Match Reports (Page 7)

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A second half goal from James Plant saw Yeovil Town earn three points against ten-man Southend United in Essex on Saturday.

The home side saw goalkeeper Zach Jeacock dismissed with 27 minutes gone when he handled outside the box under pressure from loanee Pedro Borges. Referee Abigail Byrne showed him read and gave Southend manager Kevin Maher his marching orders before half-time for two yellow cards.

Plant’s cross which curled in to the Yeovil net with 66 minutes gone was enough to break the deadlock and in a game of few chances that proved enough to earn the victory.

Here’s how Dave saw it from his view in the Roots Hall away end…..

 

First half

With five first-team squad members (and arguably starters) missing through injury and suspension, the visitors started with loanees Pedro Borges and James Plant in the wing-back positions.

The opening 15 minutes did not offer much in the way of attacking threat, there was a lot of hard running by Harvey Greenslade, who took the lone frontman role previously held by the suspended Aaron Jarvis. But it took until the 17th minute before either side had a meaningful effort with Southend’s Aribim Pepple pulling a shot wide of Ollie Wright’s goal.

Soon after a bit of attacking purpose saw Kofi Shaw turn skilfully but saw his shot blocked before Pedro Borges was just over the head of Greenslade.

But the moment of the first half came on 27 minutes when Borges ran on to a ball forward and hosts’ keeper Zach Jeacock came out of his box to meet him. The ball appeared to hit the Lincoln City loanee on the leg before bouncing up and hitting one of his outstretched arms which referee Abigail Byrne considered to be in an unnatural position and showed him a red card. After much ‘consultation’, his replacement was Colin Andeng-Ndi and his first action was to watch a Charlie Cooper free-kick go wide.

But aside from an effort over the bar from Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in first half injury time, there was not much to talk about from either side until a Southend striker found himself bearing down on Ollie Wright in first half injury time. The two collided but referee Byrne decided it was a corner, a decision which Southend manager Kevin Maher disagreed with to the extent he got his second yellow card.

To say the woman in black got a hostile reception from the home support inside Roots’ Hall would be quite an understatement.

Half time: Southend United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The open effort of the second half saw Andeng-Ndi forced in to his first action to deny Kofi Shaw’s effort at the near post after some good pressure from the visitors before Plant and Borges combined for the latter to get an opportunity which he could not quite fashion in to a meaningful chance.
 
On the hour mark, Dylan Morgan and Brett McGavin replaced Greenslade and Lo-Everton. For Greenslade making his first start since suffering a shoulder injury at Boston United at the end of August, it was a tireless performance which saw him plug the void left by the absence of Jarvis.
 
The referee seemed determined to try and win some friends back amongst the home support with a flurry of yellow cards for the visitors. Jake Wannell picking up one of four which would be handed out.
 
 
The breakthrough came after 66 minutes when James PLANT got away down the left and lifted a ball to the back post, whether it went straight in or if it got a touch from Andeng-Ndi, I could not tell you from the away end. But I can tell you the away end did not mind at all how it got in to the end. 
 
There was an effort from Dylan Morgan with 77 minutes gone, but chances for either side seemed few and far between for either side. There was plenty of the ball seen by Southend but nothing which came close to threatening Ollie Wright in to a save, whereas Yeovil were typically controlled when they had possession.
 
On 87 minutes, Nouble found himself bearing down on Andeng-Ndi, hitting a powerful shot which the keeper did well to turn wide.
 
With two minutes gone, Jordan Thomas replaced Kofi Shaw as the visitors looked saw out the match to retain their seventh-placed spot in the National League Premier Division play-off places.

Full time: Southend United 0 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Roots Hall
Date: Saturday 9th November 2024 – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: James Plant 65 (1-0)

Pitch:  Looking in good nick
Conditions: Cold but dry 

Attendance: 6911 (251 away supporters)

Bookings:
Southend United: None
Yeovil Town: Cooper 32, Finn Cousin-Dawson 37, Jake Wannell 58, Alex Whittle 78

Red Cards:
Southend United: Zach Jeacock, 27
Yeovil Town: None

Referee: Abigail Byrne

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

Substitutes:  Brett McGavin (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 61), Dylan Morgan (for Harvey Greenslade, 61), Jordan Thomas (for Kofi Shaw, 88).

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A brace from striker Aaron Jarvis and a blistering strike from Charlie Cooper saw Yeovil Town cruise to a 3-1 home win over Maidenhead United at Huish Park.

The Glovers took the lead after ten minutes when Jarvis did superbly inside the box before lashing home the opener, before the visitors’ Kevin Lokko pulled the game levelled when he flicked a header past Ollie Wright on 26 minutes.

But when Jarvis added his second on 52 minutes with a poacher’s finish from a cross from the impressive Kofi Shaw before a thunderous strike from Cooper sealed the win with 63 minutes on the clock.

Yeovil were good value for their three points which moves us in to the National League Premier Division play-off places in seventh place, ahead of eighth-placed Solihull Moors on goal difference.

First half

Manager Mark Cooper made four changes to his starting line-up following the goalless draw at Tamworth four days earlier. Finn Cousin-Dawson replaced the suspended Morgan Williams, Alex Whittle came in for injured captain Matt Worthington with Dylan Morgan dropped to the bench in place of Bristol Rovers’ loanee Kofi Shaw and Frank Nouble replacing Ciaran McGuckin, who was recalled by Rotherham United in the week.

Following a quiet ten minutes, the first action of the match led to the opening goal for Yeovil. Neat play between Shaw and Brett McGavin found Nouble who picked out Aaron JARVIS. The striker still had a lot of work to do, he turned his defender one way and then the other before stroking a composed finish pass Craig Ross. A great start.

Jarvis had another shot blocked two minutes later before Shaw played a great ball through to Nouble who forced a fine stop from Ross. Jarvis was typically all-action and had a couple on ‘discussions’ with manager William Davies. A dangerous game to play with  the striker on four bookings this season, one more means a suspension.

But on 25 minutes the visitors equalised. A soft free-kick conceded by Jake Wannell on Sam Barrett saw Barrett float a superb ball in to the box and centre half Kevin LOKKO got the faintest of touches on it to guide it in to the net. Maidenhead had created nothing in open play, but pick your cliche about the importance of set-pieces at this level.

Remember I mentioned about Jarvis? On 27 minutes, he got the booking which he had been warned about for a shove on Lokko and that means he will miss the next fixture at Southend United in a couple of weeks.

There was a nervous moment on 35 minutes when a quick break saw Shawn McCoulsky got the better of Cousin-Dawson and tried to lob Ollie Wright but the keeper did well to get something on it to turn the ball wide.

Four minutes before half-time, Jarvis almost got his second goal when his goal-bound header from Whittle’s cross was denied by a full stretch save from Ross. From the resulting corner, Cousin-Dawson glanced a header over from Brett McGavin’s corner.

As the game ticked in to injury time, a lovely shimmy from Shaw saw him create something from nothing and get a ball to the far post where McGavin could not quite get on the end of it. Shaw has definitely shown there is a lot of talent in his legs and someone who has a trick up his sleeve.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Maidenhead United 1

Second half

If you liked the early goal to the first half, how do you fancy it again in the second half? Okay fine. Shaw was involved with a lovely back heel which created space from Jake Wannell whose cross took a slight deflection and landed at the feet of Aaron JARVIS who turned home his second with 52 minutes on the clock.

Jarvis almost made it a hat-trick on 55 minutes when he could not quite get on the end of an early James Plant cross after good play between McGavin and Whittle, and then again five minutes later after another nice back heel from Shaw saw him pick out Jarvis whose effort was well saved by the knees of Ross.

On XX minutes, a wonderful bit of build up play found Wannell inside the 18-yard box and tried to find Jarvis but it was well defended by Maidenhead for a corner. From the resulting corner, Nouble had an effort blocked on the post by Barratt.

You just felt a goal was coming and then it came in some style. A McGavin corner was defended by the visitors and fell to Charlie COOPER who blasted it back through a crowded area and past an unsighted Ross. That is his first goal for Yeovil Town – and his first since scoring for Wealdstone in April 2022. Worth the wait.

For the second weekend in a row, the game feels like it has been put to bed with time to spare. Maidenhead have not threatened to create much and made a number of changes off the bench including ex-Yeovil striker Tristan Abrahams as the game crept towards the end.

The Glovers’ changes came soon after with Josh Sims replacing Alex Whittle and then Sonny Blu Lo-Everton replacing Shaw, who got a rapturous reception from the Huish Park crowd. Sandwiched in between them there was a booking for Dom Bernard, his fifth of the season as well. That means we will be without both Jarvis and Bernard and the already suspended Morgan Williams for the match at Southend in the next match.

Full time: Yeovil Town 3 Maidenhead United 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 26th October – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Aaron Jarvis 10 (1-0), Kevin Lokko 25 (1-1), Aaron Jarvis 52 (2-1), Charlie Cooper 63 (3-1)

Pitch:  Looking decent for October – despite the burst sprinkler which required a pre-match repair
Conditions: Low autumn sunshine meaning goalkeepers requiring baseball caps

Attendance: 3,333 (70 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Aaron Jarvis 28, Dom Bernard 85
Maidenhead United: Will de Havilland 34

Red Cards:
Yeovil Town: Text
Maidenhead United

Referee: William Davies

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

 

Substitutes:  Josh Sims (for Alex Whittle, 84), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Kofi Shaw, 87), Harvey Greenslade (for Aaron Jarvis, 89), Dylan Morgan (for James Plant, 90+3), Caleb Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Maidenhead United: Craig Ross, Will De Havilland (for Alan Massey, 84), Kevin Lokko, Thierry Latty-Fairweather, Nathan Ferguson, Shawn McCoulsky (for Tobi Sho-Silva, 74), Casey Pettit, Reece Smith (for Ruben Carvalho, 80), Miles Welch-Hayes (for Owen Cochrane, 80), Sam Barratt (for Tristan Abrahams, 64), James Golding.

Substitutes (not used): Harvey Collins, Kane Ferdinand.

 

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Ten-man Yeovil earned a point on the road at Tamworth this evening, in a match where the Glovers could have scored two or three, before Morgan Williams 70th minute red card.

Ian was on National League TV  and here’s how he saw the goalless draw…

Thanks to Matt Crivelli for the Pic

First half

Mark Cooper named an unchanged side for the trip to Tamworth, with Bristol Rovers loanee Kofi Shaw adding further depth to the bench.

The hosts had the better of the opening exchanges with a couple of long throws causing problems for the Glovers defence. Kyle Finn came close to opening the scoring for Tamworth with an effort that skidded across the surface wide of Ollie Wright’s post.

Yeovil were forced into a change after five minutes following an injury to Matt Worthington. Jordan Young replaced the skipper on the right hand side.

Morgan Williams should have given the Glovers the lead in the 8th minute. Brett McGavin found the unmarked defender in the box and he could only head wide of the goal.

Ciaran McGuckin had Jas Singh on his toes moment later with a wicked cross (or was it a shot) that the Tamworth keeper had to help over the bar.

Yeovil enjoyed plenty of possession, controlling the ball and finding areas out wide. Nathan Tshikuna tried an audacious shot from the halfway line when Yeovil did let a pass loose, but his effort was no trouble for Wright.

Tamworth striker Dan Creaney felt he should have had a penalty in the 18th minute, going down under a challenge from Williams. The commentators on the stream felt a penalty would have been harsh. #balance

20 minutes in, James Plant had his first sight of goal, cutting inside from the left and striking a low effort towards goal. Singh claimed it at the second time of asking.

 Yeovil continued their dominance of the ball and Singh’s gloves were stung again, this time from Dylan Morgan’s long ranger.

Tamworth had another effort from the halfway line, this time from Tom Tonks. Looking forward to seeing the xG on those ones.

Tonks, a long throw specialist, got his chance to launch another one into the box before the half hour mark and Creaney couldn’t wrap his foot around the ball enough to get it on target.

The hosts had a great chance in the 32nd minute. After neat play on Yeovil’s right, the ball was worked into the box and Tshikuna snatched at it and sliced the ball high and wide.

 Tonks had another couple of long throws that weren’t dealt with convincingly by Wright or his defenders, the second of which saw Haydn Hollis snap a shot over the bar.

Jake Wannell had a free header late in stoppage time that he could only direct straight at Singh. That one will go down as another good chance for the Glovers.

On the whole, a even first half that, but for the Wannell header in stoppage time, petered out as it reached it’s conclusion.

Half time: Tamworth 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The second half began with a similar pattern, a long throw from Tonks and then controlled possession from the Glovers. 

For total transparency – I was on baby duties for the 10 minutes between 55 and 65. There were some substitutions – including the new man Kofi Shaw – and Jordan Young got booked.

With 20 minutes left to go, Morgan Williams was given a straight red card for a mistimed tackle Rico Brown as Tamworth looked to break from a Yeovil corner. It looked harsh given the area of the pitch it happened in, and Williams protested but Mulligan in the middle was not swayed.

Mark Cooper immediately shored up the defence, bringing off Jordan Young for Finn Cousin-Dawson.

Kofi Shaw should have given Yeovil the lead in the 77th minute. The substitute nabbed the ball from a Tamworth defender and found himself clean through on goal but his effort was low and straight at the keeper.

McGavin had a hopeful effort deflected wide for as corner as the clock ticked down towards 90 as the hosts made multiple substitutions.

An uneventful 8 minutes of stoppage time were played out as the sides shared the points.

Full time: Tamworth 0 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: The Lamb Ground
Date: Tuesday 22nd October – 19:45 Kick Off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: 

Pitch:  Plastic.
Conditions: 

Attendance: 1,068 (220 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Plant 33
Tamworth:

Red Cards:
Yeovil Town: Morgan Williams 71

Referee: John Mulligan

Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)

Substitutes:  Frank Nouble (for Aaron Jarvis, 66), Alex Whittle, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Jordan Young (for Matt Worthington, 5), Finn Cousin-Dawson (for Jordan Young, 73), Kofi Shaw (for Dylan Morgan, 59), Matt Gould

Tamworth: Jas Singh, Tom Tonks, Kyle Finn (for Enoru, 79), Dan Creaney, Luke Fairlamb, Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, Tom McGlinchey, Nathan Tshikuna (for Digie, 89), Kieran Wallace (for Fletcher, 77), Haydn Hollis, Rico Brown (for Curley 84, for Okafor, 89)

Substitutes (not used): , Williams, Phillips

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Yeovil Town scored three times without reply as they romped to a resounding win at struggling Wealdstone on Saturday.

The Glovers always looked in control and took the lead ten good play from Aaron Jarvis saw him pick out Brett McGavin to open the scoring with a diving header after 26 minutes.

Two goals in six second half minutes then wrapped up the biggest win of the season. Jarvis headed home a Dom Bernard ball into the box on 52 minutes before Ciaran McGuckin stabbed home a third to seal the win.

Dave was in a bouncing away end at Grosvenor Vale and here is how he saw it…..

First half

Whatever the formation prediction was before the game, it ended up with Aaron Jarvis playing as a lone striker.

Ollie Wright picked up the game’s first yellow card after just seven minutes after colliding with Alex Reid on the edge of the box. A free-kick given although hosts’ midfielder Max Krestchmaer wanted more and quickly became the second player to get a booking for his protests.
 
First meaningful chance fell to the home side withJack Wells-Morrison’s rasping effort from the edge of the box turned away by the flying Wright on 13 minutes.
 
On 16 minutes, Ciaran McGuckin had the ball in the net but his run was not quite good enough to beat the linesman’s flag. Nice finish to lift it over the keeper though.
 
The opening nearly came after 23 minutes when good play down the left from James Plant saw him pick out  Jarvis inside the box. The striker  turned his man but pulled his shot wide of goal. Such was the excitement, a green pyrotechnic went off in the away end!
 
But, the deadlock was broken three minutes later when great play from Jarvis saw him lift a ball to the back post where Brett McGAVIN was there to meet it with a diving header.
 
 
Just two minutes later, McGavin almost turned creator when he threaded a ball through to Jarvis for a one-on-one chance only to be denied by a fine stop from Howes. That should have been 2-0.
 
Five minutes before the break, Matt Worthington slid in on the goal line to try and turn home a Morgan ball in from the left. 


Half time: Wealdstone 0 Yeovil Town 1

Second half

It was almost 2-0 the visitors immediately after the restart, Morgan’s low effort looked to take a nick off Matt Worthington on its way in to the net. The linesman’s had his flag up and even after a conversation with the referee (is that non-League VAR?) the decision stood.

But it was 2-0 on 50 minutes after a brilliant run forward by  Dom Bernard saw him then lift an inch-perfect ball in to the box where Aaron JARVIS was on hand to meet it with a neat header.

Three minutes later, a great run from James Plant down the left wing and a curled effort just over the bar. Close to three.

A third did arrive on 58 minutes a corner from the right picked out Jake Wannell who drove the ball across the face of goal where Ciaran McGUCKIN was on hand to prod it home.

On the hour mark, Frank Nouble replaced Aaron Jarvis, who had put in a typically tireless performance but his goal was the most important thing. Hopefully that can help him to ‘catch fire’ as his manager Mark Cooper called on one of his strikers to do ahead of the match.

If you wondered know much the visitors wanted to keep a clean sheet, just watch Ollie Wright’s save from Krestchmaer on 66 minutes. The on loan Southampton man did superbly to get down to deny him before Dom Bernard cleared away the danger.

Alex Whittle replaced Matt Worthington on 69 minutes and five minutes later Sonny Blu Lo-Everton replaced Dylan Morgan.

But for the closing 20 minutes it was all about keeping that clean sheet. Wealdstone substitute Henry Sandat did his best to assist on 73 minutes when he shanked an effort in the same location Malachi Linton’s penalty went on our last visit to Grosvenor Vale (high over the bar if you can’t remember that), and  there were half-chances for defenders Craig Eastmond and Jack Cook. You got the feeling the Stones could be out there all night and still not score.

As the game drew to a close, first Nouble and then Lo-Everton both had opportunities to extend the advantage even further in Yeovil’s favour but there was plenty of gloss on the performance for the Glovers.

The disappointment of the exit from the FA Cup just up the road in Chesham seven days ago seems a distant memory and Yeovil moved up to eighth place, just two points outside the National League Premier play-off places. I know it’s only mid-October, but it is nice to be looking at the league table with a smile on your face.

Full time: Wealdstone 0 Yeovil Town 3

Match Details

Venue: Grosvenor Vale
Date: Saturday 19th October – 15:00 Kick Off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Brett McGavin 26 (1-0), Aaron Jarvis 52 (2-0), Ciaran McGuckin 58 (3-0).

Pitch:  Held up well considering it was subject to a pitch inspection at 1pm.
Conditions: Glorious sunshine – if irritatingly low and in the eyes of the travelling supporters throughout,

Attendance: 1,510 (250 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Ollie Wright 7,
Wealdstone: Max Krestchmaer 8, Adrian Mariappa 10, Micha Obiero 22, Craig Eastmond 

Referee: Sam Mulhall

Yeovil Town (5-2-1-2)

Substitutes:  Frank Nouble (for Aaron Jarvis, 60), Alex Whittle (for Matt Worthington, 70), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Dylan Morgan, 75), Jordan Young (for Ciaran McGuckin, 81), Finn Cousin-Dawson (for Brett McGavin, 85).

Wealdstone: Howes, Barrett, Mariappa, Cook, Mundle-Smith, Wells-Morrison, Dyer, Boldewijn, Kretszchmaer, Obiero, Reid.

Substitutes (not used): Adams, Georgiou, Eastmond, Hammond, Ashford, Sandat, Thorpe.

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Yeovil Town were dumped out of the FA Cup by a late winner at lower league Chesham United on Saturday.

With the game seemingly drifting towards a replay at Huish Park, Jack Cawley’s header at the back post from a late corner gifted the National League South side a win and a place in the competition’s first round.

Here was how Dave saw it from the away end in Buckinghamshire…..

First half

A booking for loan striker Ciaran McGuckin was the only action of the opening 20 minutes with neither side able to do much more than try to thread a pass through a defence.

Then on 20 minutes, efforts from first Jordan Young, then Ciaran McGuckin and Brett McGavin were blocked before the ball went out for a corner. From the resulting flag-kick a Frank Nouble effort came back off the post and away from danger.

Five minutes later, McGuckin challenged with Chesham keeper Ben Goode on the edge of the area, the gloveman spilt the ball but his effort was blocked by one of the defenders back.

Without question the best chance of the half so far fell to the home side on 36 minutes. A misplaced pass in midfield saw them break away and Joe Grant’s effort forced a fine stop out of Ollie Wright.

The first half came to an end with the distinct feeling that you could have had an extra 45 minutes in bed instead. Not much of a Cup tie yet.


Half time: Chesham United 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The second half started with a bit more impetus from the visitors with a good bit of quick passing leading to the ball breaking to Josh Sims inside the box with 48 minutes gone. His snap shot was well saved by Goode and two minutes later McGavin’s effort went just over the bar after being set up by McGuckin.

That same combination linked up nicely on 56 minutes to earn a corner from which McGavin had an effort over and then on the hour mark Young tried to jink in to the box but could not pull the trigger.

With 20 minutes remaining, Young, who everyone had been screaming at to ‘have a go’ rather than take another touch, unleashed one which cleared the crossbar….and the covered terrace behind the goal.

On 74 minutes, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Sam Pearson replaced Josh Sims and Ciaran McGuckin.

Five minutes later, Nouble got away and fired in a shot which pinballed around inside the Chesham area but there was no-one there to turn it home.

Three minutes from time, Young was on the wrong end of a crunching tackle in the middle of the pitch. He was replaced by Harvey Greenslade.

As the game ticked in to injury time, there was another bit of pinball inside the box with Lo-Everton among those with having an opportunity to shoot.

If like me you were at the opposite end of the ground to see what happened for the winner, the Chesham United tweet, below, will tell you what you need to know. A corner to the back post saw Jack CAWLEY out jump Araoye at the far post to head a famous winner.

If you play with the lack of tempo and urgency we had for the majority of the game, the risk of getting hit by a sucker punch is huge. That is exactly what happened and we honestly have no-one to blame but ourselves.

Full time: Chesham United 1 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: The Meadow
Date: Saturday 12th October – 15:00 Kick Off

Competition: FA Cup, 4th Qualifying Round

Scorers: Jack Cawley 90+3

Pitch:  In surprisingly good nick considering it had been played on Tuesday
Conditions: After a pre-match cloud burst, a glorious autumn afternoon broke out 

Attendance: 1,321 (approx 250 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Ciaran McGuckin 7
Chesham United: Jack Connors 52

Referee: Scott Tallis

Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)

 

Substitutes:  Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Josh Sims, 74), Sam Pearson (for Ciaran McGuckin, 74), Fin Cousin-Dawson (not used), Matt Worthington (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Chesham United: Ben Goode, Lewis Rolfe, Alex Lafleur (for Bradley Clayton, 81), Jack Cowley, Connor Stevens, T’Sharne Gallimore, Nathan Minhas (for Eoin Casey, 90+5), Mitchell Weiss (for Samson, Easan, 81), Jack Connors (for Ashley Lodge, 69), Joe Grant (for Omar Rowe, 69), Callum Adebiyi.

Substitutes (not used): Steve Brown, Avan Jones.

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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.