Five Conclusions (Page 3)

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It was defeat for Yeovil Town in Altrincham yesterday as a they could not hold out against intense pressure from their play-off-chasing opponents. Distant Glover, aka Alex Russell, was among the 192 travelling supporters on the terrace at Moss Lane yesterday and here are his thoughts.

That felt like our whole season in one match. We started well, then struggled after key players got injured. We worked a lot harder than the scoreline might suggest. We didn’t make the most of our chances. We would have won if they’d been below us, but they’re a team above us, so we lost. Defensive lapses led to the opposition scoring. The pitch had more bobbles than Claire’s Accessories and was sufficiently sandy for no-one to have blamed any of the players for thinking they were already on the beach. The ref was notable for all the wrong reasons – have you seen Alex Whittle’s forehead/gorehead? (He didn’t endear himself to the Alty fans either.) At least a couple of our best players didn’t sign for other clubs at half time and I don’t remember seeing an opposition fan sporting a giant robin head anywhere else.

Aaaand breathe. At about four o’clock on Saturday 5 April 2025, a profound sense of calm fell over a south-westerly area of Greater Manchester. How very welcome it was to see the world seem to stop again, simply because Jake Wannell put his foot on the ball. Any doubts that it might take him a few games to get his composure back went out the window. It really was like he’d never been away. Okay, we didn’t manage to hold on long enough to get a point, but somehow it seemed more likely we might tease out a draw with him out there again. Oh, we’ve missed him.

Jake Wannell made his first appearance since the win at Maidenhead United in late Februrary. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. What might have happened over the winter if we’d been able to consistently field a largely unchanged team? It’s probably not a coincidence that our recent winning mini-run came with the same line-up, or that we started promisingly with them again at Altrincham (only to concede shortly after the enforced substitutions). The season’s not over yet, and I really don’t want to seem ungrateful about what a big deal it is to get promoted and finish mid-table-ish. (Insert cliché about biting your hand off last August here.) But last season rekindled a long-forgotten taste for winning and I can’t help wondering how things might have been if injuries hadn’t put paid to the same core group of players being available every game.

Solid Stone. The more I see of him, the more I like Aidan Stone. On a very bumpy pitch, he looked completely comfortable with back passes and it was telling that their attackers didn’t feel inclined to use up too much energy pressing him. We were stood right behind him in the first half; he was communicating (shouting) all the time, not just with defenders, but the midfield too. His distribution is great – he can kick a long way and it’s accurate. He pulled off a great save from Linney and couldn’t have done much about either goal. For the first time in a while, we’ll have a keeper for more than one season, and he’s a good one.

Aidan Stone has cemented his place as Yeovil Town’s number one. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

We’re not dull, are we? Lordy, what a couple of weeks. I’m going to put my positive hat on (despite what people may say, it was never off). Yes, there’s a barrow-load of unknowns right now, but at the risk of sounding like someone from HR who’s about to deliver some very unsettling news, there’s a load of opportunities too. It’s reassuring that Stuart Robins’ calmness and professionalism will be navigating us through whatever happens next. Rather than just write off the season marketing-wise, initiatives like Kids For A Quid will get bums on seats before the end of the season, and have an eye on the future. Finally, the relaunching of the Glover’s Trust gives us fans the chance to help shape the future of the club. Let’s not waste it.

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Mike Hudson was at Huish Park for the much-needed 1-0 win against AFC Fylde and here are his Five Conclusions.

It was a game that needed a moment. And boy did we get one! It wasn’t the most flowing of performances to say the least, and while we had large spells of possessions we struggled to impose ourselves on AFC Fylde, or create any moments of quality in the final third. Throughout the 90 minutes it felt like one of those games that just needed a moment of magic, a lucky bounce, or a controversial decision. But as the clock ticked into added time, it didn’t really feel like anything was coming. However, the boys didn’t give up and Mark Cooper in the technical area was encouraging them to keep going and speed things up during stoppages. A long ball from Aiden Stone was brilliantly controlled by McGuckin who played a lovely ball to the feet of Harvey Greenslade who finished superbly to send the Huish Park crowd into a moment of ecstasy. After the week we have all just lived through, it was a beautiful reminder of what football is all about and why we love this game so much.

McGuckin, Kite, Terry, Greenslade and McLean. Pic Gary Brown

Fair play to the team. Despite what anyone might say, Yeovil fans know all too well how matters off the pitch can affect performances on it. Mark Cooper said at the Fans Forum earlier in the season that players are hyper aware of what happens on social media, so no doubt they’ve seen it all this week too. However, the team showed a level of professionalism that has been painfully lacking from other areas of our club of late. It wasn’t the prettiest of performances, but the effort was there, and the result was deserved. It’s probably the points target we were all looking for at the start of the season, and we’ve achieved it with games to spare.

Ferguson deserved man of the match. AFC Fylde set up not to lose and to frustrate. After a shock win at home last time out against Forest Green, they looked every bit a team that have won only three times away from home this season and are fighting for survival. But credit to our defensive unit for ensuring they didn’t have a sniff. Ferguson, Terry and FCD were all superb for me, but I think the sponsors were correct in choosing Ferguson above the rest. With the instability of the club being advertised as for sale on Facebook a few hours before kick off, it seems pointless to talk about plans for next season just yet, but… if there’s any chance we can keep Ferguson. It would make me very happy.

Kyle Ferguson
Pic Gary Brown

The Yeovil Town fans showed up. I think that there has been an unfair amount of criticism and deflection towards the supporters of late. There is not a single person who walks through the turnstiles of Huish Park wanting the team to lose. No-one supports Yeovil Town for the glory, or expects us to win every week. I thought the fans that wanted to come, and were allowed to come, backed the lads to the end. The players and staff deserved that moment at the end absolutely, but so did the fans. We’ve only seen six wins at home all season, and after the previous seven days, drink up that moment you Glovers. You deserve it.

Something has to change. Just when you think you’ve hit rock bottom hey?! It’s been a rough week, which all began with some pointless comments in last weeks post match presser, and some completely unnecessary (and since deleted) social media activity. Since then we have had the financial accounts for last year released (eek), and then a number of fans being given two year bans for their social media activity (oh the irony!). Usually what happens in Yeovil stays in Yeovil, because let’s face it, no one else cares. However, we have made national news this week for all the wrong reasons. Martin Hellier has supposedly said he will be selling the club (again). Taking him at his word, hopefully this happens quickly. There is a growing and possibly irreparable disconnect. None of this will help to fill empty advertising hoardings or sale season tickets in a few weeks time. The next 12 months will be so important and we need someone at the helm with a vision to unite the land and the club, and just as importantly, the fans and the club.

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The positivity expressed in Friday’s podcast (listen again here if you need to) turned out to be well placed as a comfortable 3-0 win at Solihull Moors put ten points between Yeovil Town and the National League Premier relegation places. Dave was one of the 244 ‘proper fans’ in the away end at Damson Park and here are this thoughts.

What a win: I’ll be honest, it was not so much the departure of Frank Nouble announced pre-match that knocked the positivity, it was more the absence of Brett McGavin from midfield and no re-emergence for either Jake Wannell or Michael Smith in the squad. But, the positivity was well placed. From the off, we were the better side, the players showed commitment, energy and attacking intent. The result speaks for itself. Yes, Solihull were poor (to be polite) but our players stood up, whilst the home side’s folded.
 
Yeovil Town celebrate Ciaran McGuckin’s goal.
 
A big three points: Three goals, a clean sheet and a good performance, all will delight manager Mark Cooper. But make no mistake, the three points are the most important thing. We moved about Solihull who dropped down to 17th and, even though there is still a five point gap between them and Wealdstone in 18th, that is a big psychological blow. Meanwhile we’re one point off the magic 50 point mark. Solihull fans will be worrying about getting sucked in to the vortex at the bottom (read the comments on their social media posts screaming for the sacking of manager Matty Taylor – it’s not just Yeovil fans afterall) whereas we can sleep easier. You can dismiss that way of thinking as ‘negativity’ if you wish, but if we’re thinking it, players will be thinking it. This was a big three points.
 
Super Sonny. Just Josh: For me it was a dead heat in our Man of the Match between Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Josh Sims. Everything came through Sonny who was at his imperious best in midfield making things happen with such energy. And Josh Sims looked the player we had hoped we had signed when he arrived earlier in the season. Driving runs, taking players on, I imagine Solihull’s defence will be having nightmares about him. That was what we needed to see from Sims and let’s hope there’s more where that came from. Don’t believe me? Look again at a the first two goals and it’s the two of them which make them happen, whilst the corner which led to the third was down to this combination as well.
 
 
Watch out Brett: Take a bow, Alex Whittle. If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch his finish for the third goal, make sure you do. An absolutely inch perfect finish over his old team-mate, Ollie Wright, in goal for Solihull. I wonder if he’d done that in training earlier this season, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. If you thought our Goal of the Season competition was purely for the McG’s (McGavin and McGurk), think again. This one is a serious contender. Whilst I’m talking defenders, credit has to be given to the defence for keeping a clean sheet. Ten goals conceded in the past four games, they did what they needed to against a blunt Solihull attack, but they did it well.
 
Now to take it home: Next weekend’s game at home to AFC Fylde is another great opportunity. I have been lucky to see a lot of us away from home this season, but I appreciate that form at home has not been as great to watch. Again, dismiss it as negativity if that works for you, but the statistics do not lie. Fourth from bottom (19 games/21 points) for home form,  sixth (20 games, 28 points) away. Now we have a great opportunity to take the kind of positive play we saw at Solihull back to Huish Park. Fylde will be buoyed by their own impressive result – a 3-0 home win over Forest Green Rovers – and we need to be on our A game against them. Let’s take this positivity in to that game and get more crucial points on the board.
 

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Ian was at Huish Park for Yeovil’s narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of York City. Here are his conclusions.

Picture by Gary Brown

It was a tight game. The two sides, neither of which is particularly in form didn’t make much of a spectacle in Somerset. Many Glovers feared a bloodbath after Boston, but it was far from that. Yeovil set their stall out early and allowed York to dominate the ball while holding their nerve to try and repel them. For all York’s possession, they didn’t stretch Aidan Stone that much. Doesn’t that sound familiar? There were crosses into the box that we dealt with well but it wasn’t surprising that it was settled with a set piece. It was a massive improvement from the midweek defeat to Boston United in the week and the challenge now is to maintain it and ensure it’s not a false dawn.

Kyle Ferguson added some fight. I thought our latest loanee had nastiness and a bit of bite that we’ve been lacking recently. He won his headers and gave Josh Stones a rough afternoon. The son of Rangers legend Barry Ferguson certainly looks like he’s up for a scrap and if were looking over our shoulder, someone of that character is what we need. He was at fault for the penalty which Ollie Pearce converted, but I thought we looked stronger with him in the back line.

Picture by Gary Brown

Another Sonny shout out. I love watching Sonny play football. When he’s on the pitch and given the freedom he’s great to watch. He’s the type of intelligent player who can get you out of a hole. I think our biggest chance fell to him on the edge of the box after he set Kyrell Wilson away before receiving the ball back but he lost his footing at a pivotal moment. With Sonny (and a lot of our players) it’s always been the case of finding that final product, but keeping him further forward in behind  the striker is key in my mind. The extent of the injury to Brett McGavin will probably dictate how that goes.

What a week Frank’s had. To go from being on your way out of the club to being back in the starting line up and captaining within less than seven days is some story. We’ll probably never know the full picture of what’s happened here, but, in my opinion, I don’t think you can blame a 33-year-old for wanting to secure his future when he’s been transfer-listed earlier in the season. Nouble is a popular figure with supporters and for Mark Cooper to put him back in as skipper shows that, right now, Nouble is needed. Clearly, it was mutually beneficial to get over this hurdle.

Frank Nouble was back in the starting line-up and wearing the captain’s armband again. Picture by Gary Brown

It was another slow afternoon. Since the powers that be have decided the Gloverscast are no longer allowed to do media at Huish Park I’ve been able to watch Yeovil as a supporter rather than having to think about what I’m going to say and I totally understand the grumbles. Yes we have injuries, yes we’ve got had a lot of player turnover and the rest of this season will be an exercise in self-preservation. But it can’t continue like this at home next season. I’ve had conversations with plenty of rational, reasonable and real supporters who are so disenchanted with the football that they’ll do other things with their weekends if this is the status quo.

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A truly terrible night under the Huish Park lights for the Glovers. Gloverscast Ben was bemoaning his DAZN Season Ticket purchase throughout, here are his Five Conclusions.

That was abysmal. On Saturday, I said that the 1-0 defeat to Halifax, whilst obviously disappointing, was at least a significantly more spirited outing than the one we saw against Barnet. We looked to show intent, we had shots, crosses, we thought forward-thinking thoughts, for virtually the same team to go out 72 hours later and produce, a flat, disjointed, higgledy-piggledy, defeated, rudderless performance against relegation cannon fodder was nothing short of an abomination.

There were some little moments, mainly from Sonny Blu Lo Everton, who was the best of a chaotic bunch, but three terrible goals to concede rubbed salt into the wounds of a pretty terrible 10 days or so. I make it 340 minutes of football since Frank Nouble scored the second against Southend. 

Speaking of Frank…

We need to talk about Frank. As it seems to do a lot these days, the rumour mill seemed to creek into gear on Tuesday morning with murmuring reaching Gloverscast HQ that Frank Nouble was off. Gateshead we were told, another club’s name came up also. To have it confirmed by Mark Cooper both before and after the game that this was true was an almighty slap in the face.

His run of three goals in three games seems like an age ago and with recent comments about ‘Men vs Boys’, ‘Lack of Leadership’, ‘Immature’ performances, to have not just an on-field leader, but an off-field one too having his head turned by another club is producing all kinds of alarm bells for me. There’s no doubt it’s obviously affected the side since Halifax, the performance was that of a group that didn’t have a leader in the changing room. The club captains this season were either in Oldham, somewhere near Gateshead, the gym doing weights or in the stands. 

Mark Cooper says fans don’t care about transfers, sorry, but we do. We care about what’s leading our leaders to lead their families away from Huish Park.

We signed a player. Whilst the chat was about a player who was potentially on his way out, we shouldn’t overlook that we did sign a player. Jahmari Clarke, who we did see for about an hour last season if you recall – did that lovely thing against Torquay, and then disappeared. In a 45-minute cameo, he was called ‘lazy’ at least twice by the commentary team, got booked for just steamrolling through a player well after the ball had gone and blazed his only sniff of goal over the Thatchers Stand. If Jahmari Clarke on a non-contract deal is the answer, we’re asking the wrong questions.

 
I don’t harbour any ill-will towards the bloke, I’m sure he’s a nice lad and of course, we wish him well for the rest of the season, and this isn’t really a conclusion that’s specific to him, it could have been anyone that joined the group. It’s another new face who needs weeks to get back to anything close to full fitness is a fair old downgrade from where we were at the start of the season, or the heady heights of Murphy, Hyde, Fisher and co. 
 
 
2,183. The biggest red flag of the entire week was the number that flashed up on the screen. That’s the best part of 500 fewer than saw the Tamworth game a month ago – also on a midweek evening. It’s the lowest for a league game since Altrincham came to town on 28th February 2023. Sure, cost of living isn’t easy, it’s a school night, there was Champions League on the TV, heck even this game was being streamed on DAZN but that number should echo through the halls of Huish Park. This season’s home form would have us fourth from bottom, (we’re 8th in the away table), that is the simple reason people aren’t coming to watch.
 
What’s the plan from here? What will next season’s season tickets look like? Be priced at? How many tickets can we get in the hands of school kids for the two home games that fall into the Easter Holiday period?  How much can we expect the numbers to fall for the final five home games if we do nothing preventative or proactive?
 
… and that starts for this Saturday, oh yeah, about that.
 
 
It’s only York next. Tap-in merchants in North Yorkshire will be licking their lips at some of the defending on show at Huish Park in midweek, but by their lofty standards, the last five York games have seen them keep just one clean sheet, need last gasp goals to salvage points and even throw leads away.  The title might be beyond them now, but they’re still very dangerous. Another disorganised performance and it’ll be a blood bath, but… and you know I had to end with a positive twist, if we’re well drilled, brave and actually look like we’ve met the others in green and white, we can put on a performance to not only right a few midweek wrongs, but maybe help put some bums on seats and ease the pressure on the Manager too. 
 
Up the Glovers

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It’s wasn’t to be on the sandy beaches of West Yorkshire for the Glovers, a 1-0 defeat to FC Halifax Town, here are Gloverscast Ben‘s big five takeaways from the game from the BBC Radio Somerset vantage point at The Shay.

It wasn’t as bad as Tuesday. I appreciate we’re starting with a fairly low bar here, but you’re only as good as your last game, and our last game was blummin’ rubbish! There’s no doubt that going 1-0 down gave all in green-and-white a dread of ‘here we go again’, but actually, there was a decent response to going a goal down. Plenty of players showed considerably more effort, gusto and fight than they did on Tuesday night and that was more than needed after a poor showing at Barnet. It wasn’t enough to secure even so much as a point – even if you could argue we may have deserved one – but it was far more pleasing on the eye.

We didn’t take our chances. Playing away at any top six side, pretty much regardless of form or fortune, is tough. That’s to be expected, but when opportunities to get that first goal, or equaliser come your way, you simply have to take them. Ryan McLean blazed a shot over when it looks easier to find the target, Brett McGavin hit the bar, Twamley, McGuckin, McGurk and even Lavinier all had shots that were either blocked or never really troubled Sam Johnson in the Halifax goal because of how wayward they were. I was delighted that we got into those positions, but without Aaron Jarvis in the side, we do look a little toothless in attack. As the season peters out I hope we do still have that desire to find a bit of cutting edge and really put a team to the sword sooner rather than later.

The newbies did alright. It’s easy to forget that Ryan McLean, Frankie Terry and Marcel Lavinier have all played approximately four and half seconds of football between them in the last couple of months and for them all to slot into a starting line up with minimal fuss says a lot about them as players and also one or two of the other lads on the team. Finn Cousun-Dawson spent noticeable amounts of time with Terry pre-match, warming up away from the group and really talking his new central partner through the ideas and plans. For the most part, I thought they worked well together. Lavinier was with the Forest Green Rovers’ side preparing for their game with York City 48 hours before he made his debut for the Glovers, but he made a few nice runs, wasn’t afraid to fling an early cross in and McLean did his best to stretch the pitch and get into good areas.  Small steps, but positive ones for all three.

The subs didn’t really affect the game. Maybe that’s a touch harsh on McGuckin who did get into some good areas down the right hand side, but he’s not a winger really, I want him on the end of those moments, not trying to create them, but it was good to see him back. But Sean McGurk’s cameo was all too fleeting and I wonder if it would’ve been better to leave Sonny on, he was making some lovely moves and really getting into good areas. I can’t make my mind up on Sims, I just don’t know what I’m seeing there, Bernard wasn’t able to connect the dots on the (ever changing) right hand side like Lavinier did and Twamley did a couple of nice bits of skill, one Marseille Turn in particular had me purring, but it was tough for him to get into good areas and be a real menace, he had one shot of note, which flew high over the bar.

On a pitch that sapped every ounce of energy from those who started, it was vital that players came on the make a difference. I felt that Owen Bray, Josh Emmanuel and Jamie Cooke in particular did just that for the home side, particularly on the break, ours just couldn’t replicate that.

Sort that pitch out. Seriously, it’s got worse since I last went there. It is, without question the worst pitch in the league – including the fake ones. I know it’s the same for both sides, blah blah blah, but it’s popped another hamstring, it’s not conducive to playing any kind of proper football, it’s honestly spoiled the spectacle. With a better pitch, that game would have had three goals more, certainly for both sides, so it’s not an excuse as to why Yeovil lost. But if the home side can’t trust a bobble or a back pass, it just becomes a rugby match. It’s practically unplayable, it’s almost certainly unsafe and every time I go there it makes me that little bit more wound up. If they get into the EFL through the play-offs, they’ll have to do something about it, but because it’s “just” the National League, it doesn’t matter. It’s a disgrace. 

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To be totally honest, Gloverscast Ben has been putting this off throughout Wednesday morning, but we have to get to it eventually.

The coffee is poured, DAZN has been logged back into to watch some bits back, and here are Ben’s Five Conclusions from Tuesday night.

We had turned a corner, into on coming traffic. After a trio of really positive results and some good performances, this game always felt like a tough one, but let’s get it right, Barnet were brilliant and took full advantage of their opportunity to really put a stamp on their title charge and run in. They saw a chance to really dominate a threadbare Yeovil and took it, and who can begrudge them? It was fast, free flowing, interchanging, the nine or ten Barnet camped in and around our box for 90+ minutes made it all look very , very easy. They’re by far the best side I’ve seen this season and should go up as Champions.

but…

We let Barnet look like Brazil. From the first minute on Tuesday night – actually from the 45th minute on Saturday – Yeovil Town tried to park a proverbial bus.  In shades of what the Parma Violet party poopers did to Notts County that one time, we set up on Tuesday night, with such little desire to attack that almost immediately the game was set out as a training session for the hosts.

Now, of course, we’ve got one fit or available central defender, it’s always going to square pegs in round holes, but when the home keeper is playing neat little one-twos on the half way line in the 20th minute of the game, I felt like it was going to be a long night. The first two goals are poor defending, the best part of 20 players in a penalty area and no-one thinks to stand somewhere near Callum Stead? or stick a boot in before Ryan Glover could poke the ball home after he reacted quicker to a brilliant save from Aidan Stone?

Frank Nouble said after the match, we went in with a game plan, it didn’t work and we never sought to ever really even try something different, that’s maybe what hurts the most.

The partnership between Williams and Wannell has been a key part of success this season. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Heads dropped. Actually, this hurts the most, not for me, sat in my comfy chair with a cuppa and hobnob watching the game, but for the supporters who were there. I know their support is always appreciated and it truly is, I know that for a fact. But, after Michael Smith’s injury, after the first two goals, after the only half chance of the first half fell to Harvey Greenslade, in those key flash point moments it just felt like no-one was able to galvanise the group.

Sonny played a few nice passes through midfield, Kyrell Wilson made some runs into the corner areas for through balls and Nouble did what he could to try and make the ball stick. But, where was the noise to get each other going? Where was the keeper demanding more from his defence each time another shot/cross/chance came and went – he kept it from being a cricket score by the way, he’s entitled to politely enquire for a little help.

What ever magic tricks need to happen to get Williams and Wannell back on the pitch need to happen quickly – someone call in Derren Brown or something. 

Paul Wotton.

We need the RIGHT signings. There’s almost no point putting a 19-year-old, who’s played four minutes of EFL Trophy football into this group right now, and given the nature of the season, the timing and the budget, it might be that we can only get access to those type of players though. I think of times where we’ve brought in Paul Wotton and Darren Ward in the past, those types players don’t grow on trees in March, with 12 weeks of the season still to go.

Mark Cooper spoke of players that know what it means to play for a club like Yeovil, and he’s absolutely right, but they’re not on benches or with the reserves of EFL Clubs, they’re not cheap either, leaders and “men” aren’t easy to find. We only have one loan-spot left, remember, so the next few days of recruitment needs to be diligent and not a knee jerk reaction to just stick a body in a shirt at Halifax.

Jordan Thomas. Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

So what can we change for Saturday? I cannot for the life of me think we’re going to park another bus in West Yorkshire, what’s the point? We’re going to need cover on the right side of defence, that’s for sure, I wouldn’t be totally against a back four of Bernard – Cooper – FC-D – Whittle, but that leaves us little to no protection in front, so either we find a right back (Josh Sims? or a recall of Jordan Thomas?) or we sacrifice that vital level of cover that Cooper gives us. If we do that, then we have to spend more time in the opposition half. I thought Ryan McLean showed a nice turn of foot on a couple of occasions, as did Lewys Twamley, but nothing more than flashes. So maybe there’s something to work with there, especially if Ciaran McGuckin doesn’t his delivery of Holy Water in time.

See you in Halifax! 

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Yeovil were so close to picking up the three points against Southend United at Huish Park yesterday. Ian was at Huish Park for it and here are his conclusions.

It couldn’t have been a worse start. Folks were barely in their seats before Southend opened the scoring. A move down the left and a simple cross in the box found Charley Kendall who had freedom of Huish Park to pick his spot. The visitors continued to press forward and could have scored two or three in the opening 12 minutes and you’d have been forgiven for thinking you were in for a long afternoon and Huish Park.

We showed tremendous character to turn it around so quickly. Many would have been fearing the worst after conceding so early, but this isn’t the Yeovil Town of January, this is the Yeovil Town of late February. The first was a bit of a gift after a raking forward pass from Charlie Cooper wasn’t dealt with by the Shrimpers’ defence. Kyrell Wilson showed composure to beat the goalkeeper and bring Yeovil level. Not long after the game had turned on its head with Ciaran McGuckin setting up Frank Nouble with the easiest of finishes to make it 2-1. The Guvnor clearly enjoyed scoring against his former club’s Essex rivals.

Charlie Cooper earned his man of the match award. He marshalled the central defensive three for an entire half yesterday. To perform at that level in a position he’s unfamiliar with was impressive. Like him or not, he’s vital to this team on the pitch and since the departure of Worthington, he has to step in as a standard-setter in the heart of the midfield…and in defence?

We couldn’t hang on. We shifted to a back five before half time and spent the entire second half repelling Southend. For all Southend’s possession, they barely tested Aidan Stone in the Yeovil goal and that was down to the hard work of Yeovil’s outfield players. The body language of those players when the equaliser goes in painted the picture of devastation. For a depleted group to work so hard to hang on to three points to only get one with barely a kick left must have been a real kicker. Clearly there’s an argument that when you sit back for half of a game you get what you deserve, but…

Injuries are taking their toll. There’s no Wannell, Williams, Jarvis, Maddox available and Ciaran McGuckin hobbled off with “tight calves”, to the annoyance of Mark Cooper. Cooper said he needs two in before Tuesday’s visit to Barnet and if someone can get them in, it’s him. It’s clear how important depth in the National League, and I feel like we had more depth last season than this. Clearly it costs more to maintain a squad that is capable of the National League rigours than in National League South, but with a mid-table finish looking likely, the promise of building on that next season will require greater depth in the squad.

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In: Five Conclusions

It was another W for Yeovil Town as a 2-0 win away at Maidenhead United saw them record back-to-back wins for the first time since the start of November. Dave was at York Road to see it unfold and here are his conclusions.


Seven days is a long time in football: Well, it feels very different to this time last week when we were all fearing the worst after our winless run extended beyond two months. It’s easy to mock and say that was an overreaction, but the reality was the defeat to Wealdstone was a low tide mark for the season both in the result and the performance. But, the second half at home to Tamworth on Tuesday night and the entire 90 minutes at Maidenhead proved those tides are rising. I don’t think we’re really doing much different, but the past 135 minutes has seen us offer a lot more going forward and that’s the difference. Things feel a lot more comfortable now and hopefully we can take the momentum we are building in to the coming matches.

Yeovil celebrate the opening goal from Frank Nouble – probably.

All hail the strikers: Who’s the new lad up front?! I joke, but Frank Nouble looked a completely different player to the one I saw at Dagenham & Redbridge just two weeks earlier. This was 90 minutes of hard running, goal-scoring Frank the leader and you love to see it. Whilst the record books may not credit the opening goal to him, he deserved his second in as many games. And, whilst we’re handing out credit, let’s give some to Harvey Greenslade for that finish. It’s not been easy for him having got himself in to the team back at the start of the season, suffering that shoulder injury and then being loaned out to Weston-super-Mare, but the way he took his goal was outstanding. It may not beat Brett McGavin or Sean McGurk for Goal of the Season but it will be pretty close.


Consistency crucial for the cleano: Let’s put this in to the correct context, Maidenhead did not offer much. In the first half they seemed to want to play the role of the away team, pack players behind the ball and hit on the counter, and that takes a lot to get past. In the second half they changed it up and started to push players forward. In the first half we worked hard to get ahead and in the second our defence stood firm and, much like the exact same four players did against Tamworth in midweek, defended everything. We can’t underestimate the value of that consistency in these back-to-back results, only one change (enforced by the absence of James Plant) and it made all the difference for a cleano.

It’s always Sonny: What a re-emergence Sonny Blu Lo-Everton is having. Having wandered in the wilderness for since the end of November, he returned in midweek to good effect and yesterday he was at the heart of a lot that was good going forward. With the back up on Charlie Cooper and Brett McGavin, he is able to show what a talented technician he is with the ball. 

Momentum not perfection: Let’s not get too high with the highs, any more than we should not get too low with the lows. The last two matches have delivered that crucial ingredient – momentum. League position is looking a lot healthier (not that it ever looked that unhealthy) than it was seven days ago, but more importantly we are playing with some swagger again. There are tougher tests to come starting with Southend United at home next weekend. Let’s keep on building to the magic 50+ points target and, be under illusion, that would be a very successful season. 

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In: Five Conclusions

2025 is off and running for Yeovil Town, a first win of the year secured on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over Tamworth.

Ben was watching on the stream and here’s what he made of it.

….AND BREATHE.

“That is the sound of relief” (Prior, D, 2025, Yeovil Town Radio) on the highlights as the final whistle went on Tuesday evening.

He was not wrong either, that winless run has crept into ‘months’ rather that being referred to in terms of ‘weeks’ or ‘matches’.

Whilst, as I said on the podcast, I’m firmly ‘Cooper In’ and had been throughout this tough period, it was certainly a monkey that needed to be shaken off the back sooner, rather than later.

Even I, usually happy to bounce around the dining room upon the conclusion of a successful outing for the Glovers, just took a deep breath, slouched back in my chair, and quietly closed the laptop. I think this run has tested the emotions of everyone associated with the club; fans, players and staff all needed that. 

CHARACTER

…and boy did we have to earn it. It was an incredible game of two halves.

The first, whilst not ‘poor’ from the Glovers, was certainly wracked with nerves. You could see it, in every pass, every clearance, every bobble of the ball that went against us (or absolute stone wall penalty not given for us…).

That’s perfectly natural and understandable. It was a bold team selection, one that perhaps had to work for the better (more on that it a bit), but it provided the team with the players to react to the gut punch of going a goal down.

There were moments in the first half of genuine quality – mostly from Kyrell Wilson – even if some of his final decision making and execution left a little to be desired.

The second half was a whole different game. Jerry Gill said that he didn’t expect Mark Cooper to stick a rocket up them during the break, whether he did or not, only a select few will know. But whatever he did, it worked.

We came out of the box quickly in the second 45, started on the front foot, unlike against Rochdale and Dagenham recently, we kept the ball in the Tamworth half and soon the Thatchers Stand did it’s thing in response. 

It was attacking, fluid, brave, all the things that have deserted us in recent weeks. Yeah, the goals had an element of luck to them, but you make that luck with your own desire and threat.

EXPERIENCE

You may have heard me on the podcast saying we needed a ‘grown up’ in attack, and how we had to get the ‘Guv’nor’ back and in full pomp.

Well, like a broken clock is right twice a day, I think I may have been right on this one. 

Charlie Cooper is so key to the midfield, everything, and I mean everything, goes through him. That’s dirty work that McGavin, Wannell, Lo-Everton and the wing backs, just didn’t have to do, so they could spend their time concentrating on their own roles.

He needed a huge slice of luck for the goal, but he took the game – and that specific moment – by the scruff of the neck and said, ‘well, might as well’.

It was on target, it could have been a Glovers’ boot that deflects it beyond the keeper or a Tamworth one, I don’t care who it comes off, it went in. You miss 100% of shots you don’t take. (Gretsky, W, 1983) and having seen more than a few halves of football where we’ve recorded 0 shots on target. I love it.

The Guv’nor got his first Huish Park goal in over a year, but he did exactly what I wanted him to do, he got his legs pumping and got the Tamworth defenders turned facing their own goal.

His passes kept the attacks moving, his presence felt by all in green… and in white. More of that please Frank.

Of course Sonny gets his own mention too, I imagine he can’t move today, but for a lad that’s been out of the side for so long, 76 minutes was a cracking effort. He kept it simple, he kept things moving and hopefully we’ll see more of that to come over the next few weeks, we might have to…

HAMSTRUNG

There was a visceral noise that came from Jerry Gill as the clock struck 65 minutes, and off camera, James Plant hit the deck holding his leg.

Jerry knew, James knew, he’s going to be out for a while. Possibly a reoccurrence of a hamstring injury that curtailed his first loan short he might be out for a few weeks, maybe more.

Mark Cooper would have loved to have turned around and signaled for Kofi Shaw. But he couldn’t.

Shaw did come off the bench on Tuesday, but for Bristol Rovers away at Wycombe. That leaves us a little light in that area now, hopefully Sean McGurk’s problems won’t keep him out for too long, but with Sonny getting back to fitness and a little cameo from Harvey Greenslade which certainly impressed me, there might not be the panic to recruit, but there’s definitely room for a loanee now.

After the game, Mark Cooper said he’d be asking the Chairman – who was in the room – for some more money, suggesting there’s wiggle room to expand the squad a bit.

FOUNDATIONS 

‘Don’t get too high with the highs, don’t get too low with the lows’ (Obama, B, 2015).

It was just one game, one very good half of one game, actually.

That’s not to say we can’t enjoy it, of course we can, the relief was palpable, but I also appreciated the talk after the game of building on it to go again, on Saturday, then the following week and the following week.

We’ve been through a tough patch of results against some of the lesser teams, after Maidenhead on Saturday it’s a trio of play-off chasers in a row before we host Boston in mid-march.

Some of those games will need every bit of the character we showed on Tuesday night, maybe even more. Just six more home games are on the schedule, every ticket purchased is important, every win vital to encouraging sponsors to take up advertising boards next season and players to come to Fortress Huish, it’s vital we get it right at HP.

A much needed win at Huish Park under the lights, but also the catalyst to end the season strong – maybe upset a few big boys along the way?