3-4-1-2. The change in shape saw us get more control and prevent Eastbournes wingbacks having as much freedom as they did in the first half.

It’s been a good week for Josh Owers. He had a solid game in his first start against Weston and he was my man of the match yesterday. He’s busy, never stops running and looks to get the ball forward as much as possible. He worked hard to keep possession after a loose pass from Jake Hyde and was in the right place to hit a wonderful, controlled finish into the top corner to win the game. He’s been a part of two wins on the spin and certain given his manager something to think about in the centre midfield.

PS. I liked the drum.

 

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An away win, the first in 220 days. Three away goals in a winning league match away from Huish Park, for the first time in nearly two years. It was a thriller alright, Ben had the stream on, here’s what he took away from the game.

Five conclusions were tough… it could have easily been ten! But we’ve whittled it down. 

Firstly, let’s talk about Jordan Young.

According to Mark Cooper post match, we parted with somewhere in the region of £5,000 to secure his services last season. 

At the back end of the 2022/23 season, we had a kid with bags of potential, down on his luck, getting to grips with the full time game. He looked raw but like he had something about him, what I saw last night was probably the best 60 minutes I’ve seen of him in Green and White (well, Yellow and Black).

He’s got a set piece delivery to match plenty of those who have smashed a dead ball for the Glovers, but I saw more than that, a fight to get the ball off his team mates, to be direct, to give defenders a nightmare, but also a desire to do his defensive work too.

He’ll probably admit he got bullied off the ball at times last season, but he’s clearly gaining strength, he’s clearly a confidence player and his confidence must be sky high right now. He’s fast approaching ‘first name on the team sheet’ status.

Let’s watch that free kick again shall we? – You don’t save those.

I watched on the stream and whilst initially had radio coverage on as well, I quickly realised that the camera and microphone positioning allowed for a real insight into Mark Cooper’s touchline style. So I listened, and learned two things.

Firstly, the Weston super-Mare fans situated near the dugout need to wash their mouth out with soap… some very fruity language on show, at times it bordered on abusive actually – Nouble, Worthington and Cooper all coming under regular fire far beyond what I would call ‘normal’ football style ‘banter’ (I hate that word).

But seriously, someone at WSM should remind their fans, that camera and microphone picks it all up… 

Anyway, I digress, Mark Cooper still kicks every ball, still makes every header and really offered a hands on approach to his coaching.

He, at times, literally helped Jamie Sendles-White through the first half, screaming where to be, where to move. Being out of position at right back would have been new to him and he got all the help he needed and put in a very solid display during the first 45.

Cooper claims the assist to Young’s free kick (above) shouting at JS-W to make sure Young took the spot kick and not allow Murphy to pull rank, he kept the team motivated and kept reminding them of the basics; “Face Up”, “Shape”, “Sprint back in”, “Less turnovers lads”… stuff that might seem fairly trivial, but for me shows he’d be out there himself if he could.

Mark Cooper in discussion with captain Josh Staunton during the 2-1 home win over St Albans. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Frank Nouble – the Green and White Berbatov?

We’ve maybe been slightly critical of Nouble on the podcast over the last couple of games, but I really tried to watch him closely in this line up. There were times he frustrated, there were times he seemed to go quiet and times he could arguably have done a bit better with what was given to him in the way of service, but then… Bang. Goal.

One he had to be strong for, one he had to get spot on under the pressure he was facing, and finished it off well from close range.

I think, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s got all the qualities to be a real force at this level, I’m not sure he’s a back-to-goal striker, I think we want to see him ball at feet, running at players and making it really difficult to win the ball from. 

But, much like Berbatov, quiet spells, drifting in and out of games all look strange, but if he takes the chances that come his way, he could easily find himself up towards double figures in no time at all. Almost without anyone noticing.

Let’s have his goal too shall we?

Squad depth, rotation and doing the dirty work in places you wouldn’t normally.

Last night we started with a central defender at right back, a right back at the heart of the midfield three and ended with Matt Worthington in an attacking left position and all whilst managing several players on Yellow cards.

It hadn’t really hit me until last night, just how stretched this season will become. Games aren’t 90 minutes, last night went well over 100, seven Glovers players were booked, taking a couple of them to within touching distance of a ban. 

Minutes in the legs will need to be managed, both Jordan Young and Rhys Murphy were probably brought off with their fitness just been looked after and most, if not all of the team were really flagging towards the end.

If Jake Hyde has a sore calf and JS-W has an achilles concern then that’s two more people to think about. It was great that Josh Owers came in and played so well, but we will certainly need our full squad. We may need to ask about Will Dawes, the only one of those with a squad number not to make a first team squad so far, we may even need to ask about Scott Pollock – spotted back training at Alvington yesterday – every squad member is going to do a lot of pitching in, playing out of position and being asked a lot of. 

That’s fine, but it’s going to take some man management, we don’t want benches going unfilled, we need our full range of options if we are to achieve our goals this season.

Jordan Young celebrates his first goal for the club.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Finally, 850 fans and everyone of them deserved that moment.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m gutted to be so far away this season, but watching (and listening) to the game last night, the fans were exceptional. It was noted post match by all three of Cooper, Staunton and Young how important you are. 

We’ve continued to sell away tickets in our numbers this season, I’m sure that’ll continue and so long as you keep doing yourselves and the club proud, you’re helping. You’re 100% helping.

Is it a cheesy, cliche to say you got the team over the line… maybe, but there’s no doubt in my mind, that big crowds, crowds within touching distance of the pitch can make a difference, can get their support into the minds of both sets of players.

Oh how I wanted to be in the away end on Tuesday, to watch our team play good football at times, to keep a decent enough side at arms length for periods and to be honest, pick up about as comfortable a 3-2 win as is possible, on another day that game ends 6-1 and no one bats an eyelid.

On to Eastbourne!

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Chelmsford left Huish Park with a point yesterday after a late couple goals saw it finish 1-1. Ian was in the commentary box and here are his conclusions…

Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

Joe Day had an impressive debut. The signing of another goalkeeper was no surprise following Lewis Williams departure, but an experienced EFL keeper who was on loan in the National League probably was a surprise. Day didn’t put a foot wrong, his distribution was solid and he pulled off three great saves. Firstly in a one on one situation, the second a low firm hand from a close range header and his third was a great reaction save to Josh Staunton’s miscued clearance. Will Buse is a good, young goalkeeper, but adding day makes the goalkeepers union stronger, more experienced and has strengthened the defence.

Is there anything Morgan Williams can’t do? I’m not sure I can conclude with a question, but oh well. Morgan Williams started in defensive midfield yesterday, shielding the centre backs. When I saw the line up it felt like Josh Staunton was the natural fit there but Williams took on the role and had another good game. He left the ball-playing to Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Charlie Cooper and was a good disrupter to Chelmsford’s attacking midfielders who were in perpetual motion. With all the attacking talent on the pitch (more on them in a bit), Williams was probably not the player people expected to pop up with the equaliser. #DFILWF might have a new ambassador…

Jake Hyde chance. Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

I’m not sure how we didn’t score more. It was two quite different halves for the attacking end of the team. The first half, I felt we never got in a flow. If I saw one diagonal pumped toward Frank Nouble I must have seen 1000. Everything good came through Jordan Young and Jake Hyde struggled to get any joy from Chelmsford’s lofty defenders. We picked up in the second half as Chelmsford tired with crosses flying into the box. Hyde had a golden 1v1 that he should have buried to open the scoring. Rhys Murphy entered the fray, Jordan Stevens returned and Jordan Maguire-Drew came on when we went 1-0 down. It was one way traffic for most of the second half, but I don’t think we stretched Chelmsford’s goalkeeper enough.

We need to find our best attacking unit. We’ve tried different combinations this season but we’re still yet to really make it click up top. There’s so much talent at the top end, Murphy, Hyde, Nouble, Young, JM-D, Stevens, Lo-Everton that should be able to unlock teams. I’m excited to see Stevens come into this team and I think he and Young in a front line will give us more energy and unpredictability in attack.

I’m not sure why people are grumbling about keeping the ball. Yet again, it’s another game where Yeovil recycle the ball, retain possession and work it down the other side to moans of some supporters. Chelmsford’s defence won everything in the air yesterday, Hyde and Nouble got no joy from the giant Winfield. Credit has to go to Chelmsford – the only unbeaten team in the league – who defended from the front and cut those forward passes out. I understand some of the frustration, but we’re a club that’s been losing for a decade and right now, we’ve got more in the wins column than the lost and that’s a good place to be.

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A Bank Holiday Monday in Hampshire, sounds lovely doesn’t it? Trains strikes might take the edge off the trip from Lancashire to the deep, dark south… losing 4-3 (despite fighting back from 2-0 and 3-2 down) definitely will make for a long, lonely journey back.

That’s what Gloverscast Dave did, he’s got five conclusions on what he saw (he probably has more, but we’re a stickler for the rules around here…) here they are.

Well that was dreadful. Let’s start with the obvious, shall we? That was an absolute defensive horror show from Yeovil. For the first half, we looked all at sea lacking any kind of defensive shape or discipline. Was it the absence of Josh Staunton? That was certainly a part of it, I think. Morgan Williams looked to be something we were missing in the first half as well. It got a bit better when he came on, but that probably just underlines what a farce the first half was.

Can it just have been the surface? I would definitely say the entire performance cannot be put down to the pitch alone. Playing on plastic does not stop players doing the simple things which we simply did not do. But it did appear to make them harder. We seemed to be incapable of controlling or passing a ball, let alone both. This was worse than the opening day defeat at Hemel Hempstead – our last outing on an artificial pitch – and with more matches coming up on these surfaces still to come, we need to sort this out quickly. Training at Dorchester, perhaps? 
 
Morgan Williams battles for the ball away at Havant
 
Too many changes cost us. You don’t need to be an experienced football manager to know that keeping a consistent line-up is the secret to success. With Jake Hyde fit enough to make the bench, it would seem that Josh Staunton was the only player unable to play on the artificial surface. Mark Cooper said last week that starting Olly Thomas would be very different to the player we have seen come off the bench to good effect recently and that prediction proved correct. The young Bristol City forward struggled to get in to the game, but he was far from the only one who struggled. If this was us offering players who have not been starting an opportunity to impress, they did not take it.
 
Will Buse in full flight at Havant
 
Being full-time means little if you have the wrong attitude. Last week, Cooper also spoke about there not being much difference between full-time and part-time players. For a team supposedly low of confidence having not won at home since February or won at all this season, Havant went some way to proving that point. But far from just fitness (although they looked every bit as fit as their full-time opponents) there was a great discipline and organisation about Havant. In Faal up front, they have a player who has the attributes to be a handful of defenders across the division and, if we can do it consistently, at a higher level. He bullied our defence from the opening minute and we could not handle him.
 
 
It’s hard not to, but we can’t lose our heads. There is no doubt this performance was a concern and the fact that it is now two poor performances in our first two away games is also a concern. But (big but), 10 points from the opening six games is still not a terrible return. We have put pressure on ourselves with a home game against an unbeaten Chelmsford this week and then our first derby of the season against Weston-super-Mare to follow. The job is now to embrace that pressure and step up. No excuses.
 

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Three points, a clean sheet, third win in four at home… go on then!

Commentating for Three Valleys Radio was Dave Prior he’s taken time to put together Five Conclusions as the Glovers started off the Bank Holiday weekend with a bang.

Dave Prior (left) and Paul Thorpe of 3VR

A performance to silence the doubters? Maybe. After a bright start from the visitors, it took Rhys Murphy to win a foul just shy of the 2-minute mark to give the Yeovil defence a breather. I worried at that point it could become a tricky afternoon, considering we had not kept a clean sheet in the previous four matches. Truth is, I didn’t really have much to worry about. Jordan Young coolly slotted home to give Yeovil the lead after 14 minutes. Young was a constant threat throughout and certainly staked a claim to be starting every week. People may point to the fact Yeovil made it difficult for themselves by not sealing the win until the 95th minute. Whilst that may be true, I don’t remember Will Buse having a shot to save. Cooper and Worthington had control of the midfield and having Sonny as the link man to play between the lines helped to cement that control. The back 4 kept the Angels front two quiet for most of the afternoon. There were cries to quicken the play from the stands, particularly in the second half. The conditions were torrential which I think must be considered but for me, it was clearly Yeovil’s most complete performance of the season. Oh, the ref didn’t help either (Editor: RULE ONE, PRIOR!) did he but ill stick to the rule and just leave it at that……..

Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Jordan Young. Was our spark here all along? A season in which a plethora of new attacking talent has joined over the summer, yet it could be an existing player who could really make the difference. Young, showed glimpses of what he could do in a struggling side last season and if today is anything to go by, he is heading for an exciting season. Exquisite close control and comfortable in possession. The goal showcased his skillset by driving towards the goal, sending the defender for a hot dog before cutting in on his weaker foot and bending it into the near post. How many times did we complain of players not having a shot from good positions last year? A player certainly not lacking confidence and could be a key asset, particularly when games are tight. Recent experience at this level too may result in Yeovil seeing the best version of Jordan Young this season.

Staunton, Wannell and Williams warm up

Flat back four – It’s a yes from me. Its no secret that the back 3 (or back 5 depending on your preference) has been a talking point amongst fans for a while now. For me I think we have looked more assured as a back 4 and that showed again today. As mentioned above, Buse keeping a cleano (or a cleanie if you ask me) and not having a shot to save also tells its own story. Whittle and Williams showed how good they are going forward whilst not being exposed in behind them. Staunton and Wannell also look like a dream partnership. Wannell’s composure on the ball, allows him to drift into midfield to start attacks (John Stones style) with the confidence Staunton is there to support, with Charlie Cooper tracking back to vacate the space. This was a common theme in the second half. It will be interesting how the formation will look on Monday with inevitable changes to come. If it’s not broke don’t fix it comes to mind.

Rhys Murphy tussles with a Tonbridge Angels defender.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Tough day at the office for Murphy. I have heard a lot of supporters talking about Murphy hitting between 20-25 league goals this season. Whilst I think his purchase is of significance, I have not really agreed with that stance. A horrendous injury record, more artificial pitches to overcome this season, I think that is a huge ask. There is no doubt he is a brilliant finisher, particularly at this level, but today wasn’t his day. Throughout the first half he was reluctant to come towards the ball, waiting for it to come to feet, and was often dispossessed. Then there was the penalty. He showed his confidence to step up and take it but in truth, from where I was sitting, it looked a comfortable save. To add insult to the miss, Mark Cooper took him off after directly afterwards which concluded a tough afternoon for him.

Mark Cooper in discussion with captain Josh Staunton during the 2-1 home win over St Albans. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The right changes at the right time. Whilst Rhys Murphy will disagree, I think Mark Cooper made the right calls. There has been talk this week of Thomas getting a start after recent positive performances, but I think there is a case for him being a fantastic impact sub. His sheer presence and size is a nightmare for any defender, and seeing him come on when you are starting to tire will strike fear into opposition defenders. The same goes for Nouble. The perfect cameo today. His unpredictability was causing all sorts of problems and he went on a brilliant solo run which unfortunately did not result into anything. He got his goal though and topped off a brilliant day with a driving run on the break from inside his own half before receiving the ball in front of goal and smashing it home. Whilst both will have ambitions to start regularly for Yeovil Town, there is certainly an argument for ‘super sub’ labels. Sorry lads…..

It was Robbie Williams who said “I’m loving angels instead.” Based on the Tonbridge performance today, not for me. (….and through it aaaaaaaaalllllllllllll….)

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In what was almost a cut and copy of Tuesday night (except the three points, of course), Yeovil Town managed to clutch a point from the jaws of defeat yesterday against Maidstone United.

Another point on the board and three matches unbeaten now, let’s see how Tom saw it from his seat…

Did it go over the line? In the first half, a wonderful ball came into the box and landed on the head of Morgan Williams, who fired it into the bottom corner of the ne…wait, that wasn’t given?! At first glance, it appeared to be a truly mesmerising save from Maidstone stopper Lucas Covolan, and while it was still a brilliant save, it should’ve been for nothing as the ball had definitely crossed the line (no bias here I promise). A talking point for weeks to come, as the wait for a first competitive goal in front of the Thatchers Stand for Yeovil this season goes on.

Morgan Williams.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

A very familiar feeling. Lots of wonderful build up play, followed by great chances that aren’t taken by the front line, or others for that matter. Chances for Morgan Williams, the previously mentioned Frank Nouble and Jake Hyde all came and went, and yet Yeovil went into half time at 0-0 when perhaps they shouldn’t have. For all the possession and quality Yeovil showed, it still left them a mountain to climb when, like on Tuesday against Truro when they climbed it better, a goal in the 55th minute from substitute Levi Amantchi gave Maidstone a lead from a well-worked corner routine. Yeovil managed to get one-goal back this time, but falling behind after dominance is not a pattern we want to be experiencing this season.

Frank Nouble.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil can feel hard done by when all factors are thrown into the equation. A dodgy goal line call, some questionable offside calls, a drop ball that was called poorly, and some gamesmanship going under the radar, Yeovil can feel hard done by here with a refereeing performance that didn’t exactly set the world on fire. To add on to that, Maidstone’s corner was well worked but unfortunate for Yeovil to drop behind, as Will Buse did make a good reaction save but could only send it into the path of Levi Amantchi. They made the best of what they could though, and recovered an important point against one of the fellow relegated sides who will be hoping, like Yeovil, to bounce back at the first opportunity.

Get behind Mark Cooper. He may not be your favourite manager you’ve had at Yeovil, but you can’t fault the changes he made in the second half to get Yeovil back into the game. Following the opener by Maidstone, Yeovil looked deflated until he made a raft of changes, bringing on the trickery of Jordan Young, the power and pace of Olly Thomas and the man who scored the equaliser, with his clinical finishing, Rhys Murphy. Like Tuesday, he made the right call, which helped Yeovil back into the match. We’re unbeaten in 3 games now, something we haven’t seen January where funnily enough, Maidstone were the third game in that run. Yeovil are (without looking at the table Ian!) in a good spot to open the season, with a freak goal costing us 3 points in the opener, and 2 important wins before a solid recovery today, let’s give him his credit where it’s due!

Make the most of the momentum we have. We’ve seen over the past couple of years that positive momentum is hard to come by. This is a great chance for us to generate exactly that. Four home games on the bounce, undefeated in the three we’ve played, and we’ve looked pretty good in the process, with the small point of needing some goals now. Let’s build off this and back the players, the manager, the owner, everything to do with the club, as there’s a real buzz and excitement right now, we can capitalise on this! It’s only been 4 games so far, there’s still a long, long way to go…