Five Conclusions (Page 20)

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After another draw against the seagull botherers, Ian reflects on an afternoon at The Bob Lucas Stadium…

The first half was a non-event. Weymouth definitely took the Derby Day feeling in their stride and it wasn’t until the second half that Yeovil found their rhythm. We kept bypassing out midfield with long balls up to Reuben Reid which always expose his weaknesses. For whatever reason we couldn’t get any passing game going and Weymouth had a comfortable first half from a defensive perspective and but for a couple of offside flags, they could have gone into half time with a lead.

This was our final big opportunity to get another moment out of the season and we couldn’t manage it. It was another game where we’ve not got a result against a side that everyone else seems to. Weymouth’s form has been dismal as of late and the 1300 expectant travelling Glovers anticipated a positive result. We conspired to not win, yet again, and we’ve failed to beat Weymouth in 90 minutes in four games this season.

It wasn’t quite the same old story. Yes we struggled going forward, especially in the first half, but I thought we looked vulnerable in defence where we haven’t previously. Barclay and Wilkinson were given a difficult afternoon by Weymouth’s harassing forwards. The wingbacks nullified the threat of Barnett and Knowles in the first half and put pressure on Williams and Little going forward too.

Josh Staunton disagrees with Brad Ash of W*ymouth in the FA Cup replay at the Bob Lucas Stadium.

The YTFC faithful turned out in force. It was great to see such a strong following at The Bob Lucas Stadium. They were quietened by the performance of Weymouth in the first half but they found their voice again and helped create an electric atmosphere. If we can replicate that passion and that noise at home, our results at Huish Park might have been a bit different this season. But, we know what needs to happen there.

I won’t miss Weymouth. We’ve had a dull time against our old foes this season. While we have the stress of an awful penalty shootout in the eye of a storm in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round, we’ve not been able to dispatch them over 90 minutes. As a supporter who hasn’t experienced that rivalry with Weymouth, I’ve found it difficult to haven strength of feeling about them, other than annoyance that we couldn’t beat them this season and begrudging acceptance of our plight.

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Charlie Lee’s debut in front of the Huish Park crowd ended in defeat as Yeovil Town failed to take their opportunities and gifted an Aldershot Town side battling against the drop two goals on a sunny Good Friday afternoon.

Coatesie travelled down from his northern home for the match between his hometown team and his adopted hometown team (no, he wasn’t the away fan who needed medical treatment), and here are his conclusions….

Even the glorious sunshine could not hide the cracks at Huish Park. I’m not just talking about on the pitch – although there were some of those, which I’ll come too – but this was my first home game in well over two years and it’s sad to see the state of the place. Even if you can look past the unloved, run down infrastructure, I heard at least half-a-dozen people complain at the lack of a printed programme (not a problem for me, but it clearly it is for some supporters), the tea bars were shut for away fans meaning big queues in the Screwfix Family Stand. Yet again, it’s the same relentlessly cheery volunteers and underappreciated staff who are fronting up, whilst the only sign of our absent owner, Scott Priestnall, were the chants calling for him to go. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to face up to what my lack of interest and investment was doing to more than 125 years of history either……but I’m not the one who bought a football club less than three years ago.

On the pitch, it wasn’t a great day either. We seemed to forget how to score goals again. The freedom we

Josh Neufville. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

been playing with in recent weeks deserted us and we were unable to find our way through an Aldershot team who had absolutely no reason to do anything more than keep it tight and hit us on the break. Josh Neufville was paired alongside Reuben Reid in a front two and ran tirelessly but too often in the first half there were aimless balls played up to him. At the start of the second half we got it down better and laid siege to the visitors’ goal but just could not find a way through, and when we gifted Giles Phillips the freedom of the area to head home the opener, it felt like game over. I think we could have stayed out there all Easter and not scored.

Our full-backs didn’t not look comfortable. When I saw Mark Little and Jordan Barnett on either side of defence, I was pleased that we had a recognised right and left back on the pitch. However, from the start, Mark Little did not seem to be running comfortably and had problems containing Aldershot down his side. Barnett looked rusty in his first start in almost a month and, although he can still put in a fantastic sliding tackle when he needs too, does seem more effective further up the pitch. I’d put Morgan Williams back in for W*ymouth on Easter Monday.

Dale Gorman. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Please can we get Dale Gorman off free-kicks with a shot on goal? I know he scored that one at Dover, but surely we have other players who have the potential to get a more meaningful effort on goal. There was one in the first half of this match about 25 yards out which I thought was crying out for a Luke Wilkinson pile driver to test the keeper, but no. Or, to quote my Thatcher’s Stand companion, Chris Fox: “Oh, f*** off, Gorman!” It was funny to start with (tequila and all that) but I’m now starting to see what the Glentoran supporters were telling us when we signed him – he shoots from literally everywhere.

Tom Knowles was a bright spot – again. I feel like I have done nothing but complain in my previous four conclusions….so let me end of at least one positive. There were some bright spots and, as is often the case, Tom Knowles was one of them with his relentless desire to attack. When we got the ball to him, Aldershot didn’t know what to do and when we repeated that with other players (especially early in the second half) the same occurred. You know what you need to do on Monday, boys.

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A late equaliser from substitute Charlie Wakefield spared Yeovil Town’s blushes by salvaging a point from the trip to a King’s Lynn Town side fighting for survival in the National League.

Coatesie made the trip to north-west Norfolk for what was the Glovers’ first visit to The Walks in more than 20 years. Here’s what he made of it all….

Having spent the first decade and more of my Yeovil Town supporting life in non-League football I have not had these thoughts too often in the past three seasons, but this was the most non-League of non-League days. For large parts it was a scrappy performance with very little in terms of quality from either side and a referee who seemed desperate to put his hand in his pocket for a card, yet missed some clear and obvious fouls perpetrated by both sides. Luke Wilkinson getting a hand round the throat as he jumped for a corner with the official in close proximity with quite baffling. Add to that the over-zealous stewarding from King’s Lynn – a supporter frog-marched out of the ground for sitting on a barrier, for goodness sake – and a serious risk of starvation whilst waiting for food in the away end – it could almost have been Huish Park!

To start with it looked like it could be a comfortable afternoon after Dale Gorman’s penalty put us ahead after just four minutes, but we failed to press our advantage and we gave King’s Lynn too much encouragement

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

and they took it. Mark Little has looked unflappable when I have seen him this season, but he was ‘got at’ on more than one occasion and undone by a great pass from Brett McGavin for the first and then by the tricky Josh Barrett for the second goal.

On loan goalkeeper Ted Cann had a bit of a stinker with both goals as which makes me think let’s get Grant Smith back in between the posts. Charlie Lee has said the first-choice keeper is fully fit again although he was not named among the substitutes for this one. I have no doubt Cann will be a highly competent goalkeeper, probably at a higher level than this, but you had to cringe when he spilled Barrett’s shot right at the feet of Gold Omotayo who could not believe his luck to poke home against his old employers.

Thank goodness then for a moment of magic from Charlie Wakefield. The substitute’s 91st minute equaliser was a moment of pure quality which is everything we have seen time and again he is capable of. When he collected the ball on the left (isn’t he supposed to play down the right?) and cut inside, there was only one thing on the star man’s mind and he executed it in some style.

These relegation threatened sides are not going to roll over and let’s not forget we have two more of them to come in our next two matches. Our next opponents, Aldershot Town, gave their hopes of survival a boost with a win over a Boreham Wood side whose league season appears to have been ruined by their FA Cup exploits, whilst our seagull bothering friends down the road earned a point with a goalless draw against Grimsby Town. King’s Lynn were not pretty, but they dragged us down to their level through sheer hard work. We have to make our quality count if we are not going to come unstuck in these next two games.

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After the past seven days at Huish Park, there was talk from the Barnet side of convincing victories coming their way but did we expect anything other than this Yeovil Town side to turn up at The Hive?

Goals from Tom Knowles and Reuben Reid earned a 2-2 draw in North London at the weekend, and here are Coatesie‘s conclusions on what he saw from the away end….

After the week they have had with the exit of Darren Sarll and remembering former captain Lee Collins a year after his death, Yeovil Town’s players could have found an excuse for sub-par performance. But, this group of players never fail to give it everything they’ve got and they did that once again.
If this was a ‘dead rubber’ match between two mid-table sides with little threat of troubling the top or bottom of the division, get me along to more of them because it was thoroughly entertaining and that was down to the desire of both sets of players.
Glovers’ caretaker manager Charlie Lee has promised that he will make sure his players give absolutely everything in every match he is in charge of and after his first 90 minutes there can be no questioning the commitment of this squad.

However, this was not the vintage performance we have seen in our last couple of outings against Southend or Bromley.
Reuben Reid summarised it perfectly when he spoke after the match and said that the start and the finish from his team-mates was on the money, but the bit in the middle needs some working on.
Both goals conceded will have been a disappointment to both Charlie Lee and his players as on both occasions Barnet seemed to waltz through out midfield without too much challenge.
For the first goal, Morgan Williams was at fault against a very good player in Ephron Mason-Clark, and for the second there were multiple guilty parties for not stopping the hosts’ attack.

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Remember when scoring more than one goal was a problem? Nope, me neither. These last few games have seen us reborn in an attacking sense and seeing Tom Knowles’ desire to win the ball after just nine minutes, then tear forward and smash home the opener was fantastic.
Where does he get his energy from? All through the match he was a constant thorn in Barnet’s side.
And, yes, I have said I will judge Reuben Reid on goals this season (well, I did last season as well) and with two in his last two games, there’s nothing more I can say than – keep it up!

Perhaps one of the reasons for the reigniting of our attacking play is the arrival of Josh Neufville and Olufela Olomola and surely it’s time we saw Neufville and Fela given a start.
Charlie Wakefield looks to be trying so hard and it’s just not happening for him at the moment, so why not take him out of the firing line and give one of the loanees a start against King’s Lynn next weekend?

Josh Neufville. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Lee spoke after the game about how Luton has told us to be careful with Josh and I am sure Hartlepool would not thank us for breaking Fela, but both feel like they need more opportunities to show what they are made of.

Finally, on Monday’s podcast I said the one thing supporters can do to help in these worryingly uncertain times was to turn up in numbers and make a racket and boy did we.
Every single one of the 288 fans in that away end did everything they could to show Charlie Lee and his players exactly what their efforts and this football club means to us.
I suspect we don’t need to tell show them, but at a time when these players who have put in so much effort appear to be being shown so much disrespect by others at the club – see here if you don’t know what I mean – it was great that we did.
And for those who either are or seek to be the custodians of this club, I hope you witnessed exactly what it means. History will judge you for your actions. Do not fail these people.

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Darren Sarll. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Darren Sarll has stepped away as Yeovil Town’s manager to take up the vacant position at Woking. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from today’s shock announcement and Darren Sarll’s time in charge.

He was the man we needed when we were on our knees following relegation. When he came in to club in the summer of 2019, he picked up a threadbare club that had whimpered out of League Two. He brought Carl Dickinson and Craig Alcock back in from the cold after his predecessor’s abysmal decision to exclude them. He reinvigorated Courtney Duffus and turned him from profligate to prolific. And he brought in experienced players we could only have dreamt of recruiting the season before. 

He hasn’t had a fair crack. With just one month to build his first squad, he managed to build a squad of senior, experienced pros who made us dream in that first season before COVID-19 curtailed football. He admitted the recruitment pre-Christmas second season was poor and the only bright sparks were the discovery of Tom Knowles and the loan signing of Josh Neufville. With Scott Priestnall’s attempt to sell the club’s most valuable assets prevented, and his subsequent disappearance, Sarll was left with a shoestring budget to build a squad which has run itself into the ground, in what is now, his final season.

Like us all, he had his faults. When we’ve been in-form, our performances have been electric and results have followed. But when the form drops off, it really seems to drop off. Our run of six without a win after Christmas in 2019 saw us slip down into the play off spots after our bright start had us dreaming of an immediate return to the Football League. It took us 12 matches to pick up a league win in 2020/21 as we struggled repeat the start of 2019/20. Autumn 2021 saw an incredible run which was abruptly ended by Torquay on Boxing Day and with just one win from the turn of the year until March 19th, it was a bad start to 2022. At times supporters have criticised his lack of Plan B during these runs and his unwillingness to try different tactics, although this season he was left with little room for manoeuvre with his small squad.

You can’t blame him for leaving. With just three months left on his contract and a family to look after, he can’t gamble on his future. The uncertainty that wilts the football club off the pitch has infiltrated the dressing room. Certainty and clarity has been provided by Woking and he’s seen an opportunity to grab with both hands, rather than wait for any new regime to make a decision.

He carried himself immeasurably in the wake of Lee Collins’ passing. Darren Sarll’s reign at Huish Park can be split into two. Since the tragic passing of our captain, Sarll was the face and the voice of the club. He carried a grieving club on his back and dragged a team of young men to finish a season in unfathomable trauma. Lee’s passing will forever be a part of Yeovil Town and the way Darren Sarll picked us up in the aftermath will be too. You would not have blamed him for wanting to have a break at the end of last season, but he went about building a third squad in the three years, that embraced the club and memory of Lee Collins as a driving force. For all his faults, the way he carried himself as the ambassador of our club in this tragedy was exceptional and I’ll forever be grateful that we had him when we did.

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It’s three in a row for Yeovil Town and the Darren Sarll’s men put on a good show at home for the second time this week.

Here are Ian’s conclusions from a sun-drenched Huish Park.

This team appears to be out of its sticky spell. They proved that the performance against

Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Bromley wasn’t a one off. This was another confident and energetic from a team that have clearly turned a corner. The passes were slick, the one touch football was joyful, the defending was resolute. In the space of a couple of weeks we’ve gone from hopeless to maybe a tiny bit hopeful. Oh come on, you’re all thinking it. 

The early goals killed Southend off. We fell victim to it against Dagenham, and against Southend it was our turn. Goals from Reuben Reid after four minutes (fitting on the day we celebrated the life of Lee Collins) and then Tom Knowles four minutes later put the game to bed. It felt like we challenged Southend to break us down and they just couldn’t do it.

Ben Barclay. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Ben Barclay was imperious. From his crunching tackle on Matty Dennis to his chance to grab our third, it was a complete performance from the Stockport loanee. He’s developed a good relationship with all his defensive partners (and the ever-reliable Morgan Williams) and he had another stellar performance. Good with ball, timing on his tackle and was unlucky not to score. We’re lucky to have him for the rest of the season.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Lawson D’Ath was the missing piece of the puzzle. We knew Lawson was good. We knew he was a cut above any other midfielder in the league, let alone the club. But I’ll admit that I’m surprised at how much he has improved us. The way he has helped our midfield bridge the gap between our defence and attack is abundantly clear. We look happier on the ball and our attacking players are freer knowing D’Ath will find them.

It was nice to feel some positivity around Huish Park. Yes, things haven’t been brilliant on the pitch up until last Saturday. Yes, things off the pitch are still uncertain. But on a glorious sunny afternoon, with a Disney-infused playlist chosen by the daughters of Lee Collins, there was positivity in the air. And a very timely reminder that there is more to life than football.

Goalkeeping coaching Craig Wight chats to Charley-Mae Collins, one of Lee’s three daughter of Lee, who w

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Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Two goals and a win at Huish Park. We don’t see that very often. Honourable mentions to Lawson D’Ath for his first goal since returning from his injury and for Josh Staunton for quite obviously playing through the pain barrier. We try not to get too high with the highs, but after the last few outings at Huish Park, there’s some positivity in Ian’s conclusions from last night’s 2-1 win over Bromley…

This was some turnaround from the last time I was at Huish Park. It was important that we got going early and didn’t repeat the mistakes of the Dagenham and Grimsby games and we couldn’t have started any differently. Lawson D’Ath’s 10th minute opener got us going, but we’d had two or three shots before we’d scored. We had 14 shots at Bromley’s goal last night, which has to be a high for this season. Tom Knowles, Charlie Wakefield, Reuben Reid and D’Ath were all purring when we were on the front foot. Recent standards haven’t been high at Huish Park, but last night we saw a determined team who left everything out there to get past Bromley.

Where did that Reuben Reid performance come from? We’ve not even seen hints of that quality since Reid re-joined the Glovers in January 2021. Had he scored, and he deserved to, it would have topped off his most complete performance in this spell. He held the ball up, had plenty of efforts at goal and Bromley’s defence struggled to handle him. It was the display of an experienced-pro, the likes of which need to become the rule, not the exception.

Ted Cann had a rollercoaster game. Our new loanee keeper made a routine first stop but somehow let the ball through his grasp to gift Bromley their equaliser. His save before half time was huge, though. A save with his legs after making himself has big as possible for the oncoming George Alexander. He had a couple of shaky moments with the ball at his feet but on this night the game was won. Hopefully he’ll grow off the back of this and as those relationships build with the defence we’ll see a more composed, comfortable keeper.

Tom Knowles in action for Yeovil Town.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was great to see Josh Neufville back at Huish Park. Our star of last season returned to great effect last night. He’s a totally fearless footballer who plays like a kid who’s having fun when he’s on a football pitch. He’s so direct with the ball at his feet and his celebration in front of the Thatchers Stand showed how much it meant to him to set up Tom Knowles for the match winner. It’s too late to make a miraculous dash for the playoffs (isn’t it?) but I feel like were going to get a let of joy watching Neufville tangle up defenders for the rest of the season.

Tom Knowles looks to be back on form. We saw the version of Knowles that was full of running and getting shots away with his right foot and his left. He left Bromley’s left back for dead and delivered a great cross for D’Ath’s opener. He can’t go through a match without a couple of whacks where you think that’s his match over, but his resilience is impressive. His match-winner rounded off a great performance which makes you hope the necessary work is being done on renewing that man’s contract.

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After 810 National League minutes, Yeovil Town picked up three points again! Goals from on loan defender Ben Barclay and a free-kick from Dale Gorman secured a 2-0 win at Dover Athletic which in turn relegated our hosts. Supporter Ed Turnbull give us his conclusions from his spot in the away end in Kent…..

First things first: we won (first time in league since Woking away on January 29) and we scored more than one goal (first time in league since Wrexham away on November 30)! And,mid we scored from a set piece (first time in league since Dagenham on November 20, I think)! It was great to see Barclay tuck away a calm finish after coming close to scoring a couple times since he joined, and to see a Gorman free-kick that found the back of the net rather than the middle-man of the wall or the keeper’s midriff [or the car park – Ed!].

Charlie Wakefield

It’s a good job we did profit from set pieces because again our attackers failed to score. As usual Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield showed plenty of promise driving towards the box from the wings, but it didn’t lead to many clear-cut chances. I don’t think  Adi Yussuf had his worst game, but that really isn’t saying much, and, as always, he gave away countless silly fouls. Olufela Olomola had a good chance at the death – the sort of chance you could argue he needs to take if we’re to pick up a good number of points between now and the end of the season.

Ted Cann who has joined on loan from West Brom. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was fantastic to see Josh Neufville back after his horrible injury, but for me Ted Cann was the most impressive debutant. His distribution was generally excellent, with long and accurate kicks off the ground. One particular moment stood out when he came out of his area and instantly controlled a high ball before pinging an inch-perfect pass out to Knowles far-forward on the right. He did have one heart-in-mouth moment when he was beaten to the ball by Michael Gyasi, leaving the Dover attacker to pass the ball into an empty net, but Cann’s blushes were saved by the offside flag. Ted didn’t have much to do in the way of shot-stopping, so he couldn’t be judged too much on that.

The atmosphere at Crabble was very subdued. Maybe it was the sunny weather that resembled mid-May more than mid-March, but the match had a very end-of-season feel to it. This wasn’t at all echoed in the effort the two teams put in, but it was as though both sets of fans had given up on the season, with Dover relegated by virtue of the fact they didn’t win on the day, and Yeovil stranded firmly in mid-table. Nothing but respect to the hardy fans that travelled to southeast Kent, but I don’t know the last time Yeovil fans have celebrated a win with less enthusiasm.

However, I hope that this win can be a catalyst for a positive end to the season. You can only beat what’s in

Oh for a win which brings that celebration again.

front of you, and we did that quite comfortably. I think this is a group of young players who perform better when they have a buoyant crowd behind them, so hopefully this win will install confidence in both the players and fans that we can achieve similar results against teams higher up the table so that our season doesn’t completely peter out. Let’s get another win against Bromley.

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It was another tough afternoon for the Glovers on home soil, with Yeovil falling to a 2-0 defeat against play-off pushing Grimsby Town. Here are BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins‘ conclusions from the match.
It has been glaringly obvious the issues for the Glovers but the pressure on not being able to score means defensive errors are creeping in. When you know your strength isn’t up top, there is only so long you can be so impressive defensively. The defenders this season have certainly earnt their money and have done more defending than most teams – and eventually something has to give with the reliance on a strong back four becoming too much. Both goals were avoidable, with the second the most disappointing from a corner. There is no doubt if the team were able to find the back of the net, the defensive line would be a lot more comfortable – it is a team game after all.
The players are putting their bodies on the line. Reminiscent of last season when Lawson D’Ath played a full 90 when he really shouldn’t have, players are entering the business end of the season with a whole heap of minutes behind them and bodies which could do with a rest. Charlie Wakefield – for example – has racked up considerably more minutes than his last few seasons combined but must play every week. It cannot be an excuse, of course, but Grimsby were able to make five changes and keep their usual system – this is not possible for Yeovil and the manager knows they are putting everything in when their bodies are screaming at them. That commitment doesn’t equal points, but it explains why fans are still so fond of this team, despite the form.
Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I think it is fair to say there are few midfielders better with the ball to feet in the National League than Lawson D’Ath and it was a masterstroke to keep him around the club and support his recovery. His delivery from corners was just what Yeovil had been missing and his ball retention is unbelievable. Another 60 minutes in the tank yesterday and I hope we continue to see him shine in the next few weeks. There may be little to play for now, but for the purists watching him play is a joy – his anger at referees et al.

Yeovil are now solidly midtable and so Darren Sarll can and will mix it up. I liked the impact of the diamond early on and the back three was something we haven’t seen since the opening day. It might be something that can impact us and as the manager said after the match, if you keep things the same, the same things could keep happening. I will – of course – be at the games for the rest of the season and I would like to see us go for it, take games to teams and impact other team’s seasons. We had more possession than so many games this season against Grimsby and I enjoyed seeing Yeovil with the ball – but the key is punishing teams when we do. I expect a raft of changes over the next few weeks (within the constraints of the small squad of course).
Lastly, Huish Park has such potential but needs more. The Her Game Too dedicated fixture meant a lot to me personally and the players embraced what it meant, while young girls’ teams took to the pitch before kick-off and at half time. This is something the club need to do more of as it is so important – but the place needs some love. The staff are working as hard as they can, but they can’t do it all. As Geoff Twentyman said yesterday, BBC Bristol/Somerset are trying to talk to the hierarchy but to no avail. Certainty is needed for future fans, current fans and the players, manager, and staff. But, I am so proud the club has embraced the Her Game Too campaign so brilliantly – there are so many amazing women at the club working so hard and they deserve to be celebrated. I am sure I echo everyone’s views when I say seeing Pat Custard being on the front of the programme was a joy.

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It was another disappointing night at Huish Park as Yeovil Town collapsed to a 3-0 defeat against Dagenham & Redbridge to leave them third from bottom of the home form table over the last six National League games.

Ian was on BBC Somerset co-commentary duty for the evening and here’s how he saw it…

We were masters of our own downfall. The positive of our season so far has our security at the back and the strength of our defence. We let an in-form Paul McCallum have freedom of the six yard box and didn’t close down the cross with any determination after just 6 minutes of the match. That’s not a character-trait of this side so it was unusual. To then concede a 2nd goal and in such ridiculously poor circumstances quarter of an hour later meant the game was over before half time. We know we have issues in the final third, and we haven’t scored two goals in a game since November. We shot ourselves in the foot and it felt like the players on the pitch knew the game was gone.

Striker Olufela Olomola.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We struggled going forward again. We welcomed Olufela Olomola back to the starting line-up, but it was that familiar story of a lack of service. Conceding so early meant we were chasing the game but we never seemed to have cohesion going forward. Charlie Wakefield and Tom Knowles seemed out of sync (and totally exhausted), the midfield trio of Josh Staunton, Dale Gorman and Alex Bradley looked like the new combination that it is and never really clicked. We brought Lawson D’Ath on at 2-0 to bridge that gap between the midfield and the attack and attempt to claw back the deficit. Unfortunately, three minutes later we’re asleep on a quick throw and Dagenham put the game beyond doubt, although it was already.

Dagenham & Redbridge nailed it tactically. From kick off they applied pressure to our defenders whenever we had the ball. It took us quite a few goal kicks to cotton on to the fact that they weren’t going to let us play out from the back. Every time Josh Staunton picked up the ball from a defender there we two red-shirts on him looking to force the mistake, and they did repeatedly. At 2-0 they knew their work was done and when we did have the ball in their half, they let us keep it, perhaps knowing that we’d struggle to break their solid back line down. All in all, it was a comfortable night for Dagenham.

I’m not sure where we go from here. The last three results have cemented that we’re definitely mid-table and any run on the playoffs would need a miraculous set of circumstances. A couple of weeks ago Darren Sarll said his side’s seasons don’t peter out, last night was the epitome of a team petering out though. Unfortunately it’s entirely understandable. This squad is slap bang in the middle, most of them are out of contract at the end of the season and the vision from the boss at the top of the club is non-existent. 

I’m not sure if we ever totally freed ourselves from it, but apathy has set in again. The early goal sucked any life the supporters at Huish Park might have had, but there was a real flatness last night. Like the players, the crowd never got going and were given very little to get going about. We slept walk out of the Football League, and if we don’t drastically improve in front of the home fans on Saturday against Grimsby, there will be a perception that we’re sleepwalking to the end of the season and after that who knows what? A statement in ‘due course’ means nothing. Seven day deadlines mean nothing. If the plan to be so distant and become so unaccountable that supporters just give up, we could be close to that point. We’ll continue to clamour for clarity and at this point we need it either way.