Match Reports (Page 11)

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It was win number 44 in game number 100 as Yeovil Town manager for Mark Cooper, as his men put on a fantastic display in a 1-0 win at home against Dagenham & Redbridge.

Here’s how Yeovil Town Radio’s Tom Bailey saw it from the press box at HQ.

The first half was certainly Yeovil’s, with great linkup play across the field, and a couple of early chances from Jordan Young and Frank Nouble forcing Dagenham ‘keeper Elliot Justham into saves. All the first half needed was a goal for the hosts…

Into the second half, it was more of the same; despite Dagenham & Redbridge looking like they remembered how to play football, Yeovil continued their dominance of the game, and were duly rewarded as a beautiful James Plant cross found the head of Ciaran McGuckin to nod his second goal in two games.

Further chances came for Yeovil, and despite a small spell of late pressure for the visitors, it was a superb 1-0 win for a superb home crowd.

Across the 90 minutes, Yeovil deserved the win no doubt, in one of the most complete performances we’ve seen from the Glovers this season; long may it continue!

 

First half

Mark Cooper made two changes from last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Aldershot Town, with Michael Smith and James Plant replacing Dominic Bernard and Alex Whittle. There was also a return to the squad for Josh Sims and Raphael Araoye.

It was a cagey opening few minutes between the two sides, with some wayward passes and poor touches for both teams; the first chance of the game came four minutes in, as we saw a trademark Jordan Young run, cutting inside from the right wing, his curling effort collected well by the Daggers ‘keeper.

The second chance came just a few minutes later, and it was again down the right hand side – a well worked chance starting in midfield, eventually reaching Michael Smith who whipped a lovely ball in for Frank Nouble, his towering header forced Elliot Justham to make a solid save between the sticks.

Yeovil continued to press and probe the visitors throughout the opening exchanges, with well timed tackles picking on sloppy mistakes from the opposing side – early signs of a good performance for the Glovers so far.

Play was halted in the 13th minute for Ciaran McGuckin, who was down clutching his ankle; he received treatment and was able to re-enter the field soon after.

More positive play for Yeovil followed, and a sloppy pass from the Dagenham defence led to Yeovil’s next chance; it fell to Ciaran McGuckin but he couldn’t repeat his heroics from last weekend.

The possession and chances continued to come for Yeovil as the “halfway-to-halfway” mark approached, not allowing Dagenham to grow into the game at all, the limited chances that they had on the ball being wasted, including a free kick that resulted in a foul for Yeovil after a shove in the back on Charlie Cooper.

On the half hour hour mark, Dagenham had their first half chance, as former Glover Dion Pereira cut inside from the right, in Jordan Young-esque fashion, his shot from outside the box being blocked by Morgan Williams. A half chance for Yeovil followed, a long ball over the top for Young just a little too heavy for him to get on the end of.

A corner in the 36th minute was wasted by Yeovil, allowing Dagenham to break in similar fashion to Aldershot’s goal last week, except Michael Smith was there to stop Pereira in his tracks, winning two 50/50s and getting the ball out for a throw-in.

Further spells of possession for Yeovil followed, before Dagenham made the Yeovil defence think for a moment with a break down the left; the eventual cross from the right was sloppy, and floated out of play for a throw.

Another couple of solid crosses were well defended by Nouble and McGavin respectively, with McGavin’s header sparking a counter attack for Yeovil and Jordan Young, with the number 11 squeezing the ball past two Dagenham players, feeding McGuckin on the left – the eventual chance came to nothing.

A good challenge from Brett McGavin was flagged as a foul, leading to the final chance of the half for Dagenham; the free kick from 35 yards amounted to nothing. All things considered, a positive first half from Yeovil, all we need now is one of those goal things…

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Dagenham 0

Second half

A change at half time for the hosts, as Michael Smith made way for Dominic Bernard before the action got back underway.

Within the first minute, the visitors had themselves a corner, but it led to nothing as Yeovil’s counter-attack was stopped by Oscar Rutherford.

We had to wait until the 51st minute for the next flash of quality in this game, as a shot from Josh Umerah was well saved by Ollie Wright; he was flagged for offside, but good work from the shot-stopper nonetheless.

After more good possession for Yeovil, the icing on the cake came after 54 minutes… a well worked attack on the left hand side, with Morgan finding Plant; his cross was expertly on the head of Ciaran MCGUCKIN, who nestled it into the bottom corner to give the Glovers a well deserved lead.

Ciaran McGuckin
Pic GARY BROWN

More positive play came a few minutes later, with Nouble charging down the right, he got past his man and laid it back for McGuckin once again, his shot was slightly scuffed though and ended up in the hands of Elliot Justham.

Further attacks followed, with Dylan Morgan winning a corner on the left hand side, McGavin’s ball floated deep and lost, but recycled well – shots followed from McGavin’s resulting cross from Morgan Williams and McGavin himself.

After Dagenham’s first substitution, another chance came for Yeovil, as Brett McGavin’s shot from distance forced Justham into a low save to his left, forcing a corner, which unfortunately led to nothing.

There was a flashpoint in the 65th minute, as a seemingly innocuous challenge on Charlie Cooper prompted ire from the Dagenham players as the whistle blew; things calmed quickly and a yellow card was handed out to Ryan Hill.

Another yellow followed in the 67th minute for Josh Rees for a heavy challenge in midfield, as the visitors continued to struggle against a well-drilled Yeovil side.

Just before the second Yeovil substitution, we saw our first goalkeeper header of the season, as a long ball forward for the visitors was cleared via cranium by Ollie Wright, eventually leading to a foul; the second substitution saw the re-introduction of Raphael Araoye, not seen since the victory at Boston United.

A spell of attacking play for Dagenham followed, defended well once more by the hosts, before a halt in play for treatment on Brett McGavin. A few cagey minutes followed, with Dagenham reaching the edge of the Yeovil box, but to no avail.

As the 80-minute mark approached, it was Yeovil on the attack once again, with a ball forward for Nouble from Plant leading to a throw-in, which then led to a corner; unfortunately it came to nothing, as Dagenham foiled Yeovil’s resulting balls forward.

83 minutes in, a ball down the left hand side for Dagenham was kept in play just about, as the ball in from Ryan Hill was headed out of danger by Morgan Williams, the resulting corner was poor and resulted in Yeovil regaining possession via a goal kick.

The visitors continued to show signs of life, with Dylan Stephenson flicking the ball over the head of a Yeovil player, but Charlie Cooper recovered expertly to send it out for a throw in.

Two late subs came for Yeovil, as Matt Worthington and Josh Sims entered play, replacing the sponsors (and my) man of the match Ciaran McGuckin, and Jordan Young respectively.

The final spells of play were somewhat sloppy from Dagenham, as Huish Park roared on Yeovil through the 6 minutes of stoppage time, despite the efforts of Dion Pereira on the right hand side as he shrugged off a challenge from Josh Sims, his cross finding nobody.

Another late cross was caught by Ollie Wright, and sent downfield, as the final whistle blew. The win takes Yeovil up to 10th in the league, as they sit just 3 points outside the playoff spots after 13 games – as Dave said last week, if you told me we’d be 10th after 13 games, I’d have shook your hand off!

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 5th October – 15:00 Kick Off

Competition: National League

Scorers: Ciaran McGuckin 54 (1-0)

Pitch:  Glorious!
Conditions: Sunny, with a fresh breeze

Attendance: 2,998 (114 away)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town:
Dagenham & Redbridge: Ryan Hill 65, Josh Rees 67

Referee: Ross Martin

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes:  Matt Gould, Sam Pearson, Matt Worthington (for Ciaran McGuckin, 87), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Josh Sims (for Jordan Young, 87), Raphael Araoye (for Dylan Morgan, 70), Dominic Bernard (for Michael Smith, 45)

Dagenham & Redbridge: Elliot Justham (C), Frank Vincent (for Christian N’Guessan, 61), Jake Hessenthaler (for Dylan Stephenson, 78), Harry Phipps, Dion Pereira, Josh Rees, Josh Umerah, Ryan Hill, Romoney Crichlow, Oscar Rutherford, Paul Kalambayi

Substitutes (not used): Luca Woodhouse, Josh Strizovic, Shiloh Remy, Ralph Vigrass, Alfie Terry

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Yeovil Town broke their goal-scoring duck but were held to a draw by Aldershot Town in a closely-contested match at Huish Park.

The visitors took the lead after just seven minutes when Josh Barrett’s neat finish over Ollie Wright stunned Huish Park in to silence. Throughout the first half, the Glovers were indebted to the on-loan Southampton goalkeeper for keeping them in it with the visitors on top.

Yeovil rallied after the break and it was a fine finish from on-loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin who smashed an angled shot across visiting keeper Marcus Dewhurst on 58 minutes which drew them level. The first goal we have scored in more than 400 minutes of football.

The rest of the half was a fairly frantic affair which (again) referee Robert Massey-Ellis did little to control and both sides were forced to settle for a point.

 

First half

Dylan Morgan, back in the starting line-up having been recalled from his loan spell at Weston-super-Mare early, started the match on the left wing with Jordan Young on the other front, behind on-loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin.

The first clear-cut chance fell to Young with six minutes gone. A great ball from Morgan picked out Brett McGavin who fed Young who bore down on Marcus Dewhurst but tried to dink it over the keeper rather than putting his laces through it and the keeper turned it aside from the corner.

But, the opening goal came on seven minutes as the visitors broke quickly from the resulting corner. The experienced James Henry got away quickly and the Yeovil defence did not, leaving the Glovers outnumbered as the ball found its way to Josh BARRETT who deftly lobbed it over Ollie Wright to open the scoring in front of a stunned Thatcher’s Stand.

It was a superb finish but the defending was a worry for the home side who had already been carved open before Young had his chance. That said, an opportunity spurned by the home side and one taken by the visitors. Those are the margins which cost you at this level, you’re not in National League South any more, boys.

Aldershot had two glorious opportunities to double their advantage not long after. First Hady Ghandour was twice denied by Wright during a moment of penalty area pinball, and from the resulting corner former Yeovil loanee Christian Maghoma smashed a thumping header against the crossbar. Huish Park is sounding nervous.

At the other end, McGavin hit a low free-kick under the defensive wall and Dewhurst did well to get a strong hand to it and turn it away on 20 minutes. Two minutes later good work from Morgan saw him put a low ball in to the box, Young stepped over it, and Charlie Cooper leathered it towards goal – but Dewhurst was there again to deny Yeovil. The midfielder could not have struck it any cleaner, but too close to the keeper.

We are winning so little in the top half of the pitch and there seems to be acres of space for Aldershot which Ghandour, Barrett and Henry exploiting. Ghandour has not stopped running all half and Barrett has us on strings.

On 30 minutes, Barrett tried to repeat his goal as he chipped an effort over Wright who was able to get a hand to it and turn it wide of goal. From the corner Henry had a close-range effort blocked and the ball looped up to Dan Ellison who inexplicably headed wide and clattered Wright in the process.

It is only thanks to Wright that this game is not at least 2-0 to the visitors. Mark Cooper has called his players over to the touchline as the on-loan Southampton ‘keeper got some treatment. We need a talking too.

A terrible pass from Nouble on 32 minutes gifted the ball to Ghandour who cut it back just behind Henry and Dejan Tetke was able to sneak in, just a fraction too slow allowing Wright to claim it. Lots of fingers being pointed at each other by Yeovil here, someone needs to take ownership of this.

McGuckin’s header from Dom Bernard’s cross with a minute of normal time remaining was at best a half-chance, but at least it was a half-chance in our favour. Then, the final chance of the half came after a good bit of controlled possession from Yeovil, Young found some space and his shot was turned over by Dewhurst once again. Better from us.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Aldershot Town 1

Second half

A change at the break and it was James Plant, signed on loan from League Two Port Vale on Friday, who replaced Alex Whittle. He’s come on at left wing-back with what appears to be a back three of Bernard, Williams and Wannell.

The second half started in equally worrying fashion for the Yeovil backline and Barrett had the ball in the net within three minutes of the restart. Another neat move cut through the Glovers and luckily for then the linesman adjudged Ghandour was offside in the build-up.

On 50 minutes, Young’s corner found the rising Nouble inside the box but the ball seemed to go past every other player in green-and-white and a couple of minutes later Nouble picked the ball up and ran with it. Huish Park has responded and there’s a noise coming from the Thatcher’s End. The crowd trying to lift the team here.

Seven minutes later and we are level. A great break saw Young burst forward and played a superbly weighted pass through to Ciaran McGUCKIN who finished well across Dewhurst. Our first goal in 422 minutes of football since Dom Bernard’s late winner at AFC Fylde back at the start of September.

Nouble got himself a booking for a McGuckin’s reward for his goal? He was replaced by Aaron Jarvis with 61 minutes gone.

Matt Worthington came on in place of McGavin on 75 minutes and moments later Young picked the ball up on the right side and fired in a shot which Dewhurst did well to turn aside. This is undoubtedly the best we have seen from Young so far this season, showing what he can do. Keep at it, Jordan, keep at it.

He didn’t get a chance to keep at it too much as he was replaced by Sam Pearson with ten minutes remaining. Neither side are settling for a point here, there’s a a big hole in the middle of the pitch where you would expect to the midfield to be.

As the game ticked in to injury time, Maghoma’s foot connected with the head of Pearson. You can tell from the height difference between the two players that the defender’s foot was very high. Maghoma is 6’3″, Pearson is 5’9″. Referee Robert Massey-Ellis thinks it is neither a foul or a booking. “You don’t know what you’re doing,” says Huish Park, followed by less polite things. 

Deep in injury time, Worthington pulled something from nothing to force a save out of Dewhurst. From the resulting long throw, the home side tried to get the ball back in the box and Charlie Cooper went down to roars for a spot-kick from the home crowd.

Overall, a much improved performance in the second half after a shaky first half, but plenty of chances being created. Those fine margins which are costing us though and that is something we have to improve on.

Still, a goal (hurrah!), another point and we’re 12th in the National League Premier table having only just come back up in to the division. Offer me that come May and I’ll snap your hand off.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Aldershot Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 28th September – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier

Scorers: Josh Barett 7 (0-1), Ciaran McGuckin 58 (1-1)

Pitch:  In great condition considering the wet weather in Somerset this week
Conditions: A warm and sunny day

Attendance: 3,408 (403 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Frank Nouble 58, Aaron Jarvis 77, Dom Bernard 90+10
Aldershot Town: Ryan Jones 18, Lachlan Byrd 58, James Henry 59

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes:  James Plant (for Alex Whittle, 46), Aaron Jarvis (for Ciaran McGuckin, 61), Matt Worthington (for Brett McGavin, 75), Sam Pearson (for Jordan Young, 80), Finn Cousin-Dawson (not used), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Aldershot Town: Marcus Dewhurst, Lachlan Byrd, Christian Maghoma, Dan Ellison (for Rollin Menayese, 88), Cameron Hargreaves, Josh Barrett, Ryan Jones (for Max Mullins, 90+2), Ashley Akpan, Hady Ghandour (for Kai Corbett, 84), James Henry (for Olly Scott, 67), Dejan Tetek (for Tyler Frost, 61).

Substitutes (not used): Jordi Van Stappershoef.

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Yeovil Town drew another blank in front of goal but picked up a point on the road at Sutton United in the National League Premier.

The Glovers were the better side in the first half with Frank Nouble lashing one wide and Jordan Young forcing a good save out of hosts’ keeper Steve Arnold whilst Ollie Wright did well to tip a free-kick from former loanee Lewis Simper over the bar.

But in the second half it was the home side who pressed the advantage with substitute Josh Coley causing all sorts of problems and Wright, who made some important saves in Saturday’s defeat at Oldham Athletic, had to be on form again.

There was a late injury to full-back Alex Whittle who landed heavily after a heavy tackle late in the second half which will cause concern for Yeovil boss Mark Cooper – but no more so than seeing his side fail to hit the target for a fourth consecutive match.

 

First half

The opening 15 minutes saw both sides matching each other with neither side forcing either keeper in to any action. The visitors certainly pressed the advantage the better with Jordan Young’s scuffed effort wide as close as they came, at the other end a Lewis Simper shot blocked by Morgan Williams was as close as they came to breaking the deadlock.

On the left side, on loan Rotherham United forward Ciaran McGuckin was looking lively and at the heart of some of some impressive attacking play from the Glovers.

That led to Frank Nouble getting an opportunity to move in to the centre and lash an effort just the wrong side of the post. Not far away from Frank there.

Aaron Jarvis also thinks Frank is not far away there.

At the other end Jayden Harris turned past the Yeovil defence and was tripped for a free-kick on the right side, the defensive big guns are up. But Simper goes for the shot and Ollie Wright has to be alert to tip it over. That’s a great stop from the young keeper.

On 28 minutes, more determined play from McGuckin got the ball to Young who squeezed through the Sutton defence and hit it goalwards but Steve Arnold stood tall and pulled off a good save.

It has been an organised display from the visitors and they have left the Sutton forwards living off scraps, it is only set-pieces where they have threatened so far.

Three minutes before half-time Charlie Cooper’s corner in to the box came in to the box and fell to McGuckin who fired towards goal but it was block. Play cannoned down the other end and Dom Bernard got in a tangle and was forced to make a foul of Harris. A yellow card for his trouble as well.

Will Davies flashed a shot wide of Wright’s post with the game drawing to a close, but it was Yeovil who dominated the first half. The better possession, the better chances and kept Sutton to a couple of long-range efforts.

Mark Cooper said his side were going in to this one looking to break their drought of three matches without a goal and if we can raise the tempo a little, there’s a good chance here.

Half time: Sutton United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The opening chance of the second half came when Charlie Waller lifted a looping cross in to the box, Wright back-peddled to claw it away but the young keeper collided with the post and seemed to hit his elbow against the post and needed treatment. Fortunately the Southampton man was okay to continue.

From the off you can tell Sutton have instructions to press much further forward in this second half. Credit to Yeovil’s first half display, the home side have changed their tactics.

On 52 minutes, Nouble’s ball from the right was hung up to back post where McGuckin was and it was cleared away by the defender. Mark Cooper is convinced it hit a hand in there, no real appeals from the visiting players.

The visitors brought on top scorer Josh Coley on 57 minutes and within moments of his arrival he fed Waller down the left and the winger’s effort was turned aside by Wright. The corner came as far as Davies whose point blank header was well held by the keeper.

Mark Cooper responded to the pressure from the visitors with Sam Pearson coming on in place of McGuckin. The Rotherham United youngster looked lively on his first start, a good shift.

Sutton have certainly been in the ascendancy in this first 15 minutes, but within seconds of his arrival on the pitch Pearson has made some good presses down the left. More of that, Sam.
 
Ollie Wright gets down to deny Coley.
 
All the threat is coming down the Sutton left in the shape of Coley who has been a threat ever since he came on and he drove a thunderous strike in on goal which Wright had to get down to turn around the post after 66 minutes.

Our midfield is not winning the first ball as well as we did in the first half and Sutton are exploiting that space to press ahead much better than they did in the first half. You sense the team talk from the hosts’ manager Steve Morison has had an impact on his team.

At the other end, Jordan Young had a great break on the right side, cut inside the box and shaped to shoot. If I told you his shot went out for a throw-in, you know how it went. Sam Pearson tried to match his team-mate soon after cutting in from the left side, but hit it high, wide and not so handsome.

Mark Cooper picked up on the need to tighten up midfield with Matt Worthington coming on after 76 minutes in place of Jarvis, who had a very quiet appearance.

On 79 minutes, Alex Whittle grappled with Coley on the edge of the box, but Simper matched Young and Pearson for an off-target effort as he boomed his effort over the bar.

There’s been a marked lack of quality going forwards from Yeovil this half. Time and again there’s been wild shots and wild crosses which have wasted good opportunities. We’re hanging on here.

With five minutes, there’s a high ball in to the box and the Sutton players are surrounding Wright who fingers it away, before Waller lifted another effort in to the box and Chinwike Okoli headed harmlessly wide.

A minute later, Ashley Nadesan goes in the referee’s book for a very (very!) late challenge on Alex Whittle right in front of the dug-outs. Whittle looks to land heavily on his shoulder and soon after he goes down inside the box for some treatment. Nadesan on the other hand is substituted with his manager maybe recognising his player may have been lucky to only given a yellow.

Whittle is replaced by Finn Cousin-Dawson and Bernard has come across to left-back with the substitute fitting in at right-back. With Michael Smith missing tonight, the loss of Whittle is a concern.

With the game ticking towards the 90th minute, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton replaced Young. The winger had a decent first half, but he’s been firmly marked out of the game this half.

In the fifth minute of injury time, a promising throw-in for the visitors in the dangerous position. Foul throw by Cousin-Dawson. That summed up this second half from Yeovil.

A game of two halves. Yeovil definitely on top in the opening 45 minutes, but they had to dig deep in the second period as Sutton pressed forward to hang on for a point. A good point, but it is another game without a goal.

Full time: Sutton United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: Gander Green Lane
Date: Tuesday 24th September – 19:45

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Bit damp
Conditions: Damp, also

Attendance: 2246 (181 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 37, Dom Bernard 43, Morgan Williams 72, Alex Whittle 79
Sutton United: Will Davies 40, Ashley Nadesan 87, Jayden Harris 90+1

Referee: Paul Johnson

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes:  Sam Pearson (for Ciaran McGuckin, 61), Matt Worthington (for Aaron Jarvis, 76), Finn Cousin-Dawson (for Alex Whittle, 90+1), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Jordan Young, 90+4), Matt Gould (not used).

Sutton United: Steve Arnold, Chinwike Okoli, Harry Ransom, Charlie Waller, Tyler French, Siju Odelusi (for Finley Barbrook, 57), Lewis Simper, Jayden Harris, Eduino Vaz (for Josh Coley, 57), Ashley Nadesan, Will Davies.

Substitutes (not used): Jack Sims, Edwin Agabje, Matt Rush, Nana Boateng, Jeremy Sivi.

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Yeovil Town suffered their second defeat away from home as a late winner from Mike Fondop saw them go down to a 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic.

The Glovers more than matched their hosts in the first half but were indebted to goalkeeper Ollie Wright who pulled off some fine saves throughout the match until Fondop’s header beat him with eight minutes remaining.

In the dying seconds of the game, Yeovil felt they were denied a penalty after Morgan Williams went flying inside the box, before manager Mark Cooper was shown a red card from the utterly inconsistent and baffling referee, Paul Marsden.

Here’s how Dave saw it from his view inside Boundary Park….

 

First half

The opening ten minutes appeared an exercise in both sides finding each other out. Glovers’ keeper Ollie Wright made a good claim off the head of Mike Fondop and at the other end both Matt Worthington and Sam Pearson heavily involved. 

The clearest cut opportunity for either side came on 13 minutes when Oli Hammond burst forward  but dragged his shot wide of goal.

Five minutes later, a short corner routine caught out the Yeovil defence and James Norwood’s effort from inside the area was denied by a smart save from Wright.

There was a worrying moment around the 20-minute mark when Morgan Williams needed an extended period of treatment after what looked to be an off-the-ball incident. He was very politely referred to as ‘soft’ by those lovely folks in the home end of Boundary Park.

They had a very different opinion of what looked to be a high boot from Frank Nouble as he challenged Ogle. The referee, who managed to make himself unpopular with both sets of fans within the opening 20 minutes, shared the home fans’ opinion and gave out the game’s first yellow card on 26 minutes to the Yeovil forward.

Wright was forced in to another fine stop on 35 minutes when Fondop rose highest inside the penalty area to power a header which the young keeper did superbly to push out. Three minutes later it was Josh Lundstrum (brother of Jon) who forced a stop of out the on-loan Southampton man.

There’s been a lot of questions about “online abuse” of Wright from the Huish Park media corps recently, but even his biggest critic could not question he earned his pay check for his performance in the first half.

Yeovil’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes came with the final move of the half. Great link-up play between Nouble and Pearson set the latter free to hit an angled shot which was headed away by Joe Raglan.

The better chances had undoubtedly fallen to the home side, attacking their own supporters in the first half, but Yeovil had caused the Oldham backline problems and more than deserved to go in level at the break.

Half time: Oldham Athletic 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Pearson picked up where he left off with the first chance of the second  half falling to him. A great move down the left by Nouble found its way to the Welshman whose shot was blocked by an Oldham defender. Inexplicably it was given as a goal kick; well, not inexplicable if you factor in these were National League match officials.
 
A more worrying moment came on 51 minutes when Michael Smith called for the physio as we prepared to take a free-kick. There was no obvious incident which led to it but he was replaced by Dom Bernard, who took up the right-back position.
 
Michael Smith limps off.
 
At the other end, Fondop had another glorious chance to add to his impressive scoring form against us. On 54 minutes, a fine ball in from Kitching and the big frontman put his header wide.

Dolan forced another smart stop out of Wright before on 63 minutes another bit of good link-up play between Nouble and Jarvis put Worthington in on goal. He tried to barrel his way through defenders when maybe just swinging a boot at it would have had more effect.

Brett McGavin was introduced on 63 minutes replacing Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, and seven minutes later new loan signing Ciaran McGuckin replaced Jarvis. It had been another hard-working display from the frontman who should really donate his shirt to the Oldham defence who clear wanted to take it off him all game. That said, he gives as good as he gets.

The move saw us switch to wing-backs (yes, wing-backs) with Bernard moving in to the middle while Pearson and Whittle took up the wing-back positions.

The breakthrough came eight minutes from time and it was that man Mike FONDOP again. Another good cross from Ogle found him in the middle and he headed powerfully past Wright. That’s four goals in three games against us now.

Boundary Park finally found its voice and the Oldham players responded with substitute Jes Uchegbulam having an effort tipped over by Wright.

As happened in the first half, the best opportunity of the second half fell for Yeovil with five minutes of eight added on. McGavin’s shot from the edge of the box was blocked.

But the biggest drama came in the dying seconds.  First there was a tangle between Latics’ keeper Matthew Hudson and Morgan Williams which led to the former going to ground whilst the latter grabbed the ball to set up a corner. From the resulting flag kick, there was scrum inside the Oldham penalty box saw Morgan Williams go flying inside the box. The visitors’ bench flew up and within seconds referee Paul Marsden was showing Mark Cooper a red card.

It was impossible to tell from the angle the away end was at, but the view from the Oldham home end, see tweet below, puts it firmly in the ‘seen them given’ category.

As I mentioned in the first half, the man in black made himself unpopular with both sets of fans within minutes of the game starting, but the entire match was scarred by some  utterly inconsistent and at times baffling decisions for both sides.

When the final whistle blew, it’s fair to say Gloverscast Rule 1 (all National League referees are sh*t, just live with it), was in tatters amongst the travelling fans.

Full time: Oldham Athletic 1 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: Boundary Park
Date: Saturday 20th September – 15:00

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Literally like a carpet 
Conditions: Dry with a blustery wind

Attendance:  5,411 (210 away supporters)

Scorers: Mike Fondop 82 (0-1)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Frank Nouble 26,
Oldham Athletic: Charlie Raglan 32, Mark Kitching 90+5, Matthew Hudson 90+8

Referee: Paul Marsden

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

Substitutes:  Dom Bernard (for Michael Smith, 51), Brett McGavin (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 63), Ciaran McGuckin (for Aaron Jarvis, 69), Jordan Young (for Sam Pearson, 81), Finn Cousin-Dawson (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Oldham Athletic: Matthew Hudson, Reagen Ogle, Mark Kitching, Manny Monthe, Josh Lundstrum, Mike Fondop, Tom Conlon, Joe Raglan, Jake Caprice (for Jes Uchegbulam, 55), Oli Hammond (for Callum Dolan, 55), James Norwood (for Joe Garner, 73).

Substitutes (not used): Scott Moloney, Liam Hogan, Shaun Hobson.

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Yeovil Town put in an improved performance to record their first draw of the new season at home to Altrincham on Saturday.

The Glovers came closest to breaking the deadlock in the second half when Michael Smith’s chip came back off the crossbar although in truth it was the visitors who looked in control after the break.

It was an improvement on the midweek defeat to Solihull Moors and another point on the board for the home side who now head back on the road with visits to Oldham Athletic and Sutton United in their next two matches.

 

First half

Manager Mark Cooper made three changes to the starting XI from the midweek 1-0 home defeat to Solihull Moors with Morgan Williams, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Josh Sims coming in for Dom Bernard, Brett McGavin and Frank Nouble. The dropped trio only fell as far as the substitutes’ bench.

Lo-Everton showed his intent within six minutes of the match getting underway. A nice bit of passing and moving from Yeovil picked out the midfielder who dropped his shoulder, beat his man and fired in a venomous right-footed shot which Ethan Ross beat away.

At the other end Regan Linney fired one over before a Matt Worthington cross was towards Aaron Jarvis who got a glancing header on it, but the last touch appeared to come from Altrincham captain James Jones. Inexplicably it was given as a goal kick.

There was a good battle forming between visiting winger Justin Amaluzor and Glovers’ full-back Alex Whittle in the opening 20 minutes. Whittle was definitely enjoying the better of it to start with, but the wideman forced a foul out of Charlie Cooper in a dangerous position and Alex Newby fired the resulting free-kick wide of goal.

Linney tried his luck from the halfway line having spotted Wright off his line on 26 minutes, but the keeper looked fairly comfortable have back-peddled a bit.

Referee Lee Swabey is definitely one we are going to have to invoke Rule #1 for. Sam Pearson’s cross is clearly put out of play by an Alty player and the man in black gives it as a goal kick for the second time. If you’re wondering, Rule #1 of the Gloverscast – don’t moan about National League referees, they’re all useless. Fair to say the Thatcher’s Stand did not stick to that rule.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon came on the 33 minute mark when the referee finally awarded a corner to the home side. Jarvis rose highest to meet Cooper’s ball in at the far post, but he could not get enough contact on it.

There’s definitely a more solid look to the Yeovil defence today. The return of Morgan Williams, who did play the second half of the defeat to Solihull on Tuesday night, has reunited the back four of Whittle, Williams, Wannell and Smith which was the mainstay of last season’s success in National League South.

In midfield, both Sonny and Matt Worthington are playing almost in the ‘number ten’ position with Cooper the deeper lying midfielder. That led to quicker movement in attacking positions than we saw four days earlier and Sonny was definitely showing his quality with Yeovil ending the first half better.

Jarvis was utterly convinced there was a handball inside the Altrincham box as the game entered first half injury time before Whittle’s left-footed shot was blocked by a defender before Jarvis headed comfortably in to the hands of Ethan Ross before the half-time whistle sounded.

A huge improvement on the Solihull game on Tuesday night. There was a spell where Altrincham showed some good stuff, but it’s been Yeovil who have had the better chances in that first half.

 

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Altrincham 0

Second half

The visitors made their intentions known from the off as they made the brighter start with Amalazour having an effort blocked by Michael Smith with the before Wright had to get down quickly to keep out Tom Crawford’s effort. The first save of note for Wright so far this afternoon within a minute of the restart.

Linney flashed another one past the post seconds later and Altrincham are definitely showing their intent in the opening exchanges of the second half.

On 55 minutes, the visitors had the ball in the back of the net. Linney broke away after the visitors found themselves in a three on three position following a forward foray from Jarvis, he forced Wright in to a save and Alex Newby was on hand to tap in the rebound. Luckily the linesman’s flag was up.

Just after the hour mark, Linney forced another stop out of Wright following a blistering break forward by Alamazour who evaded tackles from Whittle and Williams, the ball broke to Linney whose shot was superbly saved by the ‘keeper. Oddly, referee Swabey appeared to book Charlie Cooper – who had already been booked in the first half.

A bit of post-match detective work from Gloverscast Ben suggests the first booking after 20 minutes was actually for Altrincham’s Justin Amalazour. For what, we do not know.

With 65 minutes gone, Mark Cooper made his first change with Frank Nouble replacing Josh Sims.

Three minutes later, Worthington cut inside and shot just over the bar, but the energy levels were dropping for both sides on a warm afternoon. 

A moment of magic from Michael Smith almost gave Yeovil the lead with 76 minutes gone. Having won the ball in midfield, he drove forward with Jarvis alongside him, spotted Ross fractionally off the line and attempted the chip which came back off the crossbar and hit Ross. So unlucky and the closest either side has come to breaking the deadlock.

That signalled two changes in the Yeovil forward line as Brett McGavin and Jordan Young replaced Lo-Everton and Sam Pearson. That meant Young down the right, Nouble down the left with Jarvis through the middle.

Cooper hit one over the bar with nine minutes of normal time remaining before McGavin hit a low one which Ross collected comfortably. 

There was a worrying moment with a minute left when Michael Smith came off to be replaced by Dom Bernard, but the reaction of the veteran full-back was the biggest concern. He did not look happy. 

With three minutes of injury time played, Nouble showed great strength to get away but he dragged his shot wide with Jarvis and Young both in arguably better positions.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Altrincham 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 14th September – 15:00

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Still looking good
Conditions: A glorious autumn day

Attendance: 2,838 (91 away supporters)

Scorers: None.

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 61, Michael Smith 82
Altrincham: Justin Amalazour 20.

Referee: Lee Swabey

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

Substitutes:  Frank Nouble (for Josh Sims, 65), Brett McGavin (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 76), Jordan Young (for Sam Pearson, 78), Dom Bernard (for Michael Smith, 89) Finn Cousin-Dawson (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Altrincham: Ethan Ross, Lewis Banks, Jake Cooper, Elliott Osborne, Regan Linney (for Kahrel Reddin, 87), Alex Newby (for Matty Kosylo, 87), Justin Amaluzor, Liam Humbles (for Joe Nuttall, 77), James Jones, Tom Crawford, Tylor Golden.

Substitutes (not used):  Remi Thompson, Eddie Jones, Jake Bickerstaff, Harvey Randle.

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Yeovil Town went down to their third home defeat of the season as they failed to break down a well-drilled Solihull Moors side on a miserable night at Huish Park.

The only goal of the game was one of the few moments of quality on offer as Conor Wilkinson lifted a beautiful chip over stranded Glovers’ keeper Ollie Wright with 11 minutes on the clock.

Brett McGavin’s free-kick off the top of the crossbar in the first half and Jake Wannell had a goal ruled out for offside after the break, but Yeovil never got better than an arm’s length from their opponents.

It was a performance as flat as the weather in Somerset and the final whistle was met with some boos among the home supporters.

First half

The Glovers got turned around from the off and were forced to attack the Thatchers’ Stand with a strong wind and plenty of rain behind them.

But, despite being against the elements, the first effort came from Solihull with John Bostock flashing past the post with Ollie Wright at full stretch.

Unfortunately, it was a sign of what was coming as the next attack led to the opening goal for the visitors. With 11 minutes gone, Dom Bernard misread a forward pass from Solihull and slipped and Conor WILKINSON picked it up and lifted an inch perfect chip over Wright.

In any game that finish was something special, but in these awful conditions and over a keeper who stands 5’8″ that is even more special. Huish Park which started in lively mood, fell silent.

Conor Wilkinson opens the scoring at Huish Park,

A loose pass back from Nouble put Cooper in trouble and Jamey Osborne broke away and got the ball in to Wilkinson whose effort came back off the inside of the post. The Yeovil defence was statuesque there and it should have been 2-0.

There seems to be a lot of fingers being pointed at each other in the hosts’ backline and Solihull are taking advantage of it. Matt Warburton warms the palms of Wright. We really need to wake up.

Definitely contrasting styles, Yeovil playing their usual controlled, possession-based style whilst a lively Solihull side want to play it to the big man Wilkinson and then play some short, sharp passes. In the first half-an-hour, it’s working out better for the visitors.

It was going to take something special to get past a wall of yellow shirts that banked behind the ball whenever Yeovil were in possession. Brett McGavin almost found it when his tried an audacious free-kick from fully 30 yards and Moors’ keeper Laurie Walker could only watch it bounce off the top of the bar.

Osborne caused problems for the Yeovil defence on 42 minutes, he scrambled his way through the defence but flashed his shot wide and a minute later he put one wide of the other post. The speed of Solihull’s passing versus their more ponderous hosts is the difference. Pass and move from the visitors, pass and wait from the hosts.

A couple of boos from some inside Huish Park as the half-time whistle sounded.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Solihull Moors 1

Second half

Mark Cooper responded with two changes at the start of the second half with Morgan Williams and Jordan Young coming on in place of Dom Bernard and Brett McGavin. That reunited Williams alongside Wannell whilst Young and Pearson took up wide positions with Nouble playing closer to Aaron Jarvis as Yeovil went in search of an equaliser.

The first chance of the second half fell to the hosts on 52 minutes. Good endeavour from Pearson down the left side and the ball was cleared as far as Michael Smith who controlled it on his chest and lashed an effort just over the bar.

 

Michael Smith sends an effort dipping over the bar.

But not long after some more shaky defending at the other end with Wannell allowing Newton to hit a shot in which was saved by the legs of Wright.

Another promising moment for Yeovil on 57 minutes as Cooper picked out Nouble who was in a good position on the corner of the penalty area, but rather than pick out a team-mate, he tried the spectacular and it went (spectacularly) over the bar. That one has gone in to the car park behind the empty away end.

Morgan Williams put a header wide from a Cooper corner, and you just feel that a set-piece is going to be where a chance is going to come from. No luck from breaking down that yellow wall.

Huish Park is dead and I really can’t blame it.

There’s that yellow wall.

Josh Sims replaced Michael Smith with 12 minutes of normal time remaining. But the next chance fell to Solihull, a mistake from Matt Worthington in the middle allowed ex-Glover Matt Warburton to get away down the left and put one in to the box where Newton was barrelling in. The effort went wide, luckily.

Yeovil thought they had equalised on 83 minutes when Charlie Cooper lifted a free-kick towards the back post where Jake Wannell was to meet it with a header. The ball flew in to the net, the offside flag went up. Ugh.

As the game ticked in to six minutes of injury time, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton replaced Pearson, who appeared to be suffering with cramp just before.

There was not to be any more late drama and the final whistle was met by some boos from sections of the Huish Park crowd. In truth, we never really laid a glove on Solihull.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Solihull Moors 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Tuesday 10th September – 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Held up remarkably well in the conditions
Conditions: Pretty miserable

Attendance: 2,489 (42 away supporters)

Scorers: Conor Wilkinson 11 (0-1)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 84, Sam Pearson 87
Solihull Moors: Conor Wilkinson 15, Jamey Osborne 55, Laurie Walker 79, Sam Bowen 90+2

Referee: Ruebyn Ricardo

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes:  Morgan Williams (for Dom Bernard, 46), Jordan Young (for Brett McGavin, 46), Josh Sims (for Michael Smith, 79), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Sam Pearsonl, 90), Finn Cousin-Dawson (not used), Corey Koerner (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Solihull Moors: Laurie Walker, Joe Newton, Olly Tipton, Alex Whitmore, Jordan Tunnicliffe, John Bostock, Jacob Pinnington (for Joss Labadie, 66), Jamey Osborne, Sam Bowen, Matty Warburton, Conor Wilkinson (for Bradley Stevenson, ).

Substitutes (not used):  Aaron Flahavan, Finn Howell, Kian Ryley, Kyle Moseley.

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A debut goal from defender Dom Bernard earned Yeovil Town three points in a madcap match at AFC Fylde which saw the Glovers battle back from 2-0 down at half-time in Lancashire.

The game could not have been one of two more contrasting performances from the visitors. In the first half, they appeared defensively all at sea with an anonymous midfield and unable to capitalise on their chances, but in the second half the roles were reversed as they went on the attack, took their chances and their hosts spurned theirs.

It was Fylde dangerman Nick Haughton who put the Coasters in control with a first half brace, but substitute Sam Pearson pulled one back on 66 minutes before Aaron Jarvis pulled the Glovers level three minutes later. It was substitute Sonny Blu Lo-Everton who put us ahead with a sumptuous strike on 78 minutes then with six minutes remaining Fylde debutant Tyler Roberts pulled the hosts level.

It was left to Bernard to smash home the winner from close range after a goalmouth scramble which sealed the points. Character, not half! 

Here’s how Dave saw – once he got his heart-rate down – from the away end at Mill Farm……

First half

Yeovil Town fielded a patched-up looking defence with new signing Dom Bernard handed a debut the day after being unveiled alongside Finn Cousin-Dawson, there was a welcome return for Alex Whittle on the left side of defence.

However, within three minutes, Whittle was was out-muscled down the right side by Nick HAUGHTON who went on to lash a fine finish past Ollie Wright from a tight angle. 

Three minutes later there was another close call which saw Frank Nouble having to clear a header from ex-Glovers’ loanee Corey Whelan after he was left unmarked at the back post from a Haughton corner. 

Having been stung on a couple occasions, Yeovil began to find a bit of control. A neat touch from Aaron Jarvis allowed Brett McGavin to pick out Josh Sims just outside the box, but he lifted the ball over the bar. The visitors were enjoying plenty of possession, but the majority was played in our own half where Fylde were happy for us to have it.

The best opportunity the visitors had created came on 27 minutes with Jarvis again showing good link-up play this time to set up Michael Smith whose cross almost found  Sims at the far post, but he could not get anything on it. Soon after, Finn Cousin-Dawson put a header harmlessly over the bar from a corner, but Fylde keeper Ben Winterbottom was still yet to be tested by anything approaching a meaningful opportunity.

Meanwhile, every time Fylde (or should I say Nick Haughton) went forward they cut through our defence like a hot knife through butter, and our patched up defence was rocking. Haughton fizzed an effort over the bar and Ethan Mitchell both had opportunities and you felt a second was coming.

It arrived on 39 minutes and Yeovil were architects on their own downfall. McGavin found himself with his back to goal on the corner of his own area, he was out-muscled (that word again) by Mitchell who teed up  Nick HAUGHTON drill another unstoppable shot past Wright. How this lad is still playing at National League level, I have no idea.

From then on praying for no further goals before the half-time whistle was about all the visitors could do, and Haughton almost completed his hat-trick before it sounded when he smashed another effort just past the post.

A rocking defence, a non-existent midfield and forward players who could not finish their own dinner. Other than that, it’s been alright. 

Half time: AFC Fylde 2 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Half-time saw changes from Yeovil with Jordan Young and Sam Pearson coming on for Finn Cousin-Dawson and Josh Sims…..as full-backs, yes, full-backs. That meant a back three of Michael Smith, Dom Bernard and Alex Whittle.

The result was certainly more attacking from the visitors  with much of the progress coming from the two new arrivals, Young was causing problems down the right and Pearson on the left.

With 62 minutes gone, a Charlie Cooper corner found Matt Worthington at the back post which looked to be looping in to the corner of the net only for Owen Evans to nod it off the line, before at the other end Haughton had another effort which forced Wright to get down smartly to deny.

Then the fightback began. Jarvis showed superb unselfish running to collect a ball forward from Michael Smith and play it in to Sam PEARSON, who brought the ball down and fired home (with a bit of a deflection off a Fylde defender) to reduce the deficit. But, this attacking business has its downside and almost immediately after pulling one back, Yeovil were carved apart again and again it was Haughton driving forward to play in Mitchell whose side was superbly saved by the feet of Wright.

The Glovers’ equalised on 69 minutes was all about superb forward play from Aaron JARVIS. It was his sheer determination and ability which controlled a nodded ball forward from Nouble, to find his strike-partner, who fed Pearson on the left and fired an effort across the face of goal where Jarvis was on hand to bundle it home. 

Aaron Jarvis celebrates his equaliser – as did the away end!

Disclaimer: This is where I totally lost track of the match, you can excuse my excitement, I am sure. The rest of the report is written entirely from memory.

With 77 minutes gone, Sonny Blu LO-EVERTON replaced Brett McGavin and no-one could have guessed the impact the midfielder would have. With what I think was his first touch of the ball, he collected a pass from Nouble, moved to the edge of the area and smashed a beautiful effort past Fylde keeper Ben Winterbottom. Bedlam in the away end, absolute bedlam.

Remember how I said this attacking thing wasn’t all one way? On 84 minutes, Fylde winger Tyler ROBERTS, signed on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers this week, levelled the game again. Haughton (yes, him again) crossed to the back post, substitute Taelor O’Kane headed it back in to the danger area and Roberts was on home to bundle it in.

You’d take a point at that point, right? Not this second half Yeovil team, no a bit of it. They kept coming and an 88th minute corner was won in the air by Nouble, acrobatically helped back in to the danger area by Pearson and Dom BERNARD was on hand to smash it home.

There was still time for more action and step forward Ollie Wright. In injury time, Owen Evans lofted a high ball up to the back post where O’Kane met it with a header and the on-loan Southampton keeper did superbly to turn it aside.

A crazy, chaotic game which had served up one of the worst 45 minutes of football I have seen from us in a long time in the first half, but that was followed by second half performance built on determination, fearlessness and a character which at times took your breath away. Football, eh?

Note: At the end of the match, one Yeovil supporter required medical assistance from staff at the ground on the terraces at Mill Farm. We believe he was responsive following treatment and has been taken to hospital. We are sure we join with all Glovers’ fans in wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Full time: AFC Fylde 3 Yeovil Town 4

Match Details

Venue: Mill Farm
Date: Saturday 7th September – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Very flat
Conditions: Very welcoming on the Lancashire coast.

Attendance: 1,305 (144 away supporters)

Scorers: Nick Haughton 3 (0-1), Nick Haughton 34 (0-2), Sam Pearson 66 (1-2), Aaron Jarvis 69 (2-2), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton 78 (3-2), Tyler Roberts 84 (3-3), Dom Bernard (87 (4-3).

Bookings:
AFC Fylde: Gavin Massey 73.
Yeovil Town: Dom Bernard 41.

Referee: James Bancroft

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

Substitutes: Jordan Young (for Finn Cousin-Dawson, 46), Sam Pearson (for Josh Sims, 46), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Brett McGavin, 78), Corey Koerner (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

AFC Fylde: Ben Winterbottom, Owen Evans, Harry Davis (for Patrick Gamble, 73), Adam Long, Ethan Mitchell (for Taelor O’Kane, 77), Offrande Zanzala (for Danny Ormerod, 62), Nick Haughton, Jonathan Ustabasi (for Tyler Roberts, 77), Corey Whelan, Bryce Hosannah, Joe Riley (for Gavin Massey, 62).

Substitutes (not used): Theo Richardson, Charlie Jolley.

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A first half double from Brett McGavin set Yeovil Town on the way to a 3-1 victory in an eventful game at fellow newly-promoted side Boston United.

The midfielder bent in a beautiful free-kick after just five minutes, before some sloppy defending allowed the home side to equalise. But, on 17 minutes, Boston were reduced to ten men with Jordan Richards seeing red after clattering Charlie Cooper.

McGavin got his second stroking the ball in from the edge of the box with seven minutes of the first half remaining.

But, Yeovil struggled to make their advantage pay and it was not until a great run and cross from Sam Pearson was turned in by substitute Jordan Young on 75 minutes that the three points looked safe.

Even then, Boston continued to press for another goal and Yeovil were reduced to ten men as Jake Wannell was sent off for a needless foul with five minutes remaining.

Here is how Dave saw it from his place in the away end at Pilgrim Way….

First half

After some cautious opening exchanges, it only took five minutes for Yeovil to take the lead. Aaron Jarvis was felled on the edge of the box by Boston’s Zak Mills. Up stepped Brett McGAVIN to bend one in to the top corner, watch that one on the highlights.

A moment of quality had given the visitors the lead but the mistakes in defence which had dogged them the past two matches were still there.

With ten minutes gone, Weston pounced on an error by Jake Wannell and striker Jacob Hazel powered towards goal before a good interception by Finn Cousin-Dawson denied him the opportunity to get a shot away.

But having been the saviour, Cousin-Dawson was the villain five minutes later as his error gifted Boston an equaliser. The centre-half completely missed a challenge on the speedy Weston who got away, squared it to Sam OSBORN who thumped it past Ollie Wright.

At that point, there was not much to separate the two sides but the game turned on 17 minute when Jordan Richards was sent-off after clattering Charlie Cooper.

From that point, Yeovil dominated the possession without carving out a clear-cut opportunity on the Boston goal. In fact, the next chance fell to the home side when Hazel thundered down the right wing and  got the ball in an Wright snatched it off the head of Osborn.

But, with 37 minutes gone, the pressure paid as a nicely-worked move saw McGavin pick out Raphael Araoye on the left side, he found McGAVIN just inside the box and he massaged the ball in to the net for his second. That proved to be Araoye’s last action as he went off with what looked like a knock to be replaced by Sam Pearson.

Half time: Boston United 1 Yeovil Town 2

Second half

On 55 minutes, Charlie Cooper collided with  former Glovers’ loanee Martin Woods on the edge of the box, leaving the Boston man requiring treatment and the Yeovil man going in to the referee’s book, the resulting free-kick was deflected wide of goal.

But the home side had come out of the half-time break the brighter and, despite their numerical disadvantage, looked the more likely to create an opportunity.

The first opportunity took until the 64th minute to come. Nouble got away down the left and put a ball in to a box containing Aaron Jarvis, Josh Sims and Matt Worthington. None of them got a touch.

It took until the 75th minute to find a way through the hosts and it was a goal that was all about Sam Pearson. He got away down the left wing, powered in to the box and hooked a ball back to substitute Jordan YOUNG who turned in Yeovil’s third goal.

Yeovil Town celebrate Jordan Young putting them 3-1 ahead.

With the hosts visibly tiring, Nouble had a couple of breaks forward, the best of which saw him hammer a stinging shot against the palms of the keeper, it bounced out to Young who put it over the bar. Quite how that was not four, I do not know.

To their credit, Boston did not stop pushing for another goal and with five minutes of normal time remaining Jake Wannell picked up his second yellow card for pulling down Hazel. Such a needless booking and, with Morgan Williams and seemingly Araoye missing, leaves Yeovil very short of cover in the middle of defence.

Two minutes after the numerical disadvantage had been levelled, Wright pulled off a fine stop to deny Pilgrims’ substitute Aderoju.

With an even number of players on each side, Boston upped their pressure on the Yeovil box with substitute David Mooney a menace down the right side.

There were a number of moments which set pulse rates racing in the away end throughout eight minutes of stoppage time, but Yeovil went home with the three points.

Full time: Boston United 1 Yeovil Town 3

Match Details

Venue: Jakeman’s Community Stadium
Date: Saturday 31st August – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  As you’d expect for the end of August 
Conditions: Dry and bright to start, dull and drizzly by the end

Attendance: 1,956 (154 away supporters)

Scorers: Brett McGavin 7 (1-0), Sam Osborne 15 (1-1), Brett McGavin 37 (2-1), Jordan Young 75 (3-1).

Bookings:
Boston United: Jai Rowe 90+2
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 56, Jake Wannell 60, Jake Wannell 85.

Sendings off:

Boston United: Jordan Richards 17
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 85

Referee: Neil Hair

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

Substitutes: Sam Pearson (for Raphael Araoye, 42), Jordan Young (for Josh Sims, 70), Harvey Greenslade (for Aaron Jarvis, 74), Jordan Thomas (for Harvey Greenslade, 90+1), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Boston United: Cameron Gregory, Jai Rowe, Michael Bostwick (for Tom Leak, 82), Zak Mills, Cameron Green, Jordan Richards, Martin Woods (for Dan Mooney, 80), Sam Osborne (for Dylan Hill, 70), Frankie Maguire (for Keaton Ward, 84), Tony Weston (for Pemi Aderoju, 74), Jacob Hazel. Substitutes (not used): Ellis Craven, Mitchell Roberts.

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Yeovil Town lost 1-0 at home to Rochdale on Bank Holiday Monday. 

A single Connor McBride goal on the stroke of 90 minutes was all that seaparated the sides on a roasting hot day at Huish Park.

First half

The opening changes suggested Yeovil were looking to press their opponents far more than they had been in the previous outing at Huish Park, the 3-2 win over Ebbsfleet United last Tuesday night. Frank Nouble was at the heart of it pressuring the Rochdale backline.

With eight minutes gone, Yeovil spurned two great opportunities to take the lead. Rochdale captain Ethan Ebanks-Landell pulled up with an injury and the Glovers capitalised with Young bearing down in goal, it bounced around inside the box until eventually Charlie Cooper hammered in a shot which was saved by Luke McNicholas.

Luke McNicholas class for the ball under pressure from Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

It bounced out to the right side where Michael Smith lifted it in and picked out Aaron Jarvis on the back post, but he could not get enough power on it and it was hacked off the line. Those are exactly the type of chances we have to be taking at this level.

Ebanks-Landell went off, replaced by Kyle Ferguson before the visitors had a good opportunity of their own after ten minutes. A moment of hesitancy from goalkeeper Ollie Wright who hesitated on his line as visitors’ striker Kairo Mitchell broke through and Morgan Williams had to make a last ditch dash to bail out his keeper.

This was definitely a game of two sides who showed in the opening 20 minutes that they like to keep the ball down.

With just under half-an-hour gone, a great turn in the middle of park from Frank Nouble saw him set Josh Sims away, but the winger could not get his shot away and Rochdale shepherded the ball out for a corner. From the resulting Brett McGavin flag kick, Williams’ got his head to it but could not control it.

Rochdale keeper Luke McNicholas scrambles back….

On 38 minutes, Yeovil came about as close to taking the lead as is possible. McNicholas’ attempted to clear it and Jordan oung managed to get a header on it from fully 40 yards out, the ball lofted over the keeper and bounced towards the goal as McNicholas scrambled back to clear it.  Assistant Oliver Taylor judged it did not cross the line despite him being at least ten yards behind the ball with the only people able to tell you whether it did cross the line being the away supporters.

Two minutes later visiting midfielder Tarryn Allrakhia fed an inch-perfect ball through to Kairo Mitchell who beat the offside trap and the striker fizzed a shot just over the bar, literally centimetres over the bar.

A pretty even first 45 minutes with both teams trying to move the ball quickly past each other, not end-to-end but a good standard of football on show for the Bank Holiday crowd.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Rochdale 0

Second half

The visitors made two substitutions at the start of the first half with former Glovers’ loanee winger Courtney senior replaced by Tobi Adebayo-Rowling and Finlay Armstrong coming off in place of Connor McBride. No changes for Yeovil.

With five minutes of the half gone, Nouble did superbly to take the ball forward down the right-hand side and fizz a ball in where Aaron Jarvis was arriving, but the striker could not bundle the ball past McNicholas in front of the Thatcher’s End.

McGavin lashed one over from distance a couple of minutes later, but a hat tip to the build up largely involving Josh Sims which led to that chance. Judging from McGavin’s YouTube reel, you can’t blame him for having a go from 30-odd yards.

McGavin hammers one over…..

With 64 minutes on the clock, Jordan Young, who had become a father on Sunday, and Josh Sims were withdrawn in place of Sam Pearson and Harvey Greenslade. Sims had not had the impact that he had in his previous appearances and the arrival of Pearson and Greenslade should offer additional pace.

Three minutes Greenslade had a great chance chipping one towards the back post which caused problems without getting over the line in front of a very noisy sounding Thatcher’s End.

On 73 minutes, it was the visitors’ chance to have a go at goal having worked the ball in nicely from the right-hand side and Aaron Henry’s effort went just over the bar. Sam Beckwith had an opportunity soon after and the danger was definitely coming down that flank with Araoye and Greenslade finding themselves in problems.

The game was starting to slow at this point with chances coming at a premium.

Morgan Williams blocked a fierce shot from a Rochdale forward and the impact seemed to really rock the defender, after a couple minutes of treatment on the pitch, he was replaced by Finn Cousin-Dawson for his home debut.

Aaron Henry saw an effort sail wide with a few moments left, the visitors enjoying the majority of the ball in the latter stages.

Then, no sooner had the fourth officials board gone up to signal seven additional minutes, did Connor MCBRIDE fire home. The ball broke loose to the forward on the edge of the box, he had time to his spot down to Ollie Wright’s right hand side and the keeper, at full stretch was unable to get close.

The Glovers upped the urgency for the remainder of added time, even Wright found himself forward for a last ditch free kick, but there was nothing more significant than an Aaron Jarvis booking to speak of as the ref sounded for full-time.

A frustrated Huish Park streamed for the exits; what might have been.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Rochdale 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Monday 26th August – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch:  Superb, as we have come to expect
Conditions: Red hot

Attendance: 3,686 (182 Away)

Scorers:  Connor McBride (0-1 ’82)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Aaron Jarvis ’95
Rochdale: Tarryn Allrakhia 40, Aaron Henry 47.

Referee: Alan Dale

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes: Sam Pearson (for Jordan Young ’64),  Harvey Greenslade (for Josh Sims ’64), , Matt Worthington (for Michael Smith ’69), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Charlie Cooper ’78, Finn Cousin-Dawson (For Williams ’83),  Dylan Morgan (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Rochdale : Luke McNicholas, Kyron Gordon, Finlay Armstrong for Connor McBride, 46), Ryan East, Aaron Henry, Ethan Ebanks-Landell (for Kyle Ferguson, 10), Tarryn Allarakhia, Kairo Mitchell (for Ian Henderson ’69), Courtney Senior (for Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, 46), Jake Burger (for Devante Rodney ’82), Sam Beckwith.
Substitutes (not used): Bradley Kelly, Ody Alfa,

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Yeovil Town fell to a 3-1 defeat on the road at Gateshead this afternoon. The first half was a great game for the neutrals, with both sides playing some nice stuff going forward with a side of terrible defending.

An own goal by Jordan Thomas was added to by former Yeovil trialist Brandon Haunstrup inside 22 minutes before Aaron Jarvis got one back.

Mark Cooper’s side gave as good as they got against the league leaders, but a late penalty from Luke Hannant saw it finish 3-1.

First half

Yeovil had Gateshead chasing back in the 3rd minute.  Sam Pearson was played through on the left hand side of the Gateshead defence and he chose to cut it back rather than get it across the six yard box.

Moments later, Aaron Jarvis had a sighter from distance that skipped past the post of Tiernan Brooks.

Both sides exchanged possession in the early stages and in the 12th minute, Jacob Butterfield’s left footed strike was diverted in by Jordan Thomas. A spell of possession led to a cross in the box that came in too easily and wasn’t cleared away. 0-1

Yeovil tried to hit back and cross into the box found Jarvis who rose highest to head towards goal but his effort was comfortable for the keeper.

Ollie Wright was called into action in the 17th minute after the Oseni pounced on the Glovers as they tried to play out. The loanee got down low to deny the Gateshead striker.

Calamitous defending from Yeovil allowed former triallist Brandon Haunstrup to double Gateshead’s lead. A sloppy pass from Worthington didn’t quite make its way to Michael Smith and Haunstrup pounced to fire into the roof of the net. 0-2

The Glovers should have got one back in the 24th minute through Matt Worthington. A ball over the top caught Gateshead napping and Worthington found himself face to face with Brook in goal. The midfielder could only fire straight at the man in purple.

A few minutes later Aaron Jarvis got his goal. A great cross from Michael Smith found Yeovil’s number 9 on the spot and his powerful header couldn’t be kept out despite Brooks’ best efforts. 1-2

Jarvis nearly levelled the score with the next attack. Another cross in from the right caused Gateshead all sorts of problems but Jarvis could only strike high and wide.

Yeovil switched to the familiar back four and started to get more joy. Morgan Williams came within the width of the post to drawing Yeovil back level. 

Gateshead thought they’d scored their third moments later after Louis Storey’s header across the box was nodded in by Oseni. On this occasion the assistant’s flag saved the Glovers.

Half time: Gateshead 2 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

Mark Cooper made a half time change with Frank Nouble replacing goalscorer Aaron Jarvis.

Harvey Greenslade snuck in past Louis Storey on the 52nd minute and struck a good effort at goal and earned a corner for his efforts.

Butterfield came close to getting his 2nd of the afternoon moments later, drawing a save from Ollie Wright who clawed it out low to his right.

Gateshead maintained the pressure and whipped strike from Hannant went over Wright’s bar.

On the hour Yeovil Town made a triple substitution with Charlie Cooper, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Dylan Morgan coming on for Greenslade, McGavin and Sims.

Morgan nearly made an instant impact. sloppy play from Gateshead allowed Nouble and Morgan to link up and Morgan’s effort was blocked by a sliding Heed defender.

Gateshead made some changes of their own with former Glover Mark Beck entering the fray. But it was his teammate, Kain Adom who’s shot was deflected wide with Wright at full stretch.

The second half never quite lived up to the first, with neither side able to get their passing game flowing and plenty of substitutions disrupting the flow.

The Glovers conceded an 87th minute penalty after a shirt pull on Mark Beck. Luke Hannant coolly despatched past Wright. 1-3

Gateshead could have scored a fourth in stoppage time but Adom’s effort was skied over.

Full time: Gateshead 3 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Gateshead International Stadium
Date: Saturday 24th August – 12:30pm

Competition: National League Premier

Pitch: Far away.luscious with dark green rugby lines
Conditions: Bright sunshine with a northern chill

Attendance: 1096 (157 away supporters)

Scorers:  Jordan Thomas OG 14 (0-1), Brandon Haunstrup 22 (0-2), Aaron Jarvis  30

Bookings:
Gateshead: Regan Booty 65, Louis Story, 76
Yeovil Town: Matt Worthington 36, Frank Nouble 82

Referee: Martin Woods

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

*It changed multiple times during the match!

Substitutes: Frank Nouble (for Aaron Jarvis, 46), Charlie Cooper (for Harvey Greenslade, 60), Brett McGavin (for Dylan Morgan 60), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Josh Sims, 60), Raphael Araoye (not used), Finn Cousin-Dawson (for Michael Smith 72), Matt Gould (not used).

Gateshead : Tiernan Brooks, Kenton Richardson, Louis Storey, Brandon Haunstrup, Callum Whelan (for Will McGowan 80), Ben Worman, Regan Booty, Jacob Butterfield (for Kain Adom 73), Luke Hannant, Thomas Allan (for Tyrelle Newton 70), Owen Oseni (for Mark Beck 70) Substitutes (not used): Harry Moss, Jean Belehouan, Charlie Colkett