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There was yet more disappointment at Huish Park yesterday with a late goal consigning a much-improved Yeovil to defeat. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions.

Luke McCormick goes down in the penalty box | Photo by Gary Brown

We improved – again. After the Carlisle draw I wrote: That was just the tonic the supporters needed after the poor run. Many – me included – feared a bit of drubbing at the hands of a team that is unbeaten in October but we really showed that there’s more to this team than what we’ve seen of late. The same applies this time, but it’s an unsustainable way. The longer this run goes on, the more those three wins in September look to be a postive reaction to the chaos of Danny Webb’s departure. Things have ‘calmed’ down since then and while Yeovil keep turning a corner to improve the performance, Dryden’s men just can’t get a win. 

It was an entertaining game. I thought both sides competed well in a fairly even affair. There was spirit in both teams and it didn’t feel like 18th vs 7th for a lot of the match. Mistakes at the back allowed Southend to spurn some glorious chances but we stuck with playing out (which I’m okay with) and when got through the lines we did create moments. Once again though, we tired towards the closing stages where other teams seem to find another gear, or their substitutes make an impact. Their late winner was a real kick in the knackers but I don’t think many will argue that Southend didn’t do enough to get all three points.

Jed Ward
Pic Gary Brown

Where would be without Jed Ward? The glove man was imperious – again – in the Yeovil goal, keeping out a handful of efforts and saving his teammates bacon on more than one occasion. It’s not the first game (but it would be nice if it’s the last) where if were not for the Rovers loanee, Yeovil would have been on the end of a cricket score. As it was, he pulled off some blinding saves to keep the Southend attackers stumped.

Chances are hard to come by. If you don’t make the goalkeeper make a save, you can’t expect to get anything and that was the story yesterday. Southend’s keeper didn’t have a shot to save. Yeovil worked openings and got shots away that were charged down by defenders, but we’re back to “bits and pieces” around the box being called chances. We tried something different with the front three I thought it looked okay in the first half. Morias, Sims and Daly had energy, pace and fluidity that caused some problems when the wingbacks got involved too. Despite the attacking options on the bench, I don’t think Oluwabori or Jarvis improved us when they came on for the tired legs. We’re dangerously closed to lauding final third entries as our ‘Special One’ once did, but if we dont start testing keepers we’re not going to get points.

The echoes of 2022/23 are ringing. Sadly, I think we’re in a dog fight and I’m worried. That miserable relegation year is not a distant memory and there are parallels from that season. Changing manager early in the season, struggling to hit the back of the net, patching up a team until January. This time, however, we have committed owners who, I believe, genuinely have the best interests of the club at heart. Prior to kick off yesterday, Prabhu Srinivasan talked to BBC Somerset about the ambition to reach the EFL by the end of next season. I have no doubts that the new owners have invested in the club. Before selling the club, Martin Hellier said how the club was costing £200,000 a month to run and that number will not have changed – it will probably have increased. The problem is that on the face of it – and on the pitch – that investment is just enabling the club to stand still/regress. We really need to hope this ‘blueprint’ starts bringing results or we’ll be back to regional football.

Not pretty reading | Photo by Gary Brown

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James Daly has spoken of his – and his teammates – frustration after the Glovers fell 1-0 to Southend on Saturday. A 92nd minute winner saw the Shrimpers take all three points. The forward spoke to BBC Radio Somerset’s Jack Killah after the game:

“It’s a gutter, I think, as well as we played first half, I think the intent was there, the work rate, the attitude, it’s what you want to see. It’s the bare minimum you need when you’re, in a rut like this and you’re not getting results, every man carried themselves brilliantly in terms of their work rate and effort but, when you’re in a way like this and you’re not getting the results things can go against you, so, we’re just bitterly disappointed really.

Our intent, our pressing definitely, as I say, work rate, a togetherness that we haven’t really seen, been isolated at times, the second ball recoveries were brilliant today, I think our reaction when we lost it, and to break as well was good. Both boxes, brilliant as well, Jed [Ward] made some unbelievable saves, and I think decision making in the final third let us down today, including myself.”

James Daly | Photo by Gary Brown

The Glovers have failed to score if five of their last six league games, and only three sides (Brackley 13, Braintree 15, Truro 17) have scored fewer this season, speaking on their troubles in front of goal, he said;

“It’s disappointing, it’s going to take one of them that comes off a shin pad or comes off a knee and go in, and that’s what we need right now is a bit of a break and that happens on the training ground, get back to work and we’re all in agreement, we need more emphasis on crosses, we need more quantity getting into the final box, the final third, then something will come our way, something will drop, if we keep playing how we are with the work rate, and intent, things will change.

I think the only way out of these situations is [Richard Dryden] goes to one side and you’ve got to work as hard as possible and something will drop, so we’re bitterly disappointed, we’re gutted in there, but it’s back to the training ground on Monday and keep going.”

Yeovil head to Morecambe next week, a side who have conceded 48 goals so far and he wants his side to really up their game.

“I wouldn’t put the emphasis on [doing things] differently, there’s positives to take, you’ve got something from that, definitely, I think, more final third entries, decision making, including myself at times, today wasn’t good enough, but as a basis, a foundation of the work rate and intent was good, it’s something to build on, it’s not all bad.”

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Yeovil fell to another defeat against Southend, extending their winless run to seven matches, and Richard Dryden bemoaned his sides’ continued struggles in front of goal.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah the Yeovil boss also said the visitors probably created more, but that he felt his side could have a couple of penalties: “You look at the chances, they probably created more than us, but we defended well. [Our] Keeper played well, back three played well. We kept them out, but at the other end we didn’t take our chances. We probably had better ones [chances] in the first half with a couple of blocked shots. You look at the clips, we could have had a couple of penalties – there’s a couple of basketball saves in the goal mouth but at the end of the day, we haven’t scored again and we’ve lost 1-0 at home.”

Josh Sims takes aim as Nathan Ralph closes in | Photo by Gary Brown

Yeovil improved on their last home outing against Wealdstone (not a difficult task) but failed to test the Southend keeper all afternoon. Dryden said they’ll keep working on creating chances, though.

“We’ve got to keep working hard. Keep giving them more chances, delivering the ball in the box, which we worked on a little bit and we’ll be working on it again before the next game. We’re not creating enough, everybody knows that, but were getting into positions to create but sometimes is the final ball or the runs and it’s killing us a little bit at the moment.”

“We’ve got to keep putting the ball in decent areas and expect the forwards to get in there, or the midfielders or the wingbacks and load the box. It’s the hardest thing in the world to do, put the ball in the back of the net, but we’ve got to start doing it.”

Southend broke the deadlock in 92nd minute through Slavi Spasov, and Dryden said it was a ‘tough one’: “You look back at it, we can stop it a bit, there’s always little chances to stop a goal, but it’s just a sickener.”

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Thanks, as always, to Gary Brown for the photos. Follow him on Instagram here.

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Yeovil Town were on the wrong end of a 92nd minute sucker punch as Southend United scored in the dying minutes of the game to stretch Yeovil’s winless run to seven.

The Glovers failed to register a single shot on target and Jed Ward pulled off multiple saves to keep the visitors at bay.

An improved performance from the home side, but another defeat and another blank in front of goal. 

First half

There were three changes from the 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United last weekend with Finn Cousin-Dawson, James Daly and Junior Morias returning to the starting XI. There was no place in the squad for defender Kyle Ferguson, who started in Lincolnshire, but on loan Exeter City winger Andrew Oluwabori returned on the bench alongside midfielder Leo Ramirez-Espain, who signed on loan from Watford during the week.

Daly lined up in the middle of a front three alongside Morias and Josh Sims, not exactly your archetypal number nine. The opening exchanges at Huish Park were dominated by Southend and when Yeovil got hold of the ball they looked to try and hold on to possession. There was also an early booking for Southend captain Nathan Ralph, who had a spell at Huish Park around a decade ago, for a foul on Sims after just ten minutes.

The visitors had a golden opportunity to open the scoring on XX minutes when Jake Wannell totally misjudged a header back to goalkeeper Jed Ward and presented Southend top scorer Andrew Dallas with a glorious chance which he inexplicably put wide. The Glovers had another let off seconds later when a loose pass out by Ward almost let Southend in, but fortunately Cousin-Dawson was there to clear it up. Almost a fatal mistake of our own making – twice!

There’s lots of energy and running from Yeovil’s front three, but there’s definitely not a focal point. There’s definitely a desire to try and keep the ball as much as we can, but James Daly is struggling to get much change out of the visitors’ giant defence.

Morgan Williams heads towards goal.

With 35 minutes, great pressure from Max Jolliffe won possession and a good turn by Morias in the middle of the pitch saw him feed Josh Sims who burst forward down the right side but lifted his shot over the bar. Better intent from Yeovil.

Moments later, Dallas had another good opportunity after jumping on a sloppy attempted pass from Luke McCormick gifted the on loan Barnsley striker a chance, which he put straight in to the hands of Ward. Then it was Morias’ turn to have a shot at goal, he thundered a dipping shot in from 25 yards just over the bar with 36 minutes played,

Two minutes later there was another good chance for Yeovil. Morias broke away down the left and fed it in for McCormick whose shot was blocked by Ralph and broke to James Plant who had an open goal to shoot in to but Ralph got a fantastic block in to deny him.

Yeovil’s tails were up and again it was the tenacity of Jolliffe which won possession, Morias was involved feeding Sims and he managed to get it out to McCormick on the right of the box but his angled effort was blocked by Ralph again.

With four minutes of the half remaining, Yeovil almost became masters of their own downfall – again – when Cousin-Dawson’s poor pass saw Dallas set away, his effort was well saved by Ward who got up in time to push Oli Coker’s follow-up shot out. Four great opportunities for Southend in this match and they have all come from our mistakes.

A big improvement from the disappointing displays in the last outing at Huish Park against Wealdstone and the last match at Scunthorpe United. Our biggest threat seems to be ourselves with sloppy passes gifting Southend all their opportunities, but there’s some energy going forward and it is creating chances.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Southend United 0

Second half

It took just two minutes for the first chance of the second half and it came from another (yes, another) loose pass this time from Cousin-Dawson which gave Southend the chance to float a ball in to Dallas who rose highest to head it down in to the six yard box who was joined by Cousin-Dawson who managed to get it away. Big appeals for hand ball from the away end, but the referee uninterested.

McCormick had his own penalty appeal after 52 minutes following a run the full length of the pitch which ended with him tumbling under pressure inside the box. Three minutes later, we were grateful to Ward again when Guss Scott-Morriss’ superb cross found James Walker inside the area, but his header was superbly kept out by the on loan Bristol Rovers man. 

With an hour played, Andrew Oluwabori came on replacing Alex Whittle with Plant going to the left wing-back with Sims going right wing-back and the substitute moving in to the forward line. On 72 minutes, Aaron Jarvis replaced Sims.

There’s not been much for either side since the opportunity for Walker earlier in the half, but Southend are certainly dominating possession. On 76 minutes, Southend substitute Keenan Appiah-Forson had a shot saved by Ward, before Jarvis spun his man from a long ball forward, got past keeper Nick Hayes, and had a huge shout of a handball as he tried to shoot towards goal.

Jarvis appeals for a penalty, nothing given.

Some great defending from Harry Taylor denied Jarvis with nine minutes of the match remaining. A great run and cross from Oluwabori down the right saw him play it in to the middle, but Taylor won out over the Yeovil substitute.

With time ticking, Southend continued to be comfortable on the ball, but for all their possession, numerous blocks and tackles kept the Shrimpers at arm’s length.

Junior Morias was replaced by Harvey Greenslade for the final couple of minutes, the front man feeling the effects of a busy afternoon and a couple of robust challenges.

Jarvis entered the book for a ‘strikers challenge’ before the sucker punch landed.

Jed Ward made his umpteenth save of the game but instead of keeping the ball safe in hands, the effort from Savi Spasov squirted out to Leon Chambers-Parillon who made the telling touch to break Yeovil hearts.

A final minute corner for the Glovers was calmly claimed by Nicholas Hayes in the Southend goal. 

With players stretched, Chambers-Parillon skied a breakaway chance. 

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Southend United 1

Match Details

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

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Chambers-Parillon (0-1 ’92)

Pitch: Held up well

Conditions: A chilly early winters day

Attendance: 3,060 (530 away supporters)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Max Jolliffe 45+5, Luke McCormick 51, Junior Morias 62, 

Scunthorpe United: Nathan Ralph 10, Guss Scott-Morriss 44

Referee: Scott Jackson

Yeovil Town (3-4-3)

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Alex Whittle, 60), Dan Ellison, Ramirez-Espain, Harvey Greenslade, Tahvon Campbell, Aaron Jarvis, Matt Gould (not used).

Southend United: Nick Hayes, Guss Scott-Morriss, Nathan Ralph, Ben Goodliffe, Andrew Dallas, Josh Walker (for Slavi Spasov, 64) , Harry Taylor, Cav Miley, Sam Austin (for Leon Parillon, 78), Oli Coker (for Keenan Appiah-Forson, 64) , Harry Boyes.

Substitutes: Collin Anden-Ndi, Jack Bridge, Tom Hopper, Joe Gubbins.

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Yeovil Town owner Prabhu Srinivasan interviewed during a visit to Huish Park.

Yeovil Town owner Prabhu Srinivasan has said his family has invested “a lot of money” in to the club since he took over at the end of May.

The Dubai-based businessman said the investment had delivered “a lot of financial stability” and insisted that manager Richard Dryden was “following a blueprint” which he hopes will have the Glovers challenging for EFL status next season.

Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah at Huish Park ahead of Saturday’s game with Southend United, the owner also revealed he hoped that the club would be reunited with land around the stadium by the end of this season.

Speaking about investment, he said: “We as a family have invested quite a bit of money in the last five months, more than most clubs have, to do what is right for the club going forward. There is a lot of financial stability is the club, more than there was before.

“We have invested a lot already, a lot more than other clubs have done. I do not think there is any paucity of investment for this club.”

On plans to purchase the land from Somerset Council, he added: “It is our top priority, we are working with the council to get that organised. Hopefully if all goes well we will have it by the end of the season. That is the hope. It means a lot of us, the fans and I keep saying this to the fans ‘please be with us because we are in it for the long term and your support on the pitch is very important for us.’

“The stadium is one of the top stadiums in the National League and better than some of the League Two stadiums as well. From an infrastructure perspective, I do not think things will change too much.”

Yeovil Town manager Richard Dryden
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Yeovil go in to the match with Southend United in 18th place in the National League Premier Division table without a win in their last six games, including an exit from the FA Cup at the hands of lower league Hemel Hempstead Town.

Asked about his thoughts on the performance so far this season, Prabhu added: “It on the plan. We have given Richard what he wants, he needs to deal with that on the pitch, that is what he is trying to do. Looking at the numbers we have seven new players in contract since the start of the season, we have let go of two players, one is on loan and we have five new loan players, so that is 12 new signings this year. We have to do this slowly, it is not something that is going to change instantly. Richard and the team is doing what they need to do. Do we want more from them? The obvious answer is ‘yes’, but we are all following a blueprint and it will take time to put that together. If we get the blueprint right, by the end of next season we will hopefully be in League Two, that is what we are aiming for.“

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Summer signing James Daly is back in the Yeovil Town starting line-up for the first time in almost three months as manager Richard Dryden makes three changes for the visit of Southend United to Huish Park today (3pm kick-off).

The winger, who has come off the bench in the previous three games as he returns from an injury picked up in late August, is joined by defender Finn Cousin-Dawson and striker Junior Morias, who started on the bench in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Scunthorpe United.

New loan signing Leo Ramirez-Espain is named among the substitutes alongside Exeter City’s on loan winger Andrew Oluwabori, who was not in the squad seven days ago. Defender Kyle Ferguson, who started in Lincolnshire, is not in the squad along with full-back George Nurse.

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Yeovil Town are back at Huish Park this Saturday, as they take on a strong Southend United side in the league.

FORM…

YEOVIL TOWN

The Glovers have had a tough run of fixtures over the last five games having played four of the top six teams in the league. It’s perhaps surprising that across these fixtures, arguably the worst performance that fans have seen was the loss to Wealdstone, a team (at the time we played them, at least) who were on parity with us. The fixture list doesn’t get any kinder to manager Richard Dryden and his side however, with seventh placed Southend United coming to town.

Last time out Yeovil faced a well drilled Scunthorpe United team, losing 1-0 in Lincolnshire. After conceding in the 22nd minute through a gift to Tyrell Sellars-Fleming, Town steadied the ship in what could have been a tough afternoon. Although the Glovers never really looked like scoring, they did come away with four shots on target, the most we have had since the Sutton win at the end of September.

Scunthorpe celebrate Tyrell Sellars-Fleming’s opening goal.

SOUTHEND UNITED

After a strong start to the season for the Shrimpers only losing three of their first 15 games, things have slowed down in recent times. It’s the last three games that will be a worry for the Essex side, with no wins and an FA Cup loss to Wealdstone, respectively, being a cause for concern.

In their last game, against table-toppers Carlisle United, Southend were beaten 2-1 at home. The visitors went 2-0 up in the space of 10 minutes after Chris Conn-Clarke opened the scoring in the 19th minute, before Regan Linney doubled their advantage. Sam Austin then pulled one back two minutes for the Shrimpers.

The scoreline doesn’t tell the full story however, with Southend having 10 shots on target, 57% possession and only committing nine fouls against the top side.

A story that could come to haunt an out-of-sorts Glovers side.

KEY PLAYERS…

YEOVIL TOWN – JAMES PLANT

The on-loan Port Vale winger looked his ever lively self last week against Scunthorpe in a game where not many Yeovil players looked like doing much. The 21-year-old created multiple chances his best being a curling effort from outside the box after a one-two with Alex Whittle.

Plant is very much the type of player that can create something out of nothing and that is what the Glovers need at the moment. With strikers, who let’s be honest here, don’t look like scoring at the moment, it may rest on the youngsters shoulders to be the spark to get things going.

So far this season the winger has shown why he is integral to Yeovil’s play and the stats back it up. On average Plant has three successful dribbles per game which is what you want from your winger. He also does the defensive work well, with 4.7 balls recovered per game.

If the Glovers are to win, it may be down to James Plant.

James Plant
Pic Gary Brown

SOUTHEND UNITED – ANDY DALLAS

As much as it pains me to write how good a former W*ymouth player is, Dallas’s quality can’t be overlooked. The Scotsman has contributed to the Shrimpers success this season, with seven goals to his name.

Goals is Dallas’ game, with 70 goals in 246 appearances, with his best returns coming in the 2022/23 season with Solihull Moors and Chesterfield where he bagged 20 goals that campaign. His move to Barnsley in 2023/24 stunted his progression somewhat with only seven goals in the two years that followed. However, now back at National League level, Dallas looks to have found his shooting boots once again.

THE GAFFER…

Kevin Maher is the visiting manager this weekend and he very much sits in the echelons of Southend United legends. Maher association with the Shrimpers started when he left Tottenham’s academy for the Essex coast line in 1998. Over the next 10 years the former midfielder would go on to make 384 appearances for the Roots Hall side. The 49-year-old then had spells at Gillingham, Oldham, Dagenham & Redbridge, Bray Wanderers and Whitehawk across the following seven years before retiring in 2015.

Maher, then went into an academy role with Southend from 2015-2019 before becoming assistant manager at Bristol Rovers. The Ilford man spent two years with the Gas before being offered the manager’s role at Roots Hall in 2021. In the his time in charge of the Shrimpers, Maher as overseen 195 games, playing Yeovil six times, with his record against the Glovers being won three, lost two and drawn one.

LAST TIME WE MET…

The two sides last met at Huish Park back last season, when the game finished 2-2. In what was an entertaining affair, Southend opened the scoring in the first minute through Charley Kendall. The Glovers struck back quickly though when Kyrell Wilson scored 12 minutes later. Yeovil then took the lead in the 18th minute thanks to goal from Frank Nouble, which looked to have given the Somerset side the three points, before James Golding equalised in the 94th minute.
The last time the two sides met on March 1st 2025

DON’T I KNOW YOU…

Just one player for the Glovers fans to dig into their memory bank for this weekend.

Nathan Ralph – Now at the tail end of his career, Ralph spent two years of it at Huish Park. Joining Yeovil on a free from Peterborough United way back in 2012, the left back would stay in Somerset for three years and writing his name into Glovers folklore for being a part of the team that got us to the Championship. During his time with Yeovil, he would make 41 appearances in all competitions.

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…

Scott Jackson takes charge of the fixture, and as usual read Ben’s full article here