Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 356)

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Podcasts

Ian and Dave are joined Sheridan Robins to talk about our double header at Huish Park. Apologies in advance for talking about Dagenham, but we talked about HerGameToo and the visit of Grimsby on Saturday. We also welcome @DN35 Podcast to tell us all about the Mariners and, of course, the quiz.

Thanks for listening!

Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, enjoy some retro content on Instagram. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

WANT TO ADVERTISE ON THE GLOVERSCAST? Send us an email for our rate card.

If you want to take part in the quiz, have an idea for the website or just want to send us a message, email ian@gloverscast.co.uk

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

It was another disappointing night at Huish Park as Yeovil Town collapsed to a 3-0 defeat against Dagenham & Redbridge to leave them third from bottom of the home form table over the last six National League games.

Ian was on BBC Somerset co-commentary duty for the evening and here’s how he saw it…

We were masters of our own downfall. The positive of our season so far has our security at the back and the strength of our defence. We let an in-form Paul McCallum have freedom of the six yard box and didn’t close down the cross with any determination after just 6 minutes of the match. That’s not a character-trait of this side so it was unusual. To then concede a 2nd goal and in such ridiculously poor circumstances quarter of an hour later meant the game was over before half time. We know we have issues in the final third, and we haven’t scored two goals in a game since November. We shot ourselves in the foot and it felt like the players on the pitch knew the game was gone.

Striker Olufela Olomola.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

We struggled going forward again. We welcomed Olufela Olomola back to the starting line-up, but it was that familiar story of a lack of service. Conceding so early meant we were chasing the game but we never seemed to have cohesion going forward. Charlie Wakefield and Tom Knowles seemed out of sync (and totally exhausted), the midfield trio of Josh Staunton, Dale Gorman and Alex Bradley looked like the new combination that it is and never really clicked. We brought Lawson D’Ath on at 2-0 to bridge that gap between the midfield and the attack and attempt to claw back the deficit. Unfortunately, three minutes later we’re asleep on a quick throw and Dagenham put the game beyond doubt, although it was already.

Dagenham & Redbridge nailed it tactically. From kick off they applied pressure to our defenders whenever we had the ball. It took us quite a few goal kicks to cotton on to the fact that they weren’t going to let us play out from the back. Every time Josh Staunton picked up the ball from a defender there we two red-shirts on him looking to force the mistake, and they did repeatedly. At 2-0 they knew their work was done and when we did have the ball in their half, they let us keep it, perhaps knowing that we’d struggle to break their solid back line down. All in all, it was a comfortable night for Dagenham.

I’m not sure where we go from here. The last three results have cemented that we’re definitely mid-table and any run on the playoffs would need a miraculous set of circumstances. A couple of weeks ago Darren Sarll said his side’s seasons don’t peter out, last night was the epitome of a team petering out though. Unfortunately it’s entirely understandable. This squad is slap bang in the middle, most of them are out of contract at the end of the season and the vision from the boss at the top of the club is non-existent. 

I’m not sure if we ever totally freed ourselves from it, but apathy has set in again. The early goal sucked any life the supporters at Huish Park might have had, but there was a real flatness last night. Like the players, the crowd never got going and were given very little to get going about. We slept walk out of the Football League, and if we don’t drastically improve in front of the home fans on Saturday against Grimsby, there will be a perception that we’re sleepwalking to the end of the season and after that who knows what? A statement in ‘due course’ means nothing. Seven day deadlines mean nothing. If the plan to be so distant and become so unaccountable that supporters just give up, we could be close to that point. We’ll continue to clamour for clarity and at this point we need it either way.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

Darren Sarll confessed his Yeovil Town side were “well beaten” as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat at home to Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday night.

The Glovers went behind after just six minutes when Paul McCallum struck before a mistake by goalkeeper Grant Smith gifted the visitors a second on 22 minutes. Junior Morais added a third in the second half.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after more than an hour with his players in the dressing room, he said the squad had been working on trying to create more goal-scoring opportunities. with the returning Olufela Olomola at the heart of the attack.

Darren Sarll speaking after the 3-0 home defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge.

The manager said: “We have tried to change to change the page with our attacking play and trying to create more chances and get more attempts on goal.

“Whenever you do that, you reverse some of the great qualities you have on the other side of the field, so that’s a balance I need to find.

“But we were well beaten by an experienced side that were probably very happy to accept the gifts we gave them.

“We have too many learning how to create chances and if you haven’t got an immediate solution it becomes a massive problem.

“But all three goals were from turn overs of us having the ball and when the back four, when they are in such a giving mood it makes things harder.

“It underlines how that defensive shape is to us, it’s okay being open and creating chances, but you stay open for the opponent so you have to make sure you are creating a plethora of chances.

“The facts are we are not that team.”

Another blank from Yeovil means they have now scored just 28 goals in 31 National League games, conceding 33, and Sarll added that his biggest disappointment was that his side “did not implement anything we wanted too.”

He said his side have to “stare the problem in the face” as they prepare for the visit of Grimsby Town to Huish Park on Saturday.

The Glovers now have the third worst home form in the division – surpassed only by bottom club Dover Athletic and Aldershot Town – and they are fourth from bottom of the form guide over the past six matches which have heralded just three points.

Sarll said: “Grimsby is massive. We have to come and stare the problem in the face and make sure we replicate the away form.

“We will be fresher on Saturday and have more punch to us. I learnt a lot about whether the future of this team, some players can go for 40 games every week.

“We have spoken at depth and that will remain in the dressing room. Nothing too animated because I want to be balanced, I don’t want to be too damning.”

He revealed that right back Mark Little sat out the defeat having played five of the last six National League matches – completing 90 minutes for five of them – and loanees forward Sonny Blu-Lo Everton and defender Jack Robinson were both left out of the squad.

The boss said Sonny has been suffering with tonsillitis whilst Robinson has only trained for three days after returning from his latest injury.

Josh Staunton was taken off after 77 minutes against Dagenham and Sarll said the player has “a problem with a hernia.“

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Match Reports

Venue: Huish Park
Tuesday March 8, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Rain before the match.
Pitch: Skiddy due to the rain but in good nick.

Attendance:

Scorers: Paul McCallum 6 (0-1), Paul McCallum 22 (0-2), Junior Morais 63 (0-3)

Bookings: 1,836 (23 away supporters)

Yeovil: Barnett 32,
Dagenham: Rance 45,

Referee: Adrian Quelch


Yeovil Town : (4-3-3)

Grant Smith

Morgan Williams, Luke Wilkinson, Ben Barclay, Jordan Barnett

Alex Bradley (for Lawson D’Ath, 60), Josh Staunton (for Matt Worthington, 78), Dale Gorman

Charlie Wakefield, Olufela Olomola (for Adi Yussuf, 71) , Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Mark Little, Reuben Reid.

Dagenham & Redbridge: Justham, Wright, Reynolds, Comley, Hare, Johnson, Rance, Sagaf (for Robinson, 89), Weston, McCallum (for Akanbi, 90) , Morais (for Walker, 75).
Substitutes: Balanta, Zouma.

Match Report

 

A piece of sloppy defending followed by two absolute howlers saw Dagenham & Redbridge run out comfortable winners at Huish Park.

Visiting striker Paul McCallum, whose own goal gave the Glovers the win in the reverse fixture, put them ahead after six minutes and when a clanger from Grant Smith gifted the striker a second on 22 minutes it was game over.

Junior Morais added a third in the second half from another mistake in the Yeovil back line which has been such a strength of this season and, in depressingly familiar fashion, we failed to muster anything going forward.

We loaded the bullets in the Dagenham gun and invited them to shoot us in both feet – and they did it in professional fashion.

Here’s how it played out…….

First half

Team news saw on loan striker Olufela Olomola return having missed the previous two matches through injury, he replaced Jordan Barnett who shifted back to left-back.

Mark Little dropped to the substitutes’ bench with Morgan Williams replacing him on the right side of defence.

After three minutes, Myles Weston, who caused the Glovers’ problem in the reverse fixture, took a run at Williams and fired in a shot which took a small deflection off the centre back-turned-full back and forced Grant Smith in to his first save.

That was a warning and the poor start got worse. Josh Hare got away down the other side and put the ball in for the unchallenged Paul McCALLUM to fire the Daggers ahead.

Sensing blood, the visitors kept attacking a wobbly looking Yeovil and an error by the normally reliable Josh Staunton gave midfielder Dean Rance the chance to shoot and Smith was again force in to a fine stop.

With Barnett playing his first game at left-back for a long while and Williams playing on the right, there were some unfamiliar combinations across the hosts’ side which Dagenham seemed to sense pressing us extremely high up the pitch and getting results.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Grant Smith’s free-kick with no Dagenham player around him, he’s tried to be clever and clip a ball to Williams, but did not even get past Paul McCALLUM who chested it down and fired it in to an empty net. His 12th goal of the season, he’ll never score an easier one.

Having not scored more than twice in a league game since November, the writing felt like it was being daubed on the wall. In fact, when was the last time we came back from 2-0 down to get anything? AFC Fylde away in December 2019. The last time at Huish Park? A 2-2 draw with Dagenham in October 2015.

Having executed their plan to perfection, the next stage was to frustrate their easily irritated hosts and, again, did it perfectly all the way through until half-time which was met by a few boos.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2

Second half

The second half saw a reshuffle in midfield with Staunton playing further forward and Dale Gorman now the man picking the ball up from deep, but as caretakers of the ball, we were lacking.
Having seen a further 15 minutes of his side huffing and puffing, Darren Sarll introduced a player more than capable of holding on to the ball in Lawson D’Ath who replaced Alex Bradley.
But, instead of that being a spark, another defensive howler gifted the visitors a third. Junior MORAIS got the wrong side of both Luke Wilkinson and Ben Barclay, who have looked so solid since the latter’s arrival, and ran through to score.
If there was any wind was left in the Yeovil sails, it was extinguished. Incidentally, the last time we came from three goals down to win a match was the 5-4 FA Trophy win at Doncaster Rovers nearly 20 years ago.
Fear not though, Adi Yussuf replaced Olomola on 71 minutes. In fairness, it was not Fela’s night. He had no service and was almost entirely anonymous.

Dagenham goalkeeper Eliot Justham probably did not need to wash his kit after this one, he hardly broke a sweat.

A miserable night.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 3

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

On loan striker Olufela Olomola returns for tonight’s match at home to Dagenham & Redbridge (7.45pm kick-off).

Olufela Olomola.

The Hartlepool United frontman has missed theast two matches having picked up an injury in the 1-1 draw at Maidenhead United a fortnight ago.

He appears to be in a front three alongside Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield with Jordan Barnett, who played in the forward line at Notts County last weekend, dropping back to left back.

Mark Little is on the bench so Morgan Williams switches to right back.

For the visitors, ex-Glovers’ loanee Angelo Balanta returns on the bench whilst defender Yoann Zouma is named among the substitutes.

The Frenchman is the brother of West Ham United player, Kurt, and has been out of the squad since he was caught filming his sibling kicking and slapping his pet cats.

Yeovil Town: Grant Smith, Morgan Williams, Luke Wilkinson, Ben Barclay, Jordan Barnett, Josh Staunton, Alex Bradley, Dale Gorman, Charlie Wakefield, Tom Knowles, Olufela Olomola.

Substitutes: Mark Little, Matt Worthington, Lawson D’Ath, Reuben Reid, Adi Yussuf.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News
Angelo Balanta in his loan spell at Yeovil Town in 2013. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town are back at Huish Park after three matches away with Dagenham & Redbridge the visitors.

The original fixture was postponed when following Storm WhatsHerFace blowing  half the county of Somerset away.

Not much has changed since then in truth, the Glovers still sit midtable, with plenty of very decent “all guts, no glory” performances and more draws than a large Ikea warehouse and Dagenham still flirt with the play offs.

The Daggers sit 10th, seven points behind Notts County who occupy the all important seventh spot.

In terms of actual form, the visitors have actually only picked up one more point than Yeovil in the last five games, a 3-0 win over Maidenhead last time out and a 1-1 draw vs Woking in that time.

The Glovers of course have been picking up stalemate points for fun; five of the last seven Yeovil games have ended all square.

Goals (or lack, thereof) has been the talking point at Huish Park, Dagenham don’t have that problem, 53 league goals this season, that’s not a million miles off double Yeovil’s tally of 28.

Only one has made double figures though, that is Paul McCallum, who scored when these sides met earlier in the campaign… a 1-0 win for Yeovil… it’s enough to make your brain hurt.

He got a brace when they last played, but that was a week ago, against Maidenhead, he and his team-mates had a Saturday off as the Glovers lugged it up to Nottingham and back to be pegged back at the death by Notts County.

 

FROM THE MANAGER

Daryl McMahon is all too aware of what awaits his side at Huish Park telling the Barking and Dagenham Post:

“Darren (Sarll’s) teams are hard to play against, they always are, they’re always aggressive. Going down to Yeovil is always a tough game, but it’s another game in this division we look forward to.”

Whilst club captain and former Glovers’ loanee Angelo Balanta said:
“Yeovil will be tough. They’re below us in the table but they gave us a good contest and made it tough for us.

“They’re very resilient the way they go about their business and defend their goal really well.

“I think it will be similar but we’ve got to do what we’ve been doing, performing well and hopefully get the result.”

TEAM NEWS

McMahon is hoping to welcome a couple key players back into the fold, including a name Glovers fans will recognise, he should have Angelo Balanta (calf) and Matt Robinson (concussion) back in contention this week.

A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Yeovil Town captain Luke Wilkinson and midfielder Josh Staunton seems likely to be the only players with experience of playing for both sides starting this weekend.

The central defender played 65 times for Dagenham following his release by Portsmouth in 2010.

He had a couple of spells on loan at Boreham Wood and one at Dartford during his time at Victoria Road before departing for Luton Town in 2014.

Staunton arrived in Essex following his release by Gillingham in the summer of 2016 and made 37 appearances as they reached the Conference play-offs missing out to eventual winners Forest Green Rovers.

Despite playing in most positions in defence, Staunton was allowed to leave and joined Woking for the following season and then moved to FC Halifax Town from whom he joined Yeovil in summer 2020.

Another in the green-and-white corner is Lawson D’Ath, the playmaker working his way back to fitness after nine months out through injury.

He had a 21-game spell on loan in Essex in the 2013-14 season.

Likely to be missing through injury is the visitors’ talismanic forward Angelo Balanta who was an unused substitute in Yeovil’s 2-1 League One play-off final win over Brentford which secured promotion to the Championship in 2013.

If you’ve not heard it, check out our podcast with former Yeovil Town press officer Jimmy Healey for a great story about Balanta’s celebration – here.

The Colombian had a spell at Bristol Rovers, helping them out of the Football Conference in 2015, before moving to Carlisle United, Boreham Wood and eventually arriving at Dagenham in October 2018.

There is a possibility of seeing ex-Glovers’ midfielder Joey Jones who played the first half against Spennymoor last weekend before being replaced at half-time.

He spent his youth career at Arsenal and Leicester but having signed for Yeovil in 2013 after playing in a behind-closed-doors friendly he failed to make an appearance.

In January 2014, he was loaned out to Woking who he eventually joined permanently at the end of the season and when on to play 162 times for the Cards.

He arrived at Victoria Road, via Eastleigh and Salford City, in November 2020.

Other familiar faces to both sets of supporters include….

  • Rhys Murphy – Dagenham (2013-15), Yeovil Town (2019-21)
  • Mitch Brundle – Yeovil Town (2012-13), Dagenham (2019-21)
  • Jake Howells – Yeovil Town – loan (2015), Dagenham (2017-18)
  • Gavin Tomlin – Yeovil Town (2008-10), Dagenham (2010-12)
  • Matt Harrold – Dagenham – loan (2004-05), Yeovil Town (2005-06)
  • Kirk Jackson – Yeovil Town (2002-04), Dagenham – loan (2004)
  • Paul Terry – Dagenham (1999-2003), Yeovil Town (2003-07)

 

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News
Luke Wilkinson.

Yeovil Town defender Luke Wilkinson has been given a place in the Non League Paper’s ‘Team of the Day’ following his performance against Notts County.

The Glovers may not have won, but Wilko has been listed along side Barnet’s Ben Richards-Everton and Jesse Debrah of Halifax in the mythical side’s defence.

Well in, Wilko.

The full team is as follows…

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News, Podcasts

Another Saturday, another draw. Here to brighten up your Monday are Ian, Ben and Dave (who made the trip to Meadow Lane).

Thanks for listening!

Remember to add Gloverscast.co.uk to your favourites and check the website daily for the latest news from Huish Park.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, enjoy some retro content on Instagram. Leave us a review and share the pod with a pal.

WANT TO ADVERTISE ON THE GLOVERSCAST? Send us an email for our rate card.

If you want to take part in the quiz, have an idea for the website or just want to send us a message, email ian@gloverscast.co.uk

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

The curse of the old boy struck again as former Yeovil defender Alex Lacey headed home an equaliser four minutes in to second half stoppage time to rescue a point for Notts County on Saturday.

Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll said his side were “magnificent”, Tom Knowles said we deserved the three points, but the history books will show we had to settle for one at Meadow Lane.

Here’s Coatesie’s conclusions from his spot in the away end…

Darren Sarll wasn’t gutted at what can only be described as two points dropped, but admitted his players were. I have to say I am siding with the players.

This was  another hard luck story for this Yeovil side.

Despite my disappointment, I found myself standing, applauding and cheering this team at the final whistle.

It is just impossible not to be impressed and heartened by the sheer tenacity of them, they just never stop working.

As the game ticked past the 90th minute, Charlie Wakefield appeared in the left back position to win a ball back and clear it. Yes, our winger-turned-striker Charlie Wakefield who has played so many minutes this season, he was tracking back and helping out his team-mates.

How can you do anything but admire that spirit? And be so, so frustrated that it was not rewarded with three points. I know, again. Ugh.

The disappointment stings more because this was another good performance against one of the National League’s top teams.

I’d have taken a point before kick-off, especially when I saw there was no Olufela Olomola in the squad. How we missed him.

This was a Notts County which “has not scrimped” on its budget, according to Magpies’ fan Paul Mace who we spoke to pre-match, with a team we were told would control the game with easy-on-the-eye football.

It didn’t happen and it didn’t happen because Yeovil Town did not let it happen. We hassled, we harried, we disrupted the rhythm of a team with quality and experience in abundance. If you saw the win at Stockport County earlier this season, this had a similar feel. We showed Notts County no respect, the difference between this and Stockport was players feeling the rigours of a season – and no-one in any kind of scoring form.

It did not make for a game of great quality, but with our team which is all about effort, that speaks more for our efforts.

On that point, my thoughts on last season’s Reuben Reid were clear.

This season, I was willing to give him a chance and take fully in to account the fact he had an interrupted start of the campaign to put it mildly.

But, Reuben’s mistake at the end of this match was simply not acceptable. A burst forward by Lawson D’Ath, fed the ball through to our experienced striker who we are told has incredibly high standards, and he allows the ball to run under his foot and away to safety.

This was moments after the Notts equaliser and was a golden opportunity to get a shot in on goal. Yes, it is one mistake for a player who was on the pitch for less than 15 minutes, but he is paid to get that shot away. If his standards are as high as we are told – and I have no reason to doubt they are – he will be equally infuriated at his mistake.

The fact we played three midfield players – one of whom, Jordan Barnett, started the season as a left back – tells you all you need to know about our scoring options.

Alex Bradley. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

So, it was pleasing to see a goal of great quality from Alex Bradley.

We’re told he sees himself as a midfield player rather than the right-back we thought we signed and if he carries on performing like he did here, he very well could be.

There was nice passes, quality runs forward, strong tackles. There was a lot to like about Alex Bradley’s performance.

Finally, it was pleasing to hear Sarll and Tom Knowles praising the travelling fans at Meadow Lane.

Even when we weren’t winning, they were making a noise in an otherwise quiet Meadow Lane.

Every one of those 223 people in that away end were magnificent – well, let’s say 222, it’s a bit big-headed to call myself ‘magnificent’! We are supporting a team which in reality has nothing left to play for with promotion out of our reach and relegation almost a mathematic impossibility, yet we still turn up and make a racket. At the final whistle, the vast majority stood to applaud the players’ efforts and chant the manager’s name. There’s a huge effort going in on the pitch, but it is being matched in the stands.

By:
On:
In: Latest Yeovil Town News

 

Paul Fairclough has announced his England C squad for the upcoming game against Wales.

As expected it is full of the very best from the National League, but there are no current members of the Yeovil squad that make the cut.

Three former Glovers make the cut, Scott Loach (Cashterfield), Ben Tozer (Wrexham) and Nathan Ralph (Southend) have all been selected for the game on March 30th.

There does appear to be a ‘contingency squad’ with Wealdstone announcing two of their players had been called up, despite not appearing on the list.

If any of the current squad are also named in the back up squad they could be called upon for the game which is scheduled for inbetween the Southend and Barnet fixtures.

The team includes Paul Mullin who was being touted for a full Welsh call up this season and Dagenham’s Matt Robinson who will be in the visitors squad at Yeovil this coming Tuesday.

The full squad is as follows…