Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side were denied “a cast iron penalty” which could have put them 2-0 up against Forest Green Rovers at Huish Park today.

On loan striker Ciaran McGuckin had his heels clipped by Forest Green Rovers’ Ben Tozer when the Rotherham United man looked certain to turn home Josh Sims’ ball in to the penalty area but referee Declan Brown waved away appeals.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah after the match, the manager was full of praise for his players, but could not hide his frustration with the match officials.

He said: “I thought it was a brilliant performance from the boys. We were front foot again, really organised, energetic, but the reason we do not win is that we have to change some players on the pitch. Morgan Williams can’t play more than an hour yet, Harry Kite has been out for ten months and he has to come off, and when you make so many changes you can disrupt the rhythm and marking at set pieces. The (equaliser) comes from a set piece that we would have defended no problem with Morgan Williams on the pitch.

“But there is a cast iron penalty and red card in the second half where Ciaran McGuckin is about to tap the ball in and that is game over for me. I’m not blaming the referee, but they should not have a chance to get back at us in the last minute, it should have been game over. Between the four officials they have to see that, I think it was Ryan Inniss (the offender appears to be Tozer) who swipes McGuckin’s legs away when he is about to tap the ball in the goal. How four of them missed that I find incredible, but I do not want to take anything away from the players performance today.

“The last five weeks has been amazing for (the players). Through adversity they have stuck together and got closer as a group and they keep digging out results.”

Yeovil took the lead when midfielder Sonny Blu Lo-Everton lifted the ball over visiting keeper Ted Cann after 24 minutes and there were great opportunities to extend the lead with that man Inniss there again on 30 minutes to clear a Harvey Greenslade effort off the line.

The goal was Lo-Everton’s fourth of the season and came hot on the heels of a double in the win over Oldham Athletic last weekend.

Cooper said: “Someone of Sonny’s ability should be scoring eight or ten goals a season, there is no reason why he can’t. It was another good finish from him today. We should go 2-0 up, Harvey (Greenslade) has an unbelievable chance and he hits the legs of (Inniss) on the line. So as good players as Forest Green have, I think we deserved to win the game today and if the officials do their jobs properly, we should win the game.”

Asked whether he hoped that the performances which have seen them pick up ten points from their last five games would help him to start planning his squad for next season, the manager said off-the-field issues at Huish Park continued to hamper any such planning.

The club’s ownership situation remains in limbo following the resignation of owner Martin Hellier as chairman at the end of last month.

Cooper said: “There is loads going on at the club and we can’t decide anything and go out and offer players contracts or re-engage players who are out of contract, we have to wait until that is resolved. But if we get the go ahead to do that and I can get six real quality players, I think we can have another really good season.”

Next up, Yeovil travel to Eastleigh, who face top of the table Barnet in Good Friday’s late fixture, on Easter Monday and the manager expects there to be changes in personnel.

Captain Jake Wannell was not fit to feature in the squad against Forest Green and Harry Kite, Morgan Williams and Josh Sims all had to come off with 20 minutes remaining.

The manager said: “The boys that were bit part today and (Jake) Wannell will have to be fit for Monday to give us a chance to put some bodies out there. The main thing for us is to get as many points as we can and carry that in to the summer, but I was really pleased today. I thought the fans were incredible, that was a real backing for the team and the boys need that every week. If you give that, I guarantee the players will run like they did again today.“

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said it is no coincidence that the return of key first-team players from injury has led to a return to form.

The Glovers take on high-flying Forest Green Rovers at Huish Park on Good Friday having seen off fourth-placed Oldham Athletic in their last match and having won three of their last four games in the National League Premier.

Last weekend, the manager saw captain Jake Wannell complete a full 90 minutes whilst defensive team-mate Morgan Williams came off the substitutes’ bench in the 56th minute, he replaced full-back Michael Smith, who was also returning from injury.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Thursday, Cooper said: “I always say it is about players, in any league in the world, you are only as good as the players. We had Jake Wannell and Morgan Williams back involved (against Oldham) and that gives us a bit more presence, solidity and experience and it is no coincidence that we start to look a handful again once we have got those players back.

“Jake had been out a couple of months, Morgs the same and we still have (striker Aaron) Jarvis, (midfielders Brett) McGavin and (Jacob) Maddox out, Ryan McLean out and Otis Khan couldn’t play last week. When you add those players to the team and the group, it makes us so much stronger.

“The physio only wanted me to give Morgs 20 minutes, but needs must and we had to put him on a bit earlier because (Oldham) put another big player on in (top scorer Mike) Fondop and we had to match that. Jake Wannell played the full game, probably more than he should have done, but we managed to get the three points.

“It is a shame we have not got them back three or four weeks earlier when you look at the league table, but obviously that is the way it is meant to be. We just have to keep pushing and get as many points as we can.”

He confirmed that winger Otis Khan, who was unavailable to play against his parent club Oldham last weekend, will return to the squad against Forest Green alongside midfielder Charlie Cooper, who missed the match with tendonitis in his Achilles tendon.

Asked about the progress of striker Aaron Jarvis, the boss added: “It is about risk and whether we need to take that risk of him re-doing his hamstring or whether we give him the summer to be really strong again. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”

On New Year’s Day, Yeovil went down 2-1 at Forest Green Rovers with a late goal consigning them to defeat following the sending off of Bristol Rovers loanee Kofi Shaw for a second bookable offence in the 74th minute. That foul also gave the home side a penalty which Kyle McAllister scored to draw Forest Green level and eventually former Yeovil loanee defender Ryan Inniss snatched a late win.

Cooper said: “It was not bad luck it was the sending off (of Kofi Shaw), we had a young player who made a rash decision and that is what young players can do sometimes. But you look at that young player and he has been the best player for his club in League One and there is talk of him getting a move to the Premier League. It was a really good performance, but you can’t play against a team like Forest Green for a long time.”

The Gloucestershire side arrive at Huish Park on Good Friday off the back of two defeats, the most recent coming with a 3-2 loss at home to Gateshead last weekend, but still sitting in third place, nine points off Oldham in fourth.

Cooper, who led the club in to the Football League via the play-offs in 2017, believes his former club will be a threat in the end-of-season play-offs.

He said: “You have to understand they have had two consecutive relegations and there has to be a hangover from that. They have got a brilliant manager in Steve Cotterill who knows what it takes to get promoted. He has to be given time to build the club. I think the last time they were in the National League they were the longest-serving club in the division before they got promoted, and they have found themselves back at the start again. They have to build and get rid of the demons of that double relegation.

“What they have is a squad of really good players and they will be a real threat in the play-offs. If you look at the table I think it is likely they will finish third and I would think they will fancy their chances because of the players they have got and the manager with all his experience. They will be trying to find a way to gather momentum.”

On what he hoped to learn about his own players in the remaining four fixtures of the season, Cooper added: “We are still learning about the players. We still have loan players here, players that are out of contract, so we are learning about them still and their mentality, can they keep going? There are some that have come to the fore and were not there at the start of the season, and there are some that have dropped back a bit, so we are constantly learning. There are contracts up for grabs, but we want to get as many points as we can and that over the last two seasons, we have an incredible points tally.“