Match Reports

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An early goal from striker Stephen Walker earned Yeovil Town a win in their first pre-season friendly at Huish Park on a warm Saturday afternoon.

The frontman, who took his tally to three goals in his three friendly appearances, curled home a beautiful strike with just two minutes on the clock in front of a crowd of 772 in the Somerset sunshine.

There were some impressive attacking moves from the Glovers throughout the performance with Ryan Jones looking particularly effective with many of the starting line-up given an hour rather than the wholesale changes we have seen in the opening two friendlies.

In keeping with pre-season tradition, there was an appearance from three trialists including former Arsenal academy defender William Lannin-Sweet, Bristol Rovers academy player Kian Hill and a new face in Brentford B attacker Kyrie Pierre, who played down the left side for the final 30 minutes.

First half

The Glovers, wearing their new pink away shirt despite being at home, started with a full complement of permanent players – with the exception of loanee defender Loick Ayina, who on loan from Salford City until the end of the season – with trialists left on the substitutes’ bench. Read more about the team news – here.

The game did not take too long to warm up on the pitch with Stephen WALKER opening the scoring with the Glovers’ first attack. Brett McGavin won the ball fed Ryan Jones who picked out the striker and he curled home his third goal of pre-season with a beautiful effort after just two minutes.

Yeovil Town celebrate Stephen Walker’s opening goal. Picture courtesy of Ollie Marsh.

Mason Obeng tried to get in on the act two minutes later as the winger made a driving run before trying a low effort which went just wide. A bright start in their first pre-season outing in front of their own supporters from the Glovers.

On 16 minutes, Archie Davies went on a run from inside his own half and made it in to the Cardiff area and found Walker inside the six-yard box, but his effort came off the post but was cleared away. We look strong in wide positions with Obeng and Jones particularly dangerous and that was a sign of what Davies can do going down the right side.

There was another good run from Davies shortly after the first half hydration break which led to Obeng’s effort being tipped wide for a corner which Loick Ayina headed wide with 28 minutes on the clock.

On 34 minutes, Luke McCormick pushed forward and had a deflected effort turned wide by visiting keeper Jake Dennis and Walker had the ball in the net four minutes later, but was denied by an offside flag. McCormick tried a audacious long range effort after spotting Dennis off his line, but he was a couple of feet over the bar and the ball landed on the top of the net.

Cardiff’s first chance fell to Roko Simic with five minutes of the half remaining when some sloppy Yeovil defending from gifted the young Croatian the opportunity who did not enough contact on it, before McGavin’s free-kick was pushed behind by Dennis. Good save.

Half-time: Yeovil Town 1 Cardiff City Under-21s 0

Second half

There were only two changes for Yeovil at half-time rather than the entire change of eleven we have seen in the previous two friendlies. Johl Powell and Slavi Spasov replaced Luke McCormick and goal-scorer Stephen Walker for the second half with Westbrooke taking the captain’s armband from McCormick.

Five minutes after the restart, a beautiful passage of passing from Yeovil saw Jones and Davies link up well for the latter to get a cross which picked out Spasov inside the box, but the summer signing could not get the ball under control. Two minutes later, Jones curled an effort just wide. A bright start for the Glovers.

Goalkeeper Jos Barker, playing his first second half minutes since arriving in pre-season, made a great save with his legs to deny Mannie Barton after a swift break from Cardiff. Powell broke away down the right soon after and found Jones who put it just wide and then (yet) another burst forward from Jones squared it to McGavin on the stretch but his effort was straight at Dennis in the Bluebirds’ goal.

On the hour mark the wholesale changes usually reserved for half-time came from Yeovil boss Billy Rowley with only keeper Jos Barker, defender Joe Gubbins and midfielder Zain Westbrooke remaining from the starting XI, the revised line-up is:

Jos Barker, Hayden Muller, Jack Kingdon, Joe Gubbins, Dan Ellison, Zain Westbrooke, Johl Powell, Slavi Spasov, Kian Hill (Trialist A), William Lannin-Sweet (Trialist B), Kyrie Pierre (Trialist C).

Pierre, described as “an attacker” by his parent club Premier League Brentford, played down the left wing. He joined the Bees from Aston Villa last summer on a free transfer and played for them in the Premier League 2 last season.

There were a raft of changes from Cardiff and one of them, Hayden Allmark, was denied by a good stop from Barker after 67 minutes and a hydration break which followed saw Gubbins replaced by Joy Mukena.

On 74 minutes, Spasov found Powell whose effort went just wide before Barker was called in to action to keep out substitute Gabriel Keita with ten minutes remaining.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Cardiff City Under-21s 0

Teams:

First half – Yeovil Town: Jos Barker, Jordan Norville-Williams, Loick Ayina, Archie Davies, Joe Gubbins, Brett McGavin, Zain Westbrooke, Ryan Jones, Mason Obeng, Luke McCormick (for Johl Powell, 46), Stephen Walker (for Slavi Spasov, 46).

60 minutes – Yeovil Town: Jos Barker, Hayden Muller, Jack Kingdon, Joe Gubbins (for Joy Mukena, 70), Dan Ellison, Zain Westbrooke, Johl Powell, Slavi Spasov, Kian Hill (Trialist A), William Lannin-Sweet (Trialist B), Kyrie Pierre (Trialist C).

Cardiff City Under-21s: Jake Dennis, Charlie O’Brien (for Caden Voice, 77), Jesper Daland (for Alyas Debono, 46), Thierry Katsukunya (for Gabriel Keita, 77), Luey Giles (for Logan Cartwright, 77), Issac Davies (for Hayden Allmark, 62), Trey George (for Tiger Tobin, 77), Troy Perrett (for Ellis Yorke, 77), Mannie Barton (for Mannie Barton, 77), Herbie James (for Jake Davies, 46), Roko Simic (for Dan Ola, 46).

Scorers: Stephen Walker 2 (1-0)
Attendance: 772

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Second half goals from summer signings Mason Obeng and a Stephen Walker penalty cancelled out a brace from old boy Sam Pearson to earn Yeovil Town a draw against National League North side Merthyr Town on Tuesday night.

The Glovers were undone by nearly identical goals with two former players, midfielder Jacob Maddox and Pearson, combining to put the hosts ahead on the stroke of half-time before doubling the advantage on the hour mark.

But, with the visitors’ XI change completely at half-time, fresh legs began to tell in the second half with the impressive Obeng reducing the advantage with a fine finish before trialist Kian Hill, the Bristol Rovers academy player, was brought down inside the box with ten minutes remaining and Walker stepped up to convert from the spot.

The trialists on display in South Wales were three of the four which we saw in the victory at Melksham, namely:

Trialist D – Kian Hill, a product of the Bristol Rovers academy who featured in the second half at the weekend, started at Merthyr and then came on again late in the second half to win the late penalty.

Trialist A – Jonathon Page, the midfielder who had an injury-plagued spell at Huish Park last season, appeared in the second half.

Trialist B – former Arsenal academy defender William Lannin-Sweet who was among the changes at half-time.

There was no place for Trialist C, experienced striker Rhys Healey, who went off with what looked like a knee injury at Melksham and was not risked on an artificial pitch at Penydarren Park. We will see if he re-appears when Cardiff City Under-23s come to Huish Park for the next friendly on Saturday.

First half

On a glorious night in South Wales, Yeovil shuffled the pack from the starting XI which began the 4-1 win at Melksham Town in the opening friendly on Saturday. Defenders Jack Kingdon and Loick Ayina, midfielders Johl Powell and Hayden Muller and striker Slavi Spasov all started alongside Bristol Rovers’ youngster Kian Hill, going under the codename ‘Trialist D’.

There were also plenty of familiar faces in the Merthyr line up with former Glovers Jay Foulston, Sam Pearson and Jacob Maddox all starting for the home side.

The first meaningful opportunity for either side fell to Luke McCormick who tried to catch out the Martyrs’ keeper Jaimie Cogman with a quick direct effort on 20 minutes and Pearson forced Jos Barker in to a save just before the half-hour mark and the winger flashed another effort wide a couple of minutes later.

Sam Pearson takes on Johl Powell Picture courtesy of FMJ Sporting Visuals

Hill/Trialist D came off with 32 minutes on the clock, replaced by Ryan Jones and then five minutes later it was McCormick who was replaced by Jonathon Page, aka Trialist A. Zain Westbrooke took the armband and it appears nothing more than protecting the star midfielder who missed a chunk of the end of last season with a groin injury on a very dry artificial surface.

With five minutes of the first half remaining, Kane Simpson hit an effort just wide and moments later Johl Powell burst through and forced a good stop from Cogman. No shortage of chances for both sides here.

But it took until the stroke of half-time for the deadlock to be broken and, no surprise, it was one of the former Glovers. In fact it was two who combined, midfielder Jacob Maddox caught Yeovil in possession on the halfway line and fed a well-timed pass through to Sam PEARSON who finished well for his first Merthyr goal.

Half-time: Merthyr Town 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

There was another shake-up of the starting XI with only trialist Jonathon Page remaining from the side which ended the first half for the Glovers. One of the new arrivals Mason Obeng showed his intent within five minutes of the restart as he got past the Merthyr defence and curled an effort which Cogman pushed behind for a corner.

Johl Powell went close soon after before Will Spiers caught trialist William Lannin-Sweet napping and his half-volley was tipped over the bar by goalkeeping coach Matt Gould, who was on Jos Barker at the interval.

But, on the hour mark the visitors created an repeat of the goal at the end of the first half to double the advantage. It was from a Yeovil attack and there was a lot of space down the left side for Maddox to feed Sam PEARSON and the Welshman coolly finished past Gould. The goal was against the run of play with Yeovil having started the half the stronger, but perhaps a sign of a defensive unit getting to know each other for the visitors.

Merthyr made a flurry of substitutions just after doubling their advantage making five changes before both Pearson and Maddox departed in separate changes.

Mason Obeng celebrated his goal with trialist Kian Hill
Picture courtesy of FMJ Sporting Visuals

With 71 minutes played, Yeovil pulled a goal back. A  great move down the right with Ryan Jones making a beautiful driving run and picking out Mason OBENG who shot first time to put a beautiful curling effort in. Great move, great finish, that was what the visitors have been trying to do all night.

Eight minutes later, the Glovers were awarded a penalty after Kian Hill, who appeared to have snuck back on to the pitch without even the club’s social media noticing (got to love pre-season!), found himself inside the Merthyr area and was brought down inside the box. Stephen WALKER stepped up and fired it straight down the middle with Cogman diving.

The home team had the better of the first half, but the changes in both teams just after the hour mark saw Yeovil make the most of their fresh legs.

Full time: Merthyr Town 2 Yeovil Town 2

Teams:

First half – Yeovil Town:Jos Barker, Jack Kingdon, Loick Ayina, Hayden Muller, Jordan Norville-Williams, Zain Westbrooke, Johl Powell, James Daly, Kian Hill (for Ryan Jones, 32), Luke McCormick (for Jonathon Page, 37), Slavi Spasov.

Second half – Yeovil Town: Matt Gould, Dan Ellison, William Lannin-Sweet, Joe Gubbins, Archie Davies, Brett McGavin, Jonathon Page, Ryan Jones, Johl Powell (for Kian Hill, ??), Mason Obeng, Stephen Walker.

Merthyr Town: Jaimie Cogman, Callum Ryan-Phillips (for Matthew Harris, 62), Jay Foulston, Aneurin Livermore (for Trialist 2, 62), Ben Margetson (for Jay Williams, 62), Jacob Maddox (for Charlie Caswell, 73), Kane Simpson, Sam Pearson (for Trialist 1, 68), Jack Evans, Kian Evans (for Morgan Wigley, 62), Jamie Spiers (for Lee Lucas, 62), .

Scorers: Sam Pearson 45 (0-1), Sam Pearson 60 (0-2), Mason Obeng 71 (1-2), Stephen Walker pen 79 (2-2)

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A first half double from midfielder Luke McCormick and a first goal for striker Stephen Walker saw Yeovil Town start their pre-season campaign with a win at Melksham Town on Saturday.

McCormick, who wore the captain’s armband, gave the Glovers the lead after just nine minutes before the home side pulled level just two minutes later before Walker made it 3-1 before the break.

There was the traditional full change to the starting XI for the second half and midfielder Brett McGavin fired in a trademark free-kick with 75 minutes gone to complete the scoring.

Another pre-season tradition saw a game of ‘Guess the Trialist’ with those turning out for Yeovil understood to be:

  • Jonathon Page (Trialist A) – the midfielder who has been pre-season training with the Glovers having been released at the end of last season.
  • William Lannin-Sweet (Trialist B) – an Arsenal academy defender who came on when Joy Mukena went off injured in the first half.
  • Rhys Healey (Trialist C) – an experienced striker who has suffered with injury in a career which has seen him play for the likes of Cardiff City, MK Dons and Huddersfield Town.
  • Kian Hill (Trialist D) – a youngster from Bristol Rovers who appeared late in the game after Healey took a knock.

First half

The starting XI saw six of the new summer signings given their first outings in green-and-white with goalkeeper Jos Barker, defenders Jordan Norville-Williams, Archie Davies and Salford City loanee Loick Ayina, midfielder Zain Westbrooke and striker Stephen Walker all in the line-up. Midfielder Jonathon Page, who was released at the end of last season having been signed in the middle of the campaign, returned under the name Trialist A.

First half action from Melksham Town. Picture courtesy of Rob Manley.

The Glovers began with a back three of Norville-Williams, Joy Mukena, and Ayina with James Daly at left wing-back and Archie Davies at right wing-back, a midfield of Zain Westbrooke and Trialist A/Page with Luke McCormick, who took the captain’s armband, and Ryan Jones in behind Walker.

Norville-Williams was in the heart of the action as Yeovil took the lead after just nine minutes. The wing-back burst down the left side and cut it back to Luke McCORMICK who fired home the opener, but that lead lasted just two minutes as the home side levelled when Dan McBEAM scored the equaliser.

In the 22nd minute, Ryan Jones showed he is aiming to start the new campaign in the same way he finished the last with some great touches to break in to the box and force a good save from Melksham keeper Adam Forster. A minute later the referee called a World Cup-style hydration break with temperatures topping 30 degrees in Wiltshire.

When play restarted Joy Mukena came off with a knock and was replaced by Trialist B, believed to be Arsenal academy defender William Lannin-Sweet, and moments later Yeovil were back in front. Stephen WALKER found his way through the Melksham and fired home an instinctive striker’s finish to bag his first goal for his new club with 29 minutes on the clock.

Norville-Williams was in the heart of the action again on 34 minutes setting up McCormick to pull an effort just past the post before Westbrooke became the first Glover to pick up a booking in pre-season with five minutes of the first half remaining. Do refs even do bookings in pre-season? It appears so.

McCormick had the ball in the back of the net with 42 minutes played when he latched on to a ball over the top and lifted the ball in to the net, but could not beat the offside trap. Luke McCORMICK did get his second just before half time when he headed home a Ryan Jones free-kick to make it a 3-1 lead at half-time.

Half-time: Melksham Town 1 Yeovil Town 3

Second half

There was an entire change of personnel for the start of the second half with only Trialist B/Lannin-Sweet remaining from the team which finished the first half. with defenders Jack Kingdon and Joe Gubbins, the versatile Hayden Muller in midfielder and forwards Johl Powell, Mason Obeng and Slavi Spasov all getting their first outings.

Trialist C, former Cardiff City, MK Dons and Huddersfield Town striker Rhys Healey, who has been spotted training with the Glovers, was also in the starter line up and had a great chance to add to the advantage within four minutes of the restart. He met Brett McGavin’s free-kick with a header which was cleared off the line before Joe Gubbins tried to connect with the rebound before it was cleared by Melksham.

On 63 minutes, a great ball from McGavin found Mason Obeng who charged down the left and side and picked out Johl Powell barrelling in to the box, but it was blocked and landed in the hands of Forster in the Melksham goal.

The hydration break midway through the second half saw Healey receive some treatment to an injury he sustained in an earlier altercation. The 31-year-old has a history of injury

With 15 minutes remaining, Brett McGAVIN curled home a trademark free-kick to make it 4-1. Despite the number of goals this half compared with the first, Yeovil have undoubtedly been in charge of this half with both Powell and Obeng impressing in particular.

Healey was replaced with the game with a minute of normal time remaining, replaced by Trialist D, understood to be Bristol Rovers youngster Kian Hill.

Full time: Melksham Town 1 Yeovil Town 4

Teams:

First half – Yeovil Town: Jos Barker, Jordan Norville-Williams, Joy Mukena (for William Lannin-Sweet, 26), Loick Ayina, Archie Davies, Zain Westbrooke, Jonathon Page (Trialist A), Luke McCormick, James Daly, Ryan Jones, Stephen Walker.

Second half – Yeovil Town: Matt Gould, Jack Kingdon, Joe Gubbins, William Lannin-Sweet (Trialist B), Dan Ellison, Hayden Muller, Brett McGavin, Johl Powell, Mason Obeng, Slavi Spasov, Rhys Healey (Trialist C) (for Kian Hill/Trialist D, 89).

Melksham Town: Adam Forster, Jack Carter, Wayne Nderemani, Archie Milne, Alex Hallett, Dave Thompson, Kyle Witt, Max Williams, James Ollis, Dan McBeam, Kitan Jaiyeoba.

Scorers: Luke McCormick 9 (1-0), Dan McBeam 11 (1-1), Stephen Walker 29 (2-1), Luke McCormick 45 (3-1), Brett McGavin 75 (4-1)

Attendance: 683

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Yeovil Town lost their final game of the season in a frantic opening 45 minutes, with Solihull Moors winning 4-1 at Huish Park. A brace from Jacob Wakeling, Scott High and Joe Sbarra were punctuated by a consolation from Terrell Works, leaving the Glovers shell-shocked going into half-time.

Yeovil came out in the second half and huffed and puffed, but the visitors sat deep and held firm, leaving the half-time decimation as the full-time result.

First half

Both sides came flying out the blocks from kickoff, as Ryan Jones drove centrally from the right hand side, firing off a shot in space from outside the box that stung the palms of Laurie Walker. The resulting corner didn’t come to much, and from the counter-attack, Solihull Moors took the lead just 90 seconds courtesy of Jacob WAKELING striking from outside the box.

Solihull almost made it two following the goal, forcing a good stop down low from Jed Ward just six minutes into the game, before Yeovil started to settle into the game after a frantic opening 10 minutes.

13 minutes in, and it was two, as Scott HIGH burst through the defensive line to strike from the right hand side – despite the best efforts of Jed Ward, who got a hand to the shot, it left Yeovil with a mountain to climb.

Three minutes later, it was three. Solihull carved through the makeshift Yeovil defence with ease, as Jacob WAKELING bagged his second, and Solihull’s third of the game, with a low strike into the bottom right hand corner.

Finally, Yeovil managed to make themselves a couple of chances, with shots from Will Merry and Terrell Works being saved and blocked respectively.

25 minutes in, and Yeovil forced another corner out of Laurie Walker, as Will Merry drove inside from the left hand side and fired a shot towards the bottom left hand corner. Page and Works almost linked up following the corner being cleared, but a foul was called and a drink’s break took place.

Following the break, Yeovil got one back, as a long ball down the right hand side found Terrell WORKS – he cut past two Solihull defenders and stuck the ball in the left side of the goal to pick up his fourth goal in green and white.

Solihull almost restored their three goal lead soon after kickoff, as a brilliant cross from Oscar Rutherford found the head of a Solihull man, but their header went just wide of the post.

36 minutes in, and it was four – a ball over the top of the Yeovil defence allowed Joe SBARRA through on goal in a one-on-one with Jonathon Page, his shot was well-taken, finding the bottom right corner to reset the lead to three.

Dakarai Mafico was then forced off with an injury, being replaced by Harvey Greenslade, marking the end of his loan spell with Yeovil – best of luck with whatever you do next Dakarai!

Just after the six additional minutes had been announced, Ryan Jones hit another fierce shot from the edge of the box, but the knuckle on the ball caused it to lift and whizz over the bar. Half-time finally arrived, with a smattering of boos met the players as they left the field.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Solihull Moors 4

Second half

Right from kickoff, Yeovil looked to press high, and were almost rewarded for doing so as Terrell Works closed down a clearance from Cox; he got the ball to James Daly who got the ball to Page. Nobody looked willing to take the shot but Perrett let fly from the edge of the box, being blocked.
Moments later, Solihull Moors made a triple substitution, including an unforced goalkeeper swap. Will Merry then drove hard from the left hand side shortly after, his shot being closed down and put behind for a corner.
Around the hour mark, both Terrell Works and Dan Ellison found their way into the referee’s book for preventing counter-attacks for Solihull, as well as Brett McGavin unleashing a shot from distance; however it landed comfortably at the feet of sub ‘keeper Will O’Sullivan.
Harvey Greenslade had the next chance for Yeovil, as a good high ball found him on the edge of the box, but his shot blazed over the Thatchers Terrace – not one for the highlight reel.
A couple of minutes later, and it was Terrell Works once more on the run, dancing through the defence and firing from the left side of the six yard box, but O’Sullivan got down well and saved with his legs. Yeovil’s momentum was disrupted soon after, as Scott High limped off with injury, being replaced by Solihull stalwart Jamey Osborne.
Another shot for Greenslade was closer, but still high over the bar from the left side of the box, as Yeovil were unable to get that extra yard of space they needed to shoot centrally.
Further chances came for Yeovil, as Solihull were quite happy to sit deep and let the Glovers attack. Harvey Greenslade cut inside with a nice heel chop, leaving Oli Tipton in a heap on the floor but his shot was blocked for a corner, and Will Merry drove into the box soon after, but his shot trickled just wide of the right post.
The end-of-school feeling was in true force at Huish Park, as Matt Gould made his league debut for Yeovil as the 90 minute mark hit; Alex Whittle also made a late appearance from the bench.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Solihull Moors 4

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 25th April, 12.30pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Jacob Wakeling 2, 16 (0-1, 0-3), Scott High 13 (0-2), Terrell Works 30 (1-3), Joe Sbarra 36 (1-4)

Pitch: Beautiful!
Conditions: Brilliant blue skies and a light breeze

Attendance: 3043 (80 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Terrell Works 58, Dan Ellison 61, Brett McGavin 90+3
Solihull Moors: Fin Howell 86

Referee: Andrew Humphries

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Matt Gould (for Jed Ward, 90), Joy Mukena, Alex Whittle (for Dan Ellison, 90), Jake Wannell (for Terrell Works, 79), Harvey Greenslade (for Dakarai Mafico, 41), Ollie Hughes, Jaydon Biss

Solihull Moors: Laurie Walker (for Will O’Sullivan, 46), Alex Whitmore, Tobi Sho-Silva (for Fin Howell, 75), Ben Worman (for Callum McFarlane, 46), Darius Lipsiuc, Dan Cox, Scott High (for Jamey Osborne, 71), Oli Tipton, Jacob Wakeling, Oscar Rutherford, Joe Sbarra (for Kian Ryley, 46)

Substitutes (not used): Charlie Watts

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Yeovil Town lost their final away game of the season 3-0 to York City, who thought they had the league wrapped up at the LNER Community Stadium.

Here’s how things fared in North Yorkshire.

First half

Within the opening five minutes, York carved out two chances with Ollie Pearce going close and then Josh Stones stinging the palms of Jed Ward.

The front two harried the Yeovil back line throughout the opening 15 minutes with Stones a physical presence. He picked up a yellow card in the 18th minute for a over-zealous tackle on Dakarai Mafico.

Josh Stones on the turn inside the opening stages.

With 23 minutes played the inevitable happened as the visitors’ defence switched off from a quick throw in and Ollie PEARCE popped up with a header for his customary goal against Yeovil. Controversial though as replays appear to show there were two balls on the pitch just before the ball hit the net.

Ten minutes later, an error from Mafico almost gifted York a second as Malachi Fagan-Walcott tried to showboat inside the area, giving Yeovil the opportunity to clear.

There was a period as the game progressed we at least had a spell of pressure but, aside from a corner thanks to the efforts of James Daly, it did not lead to much. A hush fell around the LNER Community Stadium – which was pretty quiet as it was – as news of title rivals Rochdale taking the lead at Braintree Town filtered through.

But with two minutes remaining until half-time, they were back on their feet as Josh STONES doubled their lead. Unsurprisingly it was all about the power and persistence as he thumped home a second.

Half time: York City 2 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

If the task was not great enough, it got tougher as both Mafico and Delano McCoy-Splatt were withdrawn replaced by Harvey Greenslade and the lesser spotted Jonathon Page.
The first chance of the second half actually fell to Yeovil with Troy Perrett firing over the bar with two minutes gone.
But, with 52 minutes on the clock Jed Ward had the opportunity to show the television cameras what an excellent keeper he is. First making a great stop to push away an effort from Banks and then an even better one to keep out the rebound effort from Stones.
York defender Mark Kitching put an effort in to the side netting on the hour mark before Ward did well to deny another effort from Stones with his feet. Going the other way, Will Merry was against a bright spark down the left side. I like that his first instinct is to go forward whenever he gets the ball.
Will Merry on the attack
As the game pressed towards its conclusion, York brought on four substitutes with quality additions including Joe Grey and Greg Olley coming.
With two minutes of normal time, the previously silent (we’ll put it down to nerves) home support exploded in to life as news came from Braintree that they had pulled level against Rochdale. The title was coming to Yorkshire.
Two minutes in to second half stoppage Joe GREY curled home a third to add to the fervour inside the stadium.
The final whistle sounded with the home crowd waiting expectantly for the final whistle to sound a Braintree – only to hear that Rochdale had got a winner in the ninth minute of stoppage time. The title will be decided next Saturday when the two meet for a winner takes all tie.

Full time: York City 3 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: LNER Community Stadium
Date: Saturday 18th April, 5.30pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Ollie Pearce 23 (0-1), Josh Stones 42 (0-2), Joe Grey 90+2 (0-3)

Pitch: Overall good despite the funny blue lines
Conditions: A beautiful Spring day

Attendance: 8219 (209 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Dan Ellison 58
York City: Josh Stones 18, Hiram Boateng 76

Referee: Darren Drysdale

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Jonathon Page (for Dakarai Mafico, 46), Harvey Greenslade (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

York City: Harrison Male, Ollie Banks, Hiram Boateng, Ben Brookes, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Alex Hunt, Zack Johnson, Jeff King, Mark Kitching, Ollie Pearce, Josh Stones.

Substitutes (not used): Daniel Batty, Ryan Fallowfield, Joe Grey, Callum Howe, Alex Newby, Greg Olley, George Sykes-Kenworthy.

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A slow-burning Yeovil Town worked hard against play-off outsiders FC Halifax Town in what ultimately finished as a goalless draw at Huish Park.

There were no goals in a dull first half, with Jed Ward being called upon just the once to make a good save from Jay Turner-Cooke in an otherwise uninspiring display from both sides.

The second half brought more joy for the Glovers, as narrow misses from James Daly, Brett McGavin and Ryan Jones couldn’t quite get that important breakthrough for the home side. Halifax had good moments themselves, in a pretty even contest that Yeovil will be the happier of the two sides after the full time whistle.

First half

Before the teams had even walked out, there was a change to the starting XI for Billy Rowley, as Kyle Ferguson went down during the warm-up with an injury; his absence paved the way for Harvey Greenslade to retain his starting spot from the defeat at Eastleigh on Easter Monday.

Goalmouth action from Halifax. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

It was Halifax who took kickoff, headed towards the Thatchers Terrace to begin proceedings. The Shaymen had the better of the opening minutes as well, but Yeovil stood firm before settling into the game themselves.

It was a slow start, with the first shot of the game coming 14 minutes into the game. Jay Turner-Cooke took the ball on the turn, found himself in space and let fly from all of 25 yards out, but his shot sailed into the Thatchers terrace.

A few minutes later, following a succession of soft fouls called against Yeovil, the visitors showed what they could do if Yeovil’s attention dropped off – an incisive ball from Turner-Cooke found the on-running Crowe, but his cross was cleared by Dan Ellison before a Halifax boot could find it. Soon after, an Adam Hmami shot was blocked and landed safely in the arms of Jed Ward.

Yeovil’s first real chance of the game came 25 minutes in, as a steady passage of play helped Yeovil creep towards the Halifax box; a delightful ball from Delano McCoy-Splatt found the run of Harvey Greenslade, who played the ball across the box to James Daly, his shot was blocked but the linesman had raised his flag for an offside anyways…

Ten minutes later, another chance came, as Terrell Works successfully pick-pocketed Jevon Mills, charged towards goal and curled a shot just wide of the top corner from the edge of the box.

From the resulting goal-kick, Halifax went down the other end and won themselves a corner thanks to a solid effort from Adam Hmami; his shot took a deflection off of Finn Cousin-Dawson. The corner was taken short, finding Jay Turner-Cooke on the edge of the box, his curling effort was destined for the top right hand corner if not for the strong hand of Jed Ward.

Aside from a dangerous looking cross from Dylan Crowe being cleared, there was little to mention from the rest of the half following two additional minutes, with both sides going into half-time goalless and looking toothless.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 FC Halifax Town 0

Second half

No changes for either side following the resumption of play, with Yeovil coming out the better of the two teams in the opening minutes.

A good bit of linkup between James Daly and Will Merry forced Halifax midfielder Cody Johnson to stick a foot in to trip the Southampton loanee, earning the Glovers a free kick and Johnson a spot in the referee’s book. The free-kick was just about dealt with by Halifax, forcing a corner which eventually fizzled into nothing of note.

Another free kick followed soon after, as Daly battled off three or four visiting players before eventually winning the free kick in Brett McGavin territory. His hit whizzed narrowly past the left post, punctuating a solid opening to the second half for the Glovers.

Terrell Works goes close. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Just before the hour mark, Halifax had a free kick on their left hand side that was headed away by Joy Mukena, marking their first proper adventure into the Yeovil half since the second half began. Soon after, there were more chances for Halifax, shots from Billy Waters and Jay Turner-Cooke not threatening Jed Ward but certainly asking questions of the Yeovil defence.

Both sides looked to threaten each other’s boxes, with limited success before a stoppage in play was called following an injury to Halifax defender Jevon Mills, with both managers taking the opportunity to make changes to their side.

Halifax had arguably the best chance of the game 76 minutes in, as a misplaced pass from Dan Ellison allowed the visitors to push forwards; important defensive work from Ellison himself, and Jonathon Page did just enough to stop the visitors from a clean effort, sparing the blushes of the young number 15.

Yeovil then went down the other end themselves, with Terrell Works almost through on goal – he went to fire off his shot inside the box, but an excellent block from a Halifax defender saved the day for the visitors.

A well-taken free kick at just before the 80 minute mark from Jay Turner-Cooke from 25 yards out almost gave the Shaymen the lead, but it floated just past the post.

Yeovil fought back, with a shot from Harvey Greenslade floating over the bar, and Ryan Jones and Brett McGavin’s shots were blocked. Shortly after, James Daly went down the right hand side on the counter attack, slipped inside the box but recovered in time to get a shot off – he wrong footed Halifax ‘keeper Sam Johnson, but his effort curled just past the post. 

87 minutes in, a long distance effort from Jay Turner-Cooke almost caught Jed Ward off guard, his speculative shot pinging off the top of the bar, piling pressure upon Yeovil’s defence. More solid defensive work went in, as Ellison and McGavin put in good blocks before eventually getting the ball away. James Daly was released by Troy Perrett down the other end, but his shot went narrowly over the bar from inside the box.

Just after the 90 minute mark, Ryan Jones was unleashed on the right hand side, ignoring the calls for a pass into the box, driving to the 18 yard area himself, dancing past his man and curling a low driven shot… wide. Every single person inside Huish Park couldn’t believe it had gone wide, by the narrowest of margins…

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 FC Halifax Town 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 11th April, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: None

Pitch: Green as always
Conditions: Challenging; sunny but very blustery

Attendance: 2,647 (60 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Harvey Greenslade 87
FC Halifax Town: Cody Johnson 53, Will Smith 80

Referee: Rob Massey-Ellis

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Troy Perrett (for Will Merry, 72), Jonathon Page (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 72), Jaydon Biss (not used), Liam Nardiello (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

FC Halifax Town: Sam Johnson, Will Hugill (for Billy Waters, 56), Josh Hmami, Will Harris (for Kieron Morris, 82), Will Smith, Jevon Mills (for David Kawa, 72), AJ Warburton (for Owen Bray, 82), Dylan Crowe (for Tom Lavery, 73), Ash Palmer, Jay Turner-Cooke, Cody Johnson

Substitutes (not used): Nathaniel Ford, Florent Hoti

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A goal in each half saw Yeovil Town go down to an Easter Monday defeat at Eastleigh on the same day their safety in the National League Premier Division was confirmed.

Spitfires’ striker Aaron Blair opened the scoring on the half-hour mark with a poacher’s finish before adding the second on 57 minutes when he chipped visiting keeper Jed Ward before Glovers’ defender Dan Ellison, making his first start, added a late consolation goal.

But results elsewhere mean Brackley Town, who occupy the top of the division’s relegation places, now cannot match Yeovil’s 50 points in their remaining three matches.

First half

Unsurprisingly goalkeeper Jed Ward was in the thick of the action inside the first 30 seconds. Firstly the on loan Bristol Rovers man air kicked an attempted clearance and almost let Eastleigh striker Aaron Blair in, before diving at his feet to turn the ball out for a corner. From the resulting flag kick, the ball was worked back to defender Jayden Moore whose header was acrobatically tipped over the by Ward. The warning signs are there early.

Seven minutes in Blair was brought down by Kyle Ferguson right on the edge of the area and received a yellow card. Ward was the hero again saving the first effort from Jake Vokins and then got up in time to deny Temi Eweka from the rebound. “Jed Ward, in the middle of our goal…” sings a busy-looking away end.

The next moment in Ward’s one-man crusade to save Yeovil in this match (season?) came on 22 minutes. Blair burst through and was one-on-one with the keeper who stayed upright and made himself big to block the shot. Yet another glorious opportunity for Eastleigh and another glorious save for Ward.

On 32 minutes, the Ward wall could not hold any longer. A lovely through from Eweka found Harvey Saunders who bombed in to the box and laid it across for Aaron BLAIR to poke home. It was nothing less than the hosts deserved, we look every inch the patched up side we are. Blair is everything we have missed in a striker for so long – relentless in his pressing and give him a chance and he’ll take it……except if Jed Ward is in his way, see above for explanation.

Blair and Saunders, who is on loan from League Two Tranmere Rovers, are causing us all kinds of trouble with their running in behind our back line. A shot from Delano McCoy-Splatt after about 20 minutes which I didn’t mention before because it didn’t really seem worth mentioning, is as near as we have come to troubling the Eastleigh keeper. Will Merry looks like one of the few players with the desire to go forward on the rare occasion he receives possession, but the rest look either knackered or uninterested – or both.

Half time: Eastleigh 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Billy Rowley made three changes at the interval – perhaps agreeing with much of the paragraph above – with defender Joy Mukena, winger James Daly and young midfielder Ollie Hughes coming on. Off when McCoy-Splatt, Millar Matthews-Lewis and Alex Whittle. In his pre-match comments, the Glovers’ boss described Hughes and his Under-19s’ team-mates Jaydon Biss and Liam Nardiello, who are also on the bench, as “not quite ready” for the cut and thrust of the National League. It says something about the first half display that he has felt compelled to bring on an untested youngster.

One thing you cannot question is the commitment of the travelling supporters. For a game which means little, they have made the trip to Eastleigh in numbers and they have not stopped making a racket all half.

The first ten minutes was better from Yeovil, but on 57 minutes the home side took the lead and it was all about Aaron BLAIR. The striker seemed to have lost possession, but did not give up and won it back off Mukena before chipping Ward from an angle. What we would give for a player like him. Those fans I just spoke about are still jumping up and down and singing – heroes, 582 of you!
582 heroes. Picture courtesy of Luca Manley.
Perrett’s shot on 70 minutes looped comfortably in to the hands of the Eastleigh keeper before Harvey Greenslade had a shot well blocked by Jack Baldwin, but that’s about all we have offered going forward all match.
With 78 minutes played, Jaydon Biss became the second Under-19s player to join the fray as he replaced Mukena. Rowley described Mukena as “patched up to the brim” in his pre-match comments and his arrival at half-time may have been more about trying to spare Biss the nightmare of managing Blair and Saunders.
Five minutes from time, Rowley completed added the third and final youngsters from his bench as Liam Nardiello came on in place of Brett McGavin.
Two minutes in to second half stoppage time, Yeovil got a consolation goal back. Ryan Jones lifted a ball towards the back post and there was Dan ELLISON to head home. Nothing more than those travelling supporters deserved, but not enough to trouble getting a point.

Full time: Eastleigh 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Silverlake Stadium
Date: Monday 6th April, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Aaron Blair 31 (0-1), Aaron Blair 57 (0-2), Dan Ellison 90+2 (1-2)

Pitch: Bare in places
Conditions: Beautiful Spring day

Attendance: 2,682 (582 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Kyle Ferguson 7, Harvey Greenslade 79
Eastleigh: None

Referee: Ross Martin

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Joy Mukena (for Alex Whittle, 46), James Daly (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Ollie Hughes (for Millar Matthews-Lewis, 46), Jaydon Biss (for Joy Mukena, 77), Liam Nardiello (for Brett McGavin, 85), Jonathon Page (not used), Matt Gould (not used)

Eastleigh: Josh McNamara, Josh Lundstram, Temi Eweka, Jack Baldwin, Jayden Moore, Archie Harris, Ricky Aguiar, Jordan Cousins (for Richard Brindley, 84), Jake Vokins (for Kieron Evans, 20), Harvey Saunders, Aaron Blair.

Substitutes (not used): Lloyd Humphries, Angel Wariuhm, Inih Effiong, Barney Stone, Niall Maher.

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A late moment of magic from on loan striker Will Merry saw Yeovil Town snatch a Good Friday win to relegate Truro City back to National League South at Huish Park.

The game where the division’s bottom side had looked the better side for the majority of the match was settled when the Southampton Under-21s forward made a great run before finishing coolly past former Glovers’ keeper Aidan Stone.

But whilst three points pushed Yeovil past the mythical 50 point mark, there was concerning news as captain Jake Wannell and striker Aaron Jarvis both went off with injury to place more strain on an already ravaged squad.

First half

Having gone behind after four minutes at Southend on Tuesday night, Truro almost repeated the trick at the same time when former Glovers’ loanee Ryan Law spurned a glorious opportunity. A ball in from the right found the ex-Plymouth Argyle man in space inside the six yard box, but amazingly his header was off target. A huge let off.

Truro are pressing well in the opening ten minutes but are misplacing passes with the blustery conditions causing issues for both sides. The visitors seem far more able to have control of the ball much better and succeeding by keeping it on the deck, whereas whenever we try and go through the middle of the pitch there is no space for either Brett McGavin or Delano McCoy-Splatt.

Just before the 20 minute mark, McGavin lifted a shot over the bar after a good run from Will Merry, before the visitors had two good opportunities. The first on 27 minutes saw Charsley head wide before the frontman was denied by a fantastic save by Jed Ward just a minute later. That is three clear opportunities for Truro and we have offered nothing to counter their press. We look tired again, no energy to win it back and none to press ourselves.

Will Merry | Photo by Gary Brown

Five minutes from half-time, a good move from Aaron Jarvis saw him lay it off to Merry, but his effort rolled safely in to the hands of another Yeovil old boy, Truro keeper Aidan Stone. It is difficult to pick a Yeovil player who looks up for this contest, whereas bottom of the table Truro look up for it, just without the quality to do much about it.

Goalless at the break and another Rowley half-time rocket required.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Truro City 0

Second half

One minute in to the second half, Terrell Works burst in to the box fed the ball across to McGavin whose effort was blocked by the body of a Truro defender. Moments later, good play by Daly fed the ball out to Ryan Jones on the right side and his ball to the near post was bravely challenged for by Jarvis who needed treatment after colliding with Stone.

Much like the defeat at Southend (and the defeat at Woking a few weeks back), we have offered more in the opening two minutes of the second half than we did in the entire first half.

But, in the 50th minute a long throw was unwittingly flicked on by Jarvis to Luke Jephcott who unbelievably lifted the ball over the bar. Another glorious chance for the visitors.
Just before the hour, a great forward run by Merry fed Jarvis who made a good run but hit his shot straight at Stone who did well to deny him. Harvey Greenslade replaced McCoy-Splatt on the hour and it looks to have gone to right wing-back with Ryan Jones switching to the left allowing Daly to press further forward.
Having made the change to try and give Jarvis some support up front, the striker went down feeling his calf and was replaced by Millar Matthews-Lewis. He was walking down the tunnel when Wannell went down holding what appeared to be his hamstring, the medical team is back on the pitch and is replaced by Dan Ellison, recently returned from his loan spell at Weston-super-Mare. With an already threadbare squad, further injuries are another blow. Daly is operating in the middle of midfield following the tactical reshuffle and wherever he plays he gives so much effort.
A scramble in the box | Photo by Gary Brown
With Eastleigh winning at Woking, Truro knew they needed a win to prevent being relegated and with five minutes to go they came agonisingly close when a free-kick whipped in from the left flicked off the head of Max Kinsey and rattled off the crossbar and away from danger. With the woodwork still shaking, news came through that Woking had equalised and Truro live to fight another day…..maybe.
With four minutes of seven minutes of injury time played, a moment of magic from Will MERRY sealed the victory. The Southampton Under-21s loanee ran forward and fired past Stone to surely win it and relegate Truro back to National League South. You can’t say we deserve it, but with our misfortune with injuries, Lady Luck has looked kindly on us.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Truro City 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 3rd April, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Will Merry 90+5 (1-0)

Pitch: Almost there.
Conditions: Dry but a bit blowy

Attendance: 4,020 (286 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Harvey Greenslade 77, Kyle Ferguson 85
Truro City: Will Dean 70

Referee: Lewis Sandoe

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Harvey Greenslade (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 61), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Aaron Jarvis, 64), Dan Ellison (for Jake Wannell, 67), Alex Whittle (not used), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Truro City: Aidan Stone, Connor Riley-Lowe, Tom Harrison, Will Dean, Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain (for Zac Bell, 78), Ryan Law, Luke Jephcott, Max Kinsey-Wellings, Frederick Issaka (for Tom Dean, 78), Jack Stretton (for Kieran Wilson, 86), Harry Charsley.

Substitutes (not used): Will Howard, Tylor Love-Holmes, Shaun Donnellan, Yassine En-Neyah, Saikou Janneh.

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Yeovil Town fell to defeat after a game of two halves at FA Trophy finalists Southend United on Tuesday night.

The Glovers fell behind after just four minutes when Gus Scott-Morriss fired home to get Root’s Hall rocking and the home side were better in every department in the opening 45 minutes.

But, whatever was said by manager Billy Rowley at half-time, it worked and Yeovil deservedly levelled through a Goal of the Season contender from captain Jake Wannell who stroked a sumptuous effort in with 64 minutes on the clock.

Then with six minutes left Keenan Appiah-Forson headed home from close range for a hotly-disputed winner which the Yeovil players did not think crossed the line.

First half

If there was a nightmare start which Yeovil boss Billy Rowley dreamt about the night before, it could not have been much worse than the one he watched after four minutes.

A great ball in from the left side from Harry Boyes was met by the head of Keenan Appiah-Forson in the middle, Jed Ward made a fantastic stop to push it out but it only went as far as Gus SCOTT-MORRISS who lashed the Shrimpers in front. A lazy tackle to allow Boyes to get the ball in and only Alex Whittle was in the middle of the six-yard box to mark two Southend players. Ward did his best, but he can only do so much.

Jed Ward is helpless to keep out Gus Scott-Morriss’ opener.

We are playing slowly here and Southend are having the opportunity to reset every time we have it, the fatigue we have heard about looks to be kicking in already. We simply cannot keep up with the pace of this game. On 13 minutes, Charley Kendall, who was causing all sorts of issues down the left, broke forward and fired in an effort which Ward had to tip over the bar for a corner and shortly after a ball fizzed across the face of the Glovers’ goal where mercifully there was no-one there to turn it home.

The one way traffic continued as the game progressed and Southend are getting corner after corner whilst we can never get the ball out of our own half. It took more than 20 minutes for keeper Collin Ndeng-Adi to get his first touch, and that was to play the ball out. He did more in the warm-up than his has had to do in the first half of this half.
That man Kendall had time and space down the left cut in to the box and fed it in to Appiah-Forson whose effort went over the bar with two Yeovil in close proximity. Jed Ward goes down for treatment and Rowley screams for his players to come over for a new team talk. Into ’em, Billy!
On the half-hour mark, Wannell tried to head away under pressure from Andrew Dallas before Ward fell on the ball, before the keeper came to the rescue (yet) again this time to deny Kendall. The last few minutes we have at least made it a little more difficult for Southend, but the balls are still coming in from both flanks and we continue to be penned in to our own half. We are doing some of the ugly stuff which we were not doing in the first 25 minutes, but still not cutting off the source of the danger.
38 minutes played, Will Merry presses forward and has what we could charitably call a shot which Ndeng-Adi has to put his hands down to stop, but he barely broke a sweat. It’s a good forward run by the Southampton youngster but that’s about it.
A collector’s item, Yeovil Town in the Southend half.
Five minutes from half-time, a ball in to the box from the left (again) and its going towards Scott-Morriss who gets a hand (maybe two) in the back from Jake Wannell. Referee Abigail Byrne is unmoved, but I think we have got away with one there – and so does the home crowd.
As the clock ticked down to the interval, Rowley will have been hoping to get through to half-time just a goal behind. His heart would have been in his mouth on 43 minutes when Boyes fired in to the six yard box and Andrew Dallas was there to stab it home. Lady Luck was on Yeovil’s side again as the assistant’s flag was raised for an offside.
To say we are fortunate to only be one goal down at the break would be an understatement.

Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Aaron Jarvis arrived at the interval, replacing Delano McCoy-Splatt, and playing through the middle. Merry is on the right side and Terrell Works on the left, hopefully to try and get joy in wide positions as they watched

Two minutes in to the second half and Ndeng-Adi had his first work to do. Daly hits a low shot from distance and the keeper has to get down to turn it away for a corner. Five minutes in and we are already looking to compete for the ball more than the supporters who made the trip to Root’s Hall saw in the first half.

Whatever Billy Rowley said to his players at the interval, it has made a difference, we look a completely different side. Brett McGavin sails a free-kick over the bar around the hour mark, but we have shown more effort in this opening 15 minutes.

I told you it was getting better and on 64 minutes, Yeovil drew level – and in some style. A free-kick was easily cleared as far as as Works who gave it to Jake WANNELL inside the area and he caressed a sumptuous shot past Ndeng-Adi. What a finish that is from the central defender. Take a bow!

What a finish, Jake Wannell.
On 70 minutes, Boyes smashed a fantastic shot in from outside the box and Ward does superbly to tip it over the bar and from the resulting corner Golding has an effort punched away by the on loan Bristol Rovers keeper. Southend are rallying and they make a quadruple change with Jack Bridge, Tom Hopper, Sam Austin and Alfie Massey came on with 73 minutes played.
There is a second wind blowing in this Southend side, but Rowley and his assistant Darren Simpson have got his tactics spot in this half, they are stopped the hosts coming through the middle of the pitch as they were doing at will in the opening 45 minutes.
But, with six minutes of remaining, Southend’s pressure told and they regained the lead. A ball bouncing around the box and substitute Austin heads it to the back post where Keenan APPIAH-FORSON headed it goalwards, Ward seems to claim it but the assistant insists he can see through a crowd of bodies to tell it is over the line. Wannell goes in to the book for his protests, the Yeovil players are furious. That is harsh on the visitors, who have looked much better in this half.
Millar Matthews-Lewis was thrown on as an 87th minute substitute and in second half stoppage time, the on loan Burton Albion man did well to make time for himself inside a crowded area and thrashed an effort just the wrong side of the post.

Full time: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Root’s Hall
Date: Tuesday 31st March, 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Gus Scott-Moriss 4 (0-1), Jake Wannell 64 (1-1)

Pitch: Patchy in places
Conditions: Cold

Attendance: 7,793 (68 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 85
Southend United: Oli Coker 11, Gus Scott-Moriss 38, Harry Boyes 89

Referee: Abigail Byrne

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Aaron Jarvis (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Harvey Greenslade (for Terrell Works, 81), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Will Merry, 87), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Southend United: Collin Andeng-Ndi, Gus Scott-Morriss, Harry Taylor, James Golding, Joe Gubbins (for Jack Bridge, 73), Harry Boyes, Keenan Appiah-Forson, James Morton (for Alfie Massey, 73), Oli Coker (for Sam Austin, 73), Andrew Dallas (for Ben Goodliffe, 90+1), Charley Kendall (for Tom Hopper, 73).

Substitutes (not used): Noah Mawene, Josh Walker.

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Yeovil Town’s longest away trip of the season ended in defeat as two second half goals from Gateshead ended a run of back-to-back wins.

First half

The big pre-match talking point was about the choice of Yeovil’s kit. Red and black striped away shirts, but the black shorts and socks were replaced by the white shorts and green socks worn at home. Presumably a kit clash with Gateshead’s black shorts and socks.

Those kit choices are….interesting.

Within the first three minutes, Gateshead were forced in to a change when Levi Amantchi limped off to be replaced by Ashley Boatswain.

The opening 15 minutes was played almost exclusively in the Yeovil half with then only forayn to the Gateshead half coming when Brett McGavin tried to catch the keeper off guard with a direct free-kick. The keeper was on his guard to collect easily, but still had more to do that Jed Ward at the other end despite all the home side’s possession.
We are definitely looking to find Millar Matthews-Lewis up front with long balls rather than the quick passes which had such at Wealdstone on Wednesday night. Gateshead are doing exactly that albeit without showing much end product.
The first as seen from outer space or the away end at Gateshead as it’s also known.

The 28th minute proved to be the end of an utterly forgettable first start for Matthews-Lewis, who was replaced by Aaron Jarvis. There immediately looks more shape to the side with the number nine offering more of a focal point.

Just after the half-hour mark, a nicely worked move found its way to Brett McGavin whose drilled effort was turned away by a flying save from Adam Desbois.

In the 38th minute, McGavin got caught in possession and the ball got through to Boatswain who dragged his effort wide. Then just before the half-time break, another sustained period of pressure from Gateshead saw Josh Home’s header force a fine reaction save out of Ward.

Though the hosts will undoubtedly dominate the possession stats, we go in level at the break.

Half time: Gateshead 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

In the first 15 minutes, the only point of note was the inevitable booking for Aaron Jarvis around the hour mark. An altercation with the Gateshead defence.

Just after the hour, Terrell Works and Delano McCoy-Splatt was replaced by James Daly and new loan signing Will Merry, who joined from Southampton Under-21s ahead of the game.

On 66 minutes, the home side were awarded a penalty. Wannell pulled Boatswain to the floor in the box and the referee needed no second invitation to give the spot kick. Keaton WARD fired Gateshead in to the lead.

On 72 minutes, a great break set Ryan Jones free down the right, accompanied by three Gateshead defenders, the winger tried his trademark twists and turns inside the box but could not get his shot away.
But a minute later, Gateshead doubled their advantage. A fantastic block by Joy Mukena inside the box to deny Harry Chapman bounced back to the hosts’ winger and he was able to lift it over as far as Mark BECK and the former Glover had the easy job of heading in from close range. A soft goal to concede and signs of fatigue are clearly showing in the Yeovil defence.
McGavin fizzed an effort just over the bar from the edge of the box on 77 minutes before Ward had to make a great reaction save to deny Chapman.
A disappointing day ended when Finn Cousin-Dawson was sent off for a wild challenge on Richardson and then in the final move of the game Kyle FERGUSON head a corner home for a late consolation goal for the visitors.

Full time: Gateshead 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Gateshead International Stadium
Date: Saturday 28th March, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Keaton Ward pen 66 (0-1), Mark Beck 73 (0-2), Kyle Ferguson 90+6

Pitch: Massive
Conditions: Sunny but cold

Attendance: 1546 (148 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 42, Aaron Jarvis 60, James Daly 62
Gateshead: Harry Chapman 29

Referee: Dean Watson

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Aaron Jarvis (for Millar Matthews-Lewis, 28), James Daly (for Delano McCoy-Splatter, 62), Will Merry (for Terrell Works, 62), Harvey Greenslade (for Alex Whittle, 84), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Gateshead: Adam Desbois, Sam Bowen, Brad Nicholson, David Ferguson, Kenton Richardson, Fenton John, Keaton Ward, Josh Home, Jacob Butterfield, Harry Chapman, Levi Amantchi.

Substitutes (not used): Louis Storey, Billy Chadwick, Josh Anifowose, Zak Gilsenen, Mark Beck, Ethan Moore, Ash Boatswain.