Five Conclusions (Page 9)

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog

A frustrating evening in front of goal and a crazy own goal saw Yeovil Town’s winning run in National League South ended with a 1-1 draw at a Hardened Huish (Hardenhuish) Park, Chippenham last night. 

A crowd of 1,326 swelled by another fantastic turn out from Somerset was there to see it all, including one who travelled from somewhere outside Blackpool – and here are Dave’s thoughts from his spot frozen to the away terrace……

How have we only scored one? When you’ve scored more goals in three months than you did in the whole of last season, we can’t complain about going forwards too much – but it was our finishing which let us down. Chippenham keeper Will Henry must feel robbed not to get the sponsors’ Man of the Match after making two or three great saves, perhaps the sponsors agreed that we made it too easy for him by hitting so many shots straight at him. Matt Worthington has probably never had a better chance to score in his 201 matches, it was an off night for Rhys Murphy (see below), and Sonny Cox could not really get in to the game. Thank goodness for the predatory instincts of Jake Hyde. He’ll hate being called ‘super sub’, perhaps we can bring him off the bench after a minute and then unleash him. The stats don’t lie, 11 shots on targets to Chippenham’s six should have been enough to comfortably put that to bed.

Jake Hyde celebrates his goal at Chippenham Town.

The most ridiculous own goal you’ll ever see. This was the view of the lads watching on National League TV and I’m glad that it wasn’t the player heading firmly in to his own net that it looked from the away end. Duncan Idehen, who I thought looked composed alongside Morgan Williams, found himself in an awkward position so you can’t blame either of them particularly. Losing the ball in midfield like we did is the worst part of the whole affair. Joe Day made one outstanding save in the second half but otherwise I don’t remember him having to be ‘super Joe Day (is) in goal’ too much and, when you don’t finish your chances, that kind of a freak own goal is always going to cost you.

Duncan Idehen

A night to forget for Rhys Murphy. On another night, there would be a picture of Rhys Murphy holding a match ball and at least three fingers up. Will Henry did well to deny him once, he had what looked a clear penalty turned down by the referee, but there were a couple of occasions where he looked like he wanted to walk the ball in. I found echoes of last season shouting ‘put your laces through it, Rhys.’ The man knows goal-scoring better than I do, but he will be frustrated. Not used that word as much this season, have we?! Then, to add insult to frustration, he goes and picks up a fifth booking for what looked like dissent and now misses an important league game at Bath City in a couple of weeks time. Silly, silly boy, Rhys.

We missed Jordan Young – but not just him. There was a big Jordan Young shaped hole in a team which particularly in the first half was crying out for a bit of creativity. The optimist (aka Ben) in me told me at half-time that we had to be patient, the pessimist in me told me the first half was very heavy going. All a bit flat and nothing to really get behind, you just wanted a magician like Young or a speedster like Jordan Stevens to excite and create something from nothing. But, whilst Duncan Idehen looked competent alongside Morgan Williams, the lack of Jake Wannell stood out for me.
A lot of what has been good about our play in our winning run has been built from his composure playing the ball out from defence and that stood out.

Jake Wannell.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We’re nine points clear at the top. Let’s not get carried away. It was a disappointing night by the standards we have set this season. But, we actually extended our lead at the top of National League South to nine points with both Aveley and Bath City also being held to draws. Third-placed Maidstone United briefly cut it to eight points with a win on Monday night, so – despite the fact it feels like a defeat (Michael Smith, 2023) – we were actually better off come 10pm than we were at 7.45pm on Tuesday night. We always knew there was going to be a bit of adversity, especially with important players missing, but this is far from anything to lose heads over. Bring on the Welling!

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Well, the run was fun while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end. Three Valleys Radio were there, and so was our very own Tom Bailey was there to give us his Five Conclusions on Yeovil’s exit from the FA Trophy.

Changes were a win-win. Not sure if this was just me, but I was still impressed with the majority of the changes made today by Mark Cooper. It was great to see Josh Staunton back in the side, and the same can be said for Jordan Maguire-Drew, who was my personal Man of the Match (for Yeovil at least). While it’s disappointing for the run to end, I can’t imagine this competition was high on the priority list of Mark Cooper, so resting key players like Michael Smith, Morgan Williams and Rhys Murphy was the right call.

Torquay were much improved. We can say all we want about Yeovil’s performance (which I didn’t think was that bad considering the amount of changes made), but we have to give Torquay credit where it’s due, they did a much better job than last time out at nullifying any attacking threat that came their way. Considering the only goal we scored was an own goal from a Torquay defender, they can go home with their heads held high, even with the wholescale changes for Yeovil.

 

 

Duncan Idehen had a decent debut. A baptism of fire for the 21 year old loanee, and a big gap in the defence to fill. It didn’t matter for Duncan Idehen though, who looked shaky in the opening stages of the game before growing into a dominant performance, commanding his area and putting in vital tackles to cut out attacks from the hosts. We’ve got him until the end of January, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing how he grows with us!

The pitch was… certainly something. We had concerns over the state of Yeovil’s pitch following the run of home games recently, and I think Torquay have reason to be concerned over their own. Players were slipping and sliding, and nobody really looked comfortable on a surface that was coming up from the first whistle.

 

Tricky conditions left quality football few and far between.

 

Back on track for Tuesday, then. There are positives to take from today, less games for us to think about, allowing us to focus on the league, as well as run outs and rests for a lot of players in the squad. The bus ride home was quiet but not a bad atmosphere, it was an “ah well, maybe next year” feeling, as we clearly have bigger fish to fry. Shout out to the 300+ fans that made the journey today too, plenty of noise from them!

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Jordan Young’s hattrick helped Yeovil to another win against a tricky opponent under the lights at Huish Park last night. Here are Ian’s Conclusions from the Bamford Stand…

Jordan Young was on fire. What a difference from Saturday afternoon for Young. Almost everything (less tackling Jordan) he touched turned to gold last night. His first goal and his hattrick were calmness personified inside the box. To say there was a hint of fortune – see also hopelessness – about his second would be an understatement. It’s a great free kick, delivered with wicked bend, but the keeper’s had a nightmare. That’s what Young brings to this team though. His radar was off on Saturday, but under the lights he put on an attacking clinic.

Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We’ve seen a different side to some players now. With Will Dawes covering the suspended Alex Whittle at left back, we’ve seen that there is cover there. The injury to Jake Wannell has seen Michael Smith fill in at centre back, although we did see he is a mere mortal. We knew we were going to need to use the squad and we saw a bit of that last night with a change in personnel and shape as the game wore on. With the injury to Wannell, I was surprised not to see Josh Staunton come in, but with the hectic schedule it won’t be long before we see him back on the pitch.

Jake Wannell.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With that said, I hope Wannell comes back fast. He’s been a revelation at the back in these last few weeks. His ability to carry the ball out, his calmness in possession and passing has progressed since he first arrived. The partnership between him and Morgan Williams has been a huge part of this record-breaking run. The loan signing of Duncan Idehen will provide extra cover in Wannell’s absence, but it’s hard to imagine someone slotting in like-for-like with the centre backs recent performances.

It got a bit spicy! When the referee blew the whistle for full time, there was quite a bit of tension out there at Huish Park. There was definitely a spirit to the game and Yeovil were victim to a few spicy challenges. I think there was an argument for a red card for Kuhl in the first half for a full-blooded challenge and Frank Nouble took some hefty tackles towards the end of the match. There was a bit of spat between Nouble and Cullen and an exchange between Mark Cooper and the opposition dugout was heated too.

We are dominant, but have to continue respecting the opposition. With a nine point gap and a game in hand at the top, we are undeniably the frontrunners now. If we weren’t before, we are the team everyone will be looking to beat to break this record-breaking run. Belief is so high right now, that with every fixture you can’t help but be confident, but it’s crucial we continue on the path we’ve taken so far. Mark Cooper won’t let confidence turn into arrogance. Every opponent is examined studiously, standards are not going to be allowed to slip and we have to remain classy in victory.

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town extended their unbeaten run to thirteen and went six points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand with victory over Dover. Here are Ian’s Conclusions from Huish Park…

Sonny Cox earned his goals. For all the talk about Jake Hyde being back in the side, it was Cox who really left his mark. After an evening on the wing at Torquay, he was down the middle behind Hyde yesterday and he was in the right place at the right time to take his two goals smartly. He struggled to make an impact in the first half but as Dover’s legs tired and Yeovil found their rhythm Cox found space to get on the ball. For such a young player, he’s showing real versatility and great character.

Jordan Young had an off day. Young has been electric so far this season but it was a classic case of trying too hard from Young yesterday. His set pieces were not that standard we’ve come to expect and in the first half, I lost count of how many times he cut inside and put it over the bar. Mark Cooper talked about his half time word being ‘patience’ and there was definitely a bit of impatience on Young’s part in the first half.

Morgan Williams ? Mike Kunz

The Wannell and Williams partnership continues to improve. It was a solid performance from the Glovers as Dover failed to muster a single shot at Joe Day’s goal. While it was a controlled defensive display from the entire team, Wannell and Williams were cool, calm, and composed in possession. Williams, signed as a centre back in 2021 has played nearly every position other than centre back up until Hampton & Richmond on the 23rd of September. Since then, he and Wannell have forged a dominant partnership that’s handled every single challenge it’s faced. The way Wannell has progressed over the season is remarkable. Right now, he’s winning everything aerially, he’s not giving strikers a sniff and his composure with the ball is superb.

Familiar patterns of play are emerging. Over the past few matches, the work that’s been going in on the pitch is clear. The link up play in the wide areas with the fullbacks high and getting crosses into the box is becoming instinctive now: Young cuts inside, Michael Smith is on the overlap and the cross comes into the edge of the box. We’ve seen that move in every match lately. It took time to get into the flow yesterday and Dover defended resolutely, but those early days of the season with groans of “get it forward” are a distant memory now.

These record breakers deserve the plaudits. That’s thirteen then. It wasn’t the goalfest- I was hoping for, but it was another game where we dominated and found yet another way to win. Confidence is high and the belief of the supporters is there. The team has won thirteen games in a row (nine in the League, beating Gary Johnson’s promotion winning team in 12/13) and has played some excellent football to boot. The fixture schedule is relentless but I genuinely believe we have the squad, the pit-crew and the management to keep this going.  On to Farnborough…

 

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Ian was in the Torquay Press Box for Yeovil’s 3-1 win last night. Here are his Conclusions from an enjoyable night in the English Riviera.

We got to show off our attacking depth, again. The contrast in the two sides couldn’t have been clearer from the starting line ups. Torquay are ravaged by injuries and missing key players and Mark Cooper was able to bring Jordan Young and Sonny Cox back into his line up, with Jake Hyde, Jordan Stevens and Will Dawes ready to come off the bench. Last night we got to see Cox in left-midfield rather than centrally and he gave a battling performance up against Shaun Donnellan. He faded as the game wore on, but showed another string to his bow in the green and white shirt. Frank Nouble had another good performace, Rhys Murphy should have bagged and Young was at his mercurial best again.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was a man of the match performance from Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. That was probably Lo-Everton’s best performance in a Yeovil shirt. He was diligent defensively, certain in possession and full of energy. His first half goal was brilliantly struck, showing that when allowed the space Torquay did, he’s able to punish teams. He’s had to wait for his chance, much like Josh Owers did, but there’s so much competition in centre midfield at the moment and anyone who does get dropped will feel harshly done by right now. 

Torquay didn’t really lay a glove on Yeovil. For all the talk about Torquay being our closest rivals this season (and their good home record) we’ve definitely faced tougher tests this season. They’ve got their injury woes, and have added loanees in the past couple of weeks but we kept them at arm’s length for most of the game and for a spell in the first half they couldn’t get near us. There is a long way to go still and we have all the momentum. If, as many predicted, the Gulls are to be our title rivals this season, they have a lot of work to do.

The run continues. This unfathomable, unbelievable run of wins keeps going and off the back of dismal lows of April (and the decade prior) it feels so much sweeter. BBC Devon’s commentator asked if ‘Yeovil always play like that?’ after the match and my answer was ‘yeah, pretty much.’ The performances has been remarkable in these past few weeks, different game plans for different opponents from different levels have shown how prepared Mark Cooper is for any challenge. The supporters are well and truly on board and each game feels more winnable than the last. The connection with players gets closer with each victory too. I don’t think you can underestimate how much closer the HP Source series makes you feel to the players too. Seeing those moments where people’s guard is down, and they appear more relaxed makes such a difference.

Mark Cooper still wants more. Even with 12 wins in a row, it feels like Cooper knows there’s even more to come from this squad. But for a lapse on their goal, Yeovil were pretty dominant throughout at Plainmoor, but you can sense that Cooper really wanted to make it a statement victory. Murphy could have, probably should have scored two. Nouble cuts it back to Worthington when he probably should have smashed it goal, Jordan Young has a great 1v1 in the second half and a couple of better final balls could have seen even more chances to score. I think he wants to really put a team to the sword and Saturday’s visitors are second from bottom, Dover Athletic…

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town’s 11th win in a row came against National League opposition yesterday, as the Glovers despatched Gateshead in the FA Cup. Here are Ian’s conclusions from Huish Park…

It felt pretty comfortable, despite the scoreline. As with the Southend game in the previous round, the early goal (sorry Rhys, it looks like an OG) got us off to the best possible start and it could have been 4-0 at half time. Stevens misses a sitter before he scores and Matt Worthington should have scored form close range too. There was no doubt about the third goal though as Murphy fired in after a slip from a Gateshead defender in the box. Gateshead’s two goals came from the softest of soft penalties and a lucky ricochet and while it was nervy in the stands, the players looked composed to see it out. For all the talk about Gateshead’s style, there was lots of style but they didn’t produce much substance against our defence.

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It’s Michael Smith’s world and we’re just living in it. If he blocked one cross yesterday, he blocked one hundred. The impact he’s made on our performances and our right side is huge. Morgan Williams, who was already solid, has excelled with Smith outside of him. Jordan Steven’s attacking movement is better with Smith’s ability to pick out those runs. He’s composed under-pressure and yesterday was another quality performance. Does anyone else still feel like he’s in third gear?

Jordan Stevens is starting to show he’s a difference maker. Despite Mark Cooper saying he wanted to take him off after five minutes, Stevens showed his quality throughout. His pace is undeniable, just when you think he’s going at full-tilt he shows another level and leaves opponents behind. He took his goal well, when you watch it back he had a lot of time and gives it the subtlest Peter Dinklage of Mair’s leg. Without getting too Football Manager, he’s getting in all the right areas in an attacking sense, if he continues to improve as he has since returning from injury, we’ll have suitors to warn off.

Yeovil town celebrate their third goal against Gateshead
Yeovil town celebrate their third goal against Gateshead. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

We have so many attacking options. We left out Jordan Young yesterday. Just think about that. He’s arguably our most in-form player and he didn’t start. There was room for Will Dawes who impressed again. We reverted back to Nouble and Murphy up front too, which is my preferred pairing up top. We’ve seen how important partnerships are up front, Madden and Hayter, Jackson and Gall, Jevons and Tarachulski, Forinton and Patmore. If you get one that works you can become unstoppable. 

Another match where more than 3200 turned out to see the Glovers

The supporters were out in force once again. 3241 were at Huish Park yesterday, many of whom would have had to negotiate some iffy roads after the storm. This wasn’t a part of any ticket deal or included in season tickets, but there’s a feeling building around the club. Each win brings more confidence on the pitch and that is now translating off the pitch. The grumbles about the quality of the football feel like they were a lifetime ago. If I said in April that Mark Cooper would lead Yeovil to 11 wins in a row by the end of 2023, I think most would have questioned my sanity, but here we are. And I like it…

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil Town picked up their 10th win in a row on an afternoon where more than 3,700 showed up in the pouring rain to Paint the Park Pink. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from the press box.

This one was quite the tactical battle. Yeovil’s first half plan seemed to involve drawing the Braintree forward-line out, beating their press with a ball into Jordan Young who was given acres of space to work his magic. While the goal – a composed finish from Matt Worthington – came from a goalkeeping error on a set piece, there were plenty of occasions where Young was given freedom in between the midfield and defence of Braintree, however the final ball was lacking. Before half time, Braintree made the change to match up the Glovers in a 4-2-3-1 and then put four up top in the second half forcing Yeovil to revert to a back five and just get out of the game with the points. While we struggled with the pitch in the second half, Braintree seemed to control the ball well and showed what a credible outfit they are.

We have an unbelievable defensive unit. If you’d told me at the start of the season that we’d settle on a back line that didn’t include Josh Staunton I wouldn’t have believed you. But, such is the quality of the partnership of Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell that Staunton wasn’t even afforded a place on the bench yesterday afternoon. We’re running out of wax and lyrics for Michael Smith, but he was given sponsor’s man of the match for his performance. Alex Whittle had another excellent game. He’s quietly gone about his business so far this season, putting in consistent performances week after week and I think yesterday was probably his best given he started at left-back and had to play centre-back in the second half. And, where would be without Super Joe Day in goal?

It was another match where Mark Cooper got to show off the depth of his squad. In any other season, taking out Josh Owers, Rhys Murphy and Frank Nouble in their vein of form would prompt cries of derision amongst supporters. However, given Sonny Cox’s cameo against W*ymouth, the technical ability of Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and recent heroics of Will Dawes no one can begrudge them getting an opportunity. Cooper said he felt Jake Hyde wasn’t ready, but when he and Nouble did enter the fray they combined well for the goal – albeit after struggling to get into the game at all. This was a fixture where Rhys Murphy was rested, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Josh Staunton missed out altogether and Charlie Cooper was still unavailable.

The Huish Park pitch is in need of a rest. The downpour was relentless yesterday. From before the kick off, through the entirety of the match and after the final whistle it absolutely p*ssed it down. By the time the referee blew the final whistle, players were struggling to stay on their feet, the ball was getting held up in the water and the surface was tearing up with every kick of the ball. With Gateshead visiting next Saturday and the weather forecast looking iffy this week, the ground staff at Huish Park will have their work cut out. Water from the pitch had found its way into the walkway in the Thatchers stand and the main stand too and the home games are still coming, with three of the next four at Huish Park. 

It’s been a brilliant week for this football club. With the record attendance for National League South well and truly smashed on Tuesday night, yesterday was a different kind of event for the club. The support and spotlight the club has given on the amazing work of the Yeovil Hospital Charity and final boost it needed will leave a lasting impact in Somerset. To see all the pink at Huish Park, and the number of people who came out despite the weather was proof that Glovers will come out in their numbers to support a community cause. We’ve not had a lot to be proud of in recent years, but this week has left me full of pride for Yeovil Town FC.

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Tom was in the Thatchers Stand for tonight’s derby against, err… the opposition. Here’s his five conclusions from tonight’s match!

SIX THOUSAND, TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY NINE. Well, Yeovil fans showed up in their droves, and from my spot in the Thatchers, I could tell something special was happening tonight. A sellout in the Thatchers, the Bamfords Stand looked positively packed, and the Screwfix stand looked pretty full too, what a turnout in a record-breaking evening! Even without any of the opposition’s fans, we would’ve broken the record regardless, which goes to show how impressive tonight’s turnout is.

Not our finest performance, but it got the job done. We certainly began the first half as you’d hope, plenty of confidence, and had plenty of possession. We successfully pinned the opposition into their own half at times, and looked good for two or three goals going into half time. As the second half began, W*ymouth did look a little better, but both sides huffed and puffed, with both sides struggling in the never-ending rain. But as they say, performances like that are what champions produce…

Substitutions proving important once again. I’ve said it before when I’ve given conclusions, and I’ll say it again – Mark Cooper nailed his subs. The double substitution to bring on Jake Hyde and debutant Sonny Cox was inspired, with their fresh legs causing trouble for a tired W*ymouth defence. It proved a masterstroke when Sonny Cox dinked the ball into the middle for Jake Hyde to bury his second goal in a Yeovil shirt. Will Dawes proved a valuable introduction too, his energy assisting Alex Whittle in defence, and bombing forward in his 20 minute cameo.

Jake Hyde, appeared after 70 minutes on Tuesday night.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

Momentum is massive now. 9 wins in a row in all competitions, now that’s not something I expected to be able to say when we started the season off! The momentum we’ve built in this time, with wins over playoff contenders in Worthing and Aveley, as well as the continued unbeaten run at home, is proving huge for not only the squad, but the fans (as we saw with tonight’s attendance). There’s a real sense of optimism and excitement around the ground now, let’s keep it going!

Michael Smith is still the real deal. As a self-admitted member of the Michael Smith fan club (applicants are more than welcome!), I continue to be blown away at the fact we even have this man at our club. The experience he brings is unmatched at this level, and he showed it tonight, having a tricky time in the conditions and with the attacks he faced. He linked up brilliantly with Jordan Stevens, and later Jordan Young, causing chaos all down the right hand side. Keep it up Michael!

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Yeovil’ve won eight in a rooooooow! Yes, another three points on the board and the Glovers are now three points clear at the top of the National League South table.

They left it late to clinch them with defender Morgan Williams rising highest to head home a Jordan Maguire-Drew free-kick with seven of 12 minutes of second half injury time played at Worthing to earn a 2-1 win.

Here’s now Dave saw it from his vantage point in the away end at Woodside Road….

 

The hoodoo is over. Our ability to stick by the latest podcast rule of not speaking about <REDACTED> pitches is going to get a whole lot easier after this performance. Having been at Hemel and Havant & Waterloovile where we suffered our only defeats of the season (I don’t need to tell you what is similar about those two stadiums, do I?), this performance felt like a statement. There were bobbles, overhit passes and the odd error, but overall we looked as different as night and day to our previous two outings on……well, you know.

It may look like grass…..

Mark Cooper got his tactics spot on. This was not a rampant Yeovil Town performance as we have seen in recent weeks, this was the controlled, patient, we know what we’re doing, just trust us Yeovil Town. For a huge amount of the game, not an awful lot happened and the home side enjoyed an awful lot of possession, but Mark Cooper got his tactics absolutely spot on. In the first half, Worthing did very little to threaten Joe Day’s goal and, whilst we had only a handful of efforts on goal, we always looked the more likely to score – and did, of course. The second half saw both sides have more opportunities, but I never felt like we were not in control. It might not always be swashbuckling and entertaining, but the Mark Cooper way feels like the way we’re going to get out of this division.

It looked like we’d be punished for our wastefulness. When Ollie Pearce’s 86th-minute penalty hit the net, it was difficult not to feel like we had shot ourselves in the foot. If there was a negative about this performance it was that we had the chances to have made it a lot more comfortable. Jordan Young had a few opportunities, Jordan Stevens was denied by legs of the hosts’ keeper and don’t even get me started on the referee and his inability to see Rhys Muprhy getting wrestled to the ground inside the box. If this had ended as a draw, we’d be talking a lot more about that, I suspect.

Rhys Murphy’s shot come cross heads towards the incoming Matt Worthington.

If there was one player who didn’t deserve to be a villain, it was Jake Wannell. Just a few minutes before he was the victim of what appeared a soft penalty (even through my green-tinted glasses) was given against Jake Wannell, I had messaged my fellow Gloverscasters to say he was “absolute class.” Forgive me a little bit of a love in, but this lad is powerful, so assured on the ball and his partnership alongside Morgan Williams is becoming as important to us as any other part of this team so far. If his collision had led to us losing two points, it would have been a real injustice to him.

Jake Wannell.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It’s only three points, but… It’s also eight wins (nine including the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup) wins in a row, it puts us three points at the top of the table and it’s a win over a side who you’d fancy to be in the play-off discussion come May. It is only the end of October and no-one ever won anything at this stage of the season, but these type of performances and results are the ones which we’ll look back on come the end of the season……if we end up doing something good, thank is. Now where did we put those seagull botherers?

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

The FA Cup Glovers are through to the first round proper again! Ian was in the Thatchers for the 2-0 win against Southend United and here are his conclusions.

This was an impressive result. Despite the ongoing drama at Southend, they’ve been getting results in the National League. They hadn’t lost in four matches, and beat “Darren Sarll’s Woking” 2-0 last weekend. Clearly, they had a depleted squad, bringing on two sixteen-year-olds, but the way they controlled possession showed they have some quality. Yeovil are learning to win in different ways and that’s a good sign. Where we’ve played our strongest eleven we’ve won seven matches in a row (it’s eight first team matches if you include the SMPC penalty win) and the last time I can find that we did that was in 2004/05 in a run of nine that started in the FA Cup against Histon. The scorers on that day, Phil Jevons, Lee Johnson and Yemi Odubade.

It was a different kind of performance. The early goal from Jake Wannell gave the Glovers the early buffer and something to protect. The match quickly became attack vs defence as Southend controlled the ball and tried to break a resilient Yeovil down. Mark Cooper’s side held their ground and restricted Southend to crosses in the box and efforts from distance. Last week saw Yeovil blow away Aveley in the first half and yesterday was a case of Yeovil digging in, holding onto a lead against a higher opposition and getting a second on the break.

Jake Wannell and Charlie Cooper.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

That was a breakout game Jake Wannell. Wannell has been ever-present since signing from Taunton and his partnership with Morgan Williams has made him even stronger. His goal was cleanly struck and really set us on our way but what followed was as impressive. He won the ball in the air, he defended well against an in-form Harry Cardwell and he’s clearly enjoying life in green and white. Mark Cooper said he, Chris Todd and Marcus Stewart have been working with Wannell to coach him for the professional game and he’s come on leaps and bounds since joining in the Summer.

Jordan Young is on fire. A great pass from Will Dawes set Young through yesterday but he had a lot to do to get Yeovil’s second. Somehow he bamboozled three defenders before his final toe poke around Hayes in Southend’s goal. At times Young looks unplayable and as soon as he picks up the ball you think he is going to make something happen. He’s showing consistency, having a huge impact in games and I’d argue is more important I’m the attack than anyone else right now.

Mark Cooper press conference

Vindication for Mark Cooper. Through all the carnage of last season and the lingering doubts at the beginning of this, Cooper has been defiant in his belief about bringing success to Huish Park. It’s still early in the season, but we’re top of the league and in the first round of the FA Cup. Even the most green-tinted of Glovers can’t have said they expected that after the opening day defeat at Hemel. He’s strengthened where he needed to with “Super Joe Day In Goal” and Michael Smith, is rewarding players like Owers and Dawes for their performances and is proving that if you let him manage, results and performances will follow. Everyone’s enjoying life at Huish Park at the moment, even the boss!