Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 20)

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One of the many Forest Green attacks on the Yeovil Town defence gets underway.

It tells you everything you need to know about this game when I say that Yeovil Town were very lucky to be walking away from Forest Green Rovers with a 2-0 defeat.

Here’s some full time statistics:

Shots on target: Forest Green Rovers 6 Yeovil Town 0
Shots off target: Forest Green Rovers 10 Yeovil Town 1

It took until the 75th minute for substitute Jili Buyabu to put the home side ahead before striker Kairo Mitchell doubled the advantage in the second minute of injury time, but in reality Forest Green could have won by a much, much higher number. To add insult to further insult, captain Jake Wannell was sent off with four minutes remaining.

First half

Within a minute of the kick-off, Forest Green had won two corners one of which led the hosts’ striker Yahaya Bamber curling one past the post. The pre-match predictions of Robbie Savage’s side going all out attack seem to be coming true.

Having weathered the early storm, Yeovil managed to take a bit of a sting out of their hosts’ attack and, in even more surprising news, it appeared that Tahvon Campbell, handed his first competitive start following an injury to James Daly, was partnering Aaron Jarvis.

On 17 minutes, the first warning sign came as Isaac Moore fizzed a shot past the post and then three minutes later Glovers’ keeper Jed Ward, who started last season on loan at The New Lawn, was called in to action to deny Kyle McAllister. Both McAllister and Laurent Mendy have got a lot of space in the last five minutes and it is no surprise that Forest Green are looking threatening.

Tahvon Campbell grapples with a Hartlepool United player.
Tahvon Campbell was handed his first competitive start at The New Lawn. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Jordan Taylor-Moore was the next to go close after a flurry of corners fell first to Kairo Mitchell who could not get an effort on target before Taylor-Moore’s effort was deflected wide for another corner. It has been a bit like the Alamo – and Yeovil Town are Davy Crockett and his mates fighting off an onslaught. Mendy fired over just after the half-hour mark and the signing who joined Savage from Macclesfield in the summer is running the show.

At half time, the only meaningful statistic which Yeovil Town lead on is yellow cards with Jake Wannell and Charlie Cooper both picking up one to Forest Green’s zero.

Possession: Forest Green Rovers 61% Yeovil Town 39%
Shots on target: Forest Green Rovers 2 Yeovil Town 0
Shots off target: Forest Green Rovers 3 Yeovil Town 0
Corners: Forest Green Rovers 6 Yeovil Town 1

The statistical definition of one-way traffic, but still goalless.

Half time: Forest Green Rovers 0 Yeovil Town 0

 

Second half

The start of the second half saw Yeovil undo the only change to their starting XI with James Daly, who started the opening day draw with Hartlepool United, replacing Campbell with Daly filling in alongside Sims behind Jarvis. Quite different to the wing back position 

It took Forest Green 30 seconds to get their first shot in on goal with Jayden Clarke fizzing one past the post, whilst at the other end Sims looked to have got away for Yeovil a few moments later – but he was denied by the offside flag.

On 53 minutes, great play from McAllister fed one through to Mitchell whose effort was well blocked by Morgan Williams. A minute later Brett McGavin replaced Luke McCormick, but more worryingly for the home side some heavy hitters came off the bench for Forest Green with striker Christian Doidge, playmaker Nick Haughton and wing-back Jili Buyabu. Doidge almost made an instant impact a minute after arriving as he was gifted a free header at the near post from a Forest Green corner, luckily for Yeovil he did not get it on target.

Just after the hour mark Trey Pemberton’s low cross from the right side just missed Mitchell before Haughton had two glorious opportunities to open the scoring with the second rattling Jed Ward’s woodwork after 65 minutes and then five minutes later Doidge put a header wide. How Forest Green are not ahead in this game is a complete mystery.

Buyabu is having a field day down the wing and, to add even more creativity, Savage introduced former Yeovil favourite Tom Knowles (#DFILWF) after 71 minutes. Another corner for the home side, their tenth of the game, came to Taylor-Moore whose effort was pushed away by Ward.

Eventually the pressure paid, you knew it was going to happen. Jili BUYABU got the better of Byron Pendleton and whipped a ball in to the near post, it might have come off a Yeovil player, but it doesn’t matter the dam has been breached. A minute later it could have been a second after another fantastic moving involving Pemberton who cut the ball back to McAllister, who lifted his shot over the bar.

Substitute Junior Morias collects the ball inside the Forest Green half. Picture courtesy of Andy Craig.

Junior Morias and Harvey Greenslade replaced Charlie Cooper and Josh Sims and then on 83 minutes Knowles spotted Ward off his line and tried a chip from the halfway line – only the post denied him. Incredible.

As if it was not bad enough, Yeovil Town were reduced to ten men after 86 minutes. Wannell handled the ball and picked up his second yellow card. The inevitable second goal – it could have been far more – came as the game crept in to second half injury time after a short corner routine dropped to Kairo MITCHELL who fired home.

Third minute of second half injury time, Morias and McGavin combined and the latter shot wide. 93 minutes of football and that is our first shot and it is off target.

Full time: Forest Green Rovers 2 Yeovil Town 0

Match Details

Venue: The New Lawn
Date: Saturday 16th August, 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Jili Buyabu 75 (0-1), Kairo Mitchell 90+2 (0-2)

Pitch: Stunning.
Conditions: Sweltering.

Attendance: 2,118 (486 away supporters)

Bookings: 
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 22, Charlie Cooper 35, Byron Pendleton 81, Finn Cousin-Dawson 90+5
Forest Green Rovers: Jili Buyabu 75

Sendings off:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 86
Forest Green Rovers: None

Referee: Andrew Humphries

Yeovil Town (5-2-2-1)

Substitutes:  James Daly (for Tahvon Campbell, 46), Brett McGavin (for Luke McCormick, 54), Junior Morias (for Charlie Cooper, 81), Harvey Greenslade (for Josh Sims, 81), Kyle Ferguson (not used),  Ben Wodskou (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Forest Green Rovers: Luke McNicholas, Neil Kengni (for Jili Buyabu, 55), Laurent Mendy, Kyle McAllister (for Ryan Inniss, 87), Jayden Clarke (for Tom Knowles, 71), Jordan Moore-Taylor, Isaac Moore (for Nick Haughton, 55), Yahaya Bamba (for Christian Doidge, 55), Tre Pemberton, Kairo Mitchell, Abraham Kanu.

Substitutes (not used): Fiachra Pagel, Harry Whitwell.

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Midfielder James Daly has been dropped to the substitutes’ bench for today’s trip to Forest Green Rovers after sustaining an injury, according to Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper.

The Glovers’ boss said the summer signing “took a really bad tackle” in the first half of the opening day draw with Hartlepool United which the boss did not want to aggravate.

Following today’s match, Yeovil host National League Premier Division new boys Brackley Town on Tuesday night followed by a visit to Braintree Town next weekend before facing Gateshead on August Bank Holiday Monday in Somerset.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of kick-off today, Cooper said: “James Daly took a really bad tackle in the first half last Saturday and is probably not quite 100%, so with the amount of games we have coming up in the next week to ten days we wanted to make sure we did not aggravate it too much today so we put him on the bench.”

The Glovers are expected to line-up with four defenders, Byron Pendleton, captain Jake Wannell, Morgan Williams and Alex Whittle, behind two holding midfielders in Finn Cousin-Dawson and Charlie Cooper. In front of them is Tahvon Campbell, who replaces Daly in the only change from the opening day, Luke McCormick and Josh Sims behind frontman Aaron Jarvis.

Asked whether there was a possibility of defender Kyle Ferguson, who is named among the substitutes starting today, Cooper added: “I feel the other three defenders have been pretty solid in pre-season and it is important that the back three and the two midfield players are really solid. They have not really done anything wrong, but we have four games in the next nine days so I am sure they are going to feature.

“We were always going to have a small squad because of what we are financially, if we have to we might have to get a couple of loans to bulk the squad out because that is where we are at the minute.“

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Striker Tahvon Campbell has been handed his first competitive start for Yeovil Town against one of his former clubs Forest Green Rovers today (3pm kick-off).

The frontman, who was at The New Lawn in 2018 when current Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper was manager in Gloucestershire, lines up in a forward line which includes Aaron Jarvis.

Fellow summer signing James Daly, who played at wing back in the opening day 0-0 draw at home to Hartlepool United, drops to the substitutes bench in the only change for Yeovil from seven days ago.

 

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Gloverscast Ben is joined by Gloucestershire Live’s Rhys Anderson ahead of today’s game with Forest Green Rovers.

We talk manager Robbie Savage, Nick Haughton and yes, Tom Knowles as well (DFILWF).

Will the contrasting styles lead to a good game? Will it be attack vs defence or can the Glovers go there and get something from one of the favourites for promotion?

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Yeovil Town will make the relatively short trip up to the New Lawn in Gloucestershire on Saturday, as they face one of the National League Premier Division’s pre-season promotion favourites, Forest Green Rovers.

Form Guide…

Yeovil Town

With only one game so far this season, the form table should very much be taken with a pinch of salt. After last weekend’s opening fixture, the Glovers record is a goalless draw at home to Hartlepool United. The game itself was a fairly drab affair, with Yeovil’s best chance falling to loan striker Ben Wodskou after 83 minutes.
Aaron Jarvis leaps for a header.
A Hartlepool defender tries to swap shirts with Glovers’ striker Aaron Jarvis during last weekend’s opening day fixture. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Forest Green Rovers

Forest Green also drew their opening game of the season, as they faced Solihull Moors in the Midlands. The game finished 2-2 with the visitors’ goals coming from striker Christian Doidge and summer signing Nick Haughton.

Robbie Savage’s side looked strong and seemed to have wrapped up all three points against a Solihull side which had been reduced to ten men in the sixth minute before Moors late on through James Clarke.

Key Players…

Yeovil Town – Jed Ward

The on loan Bristol Rovers goalkeeper proved last week why having a good goalie can keep a side in the game. Outside of Wodskou’s late chance Yeovil didn’t offer much going forward. However, at the back Ward kept Mark Cooper’s team in the game. Hartlepool were the more attacking side with multiple opportunities to score, but for Ward being a brick wall at the back. Looking at the firepower in Forest Green’s squad it could be a busy afternoon for the 22-year-old, who started last season on loan at The New Lawn.

Jed Ward holds a shot during pre-match warm up.
Jed Ward. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

In recent seasons Yeovil haven’t had the best of luck with keepers as Cooper seems to fall out with them often. In the past though the Somerset side have always had a strong shot stopper including Marek Stech, Wayne Hennessey and Nathan Baxter. Will Ward join the list? Only time will tell, but the early signs look good.


Forest Green Rovers – Christian Doidge

Christian Doidge is the obvious choice,  with the striker being a scoring machine. The Welshman has bagged over 80 goals for Rovers alone across two spells with the Gloucestershire side.

Doidge rejoined Forest Green last summer and scored 12 goals in the National League. Before that he spent five years north of the border with Hibernian. During his entire career, the 32-year-old has bagged 158 goals, with his most recent being last weekend in their opening day draw at Solihull Moors.

The Gaffer….

Another well-known face in the opposition dugout this weekend as former Wales midfielder Robbie Savage takes charge of his first competitive game at the New Lawn.

Well known for his blonde locks and outspoken style as a pundit, Savage has taken to management well. Starting his managerial career with Macclesfield, the former Leicester City, Birmingham City and Derby County player got them promoted to the National League North last season.

Savage had a few interesting things to say about Yeovil boss Mark Cooper who guided Forest Green to the Football League back in 2017.

He told the Stroud Times: “I’ve got to emulate what Mark did here, getting promotion – Mark’s got nothing to prove, he won promotion in a play-off final, it’s me that’s got to prove something. I’ve got huge respect for all managers, especially now being one now.

“He’s (Mark Cooper) done something I’ve never done here and that’s won promotion at Forest Green, so I will give him that huge respect, but I want to win, my team want to win.”

Robbie Savage is interviewed by Forest Green's social media.
Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage, the human equivalent of a clanging bell in a cathedral — loud, relentless, and impossible to ignore.

Last Time We Met…

When the two sides last met last season the game finished 1-1 at Huish Park on Good Friday, with Yeovil’s goal coming from the now departed Sonny Blu-Lo Everton. It looked like Mark Cooper would get a win over his former club until defender Ryan Inniss scored in stoppage time to level it late.

Yeovil Town celebrate Sonny Blu Lo-Everton’s opener against Forest Green on Good Friday at Huish Park last season.

The last time they met at the New Lawn, Rovers ran out 2-1 winners. The Glovers looked like they had the game wrapped up after a Kofi Shaw goal, until again Inniss scored in stoppage time before a Kyle McAllister goal secured all three points. Shaw was sent off in the 75th minute of the game.

Don’t I Know You?

There are a couple of familiar faces who are likely to feature for Forest Green today: 

Ryan Inniss – The defender played for Yeovil six times on loan from Crystal Palace in the 2014/15 season.

Tom Knowles – sorry Ian, but obviously the Forest Green forward spent a successful spell at Huish Park between October 2020 and August 2022, when <NAME REDACTED> flogged him to Walsall. Fair to say TK has looked sharp for his current employers in pre-season. 

Man In The Middle…

The referee for Saturday’s fixture will be Andrew Humphries. Read all about him here in Ben’s write up.

 

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Jed Ward holds a shot during pre-match warm up.

New Yeovil Town goalkeeper Jed Ward has told the club’s supporters he is confident he will improve as he plays more matches having joined on a season-long loan.

The Bristol Rovers’ stopper only featured twice for his parent club in pre-season, playing the full 90 minutes against Chippenham Town before coming on as a second half substitute against Yeovil at Huish Park in a 2-1 win for the League Two outfit.

He looked assured keeping a clean sheet in the opening day 0-0 draw with Hartlepool United last weekend, earning the Gloverscast Man of the Match award with 31.4% of your votes.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins on Thursday, he said: “I feel like I know a lot of people here already, I have met a lot of the lads in my journey so far, I have felt really welcomed and got on board with all the things the manager is trying to give us. I am really excited for the rest of the season.

“Coming out at Huish Park in front of plenty of fans was a great feeling and, even though we did not win, it was a good performance to start the season.

“I did not really have the pre-season that I would have wanted, but as I play more games I will get better and improve week on week. I feel like I am in a good place to crack on with the season.”

The 22-year-old’s second competitive game for his new club will be in familiar surroundings of Forest Green Rovers. He played 28 times for the Gloucestershire outfit last season, keeping ten clean sheets, before being recalled by Bristol Rovers in January and playing a further 18 times.

He added: “It was a great experience last season, but I am a Yeovil player now and I want to give everything for the club. I know a few of the players there, but it is no different to any other team in this league, it is all about how do we execute our plan and win on the day. I am sure they will be aggressive and want to play football at the same time, so we just have to match that on the day.”

Jed Ward holds a shot during pre-match warm up.
Jed Ward in the pre-match warm-up ahead of last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Hartlepool United. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper speaking to the media.

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said there should not be too many conclusions drawn after their opening day stalemate with Hartlepool United last weekend.

The Glovers travel to big-spending Forest Green Rovers, now managed by former Premier League midfielder and radio shock jock, Robbie Savage, for their first away match of the season this weekend.

Speaking on Thursday from the club’s training ground just 23 miles from The New Lawn, Cooper was asked by BBC Radio Somerset reporter Josh Perkins how he would respond to claims that his side’s failure to hit the net last weekend could be considered “same old Yeovil.” The Glovers were the division’s third lowest scorers in the 2024-25 season with 51 goals in 46 games.

Cooper said: “I think we would have taken a few goalless draws last year, but no. If you look at the first game of the season, there would have been a couple of teams in the National League that would have killed for a 0-0 draw against a team that I think will be competing for a top seven place.

“We missed some chances, we could have done better with the final pass, but if after ten games we are still getting 0-0 draws, maybe – but this was the first game. It is one game at a time, but I was pleased with the second half on Saturday.”

Charlie Cooper heads away as Hartlepool United are on the attack.
Charlie Cooper heads away against Hartlepool United last weekend. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The boss said his side had “a couple of bumps and bruises” following the game at Huish Park, but said he was expecting to have the same squad to select from that he did seven days ago.

Forest Green completed their 12th new signing of the summer with the arrival of wing-back Jili Buyabu on a season-long loan from Sheffield United on Thursday. The 21-year-old came off the bench for Rochdale in a 4-0 win over Yeovil in January and played 24 times at National League level last season.

He joins the likes of attacking midfielder Nick Haughton, who has starred for AFC Fylde at National League level in recent years, striker Kairo Mitchell, signed from Rochdale, and defender Laurent Mendy and midfielder Tre Pemberton, signed from Savage’s former club, Macclesfield.

In the former Wales international’s first competitive game in charge, the Gloucestershire side were held to a 2-2 draw at Solihull Moors on the opening day despite their hosts being reduced to ten men after six minutes.

Asked how he thought the latest wave of new recruits would work for this weekend’s opponents, Cooper said: “It can work both ways, they can come in and hit the ground running. There are some boys that are from a couple of leagues below, which can be a good thing, and some coming in on loan from higher up, so it is about putting it all in the mix. When you bring that many players in, you need time for it to gel, it will not happen overnight.”

Cooper led Forest Green to promotion to the Football League in the 2016-17 season and guided them to the League Two play-offs in the 2018-19 season, but was sacked in April 2021 with the side still sixth in the League Two table. They finished the campaign in the same position and lost to Newport County in the play-off semi-finals.

Asked about his time at the club, the Yeovil boss said: “I had a good time there, we got promoted in to the Football League in our first season, held our own in the second year and stayed in the league, then we got to the play-offs, COVID, and in my last year we were close to automatic promotion and still in the play-offs. It is a shame to see them have two relegations and get back to square one. They had a good season with Steve Cotterill in charge and narrowly missed out on getting to the play-off final on penalties and they have brought another new manager in, I think they have got through a fair few now and brought Robbie in, who did really well at Macclesfield, and I am sure Robbie and Mark Bowen have got their eyes on trying to get them promoted.“

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You have all had two weeks to have a go at our first Gloverscast Fans’ Quiz so here are the results – so far!

Congratulations to Martin McConachie, the only contestant to score 100%. We were going to make it a top ten, but too many of you tied on scores and, where scores were tied, players have been ranked by how quickly you finished the quiz.

If you still haven’t had a go – and 207 of you have so far – you can still see if you can ace it – HERE. We will have another one for you every month on the 1st of each month and keep a track of the scores.

Thanks to all who took the quiz!

GLOVERSCAST FANS’ QUIZ LEAGUE TABLE

1. Martin McConachie – 100% answers correct
=2. Perky – 91%
=2. Spud Whale – 91%
=2. Andrew – 91%
=3. Frank – 83%
=3. Jake – 83%
=3. Chris Fox – 83%
=3. Ash Drew – 83%
=3. Gav Cheetham – 83%
=3. Dan Howell – 83%
=3. George Tomlin – 83%
=3. Paul Swaine – 83%
=3. Georgiana Catley-Dyson – 83%

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Yeovil Town will have their game against Forest Green Rovers managed by Andrew Humphries this Saturday.

According to Transfermarkt, he’s only refereed Yeovil once before, but it was in controversial circumstances.

Yeovil vs Barnet in December 2024, and the league’s Champions-elect were 2-1 up into the final minutes, and holding on for the result.

But, in the 97th minute, on loan defender Ed James was cleaned out in the box trying to scramble the ball home. The game was being covered live on DAZN and Aaron McClean thought it was a penalty, so did 3000 other people in the ground, so did everyone at home watching. Mr Humphries did not.

After the game, Mark Cooper said;

“Yeah, it is a penalty, [he] swipes his leg away. Josh Sims shoots, the keeper tips it onto the post, and then Ed James comes, goes to shoot, ducks inside and the lad just sweeps his leg away. 

We’re at home, in front of our home end, every week they’re given, we had four bookings, they had none.

Jarvis got absolutely pulled from pillar to post, no free kick given… he’s had three shirts on tonight, nothing.”

Even Dean Brennan said it was a penalty.

Anyway, we shall refrain from holding it against him, too much – honest.

He’s actually a very highly thought of official, who’s took charge of the League One clash between Mansfield and Doncaster last week,

He will be assisted by Daniel Flynn and Kevin Morris, whilst Harry Warner will have to keep messrs Cooper and Savage in check.

Referee Andrew Humphries has Morgan Williams to answer to at the final whistle.

Forest Green Rovers (First Team) v Yeovil Town FC (First Team)
National League – Premier    
Referee: Humphries, Andrew
Assistant Referee: Flynn, Daniel
Assistant Referee: Morris, Kevin
Fourth Official: Warner, Harry