Five Conclusions (Page 13)

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Another draw… that’s 13, another clean sheet… that’s 12… and another 5 conclusions to go alongside.

Gloverscast Ben had his stream beaming into Barrett HQ, here’s how he saw it.

Edwin Agbaje

I was fearful of Jamie Reckord’s absence, but the introduction of Edwin Agbaje might rank very high for debut performances for a young loanee.

Just 18 years of age, I thought the borrowed Ipswich man looked assured beyond his years, trying to get forward at every opportunity, linking well with his team mates and not afraid to stick a boot in where it hurt at a vital time.
I’ve said before I wanted a little more in the full back areas and based on that introductory 90 minutes, I’m hopeful we’ve got a good one.

The Thatchers Gold End – Photo Chris Fox

We need to talk about the pitch.

Just seven days on from the original postponement of this game the pitch was an early focal point.

The troublesome Thatchers End goal mouth was primed for sand castle building competition and the rest of it had its moments.

Lawson D’Ath tripped over nothing when trying to defend a through ball, the edge of the 18 yard box made a wonderful tackle on Andrew Oluwabori and if a Wealdstone attacker hadn’t turned his back on Grant Smith early doors, the keeper’s stumble and slip would have left a gaping goal.

There was plenty of misplaced footsteps and wobbles, the football you play is only as good as the surface its played on. Whatever has happened in the past couple weeks has clearly taken its toll on the surface and we could do with looking after it… not training on it to make a point.

Owen Bevan sees red from referee Scott Jackson.

The red card of course changed the game.

Firstly, I think it was a red card, not malicious or particularly dangerous, but certainly out of control and certainly worthy of the red circle of doom from Scott Jackson’s back pocket.

I think it forced our hands to make changes we didn’t want, or need to make and it means that our most assured defender will miss three games.

Ben Richards-Everton looked fairly comfortable when he came on, but Staunton is clearly hobbling more and is a warrior to the end.

I’m confident in Hunt, Williams or BRE to fill that gap, but I’d much rather have Bevan for the next few games.

Jordan Maguire-Drew. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

JMD is human after all!!!

Our new star man had his first off day, his Sat Nav hadn’t been configured properly, his radar needs some recalibration.

A couple wayward shots, a few set pieces not quite on their mark and suddenly we’re taking off our new number 10 as the reshuffle followed the red card.

He will turn the machine off and on again and be back again for Saturday.

Finally… time for an unpopular opinion…

Jordan Maguire-Drew, left, talks to Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I cannot celebrate or even enjoy a home performance in its entirety, when we have 0 shots on target.

Off the back of a very good away win, it was important to back that up with another positive result.

The Wealdstone keeper didn’t have to get muddy (or sandy) at any point.

He was never troubled. Not with 11 Glovers on the pitch, not with 10.

I found myself getting increasingly wound up as the game wore on, I found myself begging players to pull the trigger, to get a shot in on goal that at least wakes the keeper up.

Yes, we are OK at the back, but let’s not pretend we didn’t give up chances, Grant Smith cements his title as the best keeper in the league and a better opposition strike force probably score 2 or 3 with minimal fuss.

If we’re happy with that as a 0-0, wrap the season up, call it a day and let’s try again in August.

We enter February sat in no man’s land (on and off the pitch), and I want to be entertained.

I don’t want to try and win 1-0 but settle for a stalemate, I want to try and win 4-0 but settle for a 3-3.

I’d like us to set our standards higher. Our players our better than they were, the manager is better, the whole club is better than enjoying another 0-0 draw.




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Yeovil Town became the last National League side to pick up a win away from home as they saw off ten-man Dagenham on Saturday.

The win keeps the Glovers five points clear of the relegation zone with many of the division’s struggling sides picking up wins, but also means there are ‘just’ nine points between them and the play-off places.

Here’s what Coatesie thought of his most recent visit to the Chigwell Construction Stadium……


An away win, and what an away win. It would be easy to point to the fact Dagenham played for an hour with ten men, but let’s not forget they were in the play-offs at the start of the game and we had not won an away match all season. Far from the rusty display we saw after a period of not playing last time out against Bromley, we were at it from the off. We stepped off the gas after half-time which allowed Dagenham to create some good chances, but we were more than worth the win – plus two goals and a clean sheet.

The new boys made a difference. In the first half, the combination of Jordan Young’s hard work, the quality of Jack Clarke, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Andrew Oluwabori caused Dagenham all kinds of problems. We pressed them and, for players who are presumably still getting to know each other, there was enough to think we could have a way to improve our goals scored rally. Further back, I did not really notice Charlie Cooper much and that is to his credit. In a defensive midfield position, he was neat and tidy and seemed to do what he needed to do.

We finished enough chances, but still plenty to do. We scored goals – two of them! A coolly taken penalty from Maguire-Drew and then an absolute beauty from outside the box from Matt Worthington. But, if I am being greedy (and I am), it really could and should have been more. As he did at Bromley two weeks prior, Oluwabori had a great chance to add another. His pace causes problems and he gets in a lot of the right positions, if he could add finishing to his game he’d be almost complete. Then, right at the death, Alex Fisher will have been disappointed not to have added another to his tally.

Stay where you are, Josh. Josh Staunton back in defence alongside Owen Bevan brought that solid feel back to us which was sadly lacking at Bromley. It is early days, but if Cooper proves a good anchorman in midfield, I would be quite happy to see Staunton stay back for the foreseeable. Equally, Morgan Williams on the right and Jamie Reckord on the left coped well against a lively Dagenham forward line. I’d be quite happy to keep that defence…….what’s that about Reckord being banned?!

Now we need to follow it up. An away win on the board, three points, two goals – mission accomplished. But we need to follow this up with a win at home to Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Looking at our games throughout February it feels like we should be going in to next weekend’s home game with bottom club Maidstone United and the trips to Maidenhead, York to get three points. If we can do that, the taller tasks of a trip to Wrexham and a visit from Notts County can be free hits.

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It was a perfect start to 2023 at Huish Park as the Glovers earned a 2-0 win against Torquay. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions.

Mark Cooper got experimental. When the team sheet came out it was quite easy to put the line up into a 5-3-2 with Malachi Linton leading the line. When the players emerged for the first half and Ben Richards-Everton was in the front two with Linton many will have wondered if Mark Cooper had a few NYE drinks. The Richards-Everton experiment didnt produce much attacking flow, but after the match Cooper said it softened Torquay up. He also said Alex Fisher was sick and hadn’t trained and was only able to make a cameo from the bench. It wasn’t pretty at points but he managed to find a combination that got a result.

Andrew Oluwabori and Lawson D’Ath come on at half-time.

We had to change it at half time again to unlock Torquay. It was surprising to see Max Hunt and Jamie Andrews replaced, given that they have been two of Mark Cooper’s mainstays, but I think it was a nod to Ben Richards-Everton to move him to the back 3. Lawson D’Ath didn’t see much of the ball, but Andrew Oluwabori’s impact was instant. What we saw against Maidenhead and Gateshead in November was on display again. His ability to run directly with the ball and scare defenders in unmatched in our squad. There are moments where he choose the wrong option but in 80th minute when he drove down the left hand side and put an inviting ball across the six yard box for Matt Worthington, he showed what he can produce.

I thought Torquay played well. The table doesn’t lie, and many will be calling for Gary Johnson to be replaced, but in the first half they opened us more than most teams have this season. Grant Smith was the busier of the two goalkeepers all afternoon and had to make plenty of saves. They created several openings inside the 18 yard box where had they managed to connect more cleanly with the ball, it could have been a very different story.

Jordan Maguire-Drew. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

That was some finish by Jordan Maguire Drew. The player who struggled through his debut against Dorking is long gone. How we’ve missed a player with his radar for a pass. He got on the ball in the first half and came close to unlocking Torquay. His second half was quieter as we took a more direct approach to getting something from the game but he was in the right place at the right time to seal the game with a cute finish in stoppage time. While Grimsby have said the deal is just a loan, Yeovil are confident that it’s more than that and on the evidence of the last two matches, he’s going to be a key player for us this year.

It’s been a great start to the year. It’s been difficult to find positivity this season but as we move into 2023, we’ve won a game by two clear goals and kept a clean sheet, we’ve announced that we’re relaunching a women’s club and there’s a potential takeover on the horizon. The year has kicked off with hope at Huish Park, and although we’ve been here before and detail is limited, I think a bit of hope is a nice position to be in.

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Yeovil Town’s FA Trophy campaign came to an end in familiar fashion with an exit after penalty shoot-out for the second successive season.

Last season it was lower division Needham Market, this time around it was Dorking Wanderers – who are at least in the same division – but the result was the same, it’s concentrate on National League survival and the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup for Yeovil Town.

Here’s how Ian saw it…….

 

It wasn’t a game of quality in the final thirds. Yeovil were defensively strong (as per usual) and were barely troubled by Dorking going forward, whilst at the other end, Will Buse had a quiet afternoon stepping in for Grant Smith. Josh Staunton had Yeovil’s first attempt on target in the 70th minute with a header that was straight at the keeper. The Glovers rallied for a spell in the final stages, and thought they’d got it through Staunton but for an offside flag. We probably deserved the win on the balance of the second half, but without finding a goal we are always at risk of defeat.

We don’t like a penalty shootout. It feels like it’s becoming a bit of a thing now. We scraped through in the lowest quality shoot-out ever last season again W*ymouth in last season’s FA Cup, lost horrendously to Needham Market and yesterday we struggled again from the spot. The early work Mark Cooper did with building confidence will have taken a bit of a hit yesterday off the back of this, but what surprised me was who stepped up. Our usual takers Alex Fisher and Matt Worthington were off the pitch, but we had attacking players Malachi Linton, Charlie Wakefield, Andrew Oluwabori on for the shootout – but Jordan Drew Maguire, Max Hunt and Jamie Andrews took them. 

I’m not sure where the goals are coming from. We tried another combination in the attacking areas yesterday, with Chiori Johson in at left wing and Maguire-Drew on the right. Maguire-Drew looked like a player who hasn’t played a lot of football and although he added quality with his set pieces, he needs match fitness. Is a one-month loan enough to get it in? Alex Fisher, a mainstay in Cooper’s side so far, didn’t have his greatest afternoon and I wonder at what point we start Louis Britton. He’s been billed as a goal scorer who gets in the six-yard box which was what we were crying out for as the game wore on.

Alex Fisher battles for the ball. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The attendance yesterday has to be of concern. It was our first sub-1000 attendance for a first-team fixture for years. If we disregard SMPC and friendlies, the last time we played a first team fixture with less than 1000 supporters was in November 2018 against West Ham United Under-21s in the Check-a-Trade Trophy which was in the thick of a boycott of that competition across the country. Before that, we played Kingstonian in the Nationwide Variety Cup in April 2001 in front of 295. In the same season and competition we played Kettering in front of 709 supporters. In 1997, we played Boreham Wood in the ICIS Charity Shield with 873. Last season when we played Woking in the same round of the competition there were 1493 at Huish Park. Obviously, there were circumstances which would have led to that, the freezing cold, the late notice of pitch inspection, the last weekend before Christmas, but the level of drop off is a damning indictment of the progress (or lack of it) at the club.

Survival is all that’s left to play for. With defeat yesterday and no FA Trophy run on the cards now, all that’s left to play for next season is survival. On Friday’s podcast we spoke about how a cup run would give us a lift and something to get excited about in a season which has provided very little in the way of excitement. Alas, the “drama” of the penalty shootout put an end to it in the first hurdle and all we have now is to hope we have enough quality to remain a National League club.

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The stars aligned this weekend, a stomach bug combined with the launch of a National League streaming service meant Ian was able to stay warm and watch Yeovil’s 0-0 draw with Scunthorpe from the comfort of home. Here are his Five Conclusions…

That was a drab affair. This game won’t go down in history as the Notts County 0-0 will. With a heavily depleted squad, players on the pitch on antibiotics, two of the League’s poorer sides and an increasingly difficult surface, the quality was at a premium at Huish Park. In hindsight, a postponement of the match probably would have benefitted the Glovers. Mark Cooper said given the circumstances with the squad, it’s one of our best points of the season. But his comments after the match made it abundantly clear that…

The playing budget is tight, and that is an understatement. We knew it already right? Chris Hargreaves leant on the local loan network to bring in players and was definitely not shopping in Waitrose. Yesterday we named three subs, with only two outfield players, in a week where we let Gime Toure leave and had to let Anthony Georgiou return to his parent club to ‘balance the books’. The manager cited Jamie Reckord, Morgan Williams, Matt Worthington and Ben Richards-Everton as players missing, but Jake Scrimshaw has vanished, Will Dawes (our five-figure fee signing no less) has got back from whence he came on loan and Hulbert has gone out too. Parts of the summer recruitment has left a lot to be desired and a combination of factors left us really short yesterday. We’ve had two managers this season, who’ve both talked about the lack of budget, what exactly has the injection of taxpayers money done to the playing budget?

I think there should have been a red card for Scunthorpe. There was a heated 20 seconds in the second half where a great tackle gets penalised for a free kick to Yeovil and what followed was a blatant punch to the side of Ewan Clarke’s head. The referee’s intention was solely on sorting out the tackle (which ironically didn’t need sorting) so he misses the hit, if he keeps his eye on Clarke for a split second longer there’s no way he doesn’t give a red. National League refs, eh? What do you think?

Scunthorpe looked like they were there for the taking. There were moments in the first half where we seemed to have acres of space inside the 18 yard box, but rather than shoot we tried to over work it and the chance went away. Friend of the Gloverscast Chris Weale said on commentary that he thought the Iron’s defence was big, slow and narrow and that that Yeovil could get round them. Unfortunately we didn’t seem to do that enough and gave Scunthorpe their first clean sheet of the season.

And they probably should have won it. Scunthorpe grew into the second half as we tired and they looked much more of a threat. In a game that looked like it was going to be settled by one goal, they had the chance of the afternoon through a combination of Tom Pugh and Rob Apter, who somehow conspired to miss. It was the biggest chance of the afternoon and fortunately for the Glovers, Scunthorpe didn’t capitalise.

It was the kind of game where you’re grateful for the request to build a bug hotel during it.

On to Barnet…

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Was it pretty? No. Was it effective? Heck, Yes.

The Glovers’ Wall stood firm to hold off wave after wave of Notts County attack and take home a well earned point from Meadow Lane in front of a National League record, 16,500.

Gloverscast Ben joined Gloverscast Dave in the away end for this one, it’s conclusion time….

I think it’s worth putting some stats together to just understand just how good that result was.

Notts County have scored in every game this season, in every competition, regardless of eventual outcome.

49 goals in 19 games prior to the weekend, doesn’t take a genius maths wizz to work out that’s a seriously good XG return.

County had actually scored in every game since drawing a blank against Stockport County at the back end of last season. The last time Meadow Lane didn’t see a goal from their side in a competitive match…. April 17th 2021 when Eastleigh kept them out, 520 days between away clean sheets.

Notts County will be fine, on that evidence, they’ll finish top three, no question.

Their ability to find short passes through lines of players is second to none, every pass is quick, crisp along the ground and presented with pin point accuracy, which for me, only makes the Glovers’ rear guard action even more impressive.

Notts County are probably the best footballing outfit I’ve seen this season, or maybe even for a couple of seasons… and the Parma Violet Party Poopers gave them a good old dollop of ‘thou shall not pass’. 

The difference between this game and the Oldham shambles came down to a very simple gameplan.

Be. Organised.

A very flat back five, a central but very flat four in front of them, and at times a rather defensively minded frontman.

I don’t think Scott Wickens’ running tracker would have had too much of a tough task getting the numbers for this one, it wasn’t expansive.

But that’s okay, sometimes, you have to dig in and get it done, what I want to highlight is the levels of concentration needed. To stay switched on at the back for basically 95 minutes is tough, mentally.

Only for maybe twice could messrs Hunt, Bevan and Williams dare to switch off as the ball made a foray forwards, but they kept their cool. Block, Tackle. Head. Clear. Repeat.

One misplaced foot and a penalty would have gifted their hosts a chance to undo all that hard work, one flung out limb could deflect a ball beyond Smith, one lapse in concentration and your (very good) opponents have a yard of space and a free chance to ruin it all.

It never happened once.

The legs might not have done quite so much of the hard work, but the brains would have done extra.

Owen Bevan in particular for me was outstanding, but I truly believe that was one of the most assured defensive displays I’ve ever seen from Yeovil.

Owen Bevan heads away. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Now… there were a couple of moments where the County barrage broke through the wall, that’s to be expected, they’re a wonderful outfit, but what they got when their half chances came around happened to be…

The best ‘keeper in the National League.

It’s not even close, the levels of trouble we’d be in as a team without Grant Smith is astronomical.

He makes the easy ones look easy, because his positioning is always foot perfect, he makes the difficult ones look easy, because he is quick, agile with spring powered boots.

It’s the boring stuff like he always gets the parries AWAY from goal, he never stopped marshaling his back line, and I’ve never seen a man take a slower goal kick in my life!

I joked to Dave that the reason Will Buse was on the bench was in case Grant Smith got booked twice for time-wasting, in the end, he didn’t once, he got warned, but it turns out he can even charm an official to keep his cards in his pocket. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT MAN CAN’T DO!?

Can I ask about the contract situation? Are we able to make that a longer deal? He’s a genuine asset and with January fast approaching and EFL teams looking to shuffle the pack, he’s worth a few quid, I’d quite like that protected.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Our new additions have really added something – something we were missing.

Andrew “What’s the Story” Oluwabori was the brightest attacking spark in a performance which wasn’t very attacking, but I found myself really appreciating the little nuances of his performance.

More than once, he held a defender off on or around the half way line, kept the ball and won a throw in, free kick or made the simple pass to someone who can get the ball forward.

He’s rapid, and the Notts County left back didn’t stand a chance when they got in a foot race, he’s direct and will cause plenty of decent teams trouble, I’d like him to stay for the season please, thanks.

Jamie “Taller than you think” Andrews is another one who really shone for me. Again, I know I’m talking about a different style of performance, but I saw enough in his resolute sideways defensive formation to know he’s got something.

Towards the back end of the second half, Josh Staunton was really starting to feel the injury that has prevented him from training, he came to a bit of a standstill in the middle, so Andrews did his chasing for him. Harrowing, closing down, side to side like a crab at times, blocking one path, then shuffling to the next and so on.

There were glimpses of his ability to take a ball and go from back to front quite quickly, but this wasn’t the game for that.

And finally, it was mentioned after the game that the team “couldn’t apologise” for their approach to this game.

I don’t want an apology, I don’t need an apology.

I think every one of the 452 fans there appreciated that it might be the toughest point we get all season, the toughest clean sheet (Not a ‘Cleano’) we might have to fight for all campaign.

I said as we left that if this game was a month or two further down the line, then yeah, ok, I dont mind if people get a bit disgruntled, but not now.

You can just start to see the beginnings of a run; that’s unbeaten in three, that’s just one goal conceded in three. That’s a game which can set up potentially massive clashes at home with FC Halifax, Scunthorpe United and Torquay United before the New Year is rung in.

It was a top draw defensive masterclass, but maybe, just maybe, we’ll look back in a couple of months and pinpoint it as so much more.

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Goals from Alex Fisher and Malachi Linton saw Mark Cooper pick up his first win as Yeovil manager against basement club Gateshead yesterday. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions.

Alex Fisher is rejuvenated under Mark Cooper. Everything feels a bit fresher, but no one has had a bigger turnaround than Yeovil’s number 9 under the new boss. With another two goals yesterday (it should have been a hat trick), Fisher’s form might make it difficult for Louis Britton to make an early impact. Two fox-in-the-box type goals exemplify the simplicity with which Mark Cooper has asked his striker to play. Hold it up, move it wide, get in the box. Both of his goals came from crosses when he was inside the six yard box. It’s amazing what can happen when you play a number 9 as a number 9.

Alex Fisher celebrates a goal in the 3-1 home win over Gateshead. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Oluwabori built on his Tuesday night cameo. The right winger shone against Maidenhead and yesterday was no different. He’s the type of player to create something from nothing and has added so much to this squad. His confidence his high and you see it rubbing off on his new teammates. He doubled up nicely with Chiori Johnson, linked up with Matt Worthington and he and Fisher look to building a good connection. Oluwabori was constant thorne in the side for Gateshead, who surrounded him at every opportunity. We’ve got a talent here who can make a genuine creative difference for the Glovers.

Matt Worthington was my man of the match. I thought Worthy was fantastic yesterday. He’s gone from being the senior midfielder in a pair under Chris Hargreaves to playing in the number 10 role for Mark Cooper and given the licence to get forward by having Josh Staunton and Jamie Andrews behind him. He was relentless and making a difference in spaces where we’ve probably not seen him before, forcing the Gateshead defence into mistakes by triggering the press. Can he add goals and assists? That’s the next challenge.

The power of Huish Park was evident. Mark Cooper gave a bit of a call to arms on Tuesday after the volume picked up in the stands and a bright start got Huish Park up for it yesterday too. There was a lull in the middle of the first half but Yeovil were roared home in the second half. It feels like it’s been a while since a managers name was sung in the crowd, but it’s not taken long for “Mark Cooper’s Green and White Army” and “Heeey Mark Cooper” to make it to the terraces.

It feels like we’ve got the right man in charge. Mark Cooper has added his own personnel, simplified everyone’s jobs and it’s making a difference. We can’t get ahead of ourselves, this was a bottom of the league team that looked lower on confidence than we did. But, it was a game that we needed to win and we did so. Next we travel to top of the league Notts County where the pressure will be entirely on them in front of a big crowd. It feels like we’ve got a decent foundation to build on now though, and you can see what that first win meant to everyone yesterday. You can’t help but wonder where we would be if we’d be able to opt for him in the summer, but sure I’m glad we’ve got him now.

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It was another frustrating night in front of goal for Yeovil Town as they lived up to their billing as the division’s lowest goalscorers with an eighth blank of the season in the 0-0 draw with Maidenhead United at Huish Park last night.

But, as Ian concludes, there were some reasons to be cheerful about at least some parts of the performance, here’s how he saw it……

Confidence is key. The first half performance showed a real lack of confidence and belief. Mark Cooper’s team played safe, we’re reluctant to take risks and barely threatened the Maidenhead United goal. Midway through the second half things started to click though. There was energy, attacking intent and the Glovers looked more likely to get something from a game that often ends goalless. After the match Mark Cooper said it was all about rebuilding the Confidence in his players and I think the last 20 minutes was a good platform to build off.

Cooper’s signings look the part. We expected changes in the squad and Mark Cooper has wasted little time. Jamie Andrews has come straight into the midfield and put in a man of the match performance last night. Anthony Georgiou was forward thinking and once settled looks like he can make a good contribution and the lift that Andrew Oluwabori gave the team and crowd was the highlight. His dribbling and speed got supporters on their feet and Yeovil improved with him on the pitch.

Goals are still a problem. Despite a couple of positives (and boy do we need some of those) the lack of goals is a huge problem. There was no shots in target on the first half and just two all game. That comes from a lack of confidence but we’re crying out for a striker to put anything in the goal. After the match the manager revealed Louis Britton, a former Bristol City striker, hadn’t got international clearance yet but is incoming. He was optimistic he would add the goals we so desperately need, hopefully in time for Gateshead. We’re the lowest scorers in the league and if we don’t rectify that we’re in for a long hard slog.

It’s going to take time for things to click. Given our position in the league, it’s difficult to remain patient but we need to be patient again. There was criticism on social media of the performance but two weeks ago most of this team were at their lowest with anger directed at them and Chris Hargreaves. As confidence builds, hopefully the adjustments will click, the patterns of play will develop and results will turn. We kept a clean sheet, looked comfortable defensively for the majority of the game and the attacking intent got the supporters behind the team and we need to harness that.

It’s groundhog day off the pitch. As performances dwindled, the crowds have too. It was a grim night in Yeovil last night and you can forgive those for not deciding to venture out in those conditions, but the reality is 21st vs 16th in a match notorious for a lack of goals isn’t going to draw the punters in. Yet again we find ourselves in the midst of takeover saga that needs a speedy conclusion so that we don’t go through months of uncertainty for the second season in a row.

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It was a first match up against Darren Sarll since he left back in March, and the Glovers’ former manager got one over his old team guiding Woking to 1-0 win in Mark Cooper’s second match in charge of Yeovil Town.

A late Padraig Amond goal was the difference between the two sides in Surrey but only after he had seen a penalty saved by Grant Smith.

Sheridan Robins from her usual vantage point watching Yeovil Town from the BBC Radio Somerset commentary box.

BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins was in the commentary box at Kingfield and here are her five conclusions.

It is plainly obvious the issues stem from not scoring goals.
Woking are a good side. They have goals all over the pitch, but Yeovil kept them at bay through some excellent one-on-one defending and a superb penalty save. But, when you have little up front, one mistake and the game is gone.

Sticking your centre back up front when chasing a goal tells you all you need to know about the lack of attacking prowess, but Mark Cooper was right, he was a threat. However, you don’t want to rely on that. The lack of natural goal scorers all over the pitch is the killer.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Grant Smith has had a superb season – but is not getting the plaudits he deserves.

And that is not a criticism of supporters, it is natural because the team are in the bottom four. However, he has continually kept the Glovers in games, and now saved two penalties this season. He did not deserve to be on the losing side last night – and that has been true multiple times this season.

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

Players will be given a chance under Mark Cooper and Max Hunt being back in the side showcases that.

He mentioned post match that there are still players vying for a place. I think this week is a big week for him to properly assess what he has at his disposal. He also said it is his job to get the best out of this squad which has been assembled. There will be changes and additions – I have no doubt about that – but it is also about instilling belief into the players currently wearing the shirt.

I think this is obvious and has been for a while but Yeovil are in a relegation battle. After Torquay’s storming win last night, things are getting tight at the bottom. The poor start to the season has put them in this position and a change has been made. The priority now has to be to pull away from that drop zone – experience is crucial in this division and the man in the dugout has plenty of that. I felt the fans were behind him last night – that can only be a positive. One game at a time, as they say!

We all wanted to be in the first round of the FA Cup, but maybe with everything that has happened a full week on the training pitch could be just what the Glovers need.

I will be commentating on MK Dons v Taunton, but I imagine Yeovil will be in a lot over the next week and it is a chance for new and fresh ideas.

With two home games in a row coming up – it might be just the reset they need to get results over the line.

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In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

An penalty in second half injury time saw Mark Cooper kick off his career as Yeovil Town manager with a draw at Maidstone United.

The result leaves the Glovers one point inside the National League relegation places as they prepare to take on Darren Sarll’s Woking on Tuesday night.

Inexplicably, Dave made the trip to Kent from his Lancashire home and here’s how he saw it…..

 

It was better than it has been. Let’s start with the positives. There was much more desire and bravery to attack the game in the first half (we’ll get to the second half soon enough) and we completely deserved to be in at the break more than one goal ahead. Was it the shame of knowing they held a good slice of responsibility for Chris Hargreaves’ sacking, or some pearls of wisdom from their new manager, Mark Cooper? Who knows, but it had an impact…..in the first half.

Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Feed the Fish and there’s a chance he’ll score. Having come in for some unwarranted stick from his own ‘supporters’ four days  earlier, Alex Fisher responded in the best possible way. In the first half, he held the ball up well, brought team-mates in to play and, most importantly, scored our first goal since Chiori Johnson’s winner against Solihull three games prior. He benefited from the Maidstone keeper being out of position, but never the less.

Confidence is key. Having put so much good work in during the first half, I dearly hoped we would have come out and done more of the same in the second half. But, sadly it was an all too familiar story of dropping deeper and deeper and inviting Maidstone to attack us. This is a poor Maidstone side, but our tactics gave them confidence and as it poured in to their performance, it visibly drained from ours.

Too many round pegs in square holes. Call them fish out of water or round pegs in square holes, a big part of our problem was players not in their best positions. Ben Richards-Everton is no more a left wing-back than I am and Chiori

Mark Cooper watches on from the stand at Maidstone United.

Johnson, who seems every bit a wing-back capable of playing on either side, is not suited to the midfield. I have managed zero EFL matches, never played professional football and have more Cub Scout badges than UEFA ones – but playing players out of position when better options exist is not good.

There’s a lot of work to be done. There was plenty of gesticulating from Mark Cooper in his position in the stands where he will have been able to “get a good look” (don’t mention the ban) at his new squad. That second half performance will tell him a lot about what needs needs putting right – I doubt he’ll read this though. He knows there’s a lot of work to be done and there undoubtedly is. But, to finish as I started, it was better……in the first half.

There is a sixth conclusion but it completely smashes Rule 1 [Gloverscast Rule #1 – Don’t complain about National League officials, they are all awful] and, on the balance of opportunities created, Maidstone did deserve a point from the game. But, if you’re wondering what I am talking about watch until 8 minutes and 20 seconds in to these highlights……