Match Reports (Page 22)

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Venue: Huish Park
Tuesday, February 5th, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Swirling wind
Pitch: Held up well

Attendance: 1,965 (65 away supporters)

Scorers: None

Referee: Greg Rollason

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: None
Solihull Moors: Cranston, 88.

Sending off: Cranston 90+2 (second bookable offence)


Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)

Grant Smith

Mark Little (for Jack Robinson, 76) Luke Wilkinson Ben Barclay Morgan Williams

Matt Worthington (for Reuben Reid, 71)  Josh Staunton Dale Gorman Jordan Barnett (for Lawson D’Ath, 22)

Charlie Wakefield Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Jack Robinson, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Adi Yussuf.

Solihull Moors: Boot, Clarke, Cranston, Gudger, Sbarra, Maycock (for Storer, 86), Osborne (for Barnett, 86), Dallas, Ellis, Newton, Maynard. Substitutes: Rooney, McNally, Myatt.

Match Report

Yeovil Town made it five points for the week with a goalless draw at home to in-form Solihull Moors at a windy Huish Park.

Once again, it was a solid defensive performance from the Glovers who kept out the visitors’ forward line who had scored 15 times in their previous four games, but going forward was (yet again) the struggle.

The best chance for the home side came right at the end of the first half when Charlie Wakefield broke clear but his shot was saved by visiting keeper Ryan Boot.

Having been dominated in the opening period, the Glovers upped the tempo after the break but for all their resoluteness at the back, could not find a breakthrough.

The result sees us drop one place to 12th in the National League table, leap-frogged by Torquay United who have played a game more, ten points off the play-offs and 19 off W*ymouth who occupy top spot in the division’s relegation zone.

First half

For the first 30 minutes of the half, there was very little to make any of the missing home fans who decided against returning after the midweek draw against W*ymouth to question their decision.

Solihull certainly looked the more confident and controlled on the ball, perhaps unsurprising given they had won their last four matches, scoring 15 times and conceding none in the process, whereas Yeovil looked more than a little disjointed.

The first chance of the game fell to Moors’ midfielder Callum Maycock who was found by Andrew Dallas‘ ball in from the right after six minutes, but Grant Smith in the Yeovil goal was equal to the effort.

The visitors stranglehold on the game continued with full-back Jordan Cranston, who saw red in the reverse fixture in the Midlands at the end of October, found defensive colleague James Clarke who was unable to get a shot on target.

On 22 minutes, Jordan Barnett limped off with what looked to be an injury to his foot and he was replaced by Lawson D’Ath, who had played 23 minutes in the past nine months. The took up Barnett’s position on the right side of midfield.

To say his manager was less than impressed with Barnett’s decision to come off would be an understatement.

Solihull forward Joe Sbarra, who has eleven goals to his name this season, had a great opportunity on 36 minutes when Maycock found him inside the box, but his header went wide.

As we crept in to the final five minutes of the half, the hosts were still looking for their first shot of the match.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It came in the 42nd minute when Charlie Wakefield broke clear of the defence, but seemed to have too much time to think on it as he journeyed from the edge of the centre circle, and Ryan Boot in the visitors’ goal saved with his feet.

Three minutes later, Knowles tried an audacious chip over Boot from almost on the halfway line which went off target.

Having weathered a storm for the majority of the half, those opportunities towards the end of the half gave the performance a bit more of a balanced feel. Goalless at the interval.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Solihull Moors 0

Second half

There was a swirling wind blowing around Huish Park which seemed to be favouring the team shooting towards the Thatcher’s End, and that was Yeovil Town.

It was certainly a brighter start for the Glovers with the quality of D’Ath shining through whenever he had the ball on the left side of midfield.

On the 56th minute, Matt Worthington found Knowles who broke in to the box, beating two visiting defenders and poked a shot in and his effort was deflected away for a corner.

Just after the hour mark, Danny Newton fashioned the visitors’ first opportunity of the second half when he got clear of Luke Wilkinson, rounded Smith but fired his shot in to the side-netting.

With Solihull starting to carve out more opportunities and the shot-shy Yeovil forward line starting to quieten down, Sarll brought on striker Reuben Reid in place of Worthington after 72 minutes.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, Maynard had another good opportunity blocked at one end before Wakefield went forward at the other and his ball found Knowles whose shot went for the near post, but only found the side netting.

Five minutes from time, good forward play by Dallas saw him clipped, the referee played the advantage and Cranston fired wide.

That was the final chance of the game, but there was still time for Cranston to get his second red card of the season against Yeovil, picking up his second booking for a cynical foul on Tom Knowles.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Solihull Moors 0

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Venue: Huish Park
Tuesday, February 1st, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Clear but blowy
Pitch: Held up nicely

Attendance: 3,936 (461 away supporters)

Scorers: Shields 4 (0-1), Cordner o.g. 52 (1-1)

Referee: Scott Jackson

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Robinson 38, Worthington 63, Wilkinson 88
W*ymouth: Murray 51, Mussa 53, Fitzsimons 63,

Sending off: Mussa 90 (second bookable offence)


Yeovil Town : (4-3-1-2)

Grant Smith
Morgan Williams Luke Wilkinson Ben Barclay Jack Robinson
Matt Worthington (for D’Ath, 67) Dale Gorman Jordan Barnett (for Alex Bradley, 84)
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Reid, 46)
Charlie Wakefield Adi Yussuf

Substitutes: Alex Bradley, Toby Stephens Lawson D’Ath, Max Evans

W*ymouth: Fitzsimons, Cordner, Mnoga, Mussa, Harfield, Drewe, Murray, McQuoid (for Rose, 75), Bearwish, Mampala, Shields (for Blair, 86). Substitutes: Morgan, Goodship, Blair,  Greenidge.

Match Report

The W*ymouth wait for a win at Huish Park stretched out to 33 years, but that mob down the road managed to hold Yeovil Town to a draw.

The Terras took the lead after just four minutes when midfielder Sean Shields gave the visitors a fourth minute lead in front of the Thatcher’s Gold Stand.

That set the tone for a woeful first half with the visitors controlling much of the play and leading to boos from the home fans at the interval.

The reception seemed to spark Yeovil who came out brighter after the restart and drew level when Adi Yussuf’s shot was turned in to his own net by Tyler Cordner on 52 minutes.

Midfielder Omar Mussa saw red for a second booking in the 90th minute just moments before Yussuf missed a golden opportunity to win it in injury time.

Here’s how Ian saw it…………

First half

The changes from the win at Woking the previous weekend were enforced with defender Mark Little and forward Tom Knowles out through suspension. Their replacements were on-loan full-back Jack Robinson and striker Adi Yussuf respectively.

The Glovers got off to the worst possible start conceding a 4th minute opener with stunned the crowd into silence. Josh McQuoid picked up Sonny Blu Lo-Everton‘s loose header on the edge of the Yeovil box and his cross to the back post found the unmarked Sean SHIELDS who blasted a left-footed shot into the roof of Grant Smith‘s net. 1-0.

Shortly after a goal scramble nearly fell kindly to Adi Yussuf, but the Tanzanian couldn’t connect cleanly and scooped his effort into the travelling support.

Rattled by that early opener, Yeovil couldn’t impose themselves on the game, while W*ymouth played with an unburdened freedom finding space on the wings and looked assured in possession.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

In the 20th minute, Charlie Wakefield stung the gloves of Ross Fitzsimons in the W*ymouth goal. The ‘star man’ found space in the right and Lo-Everton’s through ball teed him nicely for a good effort that wasn’t quite dynamite.

On the 27th minute, a minor injury to Lo-Everton allowed Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll to gather his players together and presumably tell them to sort it out, perhaps in stronger words than that.

The Glovers looked disjointed, and a polar opposite from their last performance at Huish Park against Wrexham. The front three lacked cohesion with Wakefield the bright spark with a couple of promising runs and an inviting cross which no one latched on to.

A lax pass from Dale Gorman allowed W*ymouth a good chance to counter inside his side’s own half but a combination of Jordan Barnett and Luke Wilkinson held things up conceding a free kick in a dangerous position. It was dispatched tamely wide by Tyler Cordner.

The first half faded away with neither side willing to take any risks and the half-time whistle was met with boos from Thatcher’s terrace.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 W*ymouth 1

Second half

Sarll withdrew Lo-Everton for Reuben Reid at half time, switching to a 4-4-2. Reid partnered Yussuf up front and Wakefield and Barnett moved to the flanks.

The switch worked and Yeovil took control of the game and grabbed an equaliser in the 52nd minute through Yussuf. The ball broke loose just inside the box and his low not-so-cleanly struck shot ricocheted off W*ymouth defender Tyler Cordner  and trickled into the corner of the net for an OWN GOAL. 1-1

Roared on by the Thatcher#s, the energy and urgency couldn’t have been further from that in the first half. But there was sharp intake of breath on the hour when Tom Bearwish met a cross in the six yard box only to direct it straight at Smith.

Smith was called into action minutes later as McQuoid fired in a low effort that was heading for the bottom corner.

With Reid growing in confidence and fitness and the returning Lawson D’Ath entering the fray, the Glovers added experience and nous when they needed it most. They did have to contend with time wasting from the bar stewards in terracotta and blue, and the odd counter.

Adi Yussuf missed a golden chance to seal the win at the death. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

As ever, it was the marauding Wakefield causing problems on the right trying to recreate the golden years with some Nick Crittenden-esque runs. His well flighted cross flew past the back post and could have had Glovers dancing in the street had a teammate connected.

That energy which came at the start of the second half dissipated as fatigue began to take hold and Sarll introduced some freshness with Alex Bradley replacing Barnett with seven minutes remaining.

As the game entered stoppage time, Mussa received a second booking for bringing down Wilkinson as he looked to haul Yeovil to victory.

Yussuf had a golden opportunity to clinch it at the death but somehow couldn’t connect to send the fans home happy.

However, it remains Boxing Day 1988 since our the slime from the seaside managed a win in Somerset.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 W*ymouth 1

 

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Venue: Kingfield Stadium
Saturday, January 29th 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Blustery but dry
Pitch: Perfect, deserved more quality than it saw

Attendance: 2496 (501 away)

Scorers: Wakefield 15 (1-0)

Referee: Tom Bishop

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Knowles 37, Little 39, Barclay 48, Wilkinson 57
Woking: McNerney 38, Casey 61

Sending off: Little 62 (2nd Booking)


Yeovil Town : (4-3-1-2)

Grant Smith
Mark Little Luke Wilkinson Ben Barclay Morgan Williams
Dale Gorman Matt Worthington Jordan Barnett (Bradley 78)
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (Robinson 64)
Charlie Wakefield Tom Knowles (Yussuf 72)

Substitutes: Lawson D’Ath, Reuben Reid

Woking: Smith, Anderson, Diarra, Effiong, Ince, Johnson (Kabamba 62), Lofthouse, Longe-King, Loza, McNerney (Casey 46), Nwabuokei (Allarakhia 46)
Substitutes: Ross, Rumble

Match Report

Yeovil Town picked up their first points of 2022 against Woking this afternoon thanks to a first half goal from Charlie Wakefield.

Mark Little was sent off in the second half after receiving two bookings, giving the ten-man Glovers a difficult final half an hour to keep Woking out.

It wasn’t pretty, there were plenty of bodies put on the line in the second half, but Yeovil go into Tuesday’s derby against Weymouth with a bit of wind in their sails.

Here’s how Coatesie saw it…

First half

The main talking points of the team news was a start for loan signing Ben Barclay alongside captain Luke Wilkinson, who was returning from injury, in the heart of defence.

Up front, manager Darren Sarll stuck with a front three of Charlie Wakefield, Tom Knowles and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, who had impressed for large parts of the previous match against Wrexham.

The first chance fell to the home side after just three minutes as a corner routine found its way to central defender Joe McNerney, but his effort sailed over the bar.

A lung-bursting run from Matt Worthington created the first opening for Yeovil which fell to Lo-Everton, whose shot was blocked.

But as the game got going, Yeovil’s pressing game began to tell.

It was that tactic which told after you 15 minutes when a through ball forward from Morgan Williams, back in a left-back position to accommodate for the arrival of Barclay and Wilkinson, set Charlie WAKEFIELD free, he moved forward made no mistake to smash the visitors in front. 1-0.

That put Yeovil tails up and Jordan Barnett was the next to have an effort which well stopped by Woking keeper Mark Smith.

The fans in the stand behind the goal unfurled a banner in protest against owner Scott Priestnall, which seemed to spark an atmosphere – perhaps sponsored by O’Neill’s, Woking!

A goal in front and with an opposition struggling to create anything, there was not a huge amount of feed the atmosphere after that.

The biggest talking point of the final 25 minutes of the first half was a booking for Tom Knowles. It is easy to blame Ben for mentioning that a yellow card would keep him out of the derby with W*ymouth, but in reality it was self-inflicted. Not retreating for a free-kick definitely goes on the list of ‘did you need to?’ reasons for picking up a yellow.

From that you can tell the rest of the half there was nothing much to write home about.

Woking’s inadequacies, admittedly minus star man Max Kretzschmar and top scorer Tahvon Campbell who had departed in the week, had as much to do with the lack of goal-scoring opportunities as anything.

For Yeovil, the tactic was to get the ball to their front three and you got the feeling they could create something.

There was huffing and puffing on both sides, but it was the visitors who went in ahead at the break.

Half time: Woking 0 Yeovil Town 1

 

Second half

The opening 15 minutes saw Yeovil have to weather a storm with the home side turning up the pressure, whilst balls up forward for Yeovil relied on us having a player to hold the ball up. For all their qualities, neither Wakefield, Knowles or Sonny are that, which meant possession repeatedly returned to the home side.

For the entire first half referee, Tom Bishop, was drawn in to giving easy yellow cards and the howls  of abuse he got from both sets of supporters and benches indicated his quality. That is within Rule 1, right?

But too often the fouls were easy decisions for the official to give, and on 62 minutes a tackle from Mark Little in front of the home dug out as too much of an opportunity. His second yellow and he was off.

Lo-Everton was sacrificed for Jack Robinson and the Cards smelt blood, but could not find the quality necessary to make the most of their numerical advantage.

On 72 minutes, Adi Yussuf, who came on to some effect in the FA Trophy game at Huish Park, came on in place of Knowles. A man to hold the ball up, says the optimist in me*.

Two minutes after that change came a moment of (almost) quality from the hosts, when former Yeovil loanee Rohan Ince found space to unleash a shot which was blocked by Wilkinson.

If Yeovil were to get anything it was going to be from a breakaway, and they got one on 79 minutes when Wakefield got away and found the onrushing Bradley who tried to curl an effort wide.

For the rest, it was wave after wave of attacks from the home side. There were bodies in the way, blocking shots, whilst the home side spurned opportunities time and again.

The final whistle sounded to a roar of relief and exaltation from the travelling faithful. It wasn’t pretty  but three more points are on the board.

Full time: Woking 0 Yeovil Town 1

* – I was too optimistic about Adi. Sorry.

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, January 22nd, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Cloudy, calm and barely a breeze.
Pitch: Held up nicely with more attention required to the Thatcher’s End.

Attendance: 2,988 (814 away supporters)

Scorers: Tom Knowles 14 (1-0), Paul Mullin 59 (1-1), Williams o.g. 79 (1-2),

Referee: Sunny Sukhvir Gill

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Williams 86
Wrexham: Ponticelli 90


Yeovil Town : (4-1-2-1-2)

Grant Smith
Mark Little, Josh Staunton (for Alex Bradley, 75), Morgan Williams, Jack Robinson
Dale Gorman,
Matt Worthington (for Adi Yussuf, 82), Jordan Barnett (for Reuben Reid,86)
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Charlie Wakefield Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Max Evans,Toby Stephens.

Wrexham: Lainton, Hall-Johnson, Hayden, Tozer, Lennon, Hosannah (for McAlinden, 66), J.Jones, Young, Davies, Mullin, Thomas (for Ponticelli, 46).
Substitutes: Dibble, Cleworth, Angus.

Match Report

As listeners to the Gloverscast know we have some rules, the first of which is: Don’t complain about National League referees, they’re all rubbish.

It was the man in black, Sunny Sukhvir Gill, who was in the spotlight as big-spending Wrexham came back from two goals behind to win 2-1 at Huish Park and extend Yeovil Town‘s losing run to six matches.

Up until just before the hour mark, the referee was having a good game (by National League standards) but with Dale Gorman on the floor clutching his head, the allowed the game to go on and Paul Mullin made no mistake to cancel out a first half opener from Tom Knowles.

Before kick-off defender Max Hunt was spotted on crutches and in the second half Josh Staunton limped off with what appears a hamstring injury.

Another defeat, more pressure on the already threadbare squad – and that’s before we get to the off-the-pitch stuff.

Here’s how Ian saw it from his spot in the Huish Park press box……

First half

The soundtrack to the opening seconds of the match was that of “We want Priestnall out”, as home fans made their displeasure at their absentee owner.

The day after he attributed low attendances as his reasons for selling Joe Quigley to Chesterfield, the Glovers started the game with no recognised striker in the starting line-up and with Max Hunt on crutches at pitchside. Wingers Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield started furthest forward and Mark Little made his full debut after returning from injury, moving centre back Morgan Williams to…centre back.

Tom Knowles. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was the man I’ve warned you about since day one, who opened the scoring for Yeovil after 14 minute. Tom KNOWLES continues to make the #DFILWF mantra difficult to follow, and his cleanly struck left-footed shot caught just about everyone by surprise as it flew past Wrexham ‘keeper Rob Lainton into the bottom corner. A strike he enjoyed enough to cup his in front of that TikTok lot in Martin Baker Glovers’ Trust Terrace. 1-0.

The Glovers advantage was nearly doubled in the 26th minute, when Josh Staunton met Sonny Blu Lo-Everton‘s deep cross with a towering header. The captain’s effort flew over the bar into a sagging Welsh flag behind the goal.

Chances don’t come more gilt-edged than Charlie Wakefield‘s ten minutes later. A fluffed clearance by Lainton only reached the incoming Matt Worthington and he squared the ball to the unmarked Wakefield inside the 18-yard-box who had time to pick his spot but barely connected with the ball. The ball trickled to the relieved hi-vis keeper as the Yeovil supporters planted their heads in their hands with the precision Wakefield was missing.

The Hollywood boys of Wrexham offered very little in the first half. But for a couple of speculative efforts from their beloved Jordan Davies, the Yeovil defence held firm and went into half-time with the lead as Netflix no doubt pondered whether they’d bought the rights to the wrong psychodrama.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 0

Second half

Yeovil started the second half with determination and some early pressing from Knowles forced a mistake in the Wrexham back line and very nearly created a carbon copy of Wakefield’s chance in the first half. Wakefield couldn’t bring the ball under control though and Wrexham cleared their lines.

Shortly after, Mullin took a tumble under a challenge from Morgan Williams and was adamant he should have had a penalty. The man in the middle, Sunny Gill, thought Mullin went down too easily and waved his appeals away.

Mullin, determined to grab Wrexham up to his level came close to equalising moments later, dragging his right footed shot wide of Grant Smith’s post.

He got his goal just before the hour mark in controversial circumstances. While Dale Gorman was on the floor clutching his head, the referee allowed play to continue around Gorman and last season’s top scorer in League Two put a fine strike into the top corner with Smith rooted to the spot. 1-1 Paul MULLIN.

Gill, who had been having a good game by National League standards, quickly became the villain of the piece as players and fans raged, bewildered by his decision to allow play to continue. Perhaps we missed a protocol where referees are allowed to judge the severity of head injuries, but it was largely shambolic and set him up for a difficult half an hour to see out with supporters well past boiling point.

Josh Staunton who limped off in the second half.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Staunton was replaced by Alex Bradley (who had been booked already while warming up) and made his way down the tunnel gingerly. Probably the sight that Yeovil supporters feared the most given our depleted squad.

Three minutes later, Wrexham went ahead. A cross went all the way to the back post to the feet of Jordan Davies. He drilled a left footed cross across the box which was bundled into his OWN GOAL by the sliding Morgan Williams. 1-2

As the time faded away, and Wrexham took control of the game against Yeovil’s tiring legs, Darren Sarll threw on Adi Yussuf and Reuben Reid to salvage the game.

Grant Smith was forced into a good save, low at his near post, from Davies well-struck free kick in the 88th minute.

With six minutes added on, Yeovil searched for an equaliser and Yussuf nearly connected with Bradley’s cross, but Wrexham saw the game out with a string of a corners at the death sending their 814 supporters back cheerfully back to North Wales. For the Glovers, it was another defeat in 2022 as we head into another week of uncertainty.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 2

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, January 15th, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Cold and cloudy
Pitch: Okay, getting a bit bobbly in areas.

Attendance: 1649 (58 away)

Scorers: Williams 29, Fowkes 45.

Referee: James Durkin

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Bradley 85
Needham Market: Some! 


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Grant Smith
Morgan Williams, Josh Staunton, Max Hunt (Little 79), Jack Robinson
Dale Gorman,
Matt Worthington (Bradley, 70), Jordan Barnett
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Adi Yussuf (Knowles 63), Reuben Reid

Substitutes: Max Evans

Needham Market: Garnham, Dye, Sayer, Hammond, K. Morphew, D. Morphew, Page, Collard, Ingram, Clark (Marshall Miranda), Fowkes

Substitutes: Mpongo, Cullum, Sturgess, Santa De La Paz, Northwood, Fitzgerald

Match Report

Yeovil Town were knocked out of the FA Trophy on penalties at the hands of Needham Market in a disappointing affair at Huish Park.

The Southern League side more than held their own against an out of form Yeovil team who never stretched their opponents.

Morgan Williams opened the scoring after half an hour but poor defending before the break allowed Needham Market to go in on level terms.

It took penalty shootout drama to decide the match and the part-timers clinched it with Marcus Garnham the hero, saving Morgan Williams sudden death penalty and launching scenes of jubilation amongst their 58 travelling supporters.

Here’s how Ian saw the game…

First half

What a difference seven days makes in football. The electric atmosphere generated by 8,000 supporters for the FA Cup tie against Bournemouth was replaced by a rather muted atmosphere of 1649 at Huish Park for the visit of Needham Market in the FA Trophy.

Diamonds aren’t forever, but Darren Sarll returned to most-used formation since becoming manager in 2019, with Adi Yussuf partnering Reuben Reid up front and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in the hole, as they say. Josh Staunton dropped to back line in place of the injured Luke Wilkinson with Matt Worthington returning to midfield and Jack Robinson and Morgan Williams at fullback.

The subdued atmosphere contributed to an equally subdued start by the Glovers and the Needham Market had the first half-opening through their left-winger Ben Fowkes, who cut inside had his shot deflected over Grant Smith’s goal.

The towering Max Hunt could have opened the scoring in the 11th minute when he met Dale Gorman’s corner emphatically. He glanced his header wide of the left post after out-jumping the entire defence.

As Glovers adjusted to their new shape, they didn’t keep hold of the ball as well as the gulf might suggest they should.  Lo-Everton had a sight of goal from distance and attempted a speculative lob over Garnham which went wide.

As the half wore on, Yeovil held onto possession more comfortably and started pressuring Needham Market into mistakes, with the goalkeeper looking particularly uncomfortable with the ball at his feet.

Adi Yussuf had a decent, if not awkward, chance to put Yeovil in front in the 26th minute. The striker found a chunk of space in the 18 yard box as the ball looped over his head, he swung his left foot at it but his connection wasn’t on point.

Just before the half an hour mark, the club’s music man got his moment to bring some samba music to the ‘masses’ as MORGAN WILLIAMS found himself in the unusual position of the opponents penalty box. The fullback strode onto Yussuf’s drilled cross and put past the keeper to open the scoring. 1-0

Seemingly content with 1-0, Yeovil took their foot off the pedal and allowed their opponents to have a bit of the ball. Just before half time, Yussuf had a good opportunity to double the Glovers’ lead but he dragged his left-footed shot wide.

The tie was evened up in first half stoppage time, after some dismal defending from a set piece and a couple of fortunate ricochets, BEN FOWKES smashed the ball past Smith. 1-1

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Needham Market 1

Second half

The Glovers came out with more of a purpose in the second half, with Dale Gorman determined to get the shots in early.

Needham Market had a great opportunity to take the lead in the 52nd minute, but were denied by a determined, last ditch tackle from Josh Staunton.

And it was last-ditch defending at the other end of the pitch moments later. Barnett’s out-swinging corner was headed towards goal but blocked by Yussuf in front of the keeper who scrambled to clear the ball away from goal.

Needham Market had penalty appeals turned down by the referee on the hour, as their striker Luke Ingram went down with Josh Staunton nearby.

To liven up the attack, Sarll withdrew Yussuf for Tom Knowles, prompting a change of shape to the more familiar 4-3-3 with Reuben Reid the central striker.

The Glovers opponents weren’t fazed by the arrival of Knowles (#DWILWF) and carved out a good chance through Callum Page cutting inside from the right. His Bergkamp-esque effort wasn’t Bergkamp-esque in execution and it glided high and wide.

Buoyed by Yeovil’s lack of impetus and the increase in unforced errors, the Southern League side grew into the half and had Ingram’s header been a bit lower they would have been in-front. The striker beat Max Hunt to the ball and his attempt had green tinted supporters holding their breath.

As the clock ticked closer towards the 90th minute and a potential penalty shootout, Sarll urged his players forward and introduced our marquee summer signing, Mark Little, for his first competitive appearance in a Yeovil shirt.

There was a handful of hopeful crosses, but truthfully, Yeovil didn’t stretch their part time opponents who defended resolutely and nearly nicked it in stoppage time but for Smith’s heroics in goal. Fowkes, who was lively all game caused havoc in the box before his charged down shot rebounded to Ingram who should have clinched the tie.

In normal time, it finished 1-1 and the game went straight to a penalty shootout.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Needham Market 1

Penalties:

Needham Market:
Ingram – scored
Hammond – scored
Marshall-Miranda – saved
Page – scored
Fowkes – saved
Collard – scored
K. Morphew – scored
Dye – scored
D. Morphew – scored
Sayer – Saved
Garnham – scored

Yeovil Town:
Barnet – scored
Reid – saved
Gorman – scored
Bradley – scored
Lo-Everton – saved
Knowles – scored
Robinson – scored
Staunton – scored
Smith – scored
Little – saved
Williams – saved

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Venue: Roots Hall
Tuesday, January 11th, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Damp
Pitch: Slippery

Attendance: 4,845 , 80 away supporters

Scorers: Jason Demetriou 29 (0-1), Clifford 60 (0-2), Reid 90 (1-2)

Referee: Adrian Quelch

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Gorman 76,
Southend United: Lopata 20, Neal 84

 


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Grant Smith
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Luke Wilkinson, Jordan Barnett
Dale Gorman, Josh Staunton, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Tom Knowles, Adi Yussuf, Charlie Wakefield

Substitutes:  Reuben Reid (for Lo-Everton, 56), Joe Quigley (for Yussuf, 56), Jack Robinson (for Barnett, 80), Morgan Williams, Max Evans.

Southend United: Arnolds, Ralph, Hobson, Murphy (for Rush, 76), Dalby, Clifford, Atkinson (for Ferguson, 46), Neal, Lopata, Demetriou, Dennis (for Kensdale, 85).
Substitutes: Coulson, Davies.

 

Match Report

Yeovil Town fell to a fourth successive defeat at Southend United after putting in a lacklustre performance for much of the match in Essex.

The visitors took the lead through Jason Demetriou after half-an-hour before Tom Clifford doubled the advantage in the second half and it took the Glovers until that second to wake up.

With the game seemingly out of reach, the visitors looked the stronger side in the closing stages with Joe Quigley denied by a fine stop from Shrimpers’ keeper Steve Arnold and Max Hunt having a ‘goal’ ruled out for handball with five minutes to go.

Substitute Reuben Reid got his first goal of the season as the clock ticked in to injury time but worryingly for captain Luke Wilkinson limped off with what looked like a hamstring strain to leave his side to play out the six minutes added on with ten men.

Despite the defeat, we remain in 11th place in the National League table eight points off the play-off places and 16 points off the relegation zone.

Here’s how it went down at Roots Hall……

 

First half

The team news saw Grant Smith returned between the posts in place of Dillon Barnes who dropped out of the squad after appearing in the home defeats against Torquay United and AFC Bournemouth in their last two outings.

There was no place in the squad for Matt Worthington who was replaced by Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in an attacking looking Yeovil side who also pushed Jordan Barnett to left-back and brought Charlie Wakefield in the front three alongside Adi Yussuf and Tom Knowles.

Having spoken of our relief to see Smith back in goal, the gloveman fluffed a tenth minute clearance under pressure from the hosts’ striker Sam Dalby who was unable to get the ball out of his feet and the visitors were able to clear.

Smith was in action again on 16 minutes when he was equal to the effort from Southend’s on-loan striker Matt Dennis.

There was not a huge amount to threaten either goalkeeper in the opening 25 minutes, but it was certainly the home side who had the upper hand and took the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.

It was former Glovers’ favourite Rhys Murphy who brought the ball forward and fed it to Jason DEMETRIOU whose effort from the edge of the box took a deflection on its way past Smith.

Murphy has an effort blocked soon after and he rattled the visitors’ woodwork soon after with Yeovil’s defence looking rattled and out of sorts.

The first visitors’ first meaningful opportunity came on 35 minutes when Yussuf connected with Dan Moss’ cross but hosts’ keeper Steve Arnold made the save when the Tanzanian should have given him not chance.

Going the other way the home side looked increasingly menacing with every attack and Murphy had another chance to put his old employers to the sword with four minutes of the half to go, but Smith was equal to it again.

But, the final chance of the game fell to Yeovil with Dan Moss again finding Yussuf but his shot was blocked as the clock ticked over to 45 minutes.

The home side will be wondering how they were not further ahead at the break. Luckily, they weren’t.

Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0

 

Second half

It was a brighter start for Yeovil with Barnett getting forward more in the opening five minutes after the restart than he had in the previous 45 minutes.

But, aside from a header from Dalby and a pot shot from Murphy in the first 15 minutes there was not a huge amount of threat from either side and on 56 minutes Yeovil introduced Joe Quigley and Reuben Reid to make a difference.

The switch was made to 4-4-2 and the there were signs of some good link-up between the two frontmen………but on the hour mark the home side doubled their advantage.

Dennis was allowed to bring the ball forward from deep inside the Yeovil area and laid the ball off to Tom CLIFFORD who was at the back post to tap the ball in.

The home side’s tails went up, the visitors’ heads dropped and it could have got worse when substitute Nathan Ferguson‘s was blocked inside the box.

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

On 73 minutes, Luke Wilkinson hammered a free-kick in to the hands of Arnold and five minutes later Quigley twisted and turned and force a good save out of Arnold.

The feeling was that it not going to be our night and, if you needed proof, we had the ball in the net through Max Hunt – only for it to be ruled out for handball. Was it? Let’s wait for the highlights.

There was time for REID to pull a goal back with his first of the season in the final minute of normal time. The substitute was at the back post to poke home a ball after Wakefield’s long-range was spilled by Arnold.

But, even more worrying was an injury to Wilkinson, who limped off the pitch to leave the Glovers to play injury time with ten men.

There was a final flurry to action from the visitors, but where was that last 20 minutes for the entire match.

 

Full time: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, January 8th, 5.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Howling wind and driving rain for the first half, but calmer and drier in the second half.
Pitch: Given the rain that had fallen on it, it performed magnificently.

Attendance: 7,818 (2,033 away supporters)

Scorers: Marcondes 19 (0-1), Marcondes 43 (0-2), Quigley 48 (1-2), Marcondes 70 (1-3)

Referee: Jeremy Simpson

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Gorman 3, Worthington 7, Moss 35
AFC Bournemouth: Pearson 65, Rossi 90+1, Brady 90+5

 


Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)

Dillon Barnes
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Luke Wilkinson, Morgan Williams
Matt Worthington, Dale Gorman, Josh Staunton, Jordan Barnett
Tom Knowles, Joe Quigley

Substitutes: Charlie Wakefield (for Morgan Williams, 68), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Matt Worthington, 78), Adi Yussuf (for Joe Quigley, 78), Reuben Reid (for Dale Gorman, 85), Alex Bradley, Jack Robinson, Jaheim Headley, Toby Stephens, Max Evans.

AFC Bournemouth: Nyland, Mepham, Marcondes, Lowe, Davis, Pearson, Kilkenny, Rogers, Anthony, Ibsen-Rossi, Moriah-Welsh. Substitutes: Brady (for Anthony, 64), Saydee (for Davis, 85), Camp (for Pearson, 90), Travers, Dennis, Stacey, Kelly,  Gidaree, Cook.

 

Match Report

A hat-trick from the impressive Emiliano Marcondes was enough to end Yeovil Town‘s run in the FA Cup with a youthful AFC Bournemouth side running out comfortable winners.

The Danish midfielder put away two calm finishes in an opening 45 minutes which was controlled by the visitors who knocked the ball around confidently despite howling wind and rain which lashed Huish Park.

A mistake by Cherries’ keeper Orjan Nyland handed Joe Quigley the opportunity to pull one back for Yeovil just three minutes after the restart, but a mistake by on-loan Glovers’ keeper Dillon Barnes gifted Marcondes a third in the second half.

Ian was there to watch it and – with a couple of additional bits from Dave watching on the telly – here’s how he saw the third round fixture.

 

First half

There was a big match feeling at Huish Park, and plenty of anticipation with a packed crowd of in excess of 7,000 behind the Glovers – well, presumably with the exception of the sold out away end, that is.

Despite the talk of COVID absentees, Darren Sarll welcomed back captain Luke Wilkinson and on-loan full-back Dan Moss, who missed the Torquay defeat through illness and suspension, and brought Joe Quigley up front.

We also managed to name nine substitutes, which is somewhat of a miracle considering he’d only manage four subs at points this season.

The visitors did not play a team packed with first-team regulars from their Championship table-topping side, but there were was plenty of League experience in the side in the form of midfielder Ben Pearson and forwards Jamal Lowe and Jaidon Anthony to name just three.

As the wind and rain on a miserable night battered the travelling Bournemouth supporters on the uncovered away terrace, Yeovil got off to a feisty start.

Dale Gorman picked up a booking after just three minutes for a tackle which, if it had been made at the same point in the second half, could have seen him dismissed by referee Jeremy Simpson. That said, the booking dished out for Matt Worthington four minutes later was as soft as…..Rule 1, must remember Rule 1.

An early free-kick was shot high and wide by Gorman, but Bournemouth’s quality was on show as they controlled the possession without creating much in the way of clear cut chances.

For all the tippy-tappy sideways stuff, it was a simple opener for non-stop Emiliano MARCONDES who opened the scoring. A great ball from defender Chris Mepham, a £12m signing a couple of summers ago, split the defence and Marcondes ran in between Wilkinson and Moss to slot calmly home with 19 minutes gone.

Bournemouth dominated the ball for long spells, leaving the Glovers with a lot of chasing to do and a midfield who had to be cautious given the early yellows. There was a third which looked soft – and even softer on the television replays – for Moss who got the ball. Referees giving decisions to bigger teams, whatever next, eh?

Anthony came close to doubling the Cherries’ lead after 23 minutes when his deep effort beat Barnes all ends up and came off the inside of the post and away.

It was the impressive MARCONDES, doubled his tally just before half-time after patient possession from Bournemouth. The attacking midfielder was played in my Anthony and drove a low powerful shot across Barnes into the far corner.

 Half time: Yeovil Town 0 AFC Bournemouth 2

Second half

The second half couldn’t have started any better for Yeovil.  Cherries’ keeper Orjan Nyland dallied on the ball and was dispossessed by a fine tackle from Tom Knowles and the ball broke to Joe QUIGLEY to put the ball into an empty net and unglue the packed Thatchers’ terrace in the 47th minute.

Joe Quigley celebrates vs Bournemouth

Yeovil’s quick start seemed to take all Bournemouth’s rhythm and it took them a while find it. When they did find it, they worked a nice opportunity for Jamal Lowe which was saved well by the leg of Barnes.

However, the on-loan keeper didn’t cover himself in glory moments later. Lowe carved himself some space inside the Yeovil 18 yard box and his shot was parried by Barnes to the feet of MARCONDES who could pick his spot to complete his hat trick.

Darren Sarll rolled the dice with ten minutes left on the clock, bringing on Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Adi Yussuf before he added Reuben Reid. Ultimately, Bournemouth’s quality on the ball saw them through as they controlled proceedings keeping the Glovers at arm’s length.

Reid came close to adding a second with the final kick of the game. Barnett’s ball in saw Moss battle with Nyland and the ball broke to the substitute whose shot was blocked on the line by the body and arms of defender Brennan Camp. Reid grabbed the ball ready for the penalty, but referee Simpson blew the full-time whistle instead.

Yeovil can hold their heads high, Bournemouth are no slouches, and are likely to be playing Premier League football next season.

It was nice to see a good crowd at Huish Park – even the owner turned up!

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 AFC Bournemouth 3

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Venue: Huish Park
Sunday January 2nd, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Not a day you want to be on an uncovered away end.
Pitch: Despite a lot of rain before kick-off, looking good.

Attendance: 3,866 (1,034 away fans)

Scorers: Jordan Barnett 66 (1-0), Connor Lemonheigh-Evans 76 (1-1), Holman 89 (1-2)

Referee: Jacob Miles

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: None
Torquay United: None

Sending off:
Yeovil Town: None
Torquay United: None

 


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Dillon Barnes
Morgan Williams, Max Hunt, Josh Staunton, Jack Robinson
Dale Gorman, Matt Worthington, Jordan Barnett
Tom Knowles, Adi Yussuf, Charlie Wakefield

Substitutes: Joe Quigley (for Adi Yussuf, 57), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Matt Worthington, 58), Reuben Reid (for Morgan Williams, 82), Alex Bradley, Max Evans.

Torquay United: MacDonald, Wynter, Martin, Lemonheigh-Evans, Hall, Wright, Johnson, Lolos (for Armstrong, 60), Moxey (for Holman, 70), Felix (for O’Connell, 67), Lewis.
Substitutes: Halstead, Omar.

 

Match Report

A late winner from substitute Dan Holman saw Torquay United complete the double over Yeovil Town in the first match of 2022 at a rain-soaked Huish Park.

The game had been lit up by a stunning strike from Jordan Barnett from fully 35 yards to put the Glovers in front on 66 minutes, but a goal direct from a corner by Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and then an impressive strike from Holman sealed the win for Gary Johnson’s side.

The result sees us remain in 11th place in the National League table, six points off the play-off places and 16 points off the relegation zone.

Here’s how Ian saw the match…..

First half

The surprise absence of Luke Wilkinson coupled with Dan Moss‘s suspension forced Darren Sarll to change up his side. Morgan Williams moved over to right back, Jack Robinson returned at left back and Josh Staunton took the captain’s armband and Wilkinson’s spot at centre back. Jordan Barnett came into the midfield three and Adi Yussuf spearheaded the front line with Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield either side of him.

As you would expect with an away following of more than 1,000, there was quite the atmosphere at Huish Park with the green and white faithful supportive of Torquay battering.

The opening exchanges were even if not a little in the Glovers’ favour and a short corner routine might have produced something had Knowles tried a shot after taking on a Torquay defender rather than taking the ball further.

On the 20-minute mark, Knowles didn’t dwell on the ball and struck a snap shot with left foot that took a deflection on its way towards McDonald’s goal. The falling keeper managed to stretch out his leg far enough to keep the ball out of the net.

The first half was largely one of ‘nearly’ moments for Yeovil. Passes were nearly on the right path, crosses nearly found their man, but Torquay were kept at arm’s length.

The ball did get bundled into the net past the half hour mark, but the official fairly adjudged there to be some robust manhandling of the keeper.

The Gulls had their nearly moment in the 38th minute with a flying left footed volley from the pony-haired Asa Hall fizzing wide of the right-hand post of Dillon Barnes, making his debut in goal having joined on loan from QPR.

Yeovil had another half chance prior to the break, with Knowles selling a slick dummy before shooting high and wide.

 Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Torquay United 0

Second half

Torquay came out of the break in the mood for it and took control of proceedings, focusing on Yeovil’s right side. The cumbersome Danny Wright came very close to opening the scoring with a header in the 50th minute but it glanced narrowly wide of the post.

Sarll made changes before the hour mark, introducing Joe Quigley and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton for Yussuf and Matt Worthington which reinvigorated things on the pitch.

Quigley’s physical presence immediately caused problems for Torquay. He laid off for Knowles who struck over the bar.

Jordan Barnett
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

In the 65th minute, the roof came off Huish Park. Jordan BARNETT with no right to shoot, let fly from distance with a picture perfect shot which flew into the top right corner. Scenes, limbs and a flare and a Barnett knee slide followed. 1-0.

Torquay struck back 10 minutes later. Although it all stemmed from a Dale Gorman free-kick. He placed the ball for a free-kick from some distance which didn’t beat the two man wall. Torquay broke and a great save from Barnes denied them an equaliser but did earn them a corner.

From the resulting corner, Connor LEMONHEIGH-EVANS delivery from the resulting corner was inch perfect and it swirled through the rain over everyone into the far corner. 1-1

As the rain poured, Torquay took hold of the game and almost grabbed a second through Holman who drove a low shot wide of the far post.

Gorman was almost at fault again moments later, losing the ball on the edge of the box allowing Torquay to break. This time a shirt pull on a Yeovil defender spared his blushes.

A minute from time, Lemonheigh-Evans played HOLMAN through and the substitute picked his spot perfectly to fire past Barnes.

Five minutes of added time wasn’t enough for Yeovil. Torquay used all the tricks in the book to see out the game as their soaked supporters sang about a battered Yeovil.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Torquay United 2

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Venue: Plainmoor
Sunday December 26th, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Typically Boxing Day.
Pitch: Soft and cut up quickly,

Attendance: 3830 (643 away)

Scorers: Ben Wynter 66 (0-1), Morgan Williams o.g. 70 (0-2), Joe Lewis 86 (0-3).

Referee: Scott Jackson

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Adi Yussuf 38, Matt Worthington 45, Dale Gorman 58, Dan Moss 75,
Torquay United: None.

Sending off:
Yeovil Town: Sonny Blu Lo-Everton 64, Grant Smith – after the final whistle.
Torquay United: None.

 


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Grant Smith
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Luke Wilkinson, Morgan William,s
Dale Gorman, Josh Staunton Matt Worthington
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Adi Yussuf, Charlie Wakefield

Substitutes: Tom Knowles (for Adi Yussuf, 69), Jordan Barnett (for Dale Gorman, 78) Reuben Reid (for Morgan Williams, 81),  Jaheim Headley (not used), Max Evans (not used).

Torquay United: MacDonald, Wynter, Martin, Lapslie, Lemonheigh-Evans, Wright, Little, Lolos (for Johnson, 81), Moxey (for Omar, 90+2), Sparkes (for O’Connell, 88), Lewis. Substitutes (not used): Hall, Holman.

 

Match Report

Yeovil Town‘s 12-match unbeaten run (yes, we’re sticking with the Somerset Premier Cup counting) came to an end at Torquay United after collapsing following a red card for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton.

Then, to add insult to even more insult, goalkeeper Grant Smith was shown a red card after the final whistle, presumably for something he said.

The on-loan Watford forward was sent off after kicking out on 64 minutes and that led to the capitulation with Ben Wynter opening the scoring two minutes and it only got worse for the visitors from there.

The result was a masterclass for former Glovers’ boss Gary Johnson whose side were far more streetwise (zero yellow cards to our four) and had no problem making the most of their one-man advantage.

The Gulls deserved the win and it was a the first bad day at the office for Darren Sarll’s men since their last defeat at the end of October.

They’ll be looking to bounce back in six days time when Johnson brings his side to Huish Park, but Yeovil will have to do it without both Lo-Everton and Dan Moss, who picked up his fifth booking.

First half

As you’d expect, there were quite a few changes from the FA Trophy win over Woking last weekend with goalkeeper Grant Smith returning in place of Max Evans, Morgan Williams replacing loanee Jaheim Headley at left back after recovering from COVID-19, whilst up front Adi Yussuf replacing Reuben Reid and Charlie Wakefield came in for Tom Knowles. 

All those who missed out found their way on to the substitutes’ bench with Yeovil boss Darren Sarll seemingly setting his side up for a combative encounter on a pitch which quickly cut up as the half progressed.

Adi Yussuf came closest for either side in the first half.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Combative was exactly how the opening 45 minutes turned with a few tasty challenges going in from both sides in front of a bumper crowd – including a good following from Somerset.

Recognising it is a local derby, referee Scott Jackson certainly allowed quite a lot go preferring to give players from both sides a talking too rather than giving out early bookings. Commenting positively on National League referees is not something we do often, but is allowed in spite of Rule One of the Gloverscast.

In the first 20 minutes, striker Danny Wright headed over and midfielder Connor Lemonheigh-Evans fired wide for the Yellows, and it took until the 19th minute for Yeovil to get their first chance with Charlie Wakefield hitting a soft one in to the arms of MacDonald.

The first clear-cut opportunity came just before the half-hour mark when Matt Worthington did well to dig out a cross to find Yussuf in the box, but his header went narrowly wide.

That was certainly as good as it got for Yeovil in the first half and there were not really any clearer chances for Torquay with a header over the bar from Joe Lewis just before the break the only real opportunity.

To sum up the first half in three words: Not a classic.

 

 Half time: Torquay United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

There were no changes for either side at half-time and it was Yeovil who came out of the traps the faster, perhaps with a Darren Sarll-sized flea in their ears at the interval.

Three minutes after the break, Dale Gorman’s free-kick found the head of Morgan Williams at the back post and the ball dropped to Luke Wilkinson whose header went over.

The feisty-ness of the match continued after the break and referee Mr Jackson’s willingness to let things go in the first half always threatened to let things bubble over and they did on 64 minutes when Sonny Blu Lo-Everton kicked out at Josh Lapslie. In the words of Yeovil Town media man Sam Collard on BBC Somerset commentary, the decision showed “the inconsistency of National League officials“. Rule 1, Sam.

Having started the game the stronger, that was the moment where the game fell apart for Yeovil Town. Two minutes later, a back-heel from, Wright found Lapslie whose effort pin-balled around the box until Ben WYNTER lashed it home. The visitors claimed an offside, but the lead was nothing less than the home side deserved.

On 70 minutes, it was 2-0 to Torquay. A ball in to the box found Exeter City loanee Jack Sparkes whose header deflected twice and hit Morgan Williams in the face and went in to the net for an OWN GOAL.

On 76 minutes, Matt Worthington found himself clear through on goal but his effort was turned wide by MacDonald who honestly should not have been given a chance. From the resulting corner, an acrobatic effort from Dan Moss came off the crossbar and away.

The third came came on when Lemonheigh-Evans’ ball in to the box found Joe LEWIS completely unmarked to head home.

Quite how the game only ended up 3-0 to the home side was testament to an outstanding save from Smith to deny Lemonheigh-Evans after good playu from Gulls’ substitute Chiori Johnson with the final effort of the game.

But, as if things weren’t bad enough, referee Jackson showed a straight red card to Smith as he applauded the away supporters.

Full time: Torquay United 3 Yeovil Town 0

 

 

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday December 18th, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Clear but “chillllly”
Pitch: Good

Attendance: 1493 (30 from Woking)

Scorers: Tahvon Campbell 23 (0-1), Adi Yussuf ’80 (1-1), Tom Knowles ’87 (2-1), Adi Yussuf ’93 (3-1)

Referee: Garreth Rhodes

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Bradley 38, Wilkinson 45,
Woking: Effiong 27, Casey 30, McNerney 33

Sending off:
Yeovil Town: None
Woking: None

 


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Max Evans
Dan Moss, Max Hunt, Luke Wilkinson, Jaheim Headley
Matt Worthington, Dale Gorman, Alex Bradley
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Reuben Reid, Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Grant Smith, Jordan Barnett (for Alex Bradley ’74), Josh Staunton (for Wilkinson ’46) Charlie Wakefield, Ollie Haste, Adi Yussuf (for Reuben Reid ’60).

Woking: Ross, Casey, Champion, McNerney, Effiong, Kretzschmar, Johnson, Annesley, Campbell, Block, Ince.

Substitutes (not used): Smith, Diarra, Allarakhia, Britton, Rumble, Dunne.

 

Match Report

Adi Yussuf. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town’s quest for an unprecedented quadruple continues after late goals from Adi Yussuf (2) and Tom Knowles cancelled out a first half strike from former Glover Tahvon Campbell.

The FA Trophy third round tie proved to be something of a festive cracker with Max Evans and new signing Jaheim Headley making their debuts for the Glovers.

Gloverscast CEO, Top Dog, and all round boss man Ian Perkins was at Huish Park and this is how he saw the game…

First half

On a chilly afternoon at Huish Park it took a few minutes for things to liven up.

A shot from Dale Gorman (who else?) Was deflected over the bar for a corner in the 6th minute.

Moments later, some decent link up on the left hand side, started by debutant Jaheim Headley was nearly finished by Headley, but the new signings tame effort was parried wiwide.

11 minutes in, Woking has a good sight at goal through Max Kretzschmar who was played in by former Glover, Tahvon Campbell. Woking’s number 10 pulled his effort wide of Max Evans’ right hand post.

Somehow the visitors didn’t get the ball in the net in the 18th minute. A great delivery from Kretzschmar was flicked on by McNerney right on top of Evans and it slipped through the goalkeeper’s hands onto the bar and almost in before Yeovil cleared their lines.

It wasn’t long after that the Cards did take the the lead though. The ball broke through to Campbell on Yeovil’s left and his low drive found the far corner to put Woking 1-0 up. Campbell soaked in his moment in front of the Thatchers against his former club.

Yeovil nearly hit back in the 24th as Max Hunt got on the end of a good delivery from Gorman. Hunt couldn’t wrestle off his marker to get a header on target, though.

Alex Bradley had a speculative effort from distance which had Craig Ross scrambling to his right. The Woking keeper got a strong hand behind the strike to keep the ball out.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton danced through the Woking defence to get a nice right footed strike at goal which was deflected wide for a corner.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Woking 1

Second half

Luke Wilkinson made way for Josh Staunton at half time, in a like for like change at centre back.

As with the first half, the first effort on goal fell to shots shots shots himself, Gorman. He scooped his shot into the Thatchers though.

Space opened up nicely for Bradley a few minutes into the second half and his low effort was spilled by the Woking stopper who quickly reclaimed the ball.

Reuben Reid was replaced just past the hour for Adi Yussuf, as Sarll chased an equaliser.

A finger tip save from Ross denied a spectacular goal for Gorman. The midfielder lined up a freekick from from left side ofnthe box and struck through the crowd with terrific pace.

Yeovil looked the likelier to get a goal and Yussuf delivered the goods again. A cross from Headley found the sub in the box and he got free of his marker to smash it in the bottom corner.

Momentum was with the Glovers after Yussufs equaliser and four minutes from time Tom Knowles headed Yeovil’s second in from Lo-Everton’s cross in front of the raucous Thatchers.

Yussuf grabbed his 2nd on the break in stoppage time with another composed finished past Ross.

The Glovers are through to the next round of the FA Trophy… the hunt for the quadruple continues…

Full time: Yeovil Town 3 Woking 1