Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 38)

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It was a stalemate in the first match which Huish Park has seen for some time. Who was your Man of the Match in today’s home match with Hampton & Richmond?

Who was your Man of the Match against Hampton & Richmond?

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Yeovil Town played out a goalless draw with the National League’s in-form team Hampton and Richmond at Huish Park this afternoon.

The Glovers had their chances in the first half, but an even second half was well contested with Hampton showing exactly why they’re in the position they are. Yeovil remain 7 points clear at the top.

Here’s how Ian saw it from Huish Park..

First half

There were two changes for in the starting line up for Yeovil, with Jay Foulston immediately coming in at left back in place of Will Dawes and Frank Nouble replacing Sonny Cox.

Former Glover Jake Gray had a the first of the chances at Huish Park in the 5th minute. Space opened up nicely for Gray on the edge the Yeovil box and he drew a strong low save from Joe Day.

Minutes later, Rhys Murphy had a great chance to open the scoring. The poacher was in a familiar position inside the box and as he swivelled and fired a low shot at goal, Adam Desbois got down smartly to keep it out with a great save.

Rhys Murphy.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

After those two chances, the game entered a cagey phase, with Yeovil struggling to break the lines of Hampton and the visitors having some bright moments around Yeovil’s box.

Yeovil dominated the possession, albeit with no real threat. Jay Foulston and Michael Smith were starting to find space in wide areas, and it was Foulston who nearly put it on a plate for Murphy. Hampton cleared for a corner and Charlie Cooper very nearly put said corner straight in!

As dominant as Yeovil were with the ball, Hampton did find pockets of space as they beat the Yeovil press as Gray got himself into good crossing positions.

Most bits of good play from the Beavers came from Gray, and his left-footed shot in the 34th minute trickled just wide of Day’s right hand post.

Frank Nouble.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

A minute later, Frank Nouble should have put Yeovil ahead. A ball through in the inside left channel found its way to Nouble and the striker opened up his body to bend it into the far corner but put it wide of Desbois’ post.

Such was the spirit of the game, there was no stoppage time at the end of the first half and both sides seemed fairly content to go in at 0-0.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Hampton & Richmond 0

 

Second half

Like with the first half, Joe Day was the first of the keeper called into action, saving a fiercely struck left-footer from Ruaridh Donaldson.

Neither side were able to break the other down, and on the 62nd minute both side made changes. Alex Fisher came on for Rhys Murphy and Mason Bloomfield joined Ben Seymour up front for Hampton and Richmond.

 

Alex Fisher slides in.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Fisher very nearly made his mark moments later. Matt Worthington, who was playing with a lot of freedom, curled a teasing ball across the six yard box with the outside of his boot and Fisher couldn’t have got closer to getting a toe on the ball.

Yeovil had another opportunity in the 72nd minute with Worthington latching on to a Nouble flick on. It was an awkward height for Yeovil’s skipper, who couldn’t get his shot on target as he was closed down by Desbois.

Bloomfield’s physicality was causing problems for Yeovil and Day had to be alert in the 77th minute to parrying a powerful shot out for a corner. Bloomfield was on the end of a cross moments later but couldn’t direct a header towards goal.

Seymour and Donaldson combined nicely as the clock ticked over 80 minutes, and Day was called into action making another good save from Donaldson.

Yeovil were crying out for a bit of pace, and Will Dawes replaced Frank Nouble in the 88th minute to provide that pace, although with not a lot of time to do much…

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Hampton & Richmond 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 16th December – 3pm kick-off

Competition: National League South

Pitch: Looking the part, but cutting up a bit
Conditions:  Mild and dry

Attendance: 3388 (86 away)

Scorers: None

Bookings: 
Yeovil Town: Charlie Cooper 49, Alex Fisher, 74, Jordan Young, 90
Hampton & Richmond: Ben Seymour, 71

Referee: Isaac Searle

Yeovil Town (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Will Dawes (for Frank Nouble, 88) , Alex Fisher (for Rhys Murphy, 62), Jordan Maguire-Drew (not used), Josh Owers (not used), Duncan Idehen (not used).

Hampton & Richmond: Adam Desbois, Jordan Thomas, Ruaridh Donaldson, Luis Ferandez, Rob Hall (Mason Bloomfield, 62), Ben Seymour, Jake Gray, Sam Deadfield, George Hunt (for Shane Dunne, 86), Sam Dreyer, Dan Wishart. Substitutes (not used): Isaac Pitblado, Dom Revan, Joshua Anifowose.

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Welcome to Yeovil, Jay Foulston!

There’s a new Glover in town, Jay Foulston has followed Jake Wannell from Taunton to Yeovil and it’s an exciting signing, Callum Hallett has taken a deep dive into the new man in town… here’s what we can expect!

In this analysis I will be explaining who Jay Foulston is and what sort of player he is using, prior knowledge as well as getting a point of view from @Jaakecruump, who has watched many of the Welshman’s games over the last few years! Finally I will be using stats from the brilliant @Hoopsss to backup my points to give people a clear understanding of what type of player Yeovil have signed.

Enjoy the read! It’s a lot of words!

 

What sort of player is Jay Foulston?

Foulston is a player Yeovil have been crying out for in the last couple of weeks. A versatile, left footed defender who can play at left wingback in a 5, left back in a 4 or even left side of central defence in a 3 or 4! His quality both on and off the ball at such a young age (23) is why this is such a brilliant signing for Mark Cooper and his Yeovil side. This is vital for a manager like Cooper as we know he is always changing his formation game by game and even in games as well!

I spoke to former Taunton Town media assistant Jake Crump to get an opinion on the Glovers’ new signing from the eyes of someone who would’ve seen the talented defender player dozens of times for the Peacocks.

The way Jake described Jay is that “he was the first player you’d fall in love with when you watched Taunton”. This is always a good thing you want to hear after signing a player is that they fight for the badge and leave nothing out on the pitch. These words are backed up with some stats from Foulston so far this season:

• 4.71 Ariel duels per 90.

• 4.59 defensive duels per 90.

• 6.12 interceptions per 90.

As Jay is a defender, these 3 stats are massively key for him, 6.12 interceptions per 90 is the 29th highest out of any player in the National League South.

Mark Cooper is a manager who likes his defenders to be commanding and powerful when challenging for duels.

However, he is also a threat going forward as well, whether that be from a set piece, which is where he scored his only goal this season, or whether it is from distance in play or in a deadball situation. Jake said that Foulston has a “fantastic strike on him!”

As we know, Wannell and Williams both have 3 goals so far this season and (Wannell especially) loves to come out of defence and have a shot if he can 

It isn’t just his shooting that causes trouble for opposition defences, his passing is impressive as well! In a Taunton side that isn’t always looking to keep the ball for long periods, Foulston still manages to make 31 passes per 90, including 7.76 progressive passes per 90. A progressive pass is ”a pass that significantly advances the ball towards the opponents goal.” Despite playing the majority of his football this season as a left sided centre half, Jay Foulston still makes 0.71 deep completions per 90. A deep completion is where “a pass is completed within the penalty area of the oppositions goal.” 

This is Cooper’s perfect style of centre half, someone who is confident on the ball, allowing his sides to progress the ball forward. Foulston will be able to show his skill set even more in a Yeovil shirt as we are a side who like to keep the ball.

How many times have we seen Jake Wannell bring the ball out of defence from that left side position, into the midfield to create a massive overload, allowing us to keep the ball?

This is exactly how Jay Foulston will thrive in this team, giving him the freedom to roam out of defence when we have the ball, giving us an extra body in midfield. So far this season, Foulston completes 1.76 dribbles per 90 and travels with the ball 2.43 metres per minute! To put that into perspective, Will Dawes does 2.5 metres per minute!

Jay Foulston chases down now Yeovil Town team-mate Alex Fisher in last season’s FA Cup tie with Taunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

How does Foulston fit in?

Cooper has made his intentions clear in many games this season, he is willing to change formation and player positions around on many occasions from game to game, or even sometimes minute to minute! For example, against Bath, we started in a back 5 but when Whittle got injured we changed to a back 4 or even a back 3 with Smith stepping into midfield. Personally, I believe Foulston is best suited at left centre half in a back 2 or back 3 as it allows himself a lot of time on the ball, where he can show off his quality, progressing the ball into midfield.

It will be interesting to see how Cooper sets up, and whether Foulston plays at all on Saturday. Good luck Jay!

Once again thank you too Jonathan Hooper, and Jake Crump for their help with this Foulston analysis, i hope you enjoyed the read!
 
 

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It’s game day in South Somerset and we welcome in-form Hampton and Richmond to Huish Park today. Ian welcomes back Seb White (with a foot in both camps, of course) to chat about today’s National League South match.

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Taunton Town full-back Jay Foulston has joined Yeovil Town on  loan with a view to a permanent move across Somerset.

The 23-year-old follows in the footsteps of his former Peacocks’ team-mate Jake Wannell by swapping the county town for the county’s premier club.

He will be available for the visit of Hampton & Richmond to Huish Park in National League South tomorrow, but seems unlikely to be available when the two sides face each other on Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.

In a statement on the Taunton website, he said:  “I just want to say a massive thank you to all the players, staff and fans for the last 3/4 years. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave but I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play full time football again as that’s always the goal for me. Had some great memories and experiences at Taunton.

“Wish the club nothing but the best for the rest of the season and future. Met some amazing people and friends for life, thank you once again!”

In the same statement, Peacocks’ chairman Keith Sturmey admitted the club’s well-publicised financial difficulties had made it impossible for them to turn down the offer.

He added: “With crowds under 800 we have to balance the books as turnstiles are just not providing enough income towards wages and this means utilising the loan and transfer market.

“Some of the squad have been very unlucky not to stay in the professional game but while it is always hard to see players go there will always be plenty of players to choose from, with 99% of second year professionals released.

“For me this is very frustrating as I have hit all personal targets for the club in terms of sponsorship but due to the lack of home games in October and November it has created even more financial pressure than normal.”

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Josh Staunton departed Huish Park this week, Ian, Ben and Dave chat about the former captain’s departure, other bits of news out of YTFC and look ahead to the visit of Hampton and Richmond tomorrow.

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We’d love to welcome some local businesses into the Gloverscast family through advertising. If you’re a business that would like to speak to a dedicated audience of more than 1000 monthly listeners, please get in touch. Find out more about advertising with us here.

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Yeovil Town top-scorer Rhys Murphy is looking forward to returning to action at Huish Park when the Glovers take on Hampton & Richmond this weekend.

The frontman, who netted his 13th goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 2-2 draw at Dartford on Saturday, admitted a month of away games had taken its toll on the side.

They have picked up five points from their four National League South matches since the 4-2 win over Farnborough during their last outing on home soil in mid-November, and they now have three of their next five games at Huish Park over the Christmas period.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Thursday, Murphy said: “It’s been an intense few weeks with lots of travelling to away games, but we knew it was coming because earlier in the season we had played a lot at home.

“It is brilliant to be back in front of our fans and they will be out in their numbers like they have been all season and we can put on a show for them.

“As a player you want to be playing football, whatever day of the month it is, it all blurs in to one, you are playing football and that is the main thing.”

Rhys Murphy walks away wondering how he missed an early chance in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Dartford.

Murphy started last weekend’s draw at Dartford which saw Yeovil stretch their lead at the top of the table to seven points but he had not been in the starting XI since the 1-1 draw at Chippenham Town at the end of November.

He admitted that having the likes of Frank Nouble, Jake Hyde and more recently Alex Fisher, as well as forwards Jordan Young and on loan Sonny Cox (who has now returned to his parent club Exeter City) did spur him on to find form.

The top-scorer said: “You work hard all week on the training pitch all week and you want to play football. We have another good run of fixtures coming up now and it’s something to sink our teeth in to and hopefully we can come out with plenty of points and still top of the table.

“We have a really good group of players, so you know if you are not starting you know that you are fighting to get your shirt back. But, even if you are not starting you have to think about how you can effect a game without even coming on, so you always want to be ready and know that when your chance comes you have to take it.

“Good competition gets the best out of everyone because even when you are playing great you know you have to be at it to keep your shirt but (having good players in the squad) can also save your legs. It’s a long, hard season, so you have to look at the big picture.

“Some times you might get frustrated but that is because we all want to play. That is a good thing if you can channel that positively.”

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Yeovil Town will host in-form Hampton & Richmond at Huish Park on Saturday, which will be the Glovers first home game in a month.

In what has been a busy week for the Glovers off the pitch, which has seen the termination of the Club Captain, Josh Staunton’s contract. Sonny Cox was recalled by his parent club Exeter City as well meaning this game will come as welcome relief from the off field issues.

Hampton & Richmond come into the game as the in form side, having not lost a a league game since the reverse fixture on September 23rd.

Yeovil Teams News

Manager Mark Cooper sees the game like any other. He said: “Like every week it’s a big challenge. It’s very rare, if ever that you get an easy game.

“Hampton have got have got a real confidence behind them from a real good run. We know if we do what we need to at home we have a big chance to get points. ”

The 54-year-old was cryptic in his reasoning for Captain Josh Stanton contract termination, claiming “the squad don’t need distractions” as one of the reasons why the two parted ways. In what seemed an awkward exchange for Cooper, he also noted how the team “wants to look forward to winning” as another reason for Staunton’s exit.

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper speaks ahead of the home fixture with Hampton & Richmond.

Frontman Rhys Murphy also spoke about The Beavers’ good run of form. He said: “They’re on a really good run at the moment and we’ll show them the respect they deserve. But we go into it confident.”

The Glovers will be without Jamie Sendles-White (long-term).

Hampton & Richmond Team News

Manager Mel Gwinnett recently received the Manager of the Month award for November after guiding his team to four wins from their five games played in the month.

Centre-back Dean Inman is the key player for the Beavers having played the most amount of minutes in the squad.

Two former Glovers for fans to look out for on Saturday are Jake Gray and Ben Seymour who now ply their trade with the London club. l Gwinnett also had a spell at Huish Park during his playing career.

The Beavers announced permanent signing of Joshua Anifowose after spending the first half of the season on loan from Dover.

When we last met…

The previous fixture between these two, saw the Glovers run out 2-1 winner. The game was fairly even until Jordan Stevens scored a goal to remember, a half-volley which nestled in the top corner. Rhys Murphy was also on the scoresheet that day who finished smartly after a through ball from Alex Whittle.

The game was also marred by two sending off’s for Coopers men, Jake Hyde receiving two yellow cards and Matty Worthington seeing straight red for a handball in the area. With the resulting penalty seeing ex-Glover Ben reducing the scoreline to 1-2 in the 98th minute.

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper has said the departure of former club captain Josh Staunton removed “distractions” from the league leaders.

The defender ended his three-and-a-half-year association with the club when his contract was mutually terminated this week.

His last appearance for the club came in the 2-1 defeat Torquay United as the club exited the FA Trophy last month and you have to go back to the end of September when he came on as an 84th minute substitute in a 2-1 win at Hampton & Richmond to find the last National League South action Staunton played.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of this weekend’s return fixture against Hampton at Huish Park on Saturday, Cooper said: “Where we are now, the squad doesn’t need any distractions, they need to be left to focus on football and give their best between now and the end of the season. We don’t need any distractions and for Josh it is a chance to go and play.”

Josh Staunton, left, in conversation with manager Mark Cooper. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He added: “He’s been a focal point of the community, he’s done lots of interviews and speaks very well and has obviously struggled with an injury.

“But he’s been here three years and he’s been a good servant. Like Morgan Williams and Matt Worthington he’s been here a long time.

“The club has had three or four years of struggle, since the play-offs (in 2020) the club has been near the bottom of the league, and now it is about looking forward.

“We want now to be a club that wins games and promotions, not talking about struggle and having to talk about ownership wrangles which Josh did well last year.

“We want to be talking about winning games, big crowds, Cup runs, we want to be talking about all that now.

“The squad did not need any distractions and we had to do the best thing we could to give us the best platform to go forward.”

Cooper confirmed midfielder Matt Worthington, who has taken the armband in the absence of Staunton, would be the club’s captain, the manager added: “Worthy’s been the go to and he will remain the captain and we will probably name a vice captain.”

Asked about the departure of Staunton, top-scorer Rhys Murphy revealed that the captain was one of the people he spoke to before returning for his second spell in Somerset in the summer.

He said: “I got on really well with Josh, he’s a good guy and a good character. In my first spell at the club he had a terrible injury and I remember having a conversation with him towards the end of his rehab and saying that every day he came in and did it right, he never took a day off or took a short cut, and that summed him up.

“He led by example, so he was a really good character to have around the place and he will be missed. He was one of the people I spoke to before coming back, he was liked by everyone in the changing room, but, for whatever reason he is on to new things, so I wish him all the best.”

The Glovers return to Huish Park for the first time in a month – when they won 4-2 at home to Farnborough – with South Somerset having been beset by torrential rain.

Cooper added: “Our training pitches today (Thursday) were really soft. We’ve stayed off the main pitch since the Farnborough game, and hopefully we get a couple of dry days and it will be fine.

“The pitch at Dartford (last weekend) was really good and we showed that with the way we moved the ball in the first half, compare that to (the 4-1 defeat at) Welling it is chalk and cheese, but you have to adapt and find a way.

“We are looking forward to being at home in front of a big crowd this weekend.”