Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 230)

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper admitted he knew there was a risk in making seven changes to his starting line-up for the 2-1 defeat at Torquay United in the FA Trophy second round this afternoon.

The Glovers named a completely changed back four with captain Josh Staunton paired alongside Bristol City loanee Duncan Idehen in the middle with Zac Bell and Alex Whittle at full-backs, in front of them Josh Owers, Will Dawes and Jordan Maguire-Drew were handed starts and Jake Hyde began up front.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall after the match at Plainmoor, Cooper admitted there were a number of his first-choice starters who he did not want to risk with two away trips in the National League South coming up at Chippenham Town on Tuesday night and Welling United next weekend.

He said: “I knew when I was picking the team that there was a chance we might not get through, but we could not risk Morgan Williams, Michael Smith, Rhys Murphy had an issue with his knee but he’ll be fine for Tuesday and we needed to freshen Frank (Nouble) up as well. But credit to Torquay, they got through and we march on.

“I thought if we got one we would have a big chance to get another and so it proved, but we did not score early enough. The way Torquay are going, especially at home, they become a bit anxious, but once we scored one I was convinced we would get another big chance and we did. But we just could not manage to force it over the line.”

Torquay took the lead when Dillon De Silva opened the scoring after just three minutes and then Fleetwood Town loan midfielder Callum Dolan added a second with a fine strike early in the second half.

Cooper said: “We got an attacking free-kick in a really dangerous position and probably our most productive player at the minute, Jordan Young, hits the ball straight in to the first man, they break on us and we don’t do our defensive job and we get caught out of position and the lad cuts inside and scores. Then the second one, we are caught of position again and it is another shot from the edge of the box because we did not defend the edge of the box well enough from our midfield.

“The players should know to the minute detail of what their position is because we are meticulous with it and we do it every day. There’s no criticism of the boys that came in to the team today, we felt it was a strong enough team to get a result but we fell on the wrong side of the important bits in the big moments.”

The boss had praise for debutant Idehen, who joined in the week following an injury to central defender Jake Wannell in the 4-2 home win over Farnborough on Tuesday night.

Asked about the 21-year-old’s performance, Cooper said: “Especially second half I thought he was great. He won every header, every tackle, was composed on the ball. It was a difficult game for him to come in to, but I thought he looked very good.”

The Glovers now travel to Chippenham Town on Tuesday night looking to bounce straight back and continue a winning run in National League South which stretches back to the 3-2 victory at Weston-super-Mare at the start of September.

Chippenham progressed to the next round of the Trophy with a 3-2 win on penalties at home to Basingstoke Town today.

Cooper said: “We have got to concentrate on Chippenham on Tuesday and go and get another big result in the league. I think we have won ten league games on the trot and we have to go and make that 11 now.”

 

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Yeovil Town’s 14-match winning run came to an as they exited the FA Trophy with defeat at Torquay United on Saturday afternoon.

The Glovers named a much-changed line-up with seven changes from the midweek home win over Farnborough and within two minutes the home side took advantage opening the scoring after just two minutes through Dillon De Silva.

Callum Dolan, the midfielder on loan from Fleetwood Town, put the Gulls 2-0 up with a fine strike early in the second half and it took an own goal from Torquay substitute Ryan Harris in the 90 minutes for the visitors to pull one back.

The run comes to and then and Yeovil Town go to Chippenham 

 

First half

Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper made seven changes from the midweek home win over Farnborough with a completely different back four in front of goalkeeper Joe Day. In the centre of defence, club captain Josh Staunton lined up alongside Bristol City loanee Duncan Idehen with Zac Bell and the returning Alex Whittle in the full-back positions.

And the much-changed back line faced their first test when Dillon DE SILVA found himself in acres of space down the left hand side and was given time and space by Whittle to pick his spot. Add that to the “horrendous” goals category. There has not been many of them this season, but that was definitely one.

The opening exchanges suggested that the lack of matches played by the visitors’ defence had not gone unnoticed by Torquay boss Gary Johnson who clearly instructed his side to press the Glovers.

Injury almost got added to insult when Whittle collided with the advertising boards in front of the away supporters after 12 minutes. The former York City man needed help from the medical staff to make it back to the halfway line, but returned to the action albeit not looking comfortable.

Alex Whittle following his collision with the advertising boards.

Callum Dolan had the ball in the net for the home side after 14 minutes, but the whistle had gone for a foul on Jordan Young in the build-up, and three minutes later the Glovers were indebted to Day who made a superb stop to deny first De Silva and then Brad Ash. The home side very much on top here with De Silva causing all kinds of problem.

Former W*ymouth striker Ash curled an effort wide on 22 minutes, whereas at the other end of the pitch it took until 28 minutes for them to force Rhys Lovett in to a meaningful save. Good play by Will Dawes saw him made a good turn and fire in a shot which the keeper turned around the post.

De Silva was involved again on 37 minutes, setting up Dolan who fired wide before Staunton’s flicked header from a Jordan Maguire-Drew free-kick went the same way a minute later.

Dolan put another effort wide on 40 minutes and, as the game closed towards the interval, two chances came the way of Yeovil. On 42 minutes, Young clipped the ball in to the box where Jake Hyde was unable to make proper contact and, a minutes later, Maguire-Drew put one over the bar.

The final chance of the half came from the same place as the start of it with De Silva who had a shot blocked in the second minute of four minutes of added time.

Picture courtesy of Debs Curtis.

Half time: Torquay United 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

There were no changes from either side at half-time. But there was no change in much else either with Torquay starting the stronger and doubling their advantage just four minutes after the restart.

The mistake for the second goal was the same as the first with Callum DOLAN found in acres of space again and he fired a superb shot past Joe Day. The defending was poor from the visitors but take nothing away from the finish from the Fleetwood Town loanee.

Immediately after the goal, the Asa Hall replaced Ryan Hanson for Torquay. Hanson was limping as he went off, but you suspect the experience of Hall was part of the thinking from Gulls’ boss Gary Johnson.

The next chance of the game fell to Hall after 54 minutes whose long range effort on the turn was parried away by Day. You guessed it, Hall had a lot of space. 

There had not been much of a response from Yeovil but, on 58 minutes, Young made a run down the left to pull defenders away and Maguire-Drew was in space and hooked his effort over the bar.

A minute later, manager Cooper had seen enough replacing Young with Exeter City loanee Sonny Cox. Young had been one of the better players for the visitors, but will be unavailable for Tuesday night’s trip to Chippenham Town. A sign of the boss thinking ahead to the Tuesday night fixture, or of the significance he places on the FA Trophy? You decide.

On 62 minutes, Frank Nouble replaced Will Dawes with Cox shifting out wide on the left with Nouble going down the middle.

Ex-Glovers’ defender Shaun Donnellan went down for an extended period.
Picture courtesy of Debs Curtis.

Johnson brought off the impressive Dylan Crowe on 66 minutes, replacing him with on-loan AFC Bournemouth defender Archie Harris, suggesting he was closing up the game.

On 70 minutes, Maguire-Drew in the centre circle intercepted a clearance from Lovett trip and tried to lift one over the stranded keeper – but it went wide.

A minute later, Matt Worthington replaced Sonny Blu Lo-Everton to make his 200th appearance for the club, putting him in to 49th position in the club’s all-time appearance charts.

Nouble fired an effort over from a tight angle and then on 76 minutes Day was forced in to a smart stop at his near post to keep out Hall’s header from a long throw by Dean Moxey.

Maguire-Drew had a great opportunity to halve the deficit when he free-kick in what we can call “Jordan Young territory” on the edge of the box. But, with Young watching on from the sidelines, Maguire-Drew’s effort got over the defensive wall but went wide of the post. Sums up our performance in front of goal.

There had not been a great deal positive coming forward for Yeovil but just before the fourth official put up the board for six minutes of added time. A Maguire-Drew free-kick in to the box was aimed towards Duncan Idehen at the back post and it was Torquay substitute Harris who headed in an OWN GOAL.

That did spark a bit of a reaction from the visitors who (belatedly) piled forward and in the final attack of the game, a fantastic reverse pass from Worthington found Nouble powering forward down the right side and smashed a ball across the face of the goal but Sonny Cox could not find it at the far post.

That was the best chance Yeovil fashioned all afternoon and that tells its own story as Torquay gained revenge for their defeat in National League South a week-and-a-half earlier.

Full time: Torquay United 2 Yeovil Town 1

 

Match Details

Venue: Plainmoor
Saturday 18th November, 3pm kick-off
Competition: FA Trophy

Pitch: Wet
Conditions: Windy

Attendance: 1,740 (322 away supporters)

Scorers: Dillon De Silva 2 (0-1), Callum Dolan 49 (0-2), Ryan Harris o.g. 90 (1-2)

Bookings: 
Yeovil Town: Josh Owers 34,
Torquay United: Callum Dolan 90+1

Referee: Robert Ablett

Yeovil Town (4-3-3)

 

 

Substitutes: Sonny Cox (for Jordan Young, 59), Frank Nouble (for Will Dawes, 62), Matt Worthington (for Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, 71), Charlie Cooper (not used), Rhys Murphy (not used), Alex Fisher (not used).

Torquay United: Rhys Lovett, Dylan Crowe (for Archie Harris, 66), Ryan Hanson (for Asa Hall, 50), Brad Ash, Brett McGavin, Shaun Donnellan, Dillon De Silva (for Lewis Collins, 72), Theo Williams, Callum Dolan, Dean Moxey, Ollie Tomlinson.
Substitutes (not used): Filip Chalupniczak, Calum Thomas.

 

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Manager Mark Cooper has backed the players he has brought in to the side for today’s FA Trophy second round tie at Torquay United to keep his Yeovil Town’s side strong.

He made seven changes from the midweek win over Farnborough with club captain Josh Staunton lining up alongside Bristol City loanee Duncan Idehen in the centre of defence, play-maker Jordan Maguire-Drew being handed a start and Jake Hyde given a run-out up front.

The boss revealed defender Morgan Williams had been suffering with “a sore hamstring and knee in recent weeks which he has played through” and 35-year-old full-back Michael Smith needed to be “freshened up” having started every game since he arrived just over two months ago.

He added: “We have got some boys who have been waiting for an opportunity, they don’t necessarily weaken the team in my opinion, when you are talking about the likes of (Jordan) Maguire-Drew and (Josh) Staunton, they do not weaken our team.”

Before the match, Cooper said loanee Idehen, who has appeared on the bench for his parent club three times in Championship fixtures this season, was a long-term target. The 21-year-old was brought in following an injury to Jake Wannell in the win over Farnborough.

He told BBC Somerset reporter Ian Randall today: “He’s a great replacement for Wannell, he’s left-footed and aggressive. I had been speaking to Bristol City academy manager Brian Tinnion about him in previous weeks and making sure he was ready so that, if we needed it, we could act really quickly.

“They produce some brilliant kids, they have a great development programme there and bring lots of young players through and want to send them to us and see them as a vehicle to develop them.”

Asked about the importance of the 2-1 win at Hampton & Richmond at the end of September, the boss said changes to his formation and tactics in that game were a major factor in the success which has followed.

“There was a lot of work done for the two weeks leading up to that game in terms of changing our shape and playing with a box midfield and with real pace in wide areas. But loads of work went on with the two centre backs (Williams and Wannell) to make sure the whole team was more solid and it has come from that block of training we did.”

 

 

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Club captain Josh Staunton has been handed his first start in more than two months as Yeovil Town take on Torquay United in the second round of the FA Trophy (3pm kick-off).

The skipper lines up in the centre of defence alongside Bristol City loanee Duncan Idehen for his first start since the FA Cup win over AFC Stoneham in mid-September and his first appearance since coming off the bench at Hampton & Richmond in the following fixture.

Zac Bell starts in place of Michael Smith and there are also appearances for Josh Owers, who has been a substitute in recent weeks, playmaker Jordan Maguire-Drew and striker Jake Hyde.

Matt Worthington is named among the substitutes and, if he appearances, he will reach 200 appearances for the club. He is joined by striker Alex Fisher who is in line for his first appearance since suffering a horrific double leg break last April.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Yeovil Town’s league tie against Slough Town will now be played on Tuesday 30th January 2024.

Slough had originally planned to travel to Huish Park on the weekend of the FA Cup 2nd Round, but the Glovers will instead, be going to Hollywood, North Wales. 

 

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Yeovil Town head back to Plainmoor just eleven days after the first National League South league clash, but this time, there are no points, just prizes on the line with the FA Trophy taking centre stage. 

Since that fixture, Torquay United got a tough win over Havant and Waterlooville, beating the south coast strugglers 2-0 with second half goals from Tom Williams and Brad Ash. 

This second round tie is worth £3750, whilst losers receive £1000, as a reminder, there is no replays or extra time in the case of a draw at 90 minutes, we’ll be straight to penalty kicks to determine a winner. 

Yeovil Town News

Mark Cooper has suggested that changes could be imminent for the Glovers with a number of players needing a chance to impress whilst others could do with a Saturday off.

New loan signing Duncan Idehen is expected to be involved, whilst the latest HP Source had Charlie Cooper front and centre as he continues his recovery from injury. Following Tuesday night’s 4-2 home win over Farnborough, the manager said he expected the midfielder to be available for selection this weekend.

Defenders Jake Wannell, who limped off after 26 minutes in midweek, and long-term absentee Jamie Sendles-White remain the only certain absentees, with Alex Whittle back from his one-game ban. Jordan Young can play too, his suspension kicks in on Tuesday at his former club Chippenham Town.

Jake Wannell goes off with an injury which led to his substitution.

Torquay Team News

Gary Johnson – who if you recall, has some fond memories of this competition – might also make some changes, but more because of players returning.

Mark Halstead may return in goal after a spell off with concussion, Defender Ross Marshall (who left the field early in the League match up) and Tom Lapslie are described as ‘touch and go’ for the game.

Fleetwood Town loanee Callum Dolan has been suffering with an illness and might miss out.

Top scorer Aaron Jarvis (injury) and Ethon Archer (cup tied) are definitely out, whilst midfielder Brett McGavin, who scored when the two sides met in league action earlier this month, returns from suspension, 

The Gulls bolstered their ranks with the loan addition of AFC Bournemouth defender Archie Harris on Friday. His announcement on the Torquay website suggest he will be available to play in the tie.

 

 

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Yeovil Town midfielder Sonny Blu Lo-Everton has said waiting his chance to win a regular starting place in the side was tough at the start of the season.

The former Watford youngster has started the last five matches in National League South and the FA Cup in a deeper lying role having previously only appeared as a substitute.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the weekend’s trip to Torquay United in the FA Trophy, he said: “It was tough because you have to split your mind between wanting to play and wanting the boys to do well, but that is part of football. Then you get your chance to play and then hopefully don’t get dropped, it’s that simple.

“I have come in to the team in the different position and  created a really good partnership with Worthy and it’s working well. There are basic points to the game which you stick to, but after that it is kind of second nature between the two of us.

“The form we are in makes it really exciting going in to every Saturday and Tuesday and hopefully we can carry that on. At the moment, no matter who we come across, we go out with a game plan and at the moment it is working.

“But there’s no change in the way we approach this weekend, we played (Torquay) a couple of weeks ago and beat them in the league and no matter what competition you play in, you want to win, so we go in to it in exactly the same way.”

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The 22-year-old, who arrived during pre-season having been at the club in the 2021-22 season, has also spoken about the arrival of experience defender Michael Smith has had on him

He said: “To have that experience behind you is brilliant, you just trust him and then you have got something less to worry about. The advice he gives is simple, but effective.”

Following an early injury to defender Jake Wannell in Tuesday night’s 4-2 home win over Farnborough, the pair found themselves a little closer together with Smith shifted to the middle of defence. Sonny said: “He was more asking for help than instruction! But we were comfortable in possession because he was back there.”

 

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has confirmed the injury to central defender Jake Wannell is not as bad as first feared.

The 29-year-old, who has been a revelation alongside Morgan Williams since joining in the summer, limped off after 26 minutes of the 4-2 home win over Farnborough on Tuesday night, with the Glovers immediately bringing in Bristol City youngster Duncan Idehen as a ready-made replacement.

The loanee, who arrived until the end of January earlier this week, seems likely to start tomorrow’s FA Trophy tie at Torquay United, but Cooper is hopeful Wannell will not be out for long.

Speaking on Friday ahead of tomorrow’s match, the boss said: “Wans is not as bad as we first thought, so we don’t think he’ll be too long. But we’ve added Duncan to the group, a brilliant signing for us.

“It’s important that you always have your eye on a replacement and left footed defenders were not a position we were blessed with competition in and he was our number one choice. I rang Brian Tinnion at Bristol City at 9.45pm on Tuesday night and asked if we could have him and it’s brilliant from Bristol City that they have let him come and play some games.”

Duncan Idehen, who joined on loan from Bristol City on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old has been an unused substitute for the Robins three times in the Championship this season, having had a five-game spell on loan at Carlisle United in League Two in the 2022/23 season.

Speaking of the youngster, Cooper said: “He’s a left-footed defender, so it’s a natural replacement (for Wannell), he brings balance. If you have two left footers or two right footers, it gives a little bit of imbalance which you could see in us the other night.

“He’s been on the bench in the Championship this season, he’s played for Bristol City in the Championship and in the Football League. He’s a good age, very quick and very aggressive, so it’s a great signing for us.”

Cooper said he had been to watch Idehen play in the Under-23s’ side the day before making the call to bring him to Huish Park.

He added: “We went to watch Bristol City’s Under-23s on Monday night, particularly to watch Duncan. It was blowing a gale, chucking it down with rain, but we saw what we needed to see.”

On Saturday, the Glovers make a quick return to Torquay United, where they ran out 3-1 winners in National League South fixture earlier this month, with a place in the third round of the FA Trophy up for grabs.

Victory would see them stretch an already record-breaking winning run to 15 games in all competitions and Cooper is confident experienced heads in the dressing room will not allow confidence to become complacency.

He told our man Ian Perkins: “The experienced players we have in the changing room have seen it before. They will nip things in the bud. I tend to not spend too much time in the changing room, I will go in and speak before the game but during the week, that is their domain.

“Anything that needs nipping in the bud, we have got some characters in their in Frank (Nouble), Murph (Rhys Murphy), Michael Smith, Joe Day, that will make things are done properly. So complacency for me is not an issue. We might play bad and get beat, but that won’t be through complacency.”

The injury to Wannell added to the loss of midfielder Jordan Stevens, who Cooper revealed in the week may be facing an extended absence, along with long-term injury victim Jamie Sendles-White. But, with midfielder Charlie Cooper expected to be available for the tie and the likes of club captain Josh Staunton and play-maker Jordan Maguire-Drew  and striker Jake Hyde itching to start, the manager believes he has strong options.

Charlie Cooper is expected to be available for selection on Saturday.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He said: “We want to go strong on all fronts. Being respectful to the Somerset Men’s Premier Cup, I don’t count that one, but FA Trophy, FA Cup, National League South we want to be competitive in every game we can because it sends out the message that we want to win every game we play.

“That is probably not possible, but we want to send that message out. If you look at our bench, I’m not sure the boys coming in make it a weak team, they make it just as strong, they have just not had as many opportunities just yet.”

“I don’t think we have to change too much, if you win 14 games there’s not a lot wrong. Of course we are always fine-tuning and trying to make it even better. Torquay have changed since we played them, they changed on Saturday (in the 2-0 win at Havant & Waterlooville) to a back three, but it doesn’t really affect what we do. We have our patterns of play and the way we play is pretty clear, but without the ball we need to improve in certain ways.

“Because we are away from home there is more anxiety for them in front of their home crowd. If it is 0-0 in the second half, I am perfectly happy because I always think we will get good opportunities to score.

With persistent rain forecast in South Devon overnight and throughout Saturday, the boss admitted he has concerns about whether the game will go ahead.

He said: “My biggest issue is the weather with the rain that is coming. The pitch down there was soft when we played last week, so whether it can take another 12 hours of torrential rain, I don’t know. I don’t think either team need that because we both have got really important league games on Tuesday night.”

In other player news coming out of the Friday afternoon press conference, Cooper said striker Alex Fisher would not be gifted game time as he works his way back from a serious injury.

The 33-year-old suffered a broken tibia and fibula and severely damaged his ankle  in April, and has returned to training and was named among the nine substitutes named by Cooper in the FA Cup first round win over Gateshead recently.

Asked when he could return to action, the manager pointed to the form of Rhys Murphy, Frank Nouble and Sonny Cox, who are ahead of him in the striking pecking order at Huish Park.

He said: “He’s been out for a long time with a horrific injury. But there’s real competition for the striker positions with lots of players flying and fully fit. It is a tough one. We are not in the business of giving players game time for the sake of it, it has got to be earned and it is no different with any of the players.”

Alex Fisher heads towards goal. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.