Five Conclusions (Page 17)

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It was a caveat-ridden performance which saw Yeovil draw (again) against Boreham Wood. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from Huish Park…

I’m not sure how we’ve not that won that. Luke Garrad was gushing about our performance in his post-match interview after his side managed to escape with a point. Nathan Ashmore made some good saves and was by far the busier keeper, but we should have put Wood to the sword. Alex Fisher was quickest to react after Ashmore fumbled a fairly routine save from Toure, but that was the only joy we had. Fisher had chances, Touré had a gilt-edged chance in the first half which he should have put away, instead he tried to round the keeper who made a phenomenal stop. We had the better of the chances but in familiar fashion, we weren’t good enough to take them.

Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We can’t hold a lead. That one might be stating the obvious, but in the ten games so far this season we’ve gone ahead seven times (twice against Altrincham and Chesterfield) and we’ve let the lead slip six times. There’s a pattern emerging that needs to be broken. Boreham Wood’s equaliser in stoppage time was so deflating and there was a sense of inevitability about it. As supporters the expectation that we’re going to let a lead slip is getting a little ingrained. Hopefully we can buck the trend at Southend.

After his impressive performance against Chesterfield, we missed Chiori Johnson. I think most people went into yesterday hoping to see Johnson in at wingback, but an injury in the last kick of training this week forced him out. If, and I think we know now, we’re going to stick with the 3-5-2, Johnson has staked his claim to be the 1st choice in that position. No one has looked particularly comfortable/effective in there until him. Charlie Wakefield made an impact in the second half when Boreham Wood decided to play for a point, but I don’t think anything clicked quite so well as last weekend.

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

There’s so much frustration at the moment. It was a slow start yesterday and it didn’t take long for the grumbles amongst the supporters seeing the ball go backward for the umpteenth time. When we conceded the equaliser there was a lot of finger pointing and anger amongst the players on the pitch that we’d let another lead slip. At times, Matt Worthington was getting annoyed at his lack of options when he picked up the ball and when Gime Toure turned one too many times rather than look up, Worthy let his feelings be known. We’ve heard about angry conversations in the changing room before this season, and I’m sure there were more of those yesterday. I worry about how sustainable angry conversations are if they don’t start producing results.

Off this pitch, there’s a hangover from last season. After a great performance the weekend before against the top team in the league, you’d have hoped that might have spiked attendance a bit but we’re still hovering around that 2000 mark. I’ve not done a matchday ‘properly’ this season but evidently whatever we’ve added to the day hasn’t brought back folks who might have been thinking about it. There’s only so much over-promising and under-delivering you can take, and boy have we been promised some things.

That’s the conclusions. However, we’re ten games in and we sit in 19th with nine points, the bottom four are all on eight points. I’m not sure how long we can say ‘we’re so close’ or ‘we’re not a million miles away’ until you find yourself cut adrift. I know there’s a long way to go but the start of the season has not been good enough. With inconsistent performances, an inability to hold on to leads, apathy amongst supporters and dwindling gates, we are in serious danger of sleepwalking this season into nothing.

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The Glovers let two leads slip against the league leaders, but showed a big improvement on their last two matches. Here is Ian’s conclusions from the 2-2 draw with Chesterfield.

Chiori Johnson has waited patiently and taken his chance. Through no fault of his own, Morgan Williams missed out yesterday and patiently waiting in the wings has been summer signing Chiori Johnson. Johnson took his chance and was one of the bright sparks of the game. He provided an outlet going forward on the right and looked the most natural of the players who’ve played wingback so far this season. Jamie Reckord has been our main wide threat before yesterday and as a result we’ve ended up focusing our play on the left, Johnson gave us the opportunity to get it down the right too.

Josh Staunton was solid in the heart of defence. I know there’s still a debate about whether to play him in centre midfield, but his performances in midfield against Scunthorpe and Eastleigh haven’t inspired confidence so far. In the middle of a back three, he’s looked stronger in my view. Wrexham and Dagenham were highlights, and we can add Chesterfield to that too. He got a goal (I think) but he led in typical fashion and was a rock in defence. I think we can put to bed the midfield discussion.

Gime Toure was in the mood. He gambled early on and hassled the Chesterfield defence to earn an early goal and his afternoon was probably his best in a green and white shirt so far. He scared the Spireites back line with his direct running, hunted down loose balls and got himself in a dangerous areas that caused panic amongst the Chesterfield defence. Can he do it consistently? Can any of them? I don’t know, but I enjoyed what I saw from Toure.

We need to find a way to see these games out. We’ve let leads slip against Altrincham, Eastleigh and Chesterfield and got three points from those games rather than nine, which would make us all feel a lot more happier than we are. While we were resilient against Dagenham and hung on, albeit with our backs firmly planted in the wall, against Chesterfield we had a bit of everything but lacked the concentration in key moments. Shortly after the opener, Grant Smith decided to go on a walkabout and wiped out Joe Quigley, giving us a set piece to contend with, which we didn’t. Why he decided to cover Jamie Reckord’s position needlessly, only he can explain. The delivery on the corner for the second goal just seemed to catch the Glovers napping. The flat delivery to the edge of the box, the weak shot, the hashed clearance and poor marking. You can forgive worldies from distance and genuine class, but the equalisers yesterday felt of our own doing.

Gime Toure. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We need to reproduce these performances against the rest of the league. The drastic improvement from York and Eastleigh needs to be more than a one-off. If this is what we can do, it needs to be the standard. Not just the level for the likes of Wrexham and Chesterfield. In our season preview podcast, Adam Virgo said how the big games look after themselves, it’s the ones you ‘should win’ that cause problems. If that doesn’t sum up our season so far, I don’t know what does. We need to make these passing, pressing, “blood and guts” (Staunton 17:9) performances the norm – not the exception.

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Former Yeovil Town FC media officer, Alex O’Loughlin, was summarising for BBC Somerset at Eastleigh yesterday evening. Here are his conclusions from the 1-1 draw in Hampshire.

We don’t look like scoring. There’s a general consensus surrounding football that as long as you’re creating chances, results will eventually come and concern can fall by the wayside. I, however, remain concerned. The goal last night came from a glaring error from Eastleigh goalkeeper Joe McDonnell (although credit must go to Malachi Linton for being alert and Sam Pearson for a subsequent smart finish), but the keeper didn’t even have an opportunity to atone for his mistake. Unless the drizzly haze at the Silverlake Stadium played tricks on my eyes, I can’t recall another meaningful attempt on goal. That’s a worry, especially when Linton, Pearson, Charlie Wakefield, Lawson D’Ath and Alex Fisher were all on the pitch at some point.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The curious case of Charlie Wakefield. Having been crowned ‘the best on earth’ following a scintillating first season at Huish Park, it’s just not happening for Chaz at the moment. Understandably subdued when deployed as a wing-back, he didn’t get into the game in an attacking sense at all at Eastleigh – no sight of the lung-busting runs or weaving his way to the byline before picking out someone in the middle. Credit, though, must be awarded for a tenacious defensive display. Charlie continually tracked back to double up with Morgan Williams and his effort can’t be questioned. I just hope we can find a system and tactics that gets the best out of him. ‘A silky winger, is just what we need’.

Alfie Pond who? I’m aware this has all been a bit doom and gloom, so to chirp us up a little, I think we can look forward to watching more of Owen Bevan this season. After Alfie Pond’s unexpected departure on deadline day it seemed as if the back four was to be left weakened, but if last night is anything to go by, Bevan has firmly grasped one of the centre back spots. Brave, commanding in the air, quick on the turn and with a bit of s***housery that we all enjoy watching, the Bournemouth loanee stood out on a disappointing night. Without trying to over-hype the young lad, it was Steven Caulker-esque how he slotted straight in and looked a cut above the rest.

A point on the road is never to be sniffed at, but it’s only a good point if we win on Saturday. Despite the odds being stacked heavily in Chesterfield’s favour at the weekend, the lads need to produce a performance that ends in victory – the Wrexham display (although a draw) should give us some form of hope. In an ideal world, the Spireites are dispatched and we have four points from a possible six – happy days. The alternatives are either two points or, worse still, one point from a possible six and, quite possibly, a drop into the relegation zone. Gulp.

Marcus Stewart celebrates his 87th minute goal in the League One play-off semi-final at Nottingham Forest in May 2007. Picture courtesy of Len Copland – www.lencoplandphotography.blogspot.com.

Some things are bigger than football, and seeing Marcus Stewart in the dugout was a heart-warming moment. The outpouring of support from all corners of the footballing world following the announcement of his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease highlights just how well-respected Marcus is, both as a footballer who was capable of mesmerising brilliance, and, more importantly, as a wonderful human being. It was great to see the passion that Marcus adds on the touchline and as a Glovers family, we’ll be behind him every step of the way.

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Yeovil fell to a dismal 1-0 loss at the hands of York City at Huish Park yesterday. Here’s how Ian saw it from the press box.

We didn’t compete in the midfield battle. For a lot of the match it felt like we were playing with seven at the back and three up front. The gap between the midfield was so large that it was no wonder we resorted to playing it long from back to front and exposing our deficiencies. York City’s centre midfield were finding pockets of space (much like Dagenham’s did last weekend) and kept possession effectively. I can’t recall Sam Perry or Lawson D’Ath grabbing the game or getting us a decent few minutes of possession once. We missed Matt Worthington in their for sure, but our focus on recruiting attack-minded players and centre-backs has left us short in centre midfield.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I think it’s time to try something different tactically. The 3-5-2 worked well against Wrexham and was effective in holding firm against Dagenham but we really didn’t look comfortable with it at all yesterday. Alex Fisher isn’t the kind of striker who’s going to hold up the ball and bring others into it. Charlie Wakefield isn’t a wingback and, although I like Josh Staunton at centre back, yesterday wasn’t his greatest performance. I would have liked to have seen him brought forward into a deep midfield role yesterday to help us compete in those areas and switch to a back four. We tried to build up from the back, but it just didn’t happen. If we conceded the ball cheaply once, we did it a thousand times. Max Hunt and Ben Richards-Everton struggled to get us moving forward but they weren’t helped by their teammates offering to get the ball from them and had to resort to lumping it down the channels forcing our strikers to feed off scraps.

We looked tired. That was one of the managers observations yesterday adding that he’d review what they did in the week following the Bank Holiday double header, suggesting the preparation hadn’t been right for yesterday. We didn’t keep the ball, we weren’t offering to get take it from each other, we felt overrun on numerous occasions and we didn’t play like a team. Maybe we missed the legs of Matt Worthington in midfield, but it felt like most weren’t at the races at all yesterday. That fatigue led to poor decision making, a lack of willing runners and no execution of the manager’s plan. We can’t criticise these players for not looking fit, because we know they are, but yesterday something was off. 

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Credit has to go to York City, they played like a team that’s been at this level for a while. The Minstermen looked comfortable on the ball and didn’t give us a look-in in the second half. Lenell John-Lewis gave a complete strikers performance, winning aerial duels, getting into dangerous spaces in the box and causing our three centre backs problems all afternoon. John-Lewis was thwarted from the spot by Grant Smith, but he deserved his deflected winner. The pressed our defence and goalkeeper when the time was right and were really well organised. But for a couple of saves from their keeper, they rarely felt stretched by our attacking play.

We said last week had to be the low point of the season, and now THIS has to be the low point of the season. Boos rang out at Huish Park yesterday following the final whistle, whether you agree with that or not, the performance was straight out of the Darren Way-era so you could understand the frustration in the stands. It has to be an off-day. Although there’s more certainty off-the-pitch this season than last, the clouds from the climax of last season are still there and it feels like they’re gathering quickly again. People won’t forget about the talk of plans for new investment and concrete frameworks from April and here we are five months later with one additional director. If there are repeats of yesterday, the pressure will be on the owner again.

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A goalless draw away at a table-topping Wealdstone could be a positive result on the face of it, especially after picking up a win at home just 48 hours earlier.

But, whether it was from manager Chris Hargreaves or his players, the mood in the Yeovil Town camp at the end of Bank Holiday Monday was one of frustration,

We forced Dave to Rule 2 (Gloverscast Rule 2: Always sleep on it before judging a result) it, and here are his conclusions….

We have to credit our opponents. I’ll get to us in a minute, I promise, but I have to start by giving credit to Wealdstone. There was a mood of celebration around Grosvenor Vale at kick-off with the Stones top of the league, so going a man down after just nine minutes would not have featured in their plans, I’m sure. That said, they looked organised in those first nine minutes and in the 81 that followed, they had a plan and they stuck to it. And, no, this conclusion was not in the original five – but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have been!

The answer can’t always be Lawson. From the ninth minute, the opportunity was there for us to play a bit of HargBall (yes, I now accept that as its name), play it quickly, switch wings and frankly just have a go at our ten man opponents. Instead, we seemed to methodically passing it across midfield, the game was crying out for someone to grab the ball and do something. It’s too easy to say “well, if Lawson D’Ath had been there“, that simply cannot be the answer to everything – and, no, Sam Pearson can’t be the answer to everything either! There were players out there who can do more and should have done more. Even when Charlie Wakefield came on at half-time there didn’t seem to be an urgency for him to get at the Wealdstone defence enough.

I feel for Fish at getting hooked. I’ve been critical of Alex Fisher’s impact on the times I’ve seen him this season, but I felt he was impacting it more than many of his team-mates at Wealdstone. There was a look of disbelief on his face when he saw his number came up to be replaced by Jake Scrimshaw in the 72nd minute which suggests he felt he had more to give and. I know hindsight vision is 20:20, but letting him take the penalty would have been something more he could have given. As for Malachi Linton, it was not his day. After 68 anonymous minutes, it was brave of him to step up to take the penalty. It’s important he recalls the same mentality he did after missing a chance against Wrexham and the scoring a worldie. Channel that frustration, Mal, there’s a good player there.

We can’t be too nice about all this. I listened to Chris Hargreaves’ post-match interview (twice, in fact) and I hope I am reading between the lines here. “What I’ve said in the changing rooms will remain the changing rooms” and there had been “a few words” exchanged between players. I’m pleased to hear that. There’s always a lot of talk about ‘commitment’ and ‘giving everything’ which is well-placed and well-deserved, but if we’re going to improve on last season (which is surely the minimum) then we can’t be too nice about performances like this. With the best part of 650 appearances to his name, I’m sure the manager knows what needs to be said.

We’ve still got September. I’ve checked the Green Day lyrics and we don’t need to wake up until September ends.  It is still half-a-dozen games in to the season and we’ve still not lost more than we have lost, but they don’t get any easier. York City at home and then Woking and Eastleigh away (both of whom have started the season well) and then the small matter of Chesterfield and Boreham Wood at Huish Park. Not easy games to get the show on the road, but that’s what we’re going to have to do.

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The first win is on the board for Chris Hargreaves. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t convincing, but who cares?! They all count. Here are Ian’s conclusions from yesterday’s 1-0 win.

We showed that we’ve got defensive resilience. Chris Hargreaves made some changes bringing in Alfie Pond and Ben Richards-Everton and it worked. The second half was an exercise in attack versus defence and marshalled by the impressive Josh Staunton, the Glovers kept free-flowing Dagenham at bay. They defended resolutely against a barrage of of corners. It was talked about in the build up to the game about the importance of seeing matches out and the players delivered for the manager, keeping a clean sheet and getting that all important first three points!

Image courtesy of Mike Kunz

 

It was a captain’s performance from Josh Staunton. With Alfie Pond making his debut, and Ben Richards-Everton returning from injury after three matches out, all eyes were on Josh Staunton to be the rock at the back. His performance was probably the best of the season so far. He saw the danger that Josh Walker was causing in the first half and took it upon himself to make sure Walker wasn’t allowed to do it in the second half. When the Glovers had to defend successive corners, Staunton was in the thick of things, putting his body on the line ensuring that Dagenham didn’t get an equaliser.

We’ve got a player in Alfie Pond. There’s a long way to go in Alfie Pond’s career, and as an 18-year-old he will have bad games at some point, but yesterday he looked the part. He had an early duel against one of the League’s best strikers in Paul McCallum which set the tone for his day. He was calm in possession of the ball, won his battles in the air and looked more than ready for the rigours of the National League. Having kept a clean sheet with Max Hunt dropped and Morgan Williams at wingback, there is plenty of competition for places at Huish Park at the moment.

Alfie Pond. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.


We seemed to show a lack of urgency at times. I’m not sure if it was our defensive focus, but we certainly sacrificed some of the Harg-Ball in favour of being secure. Before we took the lead through Jamie Reckord, there were groans at the lack of urgency and unwillingness to play forward, but our patience paid off and we got what turned out to be the winner. But in the second half, when we were really under pressure, I felt like we never got going and when we did have the ball we took our time to move it forward. It paid off in the end and we got the win but it would have been a little more comfortable…wouldn’t it?

It’s time to push on. We’ve got the first win in the bank now, on Friday we secured two new signings and we’re at a stage where we’ve got genuine depth and competition in each position. We travel to Wealdstone tomorrow and welcome York to Huish Park this coming Saturday and if we’re going to be a side that flirts with the playoffs, we should be getting six-points from those two games. We’ll have to deal with the absences of Charlie Wakefield, Sam Pearson and possibly Lawson D’Ath, but as we showed today we’ve got options. Hopefully we can get on a bit of run, build some confidence and some convincing victories on the way.

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Urgh.

Another near miss, three points snatched away from the Yeovil Town right at the death as Altrincham pegged the Glovers back twice to grab a 2-2 draw.

Our man Ben was in the Press box for BBC Somerset at Moss Lane and here are his conclusions from a frustrating afternoon in the North West.

Altrincham Away ? Ben Barrett

Oh, what might have been.

It wasn’t quite as free flowing as the game against Barnet but HargreavesBall was still the order of the day for the Yeovil Town.

The switch to a 4-4-2 from the off had me thinking we might change our style, but that wasn’t the case, we kept it simple, on the floor and tried to still use our threats from wide angles to creat chances.

Chiori Johnson added a bit more bite to the midfield, the former Torquay man isn’t afraid to put a tackle in, whilst Lawson D’Ath added a calmness to the centre of the park. With Altrincham dominating possession in a way Barnet did not on them previous Tuesday night, he helped utilise what we did see of the ball.

This is our style of play, win, lose or draw, home or away.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking of D’Ath. Jeez, we’ve got a classy footballer on our hands.

It’s nothing we haven’t said 100 times before, but a fit and firing Lawson D’Ath is too good for the National League. He can do it all, run with the ball, spray passes, tackle, block, get forward, defend the whole nine yards.

The point here is, how do you now manage a player who is just so influential? His first 89 minutes of the season, with two games in three days at the back end of the week on the horizon and a history of injuries that says you cannot push him too far.

It’s just as important to know when to (when we can afford to) leave him out as it is, to know when to play him.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Something was up with Charlie Wakefield.

I spent the majority of the second half trying to figure out what wasn’t quite clicking with Charlie Wakefield.

He looked… a bit sad… like he needed a hug, he got one from Lawson D’Ath at one point.

A couple of times the ball slipped under his foot and out of play, a couple of crosses and shots weren’t at his usual standard and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why.

With the team now Tom Knowles-less it does feel like a lot more eyes are looking at Wakefield to be the star man (pun fully intended) and as he adapts to a new style and new role when playing wing back, the general consensus is that he’s doing just fine.

I hope he’s okay and just had one of those days, we’ve all been there.

Max Hunt vs Bournemouth

It’s time for us to talk about attacking set pieces.

I feel that it’s not been a huge strength of ours over the last couple seasons and for me, it stood out against Altrincham.

Only Notts County have had more possession this season than Alty, which means when you get the ball and the chance to get it in the box, you cannot waste it.

Sadly, we did on a few occasions, and on the times we did get a ball into the right areas, I wasn’t ever totally convinced much would come of it.

Both Josh Staunton and Max Hunt did connect with a header each from a dead ball situation, but both lacked the direction and/or power and it might be an area we have to look at improving.

There will be plenty of times this season where we give up the lion’s share of possession and I’d like us to look more dominant.

I guess we have to end with the new cult hero don’t we?

Gime Toure made a wonderful little cameo from the bench, got his goal of course, but added so much more.

He was trying to impose a little bit of game management (something we lacked after the clock ticked past 90 mins), he was trying to be clever, to buy a free kick, to slow the game down whilst also not being afraid to get on the ball and play – he and Jamie Reckord worked really well together a couple times on the left.

We’re nowhere near seeing the fittest version of Toure and that might be a while off, and the one thing we’ve been told is that there’s inconsistencies to his performances, but he looks bang up for it at the moment and he will provide an alternative to the Fish ‘n’ Mal combo which has started brightly.

All in all, it was so close, but so far from that elusive first win of the season.

Urgh.

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Football can be cruel mistress.

Laurie Walker had a night to remember at Huish Park as the Barnet ‘keeper single handedly kept his side in the game long enough to allow for a couple of late suckerpunches as Barnet took a 2-1 win from Huish Park.

Here’s Ben’s five conclusions, he’s slept on it and it hasn’t really helped.

If that game was played out on Football Manager or FIFA 23, you’d rage quit, without saving your progress, throw the controller at the wall and promise you’d never play the game again ever… until next week.

I cannot truly explain just how dominant Yeovil were for 98% of the game across 98% of the pitch.

Some of the football we played, particularly in and around the midfield was genuinely brilliant. Quick, one-touch, confident football  the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite a while.

But… and you knew this was coming.

None of that matters if you don’t put the ball in the onion bag.

I’m not going to have a go at the three chances which led to genuinely brilliant saves from the Barnet ‘keeper, that can happen.

But there were occasions where we’d worked a position but couldn’t convert, Linton fired a shot down the keeper’s throat, Pearson produced a tame effort in the second half when bearing down on the keeper and Fisher did amazingly well to bring a ball down from a free kick only to fire it straight into the waiting arms of the flourescent keeper.

Fine margins, but as the manager spoke about, its time to start being more ruthless… the neanderthalic football fan in me thinks that in some cases that means… just leather the bloody thing.

Sam Pearson

Sam Pearson is the real deal and needs to stay with us beyond his month.

I think the midfield three of Worthington, Perry and Pearson properly excites me.

Perry was right in this game when I felt he went missing in the game against Scunthorpe, Worthy is a new man, he’s the senior man with a licence to get forward – is this the Worthington Dale Gorman was holding back?

But Pearson has all the attributes to go far in the EFL.

Strong, fearless, attacking, needs to add more nous and experience will help some of his decision making but everything he does is exciting, he battled through an injury and some… agricultural opposition to put on. a very good show.

Now, I’ve mentioned him once, but the it was the Ghost of Christmas Past in Dale Gorman who will be the talking point for many.

Yes, he should have been sent off, yes he could of – and arguably tried to – hurt someone, but I wanted to make a wider point.

The contrast of style of play Gorman and Worthington have shows we are very much in a new era of YTFC.

We are no longer the masters of the dark arts, we are no longer trying to worry more about how we rile up the opposition, or trying to slow and break up the game. That’s moved on… quite literally to Barnet.

We’re a football team now.

I’m not saying either is right or wrong, they can both be equally as effective and both as entertaining to watch.

But this is HargreavesBall starting to take shape. The Poop-house has closed for business at Huish Park.

Now, I’d like to break Rule 1 of the Gloverscast (Rule 1. All refs are rubbish at this level, live with it, don’t moan about it).

But I’m not allowed to tell you it might have been the single most petulant, awful, inconsistent, making the game about himself, loves the sound of his own whistle and gives out more cards than your Grandma at Christmas performance from the worst referee I’ve seen at a Yeovil game in some time…. so I won’t tell you any of that. ?

Instead my final conclusion is this…

Getting the first win is gaining importance quickly.

Not because if we don’t win on Saturday we’re suddenly in a relegation battle, because we’re not – I haven’t even invoked the Green Day clause yet (I’ll judge our position when September ends).

But more because the noise will grow, the same negative voices are already starting to make silly comments, and the best way to shut that up is to win a game, even if we don’t play all that well.

I’m genuinely excited by the football this team is trying to play, when we are heavy in possession 3-5-2 is a real asset of ours and I truly believe we have a squad and team to get behind, but then again, I would, wouldn’t I?

See you at Altrincham

? Photos Courtesy of Mike Kunz unless otherwise stated.

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The first match under Chris Hargreaves at Huish Park ended with a 1-1 draw with the National League favourites Wrexham. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions (although it could have been more) from a scorching afternoon of football.

Let’s not write off the 3-5-2 just yet. I wondered if we’d see a back four against Wrexham after the terrible first half against Scunthorpe. What do I know though? It was significantly more effective against Wrexham and we we’re on the front-foot with it too. Charlie Wakefield and Jamie Reckord were wingers more often than they were at full-back. Matt Worthington and Sam Perry got early touches on the ball and we used them in the midfield far better than last week. But for the sloppy opener, it felt like things started to click yesterday.

Josh Staunton was imperious in the second half. In the first 45 minutes, Wrexham got a lot of joy. It felt like Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin were given a bit too much license to dictate. After the half time break, there were a couple of moments where Palmer dropped deep to pick up the ball and Staunton was on top of him immediately to prevent it. He won duels with Mullin in the second half and showed why he’s pivotal in that back three. Based on yesterday, I’d have Staunton at the heart of the defence moving forward.

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Because Matt Worthington stepped up and took charge in midfield. It feels like we say every season is a big season for Worthy, but yesterday was one of the best games I can remember him having in green and white. In a trio of Perry and Sam Pearson, Worthington is the experience. He’s always had experience around him, whether it was Charlie Lee, Jimmy Smith, Staunton or Gorman, Worthington has always been the ‘young’ one. But, yesterday he showed what he can be about. He never stopped running, he never stopped challenging for headers that he was never going to win, he put himself about and (just about) managed to stay out of trouble. Towards the end of the game, he went shoulder to shoulder with Paul Mullin and came out on top with the ball and got a move going nicely, which typified his performance.

Gime Toure could be a fans’ favourite. His first touches of the ball saw him wriggle through three Wrexham players and earn a free kick. His second touches of the ball saw

Gime Toure fires a ball in. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

him drive at the right back and flash a wicked ball across the face of goal that was screaming to be tapped in. He showed moments of skill and a real intention to drive forward. He’s a different type of attacker to anyone else we’ve got at the club and hopefully he’ll build off of that cameo and produce even more.

Malachi Linton can be the star of this team. His first game in front of the Huish Park faithful will be one to remember. A goal as good as any you’ll see at Huish Park, smashed home with frustration after missing a guilt-edged chance moments earlier says a lot about the character of Malachi. Like his teammates, he never stopped chasing, he fought for the team and that effort led to the chance that Howard saved. Last weekend he showed enough to make me optimistic and yesterday I thought the same. He’s off the mark now, let’s see where he goes!

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In: Gloversblog, Five Conclusions, Latest Yeovil Town News

Well, we are off and running for the 2022/23 season and the outcome of the opening game wasn’t what any of us were hoping for.

Ben was there for BBC Somerset and has rattled his brain for some thoughts.

Having watched the game against Scunthorpe from the press box at Glanford Park I feel like I could have 10 conclusions and narrowing them down to five key ones isn’t going to be easy.

However, we will have a go.

Firstly. 3-5-2… simply didn’t work.

It’s a thoroughly boring subject to most people if you want to get deep into the nuances of tactics and their pros and cons, at its best, with plenty of the ball and a rock solid spine, 3-5-2 is lovely.

Wing backs flying forward, crosses galore and plenty of extra bodies in wide areas.

At its worst… well, it looked like that first 50-odd minutes.

Two huge holes of space where full backs would normally be gave Liam Feeney and others all the time in the world to create and attack.

It made players like Morgan Williams move out of position and kept Charlie Wakefield far too defensive.

It might be better at home when we have more possession, but it cannot be the go-to set up with that personnel.

However, credit where its due, the change to bring on Pearson and the switch to 442 sparked us into life.

This is something of a double header conclusion actually because I am really excited to see what Pearson brings to this side during his time with us.

Fearless, exciting, quick, direct, strong and powerful. More of that please, he has to start against Wrexham.

The ‘jekyll and hyde’ performance showed just how important the senior players will be.

Staunton probably didn’t have his best game in a midfield that was getting overrun with ease, especially in the first half.

But Smith made big saves, Reckord was outstanding on the left and Fisher was desperately trying to make something happen and grab a moment by the scruff of the neck.

There were shaky moments for Hunt and Richards-Everton, but with time I think they can be a formidable partnership in both boxes.

It was only when I looked at the team sheet and saw a very youthful bench did it really hit home how much we need some significant and senior players in the door

The match was crying out for Lawson D’Ath, how amazing would it have been to bring a senior front man on instead of a young lad who has goals at Warrington Town on his CV and not a lot more. I’m excited by the young lads; Grivosti, Perry, Pearson, Craske, Hulbert etc etc, but we cannot be asking them to save us or win us games.

I’ve got to end on a positive note haven’t I?

What I saw in the first half was a shell shocked, undercooked, rabbit-in-the-headlight side who didn’t know if they were coming or going. But, the last 20 minutes showed me enough that there’s something to build on, to learn from, to be excited about, to get behind.

We did look dangerous and if Alex Fisher’s studs were longer or their keeper doesn’t pull off a couple of good late saves, we would be talking about a point or maybe even three. It’s a big week coming up for a lot of people at Huish Park, that’s for sure.