Five Conclusions: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1
2026-04-01
Having clocked up 1,350 miles travelling in the past week, Yeovil Town travel sickness struck as they went down to a 2-1 defeat at Southend United last night. Glovers’ fan Ed Turnbull was among the 68 travelling supporters in the away end and here are his conclusions.
We looked knackered in the first half especially: And understandably so – I could’ve drafted this conclusion at 5pm on Saturday, and probably even a couple months ago as soon as the rearranged fixture dates were announced. But the minutes and the travelling really caught up with us in a bleak first half display. Southend out-ran, out-pressed and out-played us for the first 45 minutes, and it was this that ultimately meant they deserved the win after 90. I empathise with the players, but I lost track of the number of times our defenders were chasing shadows back towards their own goal only seconds after they had punted the ball up the line themselves unable to play any deliberate pass.
It was another game of two halves for us: Much like we deserved to lose the first half, I think we deserved to draw the second. We’ll probably never know whether the winner would have stood had goal-line technology been in use, but on another day we might have earned a very respectable point against a side which will almost certainly be in the play-offs this season. It was probably a mix of Southend allowing us more time on the ball, and us being more composed with it. There was still the big asterisk that we didn’t create much, but we held our own and, what I liked most was…
…the players showed they cared: You could say we’re more-or-less on the beach, but that wasn’t the mentality I saw on the pitch tonight. Whether it’s James Daly terrier-like in his pursuit to win the ball back in an unfamiliar central midfield position, or Alex Whittle coming bee-lining back onto the pitch out of nowhere with enough desire to get not only the ball but also a good chunk of substitute Aaron Jarvis, I am fully here for it. Once you consider the shift these players have had to put in of late, I was proud to partake in a good length applause of mutual respect between fans, players and coaching staff after full-time despite going home empty-handed.
We have some good players we need to build around for next season: James Daly has rightly got the limelight of late, but Brett McGavin has been immense. Following an injury-stricken and unimpressive first half of the season, he’s really proven his worth in the recent onslaught of fixtures. A near ever-present in a lightweight midfield department, not only has he shown his class on the ball that we’ve always known about, but he’s had to get through a heck of a load of dirty work. Moving on from Cannavaro, this guy is the Somerset Pirlo, our metronome if you will. I think he could be key to us becoming the free-flowing footballing side Rowley clearly plans to make us.
Time to finish the job now: There’s a good chance our current points tally will be enough to avoid relegation, but let’s not leave it to chance. Now’s the time for one or two big pushes to make it mathematically certain, and Truro City at home on Good Friday and Eastleigh are two favourable opponents to do just that. That’s not at all to say it will be easy, but let’s lick our wounds from tonight, keep our heads up and show why we’re above these two teams in the table.
Wannell: We got a rocket at half-time
2026-04-01
Yeovil Town captain Jake Wannell revealed the team were given a half-time “rocket” by manager Billy Rowley to spark a second half revival at Southend United last night.
The Glovers were second best in every department during the opening 45 minutes in Essex, but rallied after the break and pulled level when Wannell stroked home a Goal of the Season contender just after the hour.
It proved to be in vain as a winner from the hosts’ Keenan Appiah-Forson saw the visitors return to Somerset empty handed,
Wannell told BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins: “They came out the traps and their fans got onside, it’s a tough place to come, but I don’t think enough of us stood up tonight. I feel like half the team did and half the team didn’t and you can’t come to Roots’ Hall and not have everyone pulling in the right direction. Billy gave us a rocket at half-time and we got hold of the ball and I thought we dealt with it quite well.”
The central defender drew the game level on 64 minutes when he bent a superb strike in to the Southend net, but the captain was not keen to revel in the glory after a defeat.
Asked about it, he said: “Yeah, it was a great finish, but it means nothing, though, does it? We’re home with no points. I would have rather swapped the goal for a point or three.”
Wannell picked up a booking for protesting against that the game’s 84th minute winner from Keenan Appiah-Forson did not cross the line, but admitted no-one could be completely sure.
He added: “From my angle, it didn’t look like it was in. Jed (Ward, the Yeovil keeper) said it wasn’t in, but we’re obviously going to say that. I would need to watch it back because everything happens so fast, so we will dissect it, and try to address it for Friday.
“You probably need a little bit of luck as well and unfortunately that wasn’t on our side tonight. I feel like we need to deal with those moments better, especially in the first half. You could see that they were flying and I don’t feel like we dealt with it very well.”
Rowley: We’re disappointed but not disgraced
2026-04-01
Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley said he was disappointed with last night’s 2-1 defeat at Southend United, but did not believe his players had disgraced themselves.
It looked like it was going to be a long night for the Glovers when they fell behind to Gus Scott-Moriss’ opener after just four minutes and found themselves second best for the entire first half against their hosts buoyed by reaching the FA Trophy final and still firmly in the play-off picture.
But, a second half revival saw the visitors level through a wonder strike from captain Jake Wannell before a hotly disputed winner from Keenan Appiah-Forson sunk them six minutes from time.
Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Josh Perkins after the game, Rowley said: “Whenever you lose a game, you don’t walk away happy, so that’s my overall feeling. If I try and compartmentalise the halves, obviously first half we were really bad. It reminded me a little bit of Woking away a couple of weeks ago, but emotionally this place does something different to you than Woking. You’re playing in front of nearly 8,000 people—fantastic support, really, really good team—and I felt like the occasion probably got to us a little bit.
“(At half-time) we just reminded the lads about how clear we wanted to press and get the ball back. Obviously, goals change games and Southend score, and you come out second half and you’ve got nothing to lose then. We started to find a bit more bravery and composure to get on the ball and work on what we work on every day and we looked good. We then score a great goal through Jake—I thought it was a top finish —and then the game state then changes again. They’re back to being on the front foot, high line, more pressure on the ball. They make four changes; all four players are top level, a lot more energy into their press.
“We were just on the tilt at that point. We couldn’t really get out of our half, and you have two choices when you’re under the cosh like that: you can go ultra-brave and try to keep playing, or you can just try to get the ball over the opposition a little bit more and try to get in their half. We kind of did neither. Sometimes we went long, but we weren’t great at getting up the pitch, and then sometimes we tried to play but didn’t drop off quite enough to actually get clear of pressure and stuff.
“We found ourselves in an arena which was, you know, difficult on the night. Good team, good management team, and I thought over the course of 90 minutes they probably deserved the win, but I thought second half we were probably the better team.”
The winner from Appiah-Forson’s back post header sparked fury among Yeovil who argued the ball had not fully crossed the line before it was grabbed by goalkeeper Jed Ward. The decision that it had was given by the assistant rather than referee Abigail Byrne, an truthfully without goal-line technology it was impossible to call.
Rowley said: “I’ve got a friend who was actually behind the goal as a Southend supporter and I just caught up with him and he just said it probably wasn’t a goal either. I haven’t seen it and the angle we’re seeing it from, it was not great, so I can’t really comment on that. This is what almost 8,000 fans do to referees and officials—they influence them. I’m not saying that it wasn’t over the line or it was, I haven’t seen it, but I think as a referee when you’re in front of 8,000 people, it’s probably easier to side with the home team at times.”
The defeat in Essex was the game in hand Yeovil had over many of the teams below them in the National League Premier Division and means they go in to the Easter double header still nine points clear of the relegation zone. They host bottom club Truro City on Good Friday before travelling to another side battling at the wrong end of the table in Eastleigh on Bank Holiday Monday.
Rowley said he is hopeful on loan Cardiff City midfielder Dakari Mafico, who has been missing through injury in recent weeks, would return soon.
He said: “We’ve got another three days to recover, the aren’t slowing up anytime soon. We’ve got tired legs out there, but we’re going to have to go again. I felt like the boys did that tonight, and one thing I can massively praise them all on is their effort and endeavour and aggression. I’m not standing here devastated by the performance; we’ve just lost to a team that should probably be in League Two, if we’re honest. It’s no disgrace to lose here, but we are disappointed to lose.
“Dax will probably be back in another week or so, Troy (Perrett) will be suspended until Monday. We’re going to be pretty light against Truro, but yeah, the boys that are on the pitch look good, they still look hungry. Their tanks are running on empty at the minute, but they’re still finding ways to compete against good teams.
“We’ve been really good at Huish Park; I think I saw a record the other day, we’ve got a good win percentage at home at the moment. The fans have been brilliant there, so hopefully it’s a nice day, we can turn up, we can play our style, we can imprint on what we want to do to the game and get three points.”
Gloverspast #52 – Andy Williams
2026-04-01
On this month’s Gloverspast we roll back the years to a man who knew where the back of the net was. Andy Williams played 80 matches for Yeovil, scoring 25 goals in the process. Join Dave and Ollie Marsh as they travel down memory lane with Andy.
Match Report: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1
2026-03-31
Yeovil Town fell to defeat after a game of two halves at FA Trophy finalists Southend United on Tuesday night.
The Glovers fell behind after just four minutes when Gus Scott-Morriss fired home to get Root’s Hall rocking and the home side were better in every department in the opening 45 minutes.
But, whatever was said by manager Billy Rowley at half-time, it worked and Yeovil deservedly levelled through a Goal of the Season contender from captain Jake Wannell who stroked a sumptuous effort in with 64 minutes on the clock.
Then with six minutes left Keenan Appiah-Forson headed home from close range for a hotly-disputed winner which the Yeovil players did not think crossed the line.
First half
If there was a nightmare start which Yeovil boss Billy Rowley dreamt about the night before, it could not have been much worse than the one he watched after four minutes.
A great ball in from the left side from Harry Boyes was met by the head of Keenan Appiah-Forson in the middle, Jed Ward made a fantastic stop to push it out but it only went as far as Gus SCOTT-MORRISS who lashed the Shrimpers in front. A lazy tackle to allow Boyes to get the ball in and only Alex Whittle was in the middle of the six-yard box to mark two Southend players. Ward did his best, but he can only do so much.
We are playing slowly here and Southend are having the opportunity to reset every time we have it, the fatigue we have heard about looks to be kicking in already. We simply cannot keep up with the pace of this game. On 13 minutes, Charley Kendall, who was causing all sorts of issues down the left, broke forward and fired in an effort which Ward had to tip over the bar for a corner and shortly after a ball fizzed across the face of the Glovers’ goal where mercifully there was no-one there to turn it home.
The one way traffic continued as the game progressed and Southend are getting corner after corner whilst we can never get the ball out of our own half. It took more than 20 minutes for keeper Collin Ndeng-Adi to get his first touch, and that was to play the ball out. He did more in the warm-up than his has had to do in the first half of this half.
That man Kendall had time and space down the left cut in to the box and fed it in to Appiah-Forson whose effort went over the bar with two Yeovil in close proximity. Jed Ward goes down for treatment and Rowley screams for his players to come over for a new team talk. Into ’em, Billy!
On the half-hour mark, Wannell tried to head away under pressure from Andrew Dallas before Ward fell on the ball, before the keeper came to the rescue (yet) again this time to deny Kendall. The last few minutes we have at least made it a little more difficult for Southend, but the balls are still coming in from both flanks and we continue to be penned in to our own half. We are doing some of the ugly stuff which we were not doing in the first 25 minutes, but still not cutting off the source of the danger.
38 minutes played, Will Merry presses forward and has what we could charitably call a shot which Ndeng-Adi has to put his hands down to stop, but he barely broke a sweat. It’s a good forward run by the Southampton youngster but that’s about it.
Five minutes from half-time, a ball in to the box from the left (again) and its going towards Scott-Morriss who gets a hand (maybe two) in the back from Jake Wannell. Referee Abigail Byrne is unmoved, but I think we have got away with one there – and so does the home crowd.
As the clock ticked down to the interval, Rowley will have been hoping to get through to half-time just a goal behind. His heart would have been in his mouth on 43 minutes when Boyes fired in to the six yard box and Andrew Dallas was there to stab it home. Lady Luck was on Yeovil’s side again as the assistant’s flag was raised for an offside.
To say we are fortunate to only be one goal down at the break would be an understatement.
Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0
Second half
Aaron Jarvis arrived at the interval, replacing Delano McCoy-Splatt, and playing through the middle. Merry is on the right side and Terrell Works on the left, hopefully to try and get joy in wide positions as they watched
Two minutes in to the second half and Ndeng-Adi had his first work to do. Daly hits a low shot from distance and the keeper has to get down to turn it away for a corner. Five minutes in and we are already looking to compete for the ball more than the supporters who made the trip to Root’s Hall saw in the first half.
Whatever Billy Rowley said to his players at the interval, it has made a difference, we look a completely different side. Brett McGavin sails a free-kick over the bar around the hour mark, but we have shown more effort in this opening 15 minutes.
I told you it was getting better and on 64 minutes, Yeovil drew level – and in some style. A free-kick was easily cleared as far as as Works who gave it to Jake WANNELL inside the area and he caressed a sumptuous shot past Ndeng-Adi. What a finish that is from the central defender. Take a bow!
On 70 minutes, Boyes smashed a fantastic shot in from outside the box and Ward does superbly to tip it over the bar and from the resulting corner Golding has an effort punched away by the on loan Bristol Rovers keeper. Southend are rallying and they make a quadruple change with Jack Bridge, Tom Hopper, Sam Austin and Alfie Massey came on with 73 minutes played.
There is a second wind blowing in this Southend side, but Rowley and his assistant Darren Simpson have got his tactics spot in this half, they are stopped the hosts coming through the middle of the pitch as they were doing at will in the opening 45 minutes.
But, with six minutes of remaining, Southend’s pressure told and they regained the lead. A ball bouncing around the box and substitute Austin heads it to the back post where Keenan APPIAH-FORSON headed it goalwards, Ward seems to claim it but the assistant insists he can see through a crowd of bodies to tell it is over the line. Wannell goes in to the book for his protests, the Yeovil players are furious. That is harsh on the visitors, who have looked much better in this half.
Millar Matthews-Lewis was thrown on as an 87th minute substitute and in second half stoppage time, the on loan Burton Albion man did well to make time for himself inside a crowded area and thrashed an effort just the wrong side of the post.
Full time: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1
Match Details
Venue: Root’s Hall
Date: Tuesday 31st March, 7.45pm kick-off
Competition: National League Premier Division
Scorers: Gus Scott-Moriss 4 (0-1), Jake Wannell 64 (1-1)
Pitch: Patchy in places
Conditions: Cold
Attendance: 7,793 (68 away supporters)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 85
Southend United: Oli Coker 11, Gus Scott-Moriss 38, Harry Boyes 89
Referee: Abigail Byrne
Yeovil Town
Substitutes: Aaron Jarvis (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Harvey Greenslade (for Terrell Works, 81), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Will Merry, 87), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).
Southend United: Collin Andeng-Ndi, Gus Scott-Morriss, Harry Taylor, James Golding, Joe Gubbins (for Jack Bridge, 73), Harry Boyes, Keenan Appiah-Forson, James Morton (for Alfie Massey, 73), Oli Coker (for Sam Austin, 73), Andrew Dallas (for Ben Goodliffe, 90+1), Charley Kendall (for Tom Hopper, 73).
Substitutes (not used): Noah Mawene, Josh Walker.
Rowley: Daly is fresh and ready
2026-03-31
Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has said that forward James Daly is “fresh” for tonight’s visit to FA Trophy finalists Southend United.
The forward, who has seven goals this season including two in his last three outings, was a second half substitute in the 2-1 defeat at Gateshead at the weekend, but has been brought back in to the starting XI in Essex.
He is joined by Southampton Under-21s loanee Will Merry, who appeared as a 62nd minute substitute on Saturday, in the line-up. The pair replace Millar Matthews-Lewis, who is named on the bench, and the suspended Finn Cousin-Dawson.
Speaking about the changes to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off, Rowley said: “The plan was to rest James Daly in the first half at Gateshead, he got through ridiculous running distance at Wealdstone (last Wednesday), even when we were down to ten men he was acting like two players for us. He was really tight and tender on Saturday, so we felt it would be stupid to wheel him out against Gateshead and in this game and on Friday (against Truro City), so we decided to pick the Gateshead game as a rest for JD with an eye on getting him fresh. He is fresh, he feels good tonight and will be ready to go.
“Will comes in for a debut, I liked what I saw from Will at the weekend. He is a technical footballer who has grown up in a great academy at Southampton, he carries the ball superbly and is a good athlete. I feel like on this pitch and with the way Southend are quite front-footed and are going to put us under pressure, we need people who can not only run in behind but carry the ball well and he is definitely one of those.”
Southend are sat in the National League Premier Division’s final play-off place with games in hand over the teams around them and will be on a high having booked a place at Wembley in the Trophy final with a win at Southport, the team which put the Glovers out in the quarter-finals, at the weekend.
Asked whether the high of success would work in his side’s favour tonight, Rowley added: “We will see. We both had similar travel at the weekend and had a similar type of game and had similar rests. We had a couple of good results before Saturday and I feel we are in good spirits in terms of clarity and shape, we are trying to keep things as straightforward as we can.
“We are coming up against a team (in Southend) which has play-off calibre players, they have a big squad, good manager, so this is going to be a very difficult game, probably one of our toughest in recent months. We are going to have to be at our best to get anything here, but I have a good feeling we could be at our best.
“We have a good group of lads who have been through a lot of turmoil this season. I am the fourth manager who has stood in front of them trying to motivate them, but I can honestly say they are good professionals. Regardless of the game, they are trying to run and trying to win. Sometimes we perform well and sometimes we don’t, that is natural, but we are looking for whether we can work really hard and can we play well tonight.“
Team News: Southend United (away)
2026-03-31
James Daly returns to the Yeovil Town starting XI for tonight’s visit to FA Trophy finalists Southend United (7.45pm kick-off).
The seven-goal forward is joined by Southampton Under-21s loanee Will Merry with Millar Matthews-Lewis, on loan from Burton Albion, returning to the bench having started in the 2-1 defeat at Gateshead at the weekend.
The other absentee is Finn Cousin-Dawson who is suspended after a late sending off on Tyneside.
Match Preview: Southend United vs Yeovil Town
2026-03-30
It’s a third away game in a row for Yeovil Town, as the travel to Essex to face Southend United on Tuesday night.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
The clocks may have gone forward but unfortunately the Glovers momentum stalled as they succumbed to 2-1 loss at the hands of Gateshead. After a slight pick up in form in recent games for the Green and White’s, Saturday saw a very tired side made to look like they had travelled the 350 miles they just completed.
Now it’s not an excuse for an average performance but it is very valid context. In the last month alone the Glovers have played eight times, twice a week or 180 minutes every seven days, with at most three days recovery. It’s not sustainable for players at this level to keep the good performances going week in, week out, so I sympathise with squad. What is less acceptable is seeing your centre back lunge into a challenge in the 93rd minute and get himself suspended for the next three games (I’m looking at you Fin Cousin-Dawson).
SOUTHEND
The Shrimpers have played well over their last five games with three wins, a draw and a loss to their name. That run of form has seen them cement their challenge for the playoffs, where they currently lie seventh in the league.
United will be riding the crest of a wave as well going into Tuesday, after they booked their place at Wembley, beating Southport 1-3 in the FA Trophy. The Shrimpers had their backs against the wall early on as they went 1-0 after Chris Sze opened the scoring. A halftime talking to was just what the Seasiders needed, as they proved their quality in the second 45 minutes. A Charlie Kendall brace bookended the scoring with for Southend with Jack Bridge also finding the back of the net.
KEY PLAYERS…
YEOVIL TOWN – JOSH SIMS
I thought I would change it up this week from the James Daly show and pick his partner in crime. Sims, started the season well and will be remembered for picking up the sack of spuds for scoring the Glovers first goal of the season. But with the change in managers and dips in out of form that brings, the 29-year-old was no different to his team mates. Even in Billy Rowley’s first few months there seemed a spark missing form the winger.
However, over the past month and a half, the ex-Southampton has shown why he has 20 Premier League appearances to his name. Although maybe not scoring or providing the goals that Daly does, Sims has been influential in bringing the best out of Daly and vice versa. The two of them always look like they are on the same wave length, and have been the ignition for Yeovil’s pick up in form.
It was notable on Saturday with no Sims in the squad, that Yeovil looked like they missed something.
SOUTHEND – GUS SCOTT-MORRISS
I like a goal scorer in this section, as they provide a threat, it gives Yeovil fans something to look out for. But there is something unusual about Scott-Morris that makes him stand out from every other goalscorer in the league and that is he is a centre back. It’s not often you see a defender near the top of the charts for goals but the 28-year-old is currently second for the Shrimpers, behind Andrew Dallas, with 10 goals.
Goals aren’t the only thing that Scott-Morriss has in his arsenal, he also a very good defender, providing stability to the Southend backline. The Glovers will need to watch out at both ends of the pitch for the all rounded defender.
THE GAFFER…
Kevin Maher will host the Glovers in midweek when they travel to Essex with the 49-year-old in his fourth year as manager at Roots Hall. The Londoner has been through it all during his time as boss, relegations, administration and playoff final losses to name some of his biggest challenges. Maher, is however looking to get back to the football league with his adopted club, as they currently push for the playoffs.
A former midfielder, the Ilford man, joined Southend in 1998 after being let go by Tottenham Hotspur. He would go on to make over 380 appearance for the Shrimpers over the next 10 years, before leaving for Oldham. Short stints at several other clubs followed before he retired in 2015.
During his time as a manager, Maher has faced Yeovil seven times, winning four, drawing one and losing two.
LAST TIME WE MET…
The two teams last met in November at Huish Park, when the visitors secured a 0-1 over an under pressure Richard Dryden. The only goal that day came from Slavi Spasov in added time.
It was much happier times when the Glovers last traveled to Roots Hall however, back in November of 2024, when they took all three points thanks to a James Plant goal.
DON’T I KNOW YOU…
THE WOMAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Abigail Byrne will be the woman with the whistle on Tuesday evening For more on him and his team read Ben’s article here.