Five Conclusions (Page 21)

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A point gained or two more dropped? Whatever your opinion, Yeovil Town’s draw at a Maidenhead United side with an impressive record on home turf fixes us even more firmly in to mid-table in the National League.

Here are Coatesie’s conclusions from the game in Berkshire from the away end….

For the first half Yeovil Town carried a threat going forward and, for the first time I can recall, it was not all built around Charlie Wakefield and Tom Knowles. It became obvious when both departed that we lost our attacking threat with the loss of Olufela Olomola and Lawson D’Ath. Neither player is obviously fully match fit as they both find their way back after a lack of regular football for different reasons. On the positive, we have two players capable of making a real difference going forward, but on the negative D’Ath tired after the break and was sensibly replaced and Fela took heavy challenge which he seemed to still be feeling after the game.

The more worrying thing was that despite our bench looking strong on paper none of our substitutions made much of an impression. Reuben Reid showed some good touches and looked like he got the winner (see next Conclusion), but otherwise did not carry the same scoring threat as Fela. Jordan Barnett didn’t have much of an impact, though on numerous occasions I had wished it had been him accelerating down the pitch from left-back instead of Morgan Williams. No real criticism of Morgan’s performance, but I just am still not convinced he is full-back.

Now I know referee’s are off the agenda (Rule 1 and all that) but what about assistant’s? Okay, I am biased but I saw little wrong with either goal that

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

was ruled out. In the first half, Luke Wilkinson did exactly what his manager had been calling for and got himself on the end of a great ball in to the box to head home, he jumped, but he was looked simply more committed than the Maidenhead player he was competing against. Even on a replay I don’t put it beyond ‘seen them given’. Then the injury time ‘winner’ from Reid, well, my angle behind the goal was not the best to judge, the linesman had his flag up early but the fact the ref checked with his assistant suggested even the man in the middle was unsure of the decision.

We saw the best and the worst of Grant Smith. The Yeovil keeper kept us in the game particularly in the second half when we couldn’t seem to keep Maidenhead away. He was involved in a one-on-one battle with the hosts’ Dan Sparkes with some brilliant saves, but sadly his error for the equaliser was even more telling. From the away end it was difficult to see exactly what happened, but it looked pretty inexplicable from what I could make of it.

Sadly, it was another performance which made me convinced we are every inch a mid-table side and unless we can magic up a fully fit D’Ath, get Fela firing or get Wakefield and Knowles back to their unplayable best, it hard to see how it is going to change. But let’s end on a positive, Charlie Lee is going to be an entertaining watch in the technical area. At the start, Darren Sarll shouted to supporters waiting to see which end we were shooting towards that his assistant was nailed on for a yellow card. Invading the pitch for the ‘winner’ from Reid. If there’s nothing to play for other than the pride this season, his antics could be worth a watch.

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After a disappointing defeat in midweek, Yeovil Town picked up a point with a goalless draw away at Eastleigh yesterday.

Boss Darren Sarll said his side were “dominant” for 80 minutes of the match, whilst on-loan defender Ben Barclay was pleased to secure another clean sheet – but the lack of goals were (yet again) the main talking point.

Here’s what Coatesie thought from the away end on the South Coast….

Yeovil players after the 0-0 draw with Solihull

Now this wasn’t vintage, free-flowing, exciting Yeovil Town, but it was an improvement from the defeat at Wealdstone where even the players questioned their own character.

This looked more like two teams determined not to lose, only coming to life when they thought they could win, before reverting back to trying not to lose.

There were long spells, particularly in the first half, where all the possession was with the visitors, but the same old problems exist going forward.

Yesterday we could not turn our possession in to clear-cut opportunities and it always felt as if there needed to be a mistake or a moment of brilliance to break the deadlock.

Sadly, the latter never looked likely to happen, though the former almost did at the end when Eastleigh striker Tyrone Barnett passed up a glorious opportunity to win it at the death.

Olomola chats to Sam Collard
? @YTFC

The man all those who travelled to the Silverlake Stadium was hoping could be the difference was new boy Olufela Olomola, back for his third loan spell at Huish Park.

It did not quite click straight away, but there was enough there from Fela to make you think it could.

He has had two appearances for his parent club, Hartlepool United, in the past month, playing less than 90 minutes in total in those matches, so it’s going to take him a bit of time to get up to speed.

There were some signs of a link with Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield forming, and his chance at the end of the first half suggests there is more to come.

Fela didn’t affect the game as we’d hoped, but give him a full week of training and let’s see how he looks against Dagenham next weekend.

Ben Barclay
Pic: YTFC YouTube


But defensively Yeovil looked sound again after some errors in midweek and Ben Barclay is looking a very shrewd signing on loan from Stockport County.

It was the centre half who actually came closest to breaking the deadlock when his header came off the crossbar following a header from his defensive partner Luke Wilkinson.

Wilko spoke before the game about the need for the Glovers’ backline to chip in with goals, and on another day that corner routine could have done just that.

The fact the absence of Max Hunt, one of our top performers this season, has gone pretty much unnoticed says everything you need to know about Barclay’s performances since his arrival.

This one could be a little controversial, but I do think Tom Knowles was lucky only to only see a yellow card at the end there.

And, yes, before you start swearing at your mobile/laptop/tablet, Eastleigh’s Ryan Hill was even more fortunate to remain on the pitch!

I held my breath when Knowles went in late on keeper Joe McDonnell the action which incensed Hill to shove his opponent to the ground.

Both McDonnell and Knowles were more than a little theatrical in their responses to the fouls.

Knowles went down for treatment, giving the referee a lot of time to confer with his assistants, and the result was a yellow card apiece.

Had the ref decided to go for red, there was every chance a National League ref (*Rule 1 invoked*) could have tried to keep the numbers level.

In summary, it was either a yellow card apiece or a red one apiece.

Charlie Lee rises highest
? Mike Kunz

Finally, it was lovely to see Charlie Lee waiting outside the player’s entrance after the game.

Since retiring from football at Billericay Town a couple of months ago, I imagine he has his Saturday afternoon’s spare.

I wonder if he got inside in time to hear Darren Sarll refer to the assistant he plans to appoint next week as “a super intelligent chap” in his post-match interview.

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Yeovil Town slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Darren Sarll said he was ‘angry and frustrated’, Josh Staunton said the team had ‘let everyone down’. The Gloverscast has asked one of BBC Somerset’s finest co-commentators, Marcus Duncomb what he thought… here are his Five Conclusions.

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We could really do with some more goals. This one is somewhat obvious but it’s the main thing which is holding us back. In our 26 league games this season, we’ve only managed to score more than one goal in six games – the last time we did so was away at Wrexham in November. While it’s all well and good having a solid defence (not last night mind you…), you cannot rely on scoring one goal a game to win you matches. The more concerning factor is that it wasn’t like we had missed opportunities against Wealdstone. Reuben Reid was fairly ineffective and his replacement Adi Yussuf had a similar impact on the game. I heard there’s a striker Chesterfield have just signed who they don’t seem to be starting – wonder if they’re willing to loan him out yet?

I wonder if it might be time to start playing some full-backs. Morgan Williams has been one of our most consistent performers this season but, through no fault of his own, I wonder if we need to begin playing a back four of two centre-backs and two full backs rather than three centre-backs and one full-back. When we’re defending a lead or trying to keep a clean sheet, Williams is perfect for that role. Similarly when playing against a big side, you can see why Sarll puts him at full-back. However, when chasing an equaliser and struggling to create chances (as has been the case more often recently), I think it’s worth having a natural full-back there who can take on players and put quality balls into the box.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

We needed a playmaker to unlock Wealdstone’s defence. Throughout the game, as soon as we brought the ball to the halfway line, Wealdstone’s back five would drop deep onto the edge of their penalty area and their midfield trio would be just in front. At this point our midfield would pass it around and be unable to find that crucial pass. Sarll has said previously that it doesn’t suit his side to have more of the ball and that was evident last night. I think we missed someone like D’Ath last night to orchestrate play for us.

Defensive errors are starting to creep into this team. When a team is built on its defensive stability and ability to win games by not conceding, there can be no room for errors. We saw it with the goal we conceded against Weymouth and both goals against Wealdstone were really poor goals to concede. If you concede goals like those then you have to go up the other end and make amends by scoring a few. Unfortunately, this team never looked like doing so and the only way we scored was by being gifted a penalty.

Finally, and this isn’t exactly a revelation, but we are mid-table team. Before the season I think pretty much everyone predicted a mid-table finish this season. The pre-Christmas run gave us some great memories and away days, but what it also gave fans was a tiny glimmer of hope to sneak into the play-offs. Sarll said during that period that his players were playing at levels much higher than they should and that fans need to manage expectations. Unfortunately, the way of mid-table is that if you go on a good run, you should expect it to be balanced out by a not so good run later on and that is exactly what has happened this season.

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Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

As always, we’ve drawn some conclusions from yesterday’s 0-0 against Solihull Moors. Here are Ian’s key takeaways from the afternoon…

Oh Charlie! Our star man had the most golden of opportunities to take us into the half time break with an advantage. A through ball from Tom Knowles gave Wakefield freedom of the Solihull Moors half, but as he bore down on goal you could just feel the confidence ebbing away. He had so long to make a decision and in the end his shot was poor and easy for Boot to make the save. It was a big moment and it felt like it was weighing on Charlie for a while, before he got back into his rhythm.

We defended with our lives. I thought the match was a good tactical battle. Neither side let up, and both changed their shape. We weathered the storm in the first quarter of an hour, with Grant Smith making a good save from Maycock and Sbarra missing a header. The game ebbed and flowed after with both sides sharing possession and territory. As the game wore on though, and fatigue set in Solihull took a bit more control and we had to defend resolutely. There was that typical defensive determination as shots were charged down by Staunton, Wilkinson, Williams, Barclay et al as we clung on to a clean sheet.

Lawson D’Ath gives us something different. Forced into an early change with Jordan Barnett’s injury, I was surprised to see Darren Sarll opt for Lawson D’Ath over Sonny Blu Lo Everton. But Lawson gave us all a timely reminder of what he’s capable of with an unexpected 70 minutes. He’s always offering to take the ball of his teammates, in any position and he’s always looking forward. The way he brings the ball down is always positive and forward-thinking. I think his arrival forced Solihull to be a bit more wary of us than they were with Barnett. Although we didn’t anticipate it, this amount of time from D’Ath will be beneficial for him. It gave him enough time to influence and get in to a flow and built up a good chunk of fitness ahead of next week.

Lawson D’Ath. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

People are voting with their feet. Less than 2000 were in attendance on Saturday after a midweek game which had roughly 3400 home supporters. Did Friday’s statement about anti-social behaviour have anything to do with that? Maybe, but the statement was the right thing to do. But let’s be clear, there are a plethora of reasons why supporters aren’t at games. Chiefly, Scott Priestnall and his absenteeism as the owner and chairman. Huish Park needs more than a lick of paint. You can read a blog here about that though.

We are actually unbeaten in three games. It’s been quite challenging to reconcile thoughts these past few weeks, but we’ve stopped the run of defeats and, in-truth, picked up good points. Had we drawn at Woking with 10 men, then beaten Weymouth and then drawn with in-from Solihull I think we’d be happy? The last three results have yielded the same points tally at that hypothetical scenario, yet there’s still a cloud. Personally, I think the off-the-pitch uncertainty and lack of clarity keeps this cloud hovering over us, no matter what happens on-the-pitch. A 0-0 draw against Solihull is a decent result given both teams’ form, position and resources. I just think I want to be able to enjoy it without the opaqueness which surrounds our future. We’ve got a big week ahead of us on the pitch, but what I would give for a big week off it.

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We drew with Weymouth, yet again, and we probably shouldn’t have. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from a game of two halves at Huish Park last night.

Darren Sarll
Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz,.

The first half performance was bad. We were disjointed and looked like a group who hasn’t played together before. Our dynamism up front against Wrexham and Woking just wasn’t there. We knew we’d feel the absence of Tom Knowles, but maybe not THAT much. W*ymouth controlled possession nicely and seemed to have an answer for whatever we threw at them. The first half was littered with misplaced passes, one of which put us on the backfoot in the fourth minute, loose touches and Darren Sarll reacted at half time.

Our second half performance suggests we may actually have a Plan B.  The half time introduction of Reuben Reid and a switch to 4-4-2 changed our fortunes, and allowed us to unlock our wide areas a bit. I thought Reid improved us and the switch allowed us to see more of Charlie Wakefield and Jordan Barnett. It took Weymouth a bit of time to adapt and we managed to grab a fortuitous equaliser before they did. With Knowles back, I think we’d all prefer to see the exciting front three including him Wakefield and Sonny, but if we need to change it up, we do have an option of a 4-4-2.

It was great to see Lawson D’Ath back. I don’t think we can overstate the quality of Lawson D’Ath. But for his injuries, he’d be an EFL player for sure. His composure, his technique and his vision are supreme at this level. His cameo in midfield didn’t help us to victory, but he managed to remind us of what he’s capable of and with some more games under his belt, he has the opportunity to make an impact in our midfield.

Adi Yussuf should have scored that chance at the death. He could have scored just after W*ymouth’s opener. I think we did enough in the second half to deserve the win but as has been the case on sixteen times this season, we could only score one goal when he needed more. Is Adi Yussuf the man to do it? It feels increasingly likely that he is not. Yussuf is a marmite player. Wealey was very complimentary of him during commentary, and he’s far more qualified to pass judgement than I am, but I thought he was poor. He didn’t hold the ball up, I felt he struggled to influence when he had the ball. Even his shot for the goal was diverted in. He does run around though, and cause defenders problems by being a nuisance. I suppose it depends if we want a striker who impacts games in that way, rather then putting the ball in the net.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Give Charlie Wakefield a new contract, please!  The highlight of the night was the ‘Star Man’ on the right. (I can’t think of a player ever having two great chants). His running, his desire and effort for the cause is unparalled in this team. The hope and expectation when he picks up the ball vibrates around Huish Park and more often then not he beats more than one player to find a cross, get a shot away or do something impressive. In my view, he’s been our signing of the season. For a player who had a patchy injury record and struggled to cement a place at Wealdstone and Bromley, truthfully I didn’t expect a great deal from him. He’s f*cking dynamite, though.

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Well, it wasn’t pretty, but a hard-earned three points for ten-man Yeovil Town at Woking are the first we’ve got on the board in 2022. Here’s how Coatesie saw it from his vantage point at the Kingfield Stadium….

 

It probably doesn’t bear counting as a conclusion any longer, but this team really is putting everything on the line for points this season.
In a profession where there is a dwindling amount of loyalty, we have a team constructed of those at either ends of their careers who are playing like their lives depend on it.
There’s no experienced heads looking to see out their autumn years on easy street, or youngsters who see this as simply a step on the ladder – or if they do, they are going to kick and fight their way up it.
I cannot help being drawn back to the comparison of the side which took us out of the Football League…..if that side had half the spirit of this one….anyway, that’s a conversation for another day.

Luke Wilkinson.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

How much do we need Luke Wilkinson? The manager described his performance as “great, rubbish and great all in the same game” but even at his most ‘rubbish’ he was inspiring.
Ben Barclay alongside him looks a useful addition and when the kitchen sink came from Woking with us down to ten men, they ran in to a Wilko and Barclay-shaped wall.
The stats in all competitions where he’s featured speak for themselves.
With Wilko: P17 W11 D1 L5.
Without Wilko: P12 W1 D6 L5.
That is if you count the penalty shoot-outs against W*ymouth and Needham Market (both without Wilko) as draws at 90 minutes, and give him a win for his two-minute cameo at the end of the victory at Wrexham.

Whilst you can only beat what’s in front of you, this was a very poor Woking team.
Missing their only decent player in Max Kretzschmar and now without their only goal threat, Tahvon Campbell, who moved back in to the League at the, they were devoid of any quality.
A better side or one with a player able to find a bovine’s behind with a string instrument would surely have put away some of the chances Woking wasted.
Even with ten men for half-an-hour, there was only one occasion where Grant Smith was forced in to serious action.
The effort we put in saw is over the line, but let’s make no mistake this was a poor opponent.

I could complain about the referee, Tom Bishop, who was seemingly intent on sending someone off from the opening moments….oh, I just did a bit!
But, there were too many occasions where we gave the referee an invitation he didn’t need to go to his pocket.
Darren Sarll described Tom Knowles as a “daft bugger” for getting his fifth yellow for delaying play, and it felt like both sides gave away fouls which you can afford to do  against a trigger-happy referee.
When both benches are throwing their hands up in frustration at decisions, you get the impression of the kind of game Mr Bishop had.

Finally, who’s still standing? With Tom Knowles now suspended for Tuesday’s derby with W*ymouth, Jordan Barnett having limped off with a hamstring strain to go with the ankle injury he went in to Saturday with, it’s looking threadbare.
The addition of Barclay was a plus and it was great to see Lawson D’Ath back on the bench – oh how we could do with his skill in midfield – but more reinforcements are needed.

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Wrexham fought back to clinch a 2-1 win at Huish Park yesterday, here are my Five Conclusions from the match.

The supporters have turned. I believe there was a vocal minority of negativity towards Scott Priestnall not so long ago. But it felt different this weekend. The chants were the loudest they’ve been and even found their way to the Screwfix Stand. We can only hope the his statement on Friday was his final toy thrown out of the pram and there’s not more to come. He’s shown his contempt for supporters and from the reaction at Huish Park, that vocal minority isn’t such a minority any more.

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

There were times that our front three looked unplayable. The interplay between Tom Knowles, Charlie Wakefield and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton was the best we’ve looked going forward all season. Knowles’ goal was classic Knowles and I thought Wakefield looked to be back in a decent form. That said, we should have put the game to bed. Wakefield’s miss was a sitter and he won’t need to be told that again. There was a decent chance right at the start of the second half too. If we can get that trio working like that regularly, I think we’ll score more goals. And, a shout out for Sonny – I think that was the best I’ve seen him play for us. Calm on the ball, sharp with his passing and I think he held his own in circumstances he wasn’t when he first joined. He’s such a technically gifted player and I think/hope that’s beginning to show.

I thought Mark Little had a good game. He showed his experience and he showed why Darren Sarll hyped him up so much at the start of the season. He was always talking to his teammates and I felt he had some decent moments in attacking situations. Sarll said he shouldn’t have been on the pitch after 60 minutes, let alone move to centre back. He’s been talked about as a big influence behind the scenes, hopefully he can start having an influence on the pitch, stay fit and help drag us out of this run of form.

We need to get out of this run, soon. This feels a bit familiar, after a decent run of wins we now find ourselves on a run of six without a win. I felt we played well today and we probably could have won it, but the suspect officiating really did break our flow and the loss of Josh Staunton afterwards compounded that. We need to find a way out of this run to keep our season alive or I fear the playoffs will be out of reach. The problem is, our squad is thinning out be that through injury or the owner selling them.

Yeovil Line Up vs Weymouth

The spirit amongst these players is first class. Despite all they’ve had thrown at them in the last couple of weeks, this ever-depleting squad is as close as any other squad I can recall. This young, hungry group work for eachother and for the supporters. We said it early in the season, but the the bond between this group and the Huish Park faithful is wonderful and as Darren Sarll said after the match, they’re so close. They lost a big player, forgive the pun, in Joe Quigley yesterday, Luke Wilkinson has been out, Max Hunt is on crutches and Josh Staunton hobbled off but still they go on with energy and positivity. They are an infectious bunch of lads who the supporters are firmly behind, they are the antithesis of the owner of the football club.

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Yeovil whimpered out of the FA Trophy at the hands of Needham Market yesterday. I soaked it all in and fortuitously managed to condense it in five conclusions.

Well, that wasn’t very good was it? It goes without saying that losing to a team in the Southern League Premier Division is unacceptable for Yeovil Town Football Club. The game should not have reached a penalty shootout and we should have had enough about us to put them away. But, as everyone knows and Darren Sarll said, on the day it’s 11 men vs 11 men and Needham Market’s 11 men earned victory. Too many players performed far below the level expected and we were the ‘giants’ that were killed on this occasion.

It’s blindingly obvious but we’re horribly out of form. We’ve gone through this pattern before. A good run of form followed by a rough patch of form. We need to get out of this patch sooner rather than later if we’re going to keep within touching distance of the play offs. How we get it back, who knows? Darren Sarll didn’t seem hopeful of any additions any time soon, which we obviously need. Once again, we’re round to talking correlation between what happens off the pitch and how important it is to what happens on it. We’ve gone from nine subs to four in seven days and the manager needs reinforcements.

Oh, Reuben. This wasn’t a performance of the rejuvenated Reuben Reid we’ve been anticipating. This match was Reid’s return to Yeovil in a nutshell. Loose touches, misplaced passes, a lot effort but a lack of quality. His penalty was disappointing and summed up his afternoon. This isn’t the Reid who was training almost immediately after the 2020/21 season finished. This is an experienced pro, at the latter stages of his career recovering from a serious hamstring injury having to start from square one again and get himself match fit in a side which is on a bad run. And instead of being able to be eased back into it, we’re reliant on him to come back into the team and drag us out of a mess.

There was a feeling of deflation around Huish Park. Perhaps it was the contrast of 8,000 last Saturday versus 1600 yesterday, but the rumours circulating before kick-off about Terry Skiverton’s departure (coupled with his notable absence during the warm up) certainly took the wind out of my sails. To lose a legend like Skivo in the middle of the season, without a proper send off is really sad. It’s not how I thought it would happen and I daresay it’s probably not how he thought it would happen. His departure is sad for supporters and also the players he works with on a daily basis and the staff he’s worked with since joining Yeovil in 1998.

Darren Sarll cut a frustrated figure. It felt like Darren was on the cusp of saying what he really felt about the situation after the match yesterday. That’s not to say he doesn’t normally, he clearly does. But, what must have been a highly emotional week for him has ended in, probably, his worst defeat as Yeovil manager. He’s lost his assistant (and friend), he’s lost his captain to injury and the team he’s worked miracles with so far appear to be in a rut. Next weekend we welcome Wrexham to town which will undoubtedly demonstrate the gulf in resource, but we did ‘em last time didn’t we?!

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It was another defeat for Yeovil Town on Tuesday night as we went down to our fourth loss in a row at Southend United.

Here one-time Gloverscast quiz champion and Glovers’ supporter Ed Turnbull was among the 80 hardy souls in the North Stand at Roots Hall, and here are his five conclusions:

Unfortunately, the most obvious takeaway is the performance level was substantially lower (at least for the first hour) than what we were treated to during our stunning 12-match unbeaten run. The first half in particular, we had very little fluidity in attack and invited Southend onto us, struggling to get anything resembling a foothold in the game. To make matters worse, our defence seemed nowhere near as solid as the backline that stood firm to bombardments from the likes of Solihull, Bromley and Wrexham in previous away games this season – Southend could easily have scored more than two. Various wise heads including Darren Sarll and Ian Perkins have referred to the team looking tired of late, and this was further proof. Mind you, it must be said that Southend seemed a lot better than a team that has spent most of the season battling it out with W*ymuff for 20th place.

Joe Quigley battles for the ball.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Things improved significantly with the introduction of Joe Quigley and Reuben Reid (if you ignore for a second the fact Southend made it 2-0 right after they came on!). Adi Yussuf very rarely, if ever, got the ball to stick to him, and nobody was surprised when the fourth official’s board went up with a red 23 next to a green 10. I think getting the ball under control back-to-goal isn’t one of Quigley’s strengths either, but he’s negated that possible weakness by instead looking to win flick-ons for team-mates to run onto (take his assist for Yussuf’s goal against Eastleigh as a perfect example). Last night I was very impressed how he seemed to win every header against big centre-halfs, and it gave us (often Reuben Reid to be precise) a platform to work off, that saw us become a lot more threatening and gave us a fighting chance of getting something from the game. Quigley was also unlucky not to score himself when he did brilliantly to make space for a shot, which was excellently saved. I’ll be picking Joe ahead of Adi in my next FanHub line-up predictions in the future, for sure (unless Quigley get’s injured, I suppose). 

Luke Wilkinson. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Ordinarily, you’d probably say that the phase of play which ended with us scoring our only goal was the best 15 seconds of the match from a Yeovil point of view. But on this occasion I would argue it was the worst, and that’s because Luke Wilkinson went down innocuously immediately before we scored. I didn’t see whose shot it was from the edge of the box (sounds as though it was Wakefield’s) that wasn’t gathered by Southend keeper Steve Arnold, and Reid nudging in the rebound was only in my peripheral vision, because I was more focused on our captain clutching his leg in obviously severe discomfort. If you look at our record in National League games this season, I make it now W7 D1 L2 when Wilkinson has played the whole match, compared to W2 D3 L6 when he hasn’t – I think that’s enough said about how big a miss he’ll be. If anything, I was relieved to hear Sarll’s prognosis of “a good six weeks“, because I feared it could have been even worse.

Rhys Murphy did not get a welcoming reception from the Yeovil fans, it’s fair to say. Perhaps it’s understandable after his absence at the end of last season which did leave a sour taste in the mouth. Murphy later stated this was “due to some personal issues“, and given we’ll probably never know what he meant by that, one could argue he should be given the benefit of the doubt. Personally, I’d rather remember Rhys for his incredible return of 34 goals in 65 games, and for memories such as Torquay away (the 2-0, not the 6-1, if that wasn’t clear). The bloke literally scored a hattrick against W*ymuff, after all! He certainly showed enough quality last night to remind us what we’re missing.

Lastly, and most importantly, I think it should go without saying we need to stick by these players. Yes, it’s four defeats in a row, but it’s also four defeats in our last 16. I fully agree with Darren Sarll when he says this young group needs to be positively supported rather than have fans on their backs if we want them to perform to the really high bar they’ve set in November and December as frequently as possible. These players seriously care about Yeovil Town FC, and that was shown again last night in the way we kept trying our socks off for an equaliser despite being visibly shattered and ending the game with 10 men after Wilkinson went off. On another day, the ref might not have penalised Max Hunt for a hand ball, Reid’s goal would have been an equaliser rather than a consolation, and the lads would have secured a heroic comeback for which we’d be singing their praises.

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It wasn’t quite a magic night at Huish Park, but there is always something about Yeovil Town in the FA Cup. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from the 3-1 defeat.

It was fantastic to see a crowd. Not since Manchester United’s visit in 2018 have we had such a turnout. Despite Bournemouth not being a ‘superclub’, Huish Park was packed and full of anticipation of more FA Cup history. While the result wasn’t what we’d have wanted, seeing supporters in their volume to watch the match was a pleasant remind of what Yeovil Town FC can be on its day. Let’s just hope the mud bath surround the stadium didn’t put people off attending less glamourous matches in the future.

Bournemouth’s quality was clear to see. But for the keeper’s mishap, we didn’t cause them any major issues. Their technical prowess allowed them to totally control the game and keep us at arm’s length. Emiliano Marcondes was everywhere for the Cherries and he earned his hattrick with his clever runs and positioning. Jamal Lowe showed what a talent he is with his dizzying runs and electric pace. We performed admirably, but Bournemouth showed why they are three points clear at the top of the Championship.

Max Evans should have got his chance. Dillon Barnes has had two disappointing performances in his loan spell for us. The corner at Torquay was bad and I felt he had another poor game in the FA Cup. He pushed the ball back into the middle of the goal for Bournemouth’s third goal and he seemed to struggle with crosses and corners again. There’s a lesson to be learned for Grant Smith, don’t mouth off at officials again. He’s missed two big games for Yeovil and we’ve really suffered for it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I think giving Max Evans an opportunity in these two games would have been a good thing. It couldn’t have gone much worse.

We looked tired. Playing against Bournemouth is totally draining, obviously. But we looked like a side which hadn’t had a proper week of preparation. Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield aren’t at the energetic levels they were, Matt Worthington isn’t getting forward like he was and our threat was diminished. I’m not sure having Worthington and Dale Gorman on yellow cards for the majority of the match made it trickier for us to take any risks. On the plus side, we had nine substitutes and seem to have some genuine depth in positions. Without downplaying Needham Market, we could do with playing Needham Market after these last three games. Instead, we’ve got a quick turnaround and a trip to Southend having not left the South West since November.

Scott Priestnall decided to grace us with his presence, albeit under the radar. That there’s even speculation about whether or not the owner of the football club will attend a match is appalling enough in itself. We can only guess as to the reason why this match was worth a visit, perhaps it was to see what a proper occasion at Huish Park can look like. Perhaps it was to sort out some contracts for players and the manager. Maybe we’re days away from seeing his long-term plan. Hopefully he was there to clear out his desk. Plenty on the terraces let him know their feelings last night.