Gloverscast #194 – “He and Pete Wild would make at least a carton of Ribena”
2022-09-19
On today’s episode of the Gloverscast, Ian, Ben and Dave talk about the 2-2 draw with league leaders Chesterfield.
Skipper Staunton in NLP team
2022-09-18
Goalscoring Skipper Josh Staunton has been named in the Non League Paper’s team of the day following the Glovers’ 2-2 draw with Chesterfield on Saturday.
He’s been named in a midfield three rather than as part of the back line, but I’m sure Mr Versatile won’t mind.
Congratulations, Josh
The team in full:
Gloversblog: Streaming – do we all get to have ‘a little camera’?
2022-09-18
So, the National League has taken a decision….well, kind of. After a tantrum from Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds about why he couldn’t live stream matches – presumably he doesn’t have a “little camera” like our own Scott Priestnall – it looks like matches might be streamed by the end of the season.
I say ‘might’ because, well, it’s the National League and they don’t have an exemplary track record and also it’s not really live streaming like you might first think. This isn’t going to be like the ‘lockdown season’ of 2020-21 when all matches will be available as it’s already been said that matches televised on BT Sport won’t be streamed and nor will any games with breach the ‘black out rule’ preventing the broadcast of matches in England and Wales between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday.
So, in essence, it means midweek matches and games played on a bank holiday can be streamed. There was a few other dates in November and December which are exempt from the rule, or Article 3 – Transmission Rights’ of Article 48 of the UEFA Statutes, which would allow broadcast of matches during the winter World Cup in Qatar. Not that these really matter as the National League will unlikely have decided the date of its next meeting by November let alone anything else!
Today’s Non-League Paper suggests there’s likely to be a variety of ways to pay for streams, including per game, per month or in the form of a ‘season ticket’, which would see subscribers able to choose which match to watch, as opposed to being tied to a single team.
The big question comes down to – where’s the money going? The National League has said the finances will benefit the 72 teams in the three divisions and presumably this will need to support teams in National League North and South (Hi, W*ymouth!) to get set up for televising games. Do they even have fibre optic cables in South Dorset?
The decision was “unanimously” approved by the entire National League Board, which includes our own chairman, of course, at a meeting on Thursday and therefore we assume the lower division clubs have been given some kinds of assurances.
Surely at least a percentage of the money needs to be equitably distributed to avoid deepening the financial gulf between the big spenders and the small spenders. In this instance, as a National League Premier club drawing crowds of more than 2,000 to home matches, we’re almost certainly a big(er) spender – can someone pick Scott up off the floor, please? It’s got to be about what’s fair for everyone, right?
The other thing is, are we going to see clubs buggering about with kick-off times to enable them to stream outside the 2.45pm-5.15pm window on a Saturday? Will Ryan Reynolds be insisting on evening kick-offs for Wrexham to allow him to tune in from Los Angeles? I’m sure all he needs to do is put a tweet out and the National League will listen.
But seriously, there needs to be a firm line taken on that or else we’re going to find ourselves at the mercy of those who want to broadcast.
I agree that Article 48 was brought in by Football League chairmen fearful of television companies in the 1970s and is therefore quite outdated, but there is more than a grain of common sense in its presence – let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater, eh?
Chesterfield programmes available for free
2022-09-18
Programmes for the 2-2 draw against league leaders Chesterfield will be available for free after the club was “let down for the delivery.”
The printed versions were not available for sale at Huish Park on Saturday but presumably arrived in Somerset from…..wherever they are printed later in the day.
In a statement ahead of the game, the club said: “We would like to apologise to supporters for the lack of programme, and can say we did everything we could to have a programme available.
“Whilst we still await the delivery of the programmes, we remain committed to supplying a physical copy of this edition, which will be available for free with a ticket stub. We’ll issue a further update in due course.”
However, in the meantime, you can download the programme for free – here.
Under-18s held after late equaliser
2022-09-18
Yeovil Town Under-18s were forced to settle for a point having been pegged back by a late equaliser at Swindon Supermarine this weekend.
Striker Charlie Bateson made it two goals in as many matches with an early strike in what was described as “a controlled and positive performance” in the South West Counties Youth League fixture in Wiltshire.
However, a late equaliser from the home side means the young Glovers are in fifth place in the table (if you look at them in mid-September) after just two matches.
They face Bridgwater United at Alvington next Saturday 24th September with a 10.30am kick-off.
Their next opponents had an 11-0 home win over Ferndown-based BRS Coaching Under-18s, who look likely to be the division’s whipping boys having lost 7-1 in their previous match.
Yeovil Town Under-18s: Robert Hollard, Mason Hunter, Max Dyer, Jacob Shore (for Joshua Haskett, 75), Harrison Foster, Jake Graziano (for Joshua Sutton, 75), Sam Hodges, Jack Bareham (for Nathan Hart, 85), Charlie Bateson (for Aidan Skiverton, 55), Benjani Junior, Ethan O’Sullivan.
The teams representing the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust got their Junior Premier League season underway on Saturday.
There were victories for the Under-11s and Under-12s against Bridgwater United and for the Under-14s and Under-15s against Exeter Regional Talent Centre (RTC) with plenty of goals on display, apparently.
The Trust don’t publicise scorelines because that’s not what it’s all about, but with four out of six age group sides winning sounds pretty good, right?
U11’s v Bridgwater United – Won
U12’s v Bridgwater United – Won
U13’s v Exeter RTC – Drew
U14’s v Exeter RTC – Won
U15’s v Exeter RTC – Won
U16’s v Exeter RTC – Lost
Five Conclusions: Yeovil 2 Chesterfield 2
2022-09-18
The Glovers let two leads slip against the league leaders, but showed a big improvement on their last two matches. Here is Ian’s conclusions from the 2-2 draw with Chesterfield.
Chiori Johnson has waited patiently and taken his chance. Through no fault of his own, Morgan Williams missed out yesterday and patiently waiting in the wings has been summer signing Chiori Johnson. Johnson took his chance and was one of the bright sparks of the game. He provided an outlet going forward on the right and looked the most natural of the players who’ve played wingback so far this season. Jamie Reckord has been our main wide threat before yesterday and as a result we’ve ended up focusing our play on the left, Johnson gave us the opportunity to get it down the right too.
Josh Staunton was solid in the heart of defence. I know there’s still a debate about whether to play him in centre midfield, but his performances in midfield against Scunthorpe and Eastleigh haven’t inspired confidence so far. In the middle of a back three, he’s looked stronger in my view. Wrexham and Dagenham were highlights, and we can add Chesterfield to that too. He got a goal (I think) but he led in typical fashion and was a rock in defence. I think we can put to bed the midfield discussion.
Gime Toure was in the mood. He gambled early on and hassled the Chesterfield defence to earn an early goal and his afternoon was probably his best in a green and white shirt so far. He scared the Spireites back line with his direct running, hunted down loose balls and got himself in a dangerous areas that caused panic amongst the Chesterfield defence. Can he do it consistently? Can any of them? I don’t know, but I enjoyed what I saw from Toure.
We need to find a way to see these games out. We’ve let leads slip against Altrincham, Eastleigh and Chesterfield and got three points from those games rather than nine, which would make us all feel a lot more happier than we are. While we were resilient against Dagenham and hung on, albeit with our backs firmly planted in the wall, against Chesterfield we had a bit of everything but lacked the concentration in key moments. Shortly after the opener, Grant Smith decided to go on a walkabout and wiped out Joe Quigley, giving us a set piece to contend with, which we didn’t. Why he decided to cover Jamie Reckord’s position needlessly, only he can explain. The delivery on the corner for the second goal just seemed to catch the Glovers napping. The flat delivery to the edge of the box, the weak shot, the hashed clearance and poor marking. You can forgive worldies from distance and genuine class, but the equalisers yesterday felt of our own doing.
We need to reproduce these performances against the rest of the league. The drastic improvement from York and Eastleigh needs to be more than a one-off. If this is what we can do, it needs to be the standard. Not just the level for the likes of Wrexham and Chesterfield. In our season preview podcast, Adam Virgo said how the big games look after themselves, it’s the ones you ‘should win’ that cause problems. If that doesn’t sum up our season so far, I don’t know what does. We need to make these passing, pressing, “blood and guts” (Staunton 17:9) performances the norm – not the exception.
Hargreaves “furious” at the manner of equalisers
2022-09-17
Yeovil Town boss Chris Hargreaves said he was “furious” after seeing his side conceded an equaliser from a late corner to have to settle for a point from a 2-2 draw with National League leaders Chesterfield at Huish Park.
The Glovers were leading with three minutes of the match remaining when they failed to pick up Spireites’ substitute winger Jesurun Uchegbulam inside the box and he smashed home a second equaliser to nick a point.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, Hargreaves said his counterpart, Chesterfield boss Paul Cook, had told him the hosts “didn’t get what they deserved and you were the better side.”
He said: “We made some fundamental errors at the wrong times and that can’t happen, so I am delighted with the performance but it’s tempered with a bit of annoyance.
“I can’t step on to the pitch and lock on to a man myself, I did as a player but I can’t from the touchline, so it will be hard work training next week to try and put it right.”
He added: “We didn’t want to sit back, we wanted to win the game and I expected us to because we have some very good players in there, it’s just sickening you can’t see a game out.
“I’m furious about the manner in which we conceded from a set piece, but I have to give the players an immense amount of credit. They are giving everything for the badge, but just not seeing a game out when it’s there to be won.”
Gime Toure, who returned to the starting line-up in place of Alex Fisher who was out of the squad on compassionate live, opened the scoring for Yeovil after just three minutes, before a needless free-kick conceded by goalkeeper Grant Smith gifted the visitors an equaliser just four minutes later.
The performance was a vast improvement from recent matches including a 1-0 defeat against York City in the last outing at Huish Park where Hargreaves’ side was booed off the pitch.
The boss said: “The players gave everything and were outstanding in listening to our game plan and creating chances, they did it all but in both boxes is where it matters.
“I don’t think it’s luck, it’s a bit of (a lack of) experience, realising the danger but I’m pleased the fans saw us play well, played the team that’s top of the table off the park for the majority of the game.
“We didn’t get what we deserved, but we have got to change that. We know we are a very good side in the making, but I can’t accept that at the moment.”
With more than 850 appearances among the six men who made up their defence when Uchegbulam struck, inexperience is an excuse perhaps only on loan Owen Bevan, making just his third professional start, can claim.
Hargreaves was full of praise for Toure who looked a threat all game as well as chipping in with his second goal since joining shortly after the season.
He said: “Gime was fantastic every time he got the ball, he was a threat, he was brave getting in to pockets and looked like he was back to his best. It was a good moment for him to score, he’s got goals in him, we just have to keep them fit.”
There was also praise for Finley Craske, the versatile Plymouth Argyle youngster who looked impressive after coming on as a 67th minute substitute for Sam Pearson.
The boss added: “When you have been out of the team you can become frustrated and disillusioned and your attitude can drop off and it’s been the reverse with Fin.
“He’s been the epitome of what a young professional should be which is determined, behind the lads who are playing in his position, but when he gets his chance he shows bravery and fight.”
Staunton frustrated to not get all three points
2022-09-17
Yeovil skipper Josh Staunton was disappointed the Glovers didn’t pick up all three points today against Chesterfield but felt there were positives to build on.
The Glovers led twice but were pegged back by frustrating goals and Staunton, who was awarded the sponsors Man of the Match, said he was hurting after being ahead twice.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins he said: “On the balance of play today, it’s actually really frustrating. It feels like we should have come away with all three (points) really and we were five minutes away from doing so.
His memory lapsed on the first goal but on the second he said: “It’s a set piece and we’re really really disappointed with how we’ve conceded it, because it was a nothing ball in and it was lucky miskick straight to their man who’s taken it well to be fair to him.
“But, we should have dealt with it a couple of phases before. That one really hurts to be honest, it’s a disappointing feeling when you concede two like that.”
There was certainly an improvement for the Huish Park faithful after the dismal loss at the hands of York two weeks ago, and Staunton affirmed the resilience of the group and praised the reaction of the supporters in attendance.
“It was definitely a good reaction after Saturday against York and then Tuesday against Eastleigh where we were poor, so it shows the group is definitely resilient and we want to turn them (draws) into wins.
“If we put a Yeovil performance on, a proper Yeovil performance one of guts and blood and determination, the fans will always back us. You’ll get no qualms from me, when we don’t do the basics well and we don’t get that support because, ultimately, we have to earn it.
“After the last two results, today everyone in the stadium was right behind us. Every one at Yeovil will back us if we put on a proper Yeovil performance and play for them.”
Obviously, the overwhelming feeling today is of disappointment to hold on to the lead, but the performance was a massive improvement on previous outings and skipper said it was important to use the performance as a platform to build on.
“We’ve got to build on today, we cant keep taking one step forward and two steps back. We’ve got to try and put the platform in place and keep building on them. After days like today and Wrexham, the foundations are there because you can see we’re a good side. It all comes down, now, to proving that we are (a good side) and going week-after-week getting results to back that.”
Match Report: Yeovil Town 2 Chesterfield 2
2022-09-17
Venue: Huish Park
Saturday September 17th, 3pm kick-off
Conditions: Sunny with a gentle breeze
Pitch: Heavily watered which made it slick but also cut up in places
Attendance: 2,672 (367 away supporters)
Scorers: Gime Toure 3 (1-0), Jamie Grimes 8 (1-1), Josh Staunton 80 (2-1), Jesurun Uchegbulam 87 (2-2)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Grant Smith 6, Matt Worthington 33, Jamie Reckord 90+5
Chesterfield: Tyrone Williams 43, Calvin Miller 63, Michael Gyasi 90+5
Referee: Elliot Swallow
Yeovil Town : (3-4-3)
Grant Smith
Owen Bevan Josh Staunton Ben Richards-Everton
Chiori Johnson Jamie Reckord
Matt Worthington Lawson D’Ath
Sam Pearson (for Finley Craske, 66)
Malachi Linton (for Charlie Wakefield, 76) Gime Toure
Substitutes: Morgan Williams, Max Hunt, Jake Scrimshaw.
Chesterfield: Covolan, King, Williams, Grimes, Horton, Oldaker, Banks, Mandeville, Clarke (for Gyasi, 70), Miller (for Uchegbulam 66), Quigley. Substitutes: Maguire, Cooper, Akinola.
Match Report
A late leveller three minutes from time saw Yeovil Town denied a win against league leaders Chesterfield in a thoroughly entertaining encounter at Huish Park.
It appeared that Glovers’ skipper Josh Staunton had earned all three points when he bundled home his first goal of the season on 80 minutes, but the visitors’ equalised after Yeovil switched off from a corner to allow substitute Jesurun Uchegbulam.
The equaliser was harsh on Chris Hargreaves’ men who had gone toe-to-toe with their big-spending opponents and been the better side for much of the match – sadly, two defensive lapses mean we are still looking for our second win of the National League season.
First half
Chiori Johnson and Gime Toure came in to the starting XI in place of the previously ever-present Morgan Williams and the out-of-sorts Charlie Wakefield, who both dropped to the bench alongside Finley Craske, who made his first appearance in a match day squad. Alex Fisher was not named in the squad having been given compassionate leave.
And Toure made the most of his call up after he did not give up on a ball over the top and took advantage of a mix-up between visiting keeper Lucas Covolan and Tyrone Williams. Covolan came a long way off his line and TOURE nicked the ball around goalkeeper and defender fired in to an unguarded net.
But, less than five minutes later the visitors equalised. Grant Smith bizarrely came a long way out of his box and gave away a completely unnecessary free-kick for a foul on ex-Glovers’ striker Joe Quigley. From the set piece, the visitors broke down the right and fired in an effort which Smith only parried straight to Chesterfield captain Jamie GRIMES who turned home an equaliser.
Soon after a Lawson D’Ath corner was sent over the bar by a diving header from Owen Bevan, but it was the visitors who dominated momentum after that goal showing the confidence of a team who had won their last four matches while Yeovil wobbled like a team who had won just once all season.
There was a bright spot on 19 minutes when Johnson’s beat his man and slotted a ball across through to Sam Pearson who could not make the most of the opportunity.
That sparked a bit of pressure from Yeovil with Josh Staunton firing an effort straight in to the ‘non-core land at Huish Park and moments later Johnson, who looked in the mood going forward down the right, found Linton, but the striker fired wide.
Having soaked up some pressure, it was the Glovers who were in the ascendancy as the game entered the final 15 minutes and the more than 250 youngsters brought to Huish Park by the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust had plenty to shout about – and shout they did!
Five minutes before half-time Calvin Miller dragged a shot wide and minute before the break a low free-kick from Matt Worthington forced a good save out of Covolan.
Having been booed off the pitch at the end of their last outing on home soil, Yeovil were applauded off at the interval having taken the game to their lofty opponents for much of the half. Is this the ‘HargBall’ of which we’ve been told?
Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Chesterfield 1
Second half
The home side started brightly with Toure at the heart of everything that was good creating a good chance for Johnson on 52 minutes but his header did not have enough power to trouble Covolan.
A minute later, the visitors broke forward through Jack Clarke, who had an unsuccessful spell on loan at Huish Park last season, but his was denied by a superbly-timed tackle from Jamie Reckord and the ball dropped to Liam Mandeville whose shot was straight at Grant Smith.
Shortly after the hour mark, Pearson had a time effort in on goal and on 66 minutes he was replaced by Finley Craske, the versatile player on loan from Plymouth Argyle. It had been a frustrating afternoon for Pearson who was outmuscled by some of his more experienced opponents for much of this match.
Malachi Linton, who had another hard-working performance without finding the net, was replaced by Charlie Wakefield with 15 minutes remaining.
For all the disappointment of the past couple of weeks, this was a much improved performance from Yeovil and they deservedly regained the lead ten minutes from time. A Reckord corner from was met at the back post with a header back across goal which went through a crowd of bodies and Josh STAUNTON was there to turn it in – probably! No-one could really tell but the captain certainly claimed it.
But they were in the lead for just seven minutes as a defensive error saw a low corner was not picked up by the Glovers’ defence and the ball found its way to substitute winger Jesurun UCHEGBULAM who was unmarked to hammer home another leveller. Such frustration that two defensive lapses cost had undone an otherwise impressive performance from Yeovil.
Toure, who had been in the mood all afternoon, burst down the left in the next attack but his effort went over the bar.
Overall, a brilliant game which saw Yeovil go toe-to-toe with the league leaders. There were some ‘handbags’ at the end with a confrontation between Jamie Reckord and visitors’ substitute Michael Gyasi. Bookings handed out, but applause for Chris Hargreaves’ men at the final whistle.