Gloversblog (Page 4)

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The attack, how is it going?

After a few games where we haven’t looked our best or have missed plenty of chances lets take a deep dive into the stats

Overall the top line stats suggest it is doing well…

Total Goals Scored: 42, 1st, highest in the league.
 Total Shots: 258, 6th highest in the league.
 Total Shots on Target: 136, 2nd highest in the league.
 % Shots on Target: 53%, 3rd best in the league.
 Shots per Goal: 6.14, 1st, best in the league.
 xG Created: 33.17, 6th highest in the league.
 xG per Goal: 0.79, 2nd best in the league.

In total 18 players have been involved in a goal, with 14 different goal scorers and 15 different players providing assists.

Overall it is going well, scoring above xG but personally I think we should be creating more with the names we have. That being said we are top scorers in the league even if we can’t beat a team by 3 or more goals. 5/7

What about the players?

Yeovil Town attacking players ranked by goal involvements.

Jordan Young and Jake Hyde were both on target in the 2-0 win over W*ymouth.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Jordan Young, 15 goal involvements. 6/7

Our Star boy, as many would call him. He has played 19 times (15 starts & 4 appearances off the bench) he has played 1283 minutes so far this season, that is 68% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.53 PPM 0.34 points more than the team average and 2 highest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 92 minutes, best in the current squad

 Stats wise he is unsurprisingly our main man

  • 8 Goals, joint 10th top in National League North & South
  • xG 5.5, ranked 42nd
  • 53 Shots, 12th highest
  • 32 (60%) shots from outside the area, 5th highest)
  • 6.6 shots per goal
  • 6 Assists
  • Expected Assists 4.82, ranked 5th
  • Crosses not in top 100
  • Dribbling 87, ranked 20th
  • Fouled 1.73 times a game, 54th highest

 Not a 7/7 only due to him now and then having games where his shooting gets a bit erratic.

Rhys Murphy, 10 goal involvements. 4/7

Our main striker. He has played 18 times (13 starts & 5 appearances off the bench) he has played 1096 minutes so far this season, that is 58% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.46 PPM 0.27 points more than the team average and third highest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 110 minutes, second best in the current squad

 Stats wise he hasn’t scored as many as he should have, nearly 3 goals less than expected, on the plus side he is getting in the right positions and having those chances.

  • 8 Goals, joint 10th top in National League North & South
  • xG 10.84, ranked 4th
  • 0.6 goals every 90 minutes, ranked 20th
  • 47 Shots, 21st highest
  • 5.9 shots per goal
  • 47% of shots on target, ranked 21st
  • 2 Assists
  • Expected Assists not in top 100
  • Fouled not in top 100

Gone with a 4/7 here, that is harsh you might say but before recent games it would have been a 5 or 6 however, he isn’t taking advantage of the chances coming his way as the xG shows.

Frank Nouble finds the net in the pre-season friendly win at Buckland Athletic.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

Frank Nouble, 6 Goal Involvements 5/7

Big Frank, one of only 2 players to have played a part in every league game so far this season. He has played 21 times (17 starts & 4 appearances off the bench) he has played 1552 minutes so far this season, that is 82% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.12 PPM 0.07 points less than the team average and thirteenth highest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 212 minutes, eighth best in the current squad. However, he is ranked joint 3rd for second assists with 3 (passing the ball to the assister, think of Hyde’s goal against Braintree)

  • 5 Goals, joint 49th in National League North & South
  • xG 3.84, ranked 80th
  • 27 Shots, 98th highest
  • 5.4 shots per goal
  • 29.63% of shots on target, ranked 87th
  • 2 Assists
  • Expected Assists 3.04, ranked 35th

Gone with a 5 for big Frank, he has been a key player this season, scored some incredible goals and does a job for the team.

Jake Hyde, 6 Goal Involvements 5/7

Our number 9, getting a bit of a name for himself as a super sub, 1 goal when starting but 4 from the bench. He has played 16 times (6 starts & 10 appearances off the bench) he has played 694 minutes so far this season, that is 37% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.33 PPM 0.14 points more than the team average and sixth highest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 116 minutes, third best in the current squad.

  • 5 Goals, joint 49th in National League North & South
  • xG 4.49, ranked 54th
  • Not in top 100, less than 26
  • 2 goals form headers, ranked 8th highest
  • Not in top 100, less than 14.29%  on target
  • 1 Assist
  • Expected Assists not in top 100, less than 1.95
  • Aerial duels per 90 10.81 ranked 53rd

Goals and Assists both over their expected numbers, had a short goal drought but back on the goal train now. I’m sure he would love to snag one when he starts soon.

Jordan Maguire-Drew was introduced after an hour at Plymouth Parkway.

Jordan Maguire-Drew, 4 Goal Involvements 3/7

JMD, started 5 of the first 6 games (the last being Havant & Waterlooville), 1 goals and 2 assists in those 5 games. However, since then he has sat on the bench 13 times and got on to the pitch 5 times, 1 assist from those appearances, a vital one at Worthing. He has played 10 times. He has played 492 minutes so far this season, that is 26% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 1.40 PPM 0.79 points less than the team average and the lowest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 123 minutes, fourth best in the current squad.

  • 1 Goal
  • 3 Assist, ranked 22nd
  • 3.02 Expected Assists, ranked 32nd

A disappointing season so far from JMD, he has the talent but does he have the fight? I hope so, he is brilliant on his day. Given him 1 extra point for the free kick at Worthing alone.

Sonny Cox, 3 Goal Involvements 3/7

Our most recent addition. He has played 9 times (7 starts & 2 appearances off the bench) he has played 527 minutes so far this season, that is 28% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.00 PPM 0.19 points less than the team average.

He is involved in a goal every 132 minutes, fifth best in the current squad

  • 2 Goals
  • 1 Assist

Started with a bang, 2 vital goals against Dover. I love his pace and aggression but lacking the end product in recent weeks.

Jordan Stevens, 2 Goal Involvements 2/7

If only he wasn’t so injury prone. He has played 8 times (3 starts & 5 appearances off the bench) he has played 346 minutes so far this season, that is 18% of available league game time. Less than 5 starts so no PPM for him but every time he has started, we have won.

He is involved in a goal every 173 minutes, sixth best in the current squad

  • 1 Goal
  • 1 Assist

This feels harsh, he is great….when fit. I hope he finds a fix to his injury troubles soon. Class player on his day.

Will Dawes ? Debs Curtis

Will Dawes, 1 Goal Involvement 2/7

Last is Dawes, a fan favourite but he only has 1 goal involvement, an assist against Aveley. Before we get deep into his stats I would like to point out two things, I like watching him play and that he is unlucky, many of his crosses have come off a defender and fallen to a Yeovil forward who puts it away. However, in the last two games (Bath & Dartford) he has made 15 crosses, 0 have hit a Yeovil player.

Dawes has played 10 times (8 starts & 2 appearances off the bench) he has played 723 minutes so far this season, that is 38% of available league game time. When he starts Yeovil pick up on average 2.13 PPM 0.07 points less than the team average and twelfth highest in the squad.

He is involved in a goal every 723 minutes, sixteenth best in the current squad.

From the stats we can see it matches our perception of him he loves to run with the ball and get it in the mixer.

  • Crosses 37, ranked 100th
  • Crosses per 90 4.06, ranked 21st
  • Dribbling 66 ranked 53rd
  • Dribbles per 90 7.24 ranked 14th
  • Fouled 2.2 times a game, 12th highest
  • Progressive runs per 90 4.17 Ranked 4th highest  

However, when we look at his accuracy/success it isn’t pretty

  • Crossing not in top 100, less than 10.2% hit a Yeovil player.
  • Dribbling not in the top 100, less than 51.61% are successful.

Here is where I like what he does, he isn’t afraid of getting stuck in and winning the ball back cracking work rate.

  • Defensive duels per 90 7.9 ranked 79th (Josh Owers 9.32 & Charlie Cooper 7.83)
  • Interceptions per 90 5.71 ranked 53rd (Wannell 5.4 88th )

I would have scored him a 1 but his effort and tenacity gives him an extra point but his end product needs to improve, How long can he keep starting if there is no end product?

We’d love to hear your views on our attacking talent in the comments below. 

Data collected from footystats.org and Wyscout. All rankings from Wyscout and based on National league South and North combined.

PPM – Points per match

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We paid for not taking our chances: It’s not often you hear a reference to the Fab Four in a Yeovil Town post-match interview, but I cannot put it any better than Mark Cooper’s: “The lads were saying in there if some of them had six shots at John Lennon today, he’d still be alive.” That was the difference between one point and three points.
The Dartford keeper, Ryan Sandford, deservedly picked up the sponsors’ Man of the Match Award for some outstanding saves, but there are chances where we should not have given him a chance to make them. The opening couple of minutes, you would put your house on Rhys Murphy to find the net when he’s clean through and drags it wide; it’s that type of chances. Yes, we have scored more goals than any other side in the division, but in these games we have to be more ruthless.

Rhys Murphy walks away wondering how he missed an early chance.

Cox was excellent: In the first half at Princes Park, Dartford simply could not live with us (see Conclusion #1 if you’re asking ‘so why was it 1-1 at half-time?‘). Every time we attacked with the pace of Sonny Cox, Murphy and Jordan Young, they were rocking and Cox stood out for me showing a desire to battle alongside his obvious natural pace and talent. The past couple of times I have seen him, he has looked a bit off it but I thought he was a stand-out player in the first half.

Sonny Cox

In the second half, we stopped doing what was working: Having been so dominant in the first half, we seemed to stop doing the things that were working for us in the second half. Dartford upped their game and credit to them for that, but playing ‘direct’ very quickly proved itself as not working and yet when we got it down and moved it, we looked a greater threat. Don’t agree? Watch our second goal. I am, by the way, aware that (as one fellow fan told me when I remarked) if these players were perfect, they’d be playing higher. But, if we have genuine ambitions to win promotion, we have to be better than the level.

I’m looking at this as a point gained: It’s the old football cliche – is this one point gained or two points dropped? I’m going to look at it as the positive after a game of two halves. How many cliches can I fit in one conclusion?! Of the five teams in the top seven that have gone to Dartford this season, only one (Maidstone United) have left with three points and, although inconsistent, they have some good players (Moussa Diarra at the back is one we’ve come up against many times for Woking – you can’t miss him, he’s a giant!) and other teams will drop points here before the season’s done.

Let’s get back to home comforts: It’s back to Huish Park next weekend for what feels like another big one as third-placed Hampton & Richmond come to town. They have won five of their 13 away games (the third-highest in the division) but let’s not forget we have won nine of our 11 home games and are still unbeaten. Pick up points on the road and get wins at home (Cliche Klaxon), that is what makes title contenders and Hampton will not look forward to coming to Somerset. There’s a crucial Christmas period (oh, there’s another one!) coming up, so let’s make Huish Park an intimidating place for teams to come.

You know what to do next weekend, people.

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The Glovers triumphed at Bath City to keep the gap between the chasing pack to six points. Ian was in the away end at Twerton Park, and here are his conclusions…

It was not a pretty game. It wasn’t until late in the second half where we showed signs of causing Bath problems. The first half was slow, sideways and a bit too hoofy for my liking. Cooper and Worthington looked like they’d not played as a pair for a while. Alex Fisher and Frank Nouble looked like a partnership playing for the first time together. Given the exertion against Wrexham three days earlier, and the conditions, you can forgive a bit of fatigue and sloppiness. That said, Bath City didn’t cause Joe Day too many issues in goal, and defensively I thought we looked mostly comfortable.

I still don’t like wingbacks. This team does not suit a back three, wingback formation. No one can convince me otherwise. I sort of understood it against Wrexham, although I would have liked to have seen us go with what’s made us so good this season. But I didn’t get it last night. It was all very sideways amongst the back three before a big diagonal hoof. Michael Smith has been so effective overlapping a winger and the shape just doesn’t allow those same patterns of play. It was a shame to see Alex Whittle go off, however it forced us into a change eventually, with Duncan Idehen moving to left back and Will Dawes playing in his best position.

Will Dawes.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

And Dawes had a great second half. Our brightest spells came from Dawes running at, and getting the better of, Bath’s right back. Dawes is such an honest footballer. There’s no ego, he works hard for the team and last night was no different. Came on at left wing back, didn’t look overly comfortable but worked hard for the team. When we changed to a 4-4-2, he was relentless on the left. He got crosses into the box and had bright attacking moments and worked back to support Idehen, who was under a lot of pressure from Bath City’s number 15, Jordan Thomas (who looks like some player by the way).

It was good to see Alex Fisher back on the pitch. The injury Fisher suffered against Southend was so horrific, that to see him back playing before the end of the year feels like a minor miracle. He divides opinion, for a striker he should score more than he does, things didn’t necessarily come off for him last night. But, after a gruelling rehab (who can forget the cage around his leg) he’s just battled through 90 minutes for the first time since the injury, against one of the better sides in the division and is back putting his body on the line for Yeovil Town.

Alex Fisher, picture courtesy of Mike Kunz

It was a huge win. Given that Torquay and Maidstone both won on Tuesday night, and that Bath have been in the thick of the chasing pack, those three points at Twerton Park are huge. The six point gap remains and there’s still a game in hand on 2nd, 3rd and 4th. You could see what it meant to the players and, specifically, Mark Cooper at the end. The performance wasn’t brilliant, but the result and feeling at the end was. Now we’re out of the cup competitions, we’ve got a straight run in the league, with one focus in mind.

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Gloverscast Ben saw his FIRST live and in person game of the season on Sunday as the Glovers travelled to Wrexham in the FA Cup.

A 3-0 defeat, a Percy Pig v Cuthbert bar fight and here’s how Gloverscast Ben saw it from the Press Box.

Firstly, I thought 3-0 really flattered Wrexham, but it’s probably fair to say we took too long to get going.

In the the first half, we were clearly just trying to stay in the game for as long as possible and that meant inviting Wrexham’s plethora of attacking talent on to the back line.

Whilst, we were quick to put pressure on when the hosts came within sniffing distance of the penalty area, I was left thinking… why can’t we put that pressure on 20 or 30 yards further up the pitch?

The break downs in play were easy for Wrexham to recycle and easy to keep the pressure on, when you have the quality they do, that means chances will fall their way – they did, and they took them. You can’t begrudge them that. 

In the second half, I felt we did have the bravery to press a little higher, force mistakes in the middle of the pitch and that gave us a foot hold in the game, and chances to give our defence a rest, from the constant barrage that came at us in the first 45.

Football is a game of fine margins.

If Charlie Cooper’s long range effort dips in, if Jordan Young’s free kick is 6 inches to the left, the game is TOTALLY different going into the second half.

To go from being the width of the post away from getting the game back to 1-1, to being 2-0 down in a matter of seconds just shows how cruel football can be.

On another day, Joe Day parries the first chance away from sniffing strikers, on a another day, the finger tip he gets to Andy Cannon’s second goal is more substantial and it goes wide.

On another day, we get something out of that game and maybe take it back to Huish Park. Nobody in the crowd could have complained if that game had ended 2-2.

Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Jordan Young was on a one man mission

Jordan Young’s free kick was inches away from perfection, his desire to cut inside from the right and play balls across the edge of the area, shape to shoot, get in to dangerous areas and generally be brilliant showed that he has multiple facets to his game.

Now, technically it was a game of ‘nearly’ moments for Young, but it’s probably fair to say he caught plenty of eyes with his performance.

The eyes of Managers we will be coming up against soon (Hi Jerry!), the eyes of Managers at other clubs who might need a tricky winger in the near future, the eyes of plenty of fans and supporters – more than a couple of Wrexham voices spoke highly of him.

The truth is, all he did was add an Extra 0, on the end of his potential transfer fee. Let’s not pretend he’s not going to be the subject of offers and interest, because he’s shown this season he’s an EFL player in waiting.

I hope the club has the bottle to demand the very best deal for him when the time comes and has a plan in place to fill the eventual Jordan Young shaped hole that will be left.

Don’t fall in love with footballers, it only ends in tears.

I was worried about the back three.

All together now… You hate wing backs, I hate wing backs, we all hate wing backs. We got wing backs and I don’t mind saying it wasn’t half as bad as it could have been – far from it in fact.

Morgan Williams – Mr reliable, versatile, you can hang your hat on him to put in a shift just about anywhere. Duncan Idehen grew into the game brilliantly after a couple of early wobbles, he made some vital interceptions, a couple of big blocks and a couple of crunching tackles, particularly on Paul Mullen… ouch.

Finally, Jake Wannell, in the middle of the three was an absolute colossus. It’s probably fair to say that he might not have played many games of that magnitude before – with the exception of the Taunton FA Cup run of last season (grumble, grumble).

But from Taunton to the Racecourse and not look a second out of place just shows how far he’s come and potentially how far he could go in time.

I don’t think that’s the last of the defensive trio we’ll see this season, but it’s great to know we’ve got players who can do it if we need.

Finally… and I know I’ll get plenty of love for this.

Charlie Cooper, appeared as a 75th minute substitute at Welling.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.

We are so much better with Charlie Cooper in the side.

There’s no one that can convince me otherwise. He was tasked with trying to keep tabs on Elliot Lee, who might just be the best player outside the top two divisions, he can probably say that he did alright there. 

They were embroiled in a little sub plot throughout, both got booked, both had to be at their influential best without giving the referee an excuse to wave another card.

At one point in the second half, they quite literally exchanged snarls, just growling at each other… it was quite animalistic, I quite liked it.

He dared to go forward and had two of the Glovers more meaningful shots on goal, he dictated play when the ball broke down on the edge of our own box and stood head and shoulders above the rest in the game from where I was stood.

Cooper is, for my mind, quickly becoming the first name on the team sheet – who drops out, I don’t know, but I don’t want to go into big games without Charlie Cooper – and they don’t come much bigger than Wednesday.

 

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This is a post for both Wrexham and Yeovil fans really, however, a warning for any Wrexham fans giving this a read, it will be biased towards Yeovil.

The whole idea of this is to understand how Wrexham play. What their strengths and weaknesses are, trying to figure out how we could potentially counter, or stop, this to give ourselves the best chances of an upset (We can all hope).

Before I start I would like to give massive credit to WT_analysis who has provided me with the statistics, tables and graphs for this post. He runs a brilliant twitter account using these types of graphs to create content.

Hope you enjoy the read, any feedback or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Wrexham’s “Completed Passes For/Against”

In the image above we can see that most of Wrexham’s “Completed Passes For” are mainly made across their back line or down the sides of the pitch, clipping passes over the opposition full backs head for a forward to run on to.

In League 2, Wrexham average 49% possession in matches, which may suggest that they look to counter quickly after winning the ball back. This may be the perfect game for someone like Charlie Cooper (don’t attack me) or even Josh Owers. We need someone who will sit back when we come forward, to stop any danger of a Wrexham counter attack!

Could Charlie Cooper be the answer in centre midfield?
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Michael Smith could be the perfect player to deal with the chipped passes over the top of his head from Wrexham because he should have the awareness to sit a few yards deeper to give himself more chance of winning the ball.

From the graph above “Completed Passes Against” on this photo we can see that the opposing teams seem to have more of the pitch covered with a dense red. The Red Dragon’s opponents seem have more passes completed in their own penalty area and defensive third.

This shows that Wrexham allow their opposition to have the ball in their own half. This may suit our style if Sonny Blu plays, as he can pick the ball from deep and dictate the pace of the game. Similarly to themselves, Wrexham’s opponents seem to complete lot’s of passes in wide areas, trying to exploit the Wrexham wide men. We may see the patterns of play between the likes of Jordan Young and Michael Smith come in to action with great effect down the right hand side!

Wrexham’s Possessions Won/Possessions Lost

The green graph in this photo shows that Wrexham mainly gain possession back in between their first and middle thirds of the pitch. This matches up to the “Completed Passes Against” where Wrexham’s opposition complete a lot of passes in their defensive half and coming into the advanced part of the middle third.

This could be a game where our midfield and defensive players complete many touches and passes between each other despite being massive underdogs. Another option could be to stick an extra body in midfield and have one less striker, this would not be a defensive switch, it would be a tactical battle to attempt to control the ball in midfield. I believe a middle three of Owers holding with Worthington and Sonny pushing on could give us a genuine chance of controlling parts of the game.

The image above shows “Possessions lost”. From this graph we can see that Wrexham give the ball away regularly in their oppositions half, although this will be heavily affected by the amount of risks they take when in possession of the ball. Sometimes this works in their favour, like in their 6-0 win over Morecambe, sometimes they will concede plenty of goals because of taking risks, like the 5 they conceded to Swindon and MK Dons.

Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We have shown many times this season that we can destroy teams when we hit them on the break in games such as Southend, Gateshead and Aveley! Using the pace of Dawes and Young could be vital in this game.

Wrexham’s defensive line when under pressure

The red shaded area in this photo shows the average line of Wrexham’s back four or five per defensive action. It continues with the trend of Wrexham sitting deep when out of possession, not allowing any space in behind because of their slow defence. This will suit Jordan Young perfectly, allowing him to pick the ball up from deep, to drive into the opposing area or get a shot off from range.

Wrexham’s Shot assists For/Against

[The term “Shot Assist” means the final pass before a shot is then taken on.]

On both “Shot Assist” maps we can see that most of Wrexham’s (green lines)(Red blocks) shots come from crosses or cutbacks from wide areas pulled back to around the penalty area. This is why I believe a holding midfielder is key in this game, Wrexham always have runners coming into the box, some towards the goal, and some hold back on to the edge of the box. The two central defenders cannot be expected too mark two Wrexham forwards and the late midfield runs. Charlie Cooper or Josh Owers will be able to sweep up at those given opportunities.

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Defensively a lot of “Shot Assists” Wrexham face come from a winger or a wingback playing a pass inside from a deep wide position, to a midfielder on the edge of the box, or perhaps a forward who has spun in behind the backline. We will be able to follow this trend further when of either Michael Smith or Jordan Young comes a bit narrower, into the midfield, being able to receive passes on the half turn, being able to get shots off, or slot in a forward player.

Wrexham’s Shot and Goals map

Wrexham’s shot map shows that most of their shots happen in between the penalty spot and the 6 yard box. This is to give themselves the best chance of being clinical with their shooting. They have taken 267 shots this season, scoring 41 goals from an Expected goals (xG) of 1.85 per 90.  Wrexham are out performing their xG by +0.35, having scored 2.1 goals per 90. This means it is vital for the defensive pairing of Williams and Wannell have to be completely aware of the dangers that surround them.

Wrexham’s Shots and Goals Against map

Wrexham’s “Shots Against” map makes me very excited for the game on Sunday as it seems they concede plenty of shots from outside the area and of the 28 goals conceded a few have come from long range. The Welsh side’s expected goals against (xGa) is 1.34 per 90 and have conceded a total of 1.55 goals against per 90. These numbers have however been affected by their poor defensive start to the season, where they conceded 5 to Swindon and MK Dons. The reason I am excited by this is that we take many shots from range with the likes of Jordan Young in the squad and this could be a viable way to score if Wrexham are sat so deep when out of possession.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the read, as I said before any feedback or comments are massively appreciated, as I am always trying to improve my work!

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Yeovil Town’s unbeaten run in National League South came to an end in spectacular style with a 4-1 defeat at a Welling United side who still sit third from bottom of the table on Saturday.

The result means we have not won in our last three matches in all competitions, but, courtesy of other results in the division, that we are also still eight points clear at the top.

Once his fingers had thawed out after a chilly afternoon in South London, Dave gave us his thoughts about what he made of it all…..

We played their game, not ours: First things first, Welling absolutely deserved their three points. They took their chances better than us, they defended better than us and they wanted it more than us.
But, after Jordan Young missed an opportunity to put us 2-0 up after 20 minutes, we stopped playing our game and started playing Welling’s. Once they got their equaliser, they set out to pull our defence all over the place with pace and tenacity which we simply never matched.

The view from the first half position at Park View Road.

It was a midfield crying out for Charlie Cooper: The chasm between our defence and midfield was a playground for Welling and neither Matt Worthington nor Sonny Blu Lo-Everton ever got to grips with it.
It was crying out for someone who could get the ball, do something simple with it and drive us forward and that player was Charlie Cooper.
He’s not every fan’s cup of tea, I get it, but when he came on for Worthington for the final 15 minutes, we looked much improved.

Charlie Cooper, appeared as a 75th minute substitute at Welling.
Picture courtesy of Iain Morland.


Our attack looked as much of a worry as our defence: Against Chippenham four days earlier, we could at least point to plenty of attacking play and a good performance from the opposition keeper, but I don’t recall Reice Charles-Cook in the Welling goal to have a huge amount to do.
Frank Nouble looked out of sorts, Sonny Cox struggled to get much of a foothold on the game and when Rhys Murphy came off the bench he looked typically lively, but missed a chance you’d have put your house on him to score.
In fact, the only major save I remember Charles-Cook having was from Alex Fisher, who put himself about well when he came on. It was good to see him back after such a long time and hopefully he can push those ahead of him in the pecking order to spark them back in to action.

No-one else wants to punish us: The positive was that, for all the chuckling there will be for our misfortune among other National League South sides, no team managed to take advantage of it.
Third-placed Hampton & Richmond, who are in the most in-form side in the division, were the only one of the top seven to win yesterday and both second-placed Aveley and Bath City in fourth fluffed their lines by dropping two points each on the road.
It will probably stick in the craw of our seagull bothering ‘friends’ in W*ymouth that they did us a favour with a late equaliser against Aveley.

The National League South table following Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Welling United.

There’s something special about this squad: These players have shown us time and again that there’s something special about them and that has not changed in three matches.
Yesterday at Welling was a bad (very bad) day at the office, but there’s characters and quality in this squad which we have not seen much of in the past decade. That did not change at Torquay (in the Trophy), last Tuesday night at Chippenham or this weekend.
Alex Fisher spoke post-match about there being some “home truths” in the Yeovil dressing room and this is when the experienced heads need to lift the troops.
Wrexham in the FA Cup (don’t look at their result from the weekend, by the way) is a ‘free hit’ which no-one outside of South Somerset expects us to do anything with and then we have two more away dates – at Bath City and Dartford – before we can taste the comforts of home again.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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…