Match Report: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Venue: Huish Park
Saturday August 27th, 3pm kick-off
Conditions: Dry and bright
Pitch: Looking good
Attendance: 2,152 (70 away supporters)
Scorers: Jamie Reckord 34 (1-0)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Worthington 81
Dagenham & Redbridge: McCallum 76
Referee: Wayne Cartmel
Yeovil Town : (3-5-2)
Grant Smith
Alfie Pond Josh Staunton Ben Richards-Everton
Morgan Williams Matt Worthington Lawson D’Ath (for Sam Perry, 54) Jamie Reckord
Gime Toure (for Jake Scrimshaw, 73)
Alex Fisher (for Callum Rowe, 63) Malachi Linton
Substitutes (not used): Max Hunt, Chiori Johnson.
Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Hare, Onariase, Longe-King (for Vilhete, 41), Weston, Tavares, Robinson, Sagaf (for Mussa, 63), Ling, McCallum, Walker (for Morias, 63). Substitutes: Strizovic, Zouma.
Match Report
A first half goal from Jamie Reckord saw Yeovil Town earn their first win of the National League season at home to Dagenham & Redbridge.
The wing-back made it three goals in his opening five matches for the Glovers after good play from striker Alex Fisher on 34 minutes.
However, it was a performance which relied on defensive resilience with young loanee Alfie Pond impressive alongside captain Josh Staunton and the returning Ben Richards-Everton in a back three as Dagenham dominated the second half.
Here’s how it played out in manager Chris Hargreaves’ first win since taking charge…..
First half
With two games in three matches, manager Chris Hargreaves made three changes with Ben Richards-Everton, who had been missing with a knee injury since the opening day, and young Exeter City loanee Alfie Pond coming in for Chiori Johnson and Max Hunt, who dropped to the bench.
The other change saw Charlie Wakefield, who was suffering with a thigh injury, replaced by Gime Toure with new signings striker Jake Scrimshaw and defender Callum Rowe named on the bench.
Josh Staunton headed an early free-kick from Lawson D’Ath just over, but it was the visitors who made the brighter start with winger Myles Weston firing a decent chance in to the side netting after ten minutes.
A nice bit of passing play seven minutes saw the ball break to Toure who caught it sweetly but his effort ricocheted off defender David Longe-King and behind for a free kick.
The absence of on loan winger Sam Pearson, still suffering the after effects of a back injury, was obvious as the half progressed. With Toure keen to get far forward as possible, the hosts were missing someone to pick it up and take it forward in the way we’ve seen from Pearson so far.
After a fragmented 34 minutes of very little to trouble either Grant Smith or his counterpart Elliot Justham, out of nothing Yeovil went ahead. A brilliantly time run by Alex Fisher saw him beat the Daggers’ offside trap and fired a great ball across to Jamie RECKORD turned home his third goal of the season.
That sparked the hosts in to life and Malachi Linton found himself through and collided with Justham, the ball broke to Worthington who had a shot despite having Toure in acres of space on the edge of the six yard box. Manager Chris Hargreaves left his midfielder in no doubt what he felt he should have done – to put it mildly.
With the game closing to half-time, a good effort from Worthington forced a good stop out of Justham.
Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Second half
Within two minutes of the restart, good play by Myles Weston saw him play a ball to the back post where it found substitute Mauro Vilhete, he found Nikola Tavares whose effort hit the post with the goal at his mercy.
It was Dagenham who dominated the opening 15 minutes after the restart, but aside from Tavares’ chance and a header over the bar from striker Paul McCallum there was not a huge threat from the visitors.
With another game coming up for both teams on Monday, there were unsurprisingly changes. D’Ath, who returned after the break with a brace on his knee, was replaced by Sam Perry on 54 minutes, and Rowe replaced Fisher soon after the hour.
Rowe was described as “a ball-playing midfielder” by Glovers’ boss Chris Hargreaves and his arrival was perhaps a desire from the manager to take control of the game with their opponents upping the pressure. Their substitutes Omar Mussa, who was part of the W*ymouth side relegated last season, and Junior Morias both looked bright after coming on after 63 minutes.
On 73 minutes, Scrimshaw replaced Toure who had tired as the match progressed.
Rowe impressed with some confident touches in the middle of the park, but it was Dagenham – led by the impressive pair of Mussa and Weston – who were firmly in control as the game ticked towards the conclusion. Is this holding out the return of the resilience which Hargreaves has spoken about so much in recent weeks?
There were calls ahead of the match for his leaders to step forwards and it’s fair to say that captain Josh Staunton and Morgan Williams responded the strongest although it was Alfie Pond who received the sponsor’s man of the match.
Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Rowe’s deal “works for both parties”, says Hargreaves
A short-term deal for versatile Callum Rowe “works for both parties“, according to Yeovil Town boss Chris Hargreaves.
The Aston Villa academy graduate arrived at Huish Park on Friday following his release by Exeter City in the summer although the precise length of his stay was not disclosed by the club.
He appeared as a second half substitute in the 1-0 home win over Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.
Asked about the deal by BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins ahead of the match, the manager said: “It works for both parties at the moment. We know there’s a lot of potential in him, but he wasn’t training with a club for a little bit of pre-season so he still needs that little bit of fitness.”
The 22-year-old had a trial at Scottish Championship side Dundee last month but did not win a contract north of the border and arrived in Somerset alongside striker Jake Scrimshaw, with both players starting on the bench against Dagenham.
Of Scrimshaw, Hargreaves added: “Scrimmy has been a livewire for Bournemouth for a fair few years and been out on loan several times and done well.
“He just needs to get his career going well and we think we’re a good home for him. He’s a player who will work his socks off as a minimum and hopefully there’s bright things to come from him.”
Winger Charlie Wakefield is expected to be out for the Bank Holiday Monday visit to Wealdstone after pulling up with a thigh injury on Friday, whilst Hargreaves was unsure whether on loan Sam Pearson will make it for the trip.
The boss said: “We were faced with a decision during the latter end of training where Charlie pulled up with a thigh injury, and we have the options.
“If he felt he carried on training he felt he could have been out for a while so he has taken the sensible option.
“Sam Pearson is still feeling it and he’s struggled to get over this back injury. I’m not sure if he’ll make it for Monday (at Wealdstone) but hopefully he will.”
Team News: Dagenham & Redbridge (home)
Yeovil Town have made three changes as they search for their first National League win of the season against Dagenham & Redbridge today (3pm kick-off).
Ben Richards-Everton is back in the starting XI after recovering from a knee injury which has kept him out since the opening day and young Exeter City loanee Alfie Pond are named in defence with Max Hunt and Chiori Johnson dropping to the bench.
Gime Toure, who scored his first goal in the 2-2 draw at Altrincham last weekend, replaces Charlie Wakefield who drops out of the squad, presumably through injury.
New signings striker Jake Scrimshaw and defender Callum Rowe are on the bench which features no goalkeeper with Will Buse dropping out.
Yeovil Town: Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Alfie Pond, Ben Richards-Everton, Josh Staunton, Jamie Reckord, Matt Worthington, Lawson D’Ath, Gime Toure,Alex Fisher, Malachi Linton. Substitutes: Callum Rowe, Max Hunt, Chiori Johnson, Sam Perry, Jake Scrimshaw.
Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Hare, Onariase, Longe-King, Weston, Tavares, Robinson, Sagaf, Ling, McCallum, Walker. Substitutes: Strizovic, Mussa, Zouma, Vilhete, Morias.
Man of the Match Results: Barnet
After the first couple of man of the match votes, we’ve upped the ante a bit and added some extra options to get more views.
We have asked you for your first, second and third choice man of the match to give you some options and give credit to players who deserve it. With that in mind, the 1st choice will get five points, the 2nd will get three points and the third will get one point. Come the end of the season we’ll have an actual points total of who has performed the best over the course of the season (take that Morgan Williams’ Twitch mates!). Probably.
Anyway, in first place for the Barnet match on Tuesday 16th August was Sam Pearson with 33% of the vote. Well done to the joker who voted for three unused subs.
Picking up three points for 2nd choice and one point for third place was Mr Matt Worthington – its fair to say that he’s undergoing a bit of a renaissance under Chris Hargreaves.
We also asked for general feedback on the team performance and entertainment value and evidently, people were pleased with what they saw in the results below. Looking forward to the Gladiator-esque “Are you not entertained?” from the manager at some point this season.
Thanks for sharing your views and please keep the votes coming in through the season.
Scrimshaw the Cherry on the Glovers’ cake
Striker Jake Scrimshaw has become Yeovil Town’s second signing of the day after joining from Premier League new boys AFC Bournemouth.
The 21-year-old has signed a two-year contract at Huish Park having spent the previous seven years at Dean Court where he was deemed surplus to requirements in the summer despite having a contract option triggered.
He spent last season on loan at Scunthorpe United scoring four times in 19 appearances and has a prolific record in the Cherries’ youth set up and at Poole Town in the 2018-19 season where he scored 17 times for the Dolphins.
Manager Chris Hargreaves said: “I’m really pleased to welcome Jake to the club. He’s a versatile forward who can offer us flexibility in the way we play and utilise him.
“Jake is the sort of player who will work his socks off for the team. He’s desperate to be a success here at Yeovil Town.”
It is expected Scrimshaw will go in to the squad for Saturday’s visit by Dagenham & Redbridge and be available for the trip to Wealdstone on Bank Holiday Monday, adding to attacking options including Malachi Linton, Alex Fisher and Gime Toure.
In the 2020-21 campaign he had loan spells at Newport County and Walsall where he was used mostly as a substitute, but still netted three times for Newport and twice at Walsall in League Two.
The previous campaign he had a three-month spell at Eastleigh in the National League making nine appearances.
Welcome to Somerset, Jake!
Callum Rowe joins on short-term deal
Former Exeter City man Callum Rowe has bolstered the Yeovil Town squad ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend double header.
The 22-year-old, who has played mostly as a defender but can also operate in midfield, has joined on “a short-term deal” following his release by the League One new boys at the end of last season.
The Aston Villa academy graduate is expected to be available for the visit by Dagenham & Redbridge to Huish Park on Saturday and the trip to Wealdstone on Bank Holiday Monday.
Glovers’ boss Chris Hargreaves said: “Callum comes from a very strong footballing background. His time with Aston Villa has stood him in really good stead, both as a player and a person.
“We’ve been having a look at him in training in recent sessions, and during that time he has impressed all of the coaching staff.
“He’s got experience in the men’s game under his belt and compliments our changing room excellently.”
Speaking on Thursday, Hargreaves said he expected to announce two signings before the weekend with a second arrival expected to be the seventh loan in the squad.
He had a trial at Scottish Championship side Dundee following his release by Exeter, playing in a pre-season friendly last month but failing to win a deal.
The Leicester-born player was part of a youthful Aston Villa side which went toe-to-toe with Liverpool in the FA Cup third round in January 2021, providing an assist for his side’s only goal scored by Louie Barry in a 4-1 defeat.
Following his release, he joined Exeter last summer and after a couple of early appearances went out on loan at Chippenham Town and Bath City in National League South before returning to make seven appearances in the final couple of months of the League Two season which saw the Grecians promoted.
Speaking at the time, Exeter boss Matty Taylor said: “We could easily have given Callum a contract and sent him out on loan, but that’s not always beneficial for the club or the player.
“Any player we re-sign, or sign in the future, we have to be really strong in our mindset that they are going to improve and they will improve this current group.”
Welcome to Huish Park, Callum!
Gloverscast #188 – “He’s exactly the kind of barstool we need”
Ahead of a bumper bank holiday, Ben and Dave are rejoined by Ian (back from his three pod ban in the land of Dale Gorman) to talk about the home match against Dagenham and Redbridge and the hunt for our first win of the season.
Dave speaks to Joel from the Game of Headers and Volleys Podcast to talk about the Daggers.
Enjoy!
Time for leaders to step up – Hargreaves
Yeovil Town boss Chris Hargreaves has called on the players who have remained at the club to “step up” and show leadership as they seek their first National League win of the season.
The Glovers’ boss admitted seeing his side forced to settle for a 2-2 draw courtesy of an injury time equaliser at Altrincham last weekend was the most disappointed he has felt in the job.
They head in to the August Bank Holiday weekend with Dagenham & Redbridge the visitors to Huish Park on Saturday followed by a trip to a Wealdstone side who have made an impressive start to the new campaign.
Speaking ahead of the game, Hargreaves said he had been having “positive but honest” conversations with members of his squad this week: “A result on a Sunday morning does not have a list of excuses under it, it’s just a result. You have to get over it quickly.
“We have a game on Saturday, review it on Sunday and we move on and have another on Monday.
“But we need the players who have become the core of this team and remained at this club to step up because they are the ones with the experience.”
In the summer, goalkeeper Grant Smith, defenders Josh Staunton and Max Hunt, midfielders Matt Worthington and Lawson D’Ath and forward Charlie Wakefield all committed themselves to new deals at Huish Park
The manager admitted his side had lost some of the defensive resilience which was a hallmark of their pre-season campaign as they seek to overcome the lock of creative threat which dogged them.
He said: “When you look at pre-season we were not creating enough and we were really resilient. We need to get that clean sheet mentality back again and kill teams when you get chances.
“We didn’t create as much as I wanted to on Saturday whereas on the previous Tuesday (in the 2-1 home defeat to Barnet) we had 15 situations where we could have scored or done better, so all we can do is put the point to the players in training.
“There’s only so much the boys can do in training, they have to deliver when they cross over the white line on Saturday.“
Throwback Thursday No. 49 – Lee Johnson’s Controversial Hat-Trick Against Plymouth (2004/05)
Yeovil Town 3 Plymouth Argyle 2 (AET) – Tuesday 24th August 2004
On 24th August 2004, Yeovil were drawn at home to then-Championship Plymouth in the first round of the League Cup. They would make national headlines across the media the next day due to the bizarre circumstances of the first goal, the first of a unique hat-trick scored by Lee Johnson.
The contentious goal came after 28 minutes when Plymouth defender Graham Coughlan left the pitch for treatment following a blow to the face. From the resultant throw-in, Lee Johnson picked up the ball around the half way line and hoofed it up the pitch towards Luke McCormick in the Westland End goal. McCormick misjudged the ball completely, and let it bounce past him into the net. There was no attempt to score from Johnson, the ball wasn’t even hit that hard as it bounced pathetically into the net.
By the time Plymouth had gathered themselves enough to kick off again, instruction had come from Gary Johnson to the Yeovil players to allow the visitors to score an equalising goal unopposed, which Stevie Crawford then did.
It was this rare act of sportsmanship in allowing the opposition to score an uncontested goal which would be repeated and written about across the country’s media the following day.
However there were still more than 60 minutes – at least – of the game to go. Having been gifted one goal Plymouth were then presented with another before half time, this time from the referee as a penalty was awarded for an apparent infringement against Liam Fontaine although it was not clear to anyone what for. Dead ball specialist Paul Wotton stepped up and fired the visitors ahead – it was not his first involvement in the game for the future Glover, as he could have seen red for a professional foul in the first minute. Wotton was later one of an influx of players who would save the Glovers from League One relegation by helping to take them from bottom at Christmas to 14th in May 2011.
Plymouth dominated much of the second half but were unable to add to their lead, and the travelling fans were silenced when Lee Johnson picked up another throw around 40 yards out, ran unopposed towards the box and let fly a shot into the top right hand corner from well outside the penalty area. McCormick got a hand to it, but was unable to keep it out.
The game went to extra time, with Yeovil adopting a 3-4-3, changed from the 4-4-2 they had started with. Just before break, that man Wotton was involved again when he brought down Darren Way for a foul around 30 yards out. Up stepped Lee Johnson again to give Yeovil the lead with the best of the three, a scorching free kick hit so hard that the cameras almost missed it – and not for the last time that season.
With Plymouth out of energy and out of ideas, Yeovil held on for a historic win which marked their first Championship side knocked out of the League Cup – a feat they would repeat the following season with a 2-0 win away at Ipswich.
This was surely the longest range hat-trick of all time, with a combined distance of around 120 yards. There can’t be many – if any – players who have scored from the half way line and gone on to score a hat trick in the same game. Although Lee Johnson had often taken free kicks and corners whenever the opportunity arose since joining Yeovil in 2001, he really stepped up his game in 2004/05. Having proved himself more than capable at League Two level with an incredible 20 assists and five goals in 2003/04, Johnson scored 11 goals and 17 assists in the League Two title-winning season. Seven of those 11 were scored from outside the area, including all three of the hat-trick against Plymouth as well as a free kick against Grimsby and another screamer against Wycombe. By comparison, no Yeovil player has achieved more than 20 assists in one season in the 18 years since then – the closest was Ed Upson in 2012/13 with 18.
By a strange coincidence, Gary Johnson also instructed his team to allow an uncontested goal during his second spell as manager of the Glovers in August 2013. Incredibly this also occurred in the League Cup, this time against Birmingham, and in more controversial circumstances – chasing the game at 2-1 down in injury time, Byron Webster opted not to return the ball to the opposition and instead chipped the keeper to level at 2-2. In extra time, Luke Ayling scored an absolute screamer with his left foot to put the Glovers 3-2 up, and it was only after the break in extra time that Johnson instructed his players to concede. The match was levelled at 3-3 and Birmingham went on to win on penalties. The circumstances here were arguably different, as against Plymouth Lee Johnson had no intention of scoring and it was a mistake by the goalkeeper (although you could argue that if your keeper can’t intercept a ball from 50 yards out, that’s probably on him). However against Birmingham, if you’re 2-1 up going into injury time, wouldn’t you expect the opposition to do anything they can to equalise, especially if your own team has been wasting time to see out the game? Also Byron Webster made that decision, and offering the opposition a goal more than 15 minutes later makes much less sense, especially as Ayling’s screamer deserved to be the winner of the tie. Seeing Lee Clark’s furious puckered up face after his team had won that game, it would have been even funnier if he’d had to face the media having lost.
It also wasn’t the only time Lee Johnson was involved in a comedy goal – particularly in 2002/03 and 2003/04, the Glovers played a very fast multi-ball game and would very often take quick set pieces to catch out the opposition. This happened on at least two noteworthy occasions – in their first ever League match at Rochdale, Johnson caught the opposition completely unaware following a foul to put the Glovers 2-0 up. A few months before in the televised match against Doncaster, it was Johnson again but this time he was the beneficiary of some quick thinking by Kevin Gall. With the Doncaster keeper penalised for intercepting a back-pass, while the players were arguing with the referee Gall wrestled the ball from the keeper, placed it on the six yard line and passed to Johnson who scored. What was better, it put Yeovil 3-0 up at half time against one of their biggest rivals, on the memorable day that the Glovers were confirmed as Conference Champions after 108 years as a non-league club.
Team that day: Chris Weale, Adam Lockwood (sub. Paul Terry, 57), Michael Rose, Terry Skiverton, Liam Fontaine, Darren Way, Lee Johnson, Kevin Gall, Adrian Caceres (sub. Roy O’Brien, 65), Bartosz Tarachulski (sub. Simon Weatherstone, 89), Phil Jevons. Subs not used: Steve Collis, Kezie Ibe