Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 67)

For a short while, Yeovil Town were top of the National League South table, but, results elsewhere means the Glovers finish Saturday in second after a 2-1 away win against Hampton & Richmond… it was not without incident.

Jake Hyde saw red (two yellows) and Matt Worthington joined him late on after handling on the line. as the away side finished with nine men, but still picked up the three points.

David Coates was there here are his thoughts… 

First half

From the off it was clear Jordan Stevens was going to be an outlet down the right side and it was the ex-Barrow man who tested the Hampton keeper Adam Desbois after three minutes.

At the other end, Mason Bloomfield headed a free-kick wide, but neither side particularly carved out a notable effort.

On 15 minutes, ex-Glovers’ loanee Ben Seymour twisted and turned on the edge of the box but his effort was deflected wide.

Charlie Cooper picked up his regular yellow card after wrestling a Hampton player to the ground after 17 minutes, and he was followed a few minutes later by Rhys Murphy for a less obvious foul. The referee clearly keen to show he has brought his cards.

If the opening exchanges were in the visitors’ favour, Hampton grew in to the game. A clear cut opportunity still eluded either side.

It took a moment of true quality to break the deadlock. On 34 minutes, a free-kick from the right by Cooper broke to the edge of the area where Jordan STEVENS rifled home an unstoppable shot. Get the rocket emojis out.

Murphy tried to out-spectacular his team-mate moments later, but his bicycle kick from inside the box went over the bar.

The away clearly not adhering to the Green Day Clause of not judging anything (or even looking at the league table) until September is over. A chant of “we are top of the league” went up from the Keith Hussey Stand.

But their enthusiasm was not tempered by a second goal after 43 minutes. Good commitment from Alex Whittle down the left saw the ball played forward to Rhys MURPHY who toyed with the hosts’ defenders before slotted in to the far corner.

Half time: Hampton & Richmond 0 Yeovil Town 2

 

Second half

Referee Eugene Robinson appeared to be more focused on pulling up players for perceived time-wasting, but allowing clattering of Yeovil players. Notably Jordan Young who remained on the ground whilst the referee was unmoved. 

Fortunately not hurt, Young picked up on a blocked Murphy effort to fizz a shot wide on the hour mark before Hampton substitute Rob Hall put one over the bar.

Rhys Murphy was replaced by Jake Hyde on 69 minutes and soon picked up a yellow card for complaining at (a blatantly incorrect offside decision – as someone who was in line with it) and then five minutes later he picked up a second for a foul.

Meanwhile, Alex Whittle was replaced by Josh Owers after a heavy challenge on the full-back. You guessed it, no action taken by Mr Robinson.

It had been a quiet afternoon for Joe Day but with six minutes remaining a free-kick in to the box led to a goalmouth scramble which saw the on-loan keeper pull off a fantastic reaction stop before the ball was cleared.

With 85 minute saw Josh Staunton replace Young with the visitors looking to close the game out. Nouble slotted in to the middle of midfield, presumably for his size with Stevens left to chase up front.

I’ve broken Rule #1, so let’s do it properly. With two minutes of remaining, Morgan Williams gets a clear shove in the back. Nothing given. Hampton break down the left and find Deadfield in the box who shoots but Day saves. Presumably it requires someone in blue to commit murder to be guilty of any offence.

In the seventh minute of seven added on, a goalmouth scramble saw Matt Worthington handle on the line to keep the ball out. No hesitation from the official to give a straight red and award a spot kick which Ben SEYMOUR fired home.

There was an even hairier moment in the following added time as a push forward saw a Hampton player felled inside the box. The protests continued after the whistle giving Mr Robinson the chance to continue his inept performance with another red card for the hosts’ defender Jordan Thomas after the game was over.

 

Full time: Hampton & Richmond 1 Yeovil Town 2


Match Details

Venue: The Beveree Stadium
Saturday 23rd September – 15:00

Pitch: Lovely sunny day
Conditions: Looked like it hadn’t been played on – because it barely had.

Attendance: 1,269 (485 away supporters)

Scorers: Jordan Stevens (0-1), Rhys Murphy (0-2), Ben Seymour (pen 1-2)

Bookings: 
Yeovil Town:
Charlie Cooper 17, Rhys Murphy 20, Frank Nouble 37, Michael Smith 51, Jake Hyde 69, Jake Hyde 74.
Hampton & Richmond: TBC

Sendings-off: 

Yeovil Town: Jake Hyde (two bookable offences), Matt Worthington
Hampton & RIchmond – Jordan Thomas

Referee: Eugene Robinson


Yeovil Town (4-3-3)

Substitutes: Jake Hyde (for Rhys Murphy, 66), Alex Whittle (for Josh Owers, 70), Josh Staunton (for Jordan Young, 84), Jordan Maguire-Drew (not used), Will Dawes (not used).

Hampton & Richmond: Desbois, Thomas, Donaldson (for Kurran-Brown, 69), Inman, Fernandez, Seymour, Gray, Deadfield, Wishart, Dunne (for Hall, 58), Bloomfield (for Whittingham, 60).

Substitutes (not used): Cheadle, Pitblado.


 

Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper has said that the decision to leave out captain Josh Staunton was a tactical change rather than one surrounding an injury.

Cooper, chatting to Ian Randall of BBC Somerset, said that the decision to leave out both Josh’s – Staunton and Owers – was down to searching for the right combination.

Morgan Williams replaces Staunton in the back line, he was missing from the FA Cup game with a tight hamstring but the manager confirmed he was not risked with this game in mind. 

“It’s tactical, we are just trying to find the right combination in the middle of the defence and trying to find the right relationships.

Morgan (Williams) was going to play last week (vs Stoneham) in the FA Cup, but had a tight hamstring, we rested him with this game in mind, and I’ve just picked a team which I think can win the game and an attacking team. Rhys Murphy and Frank (Nouble) together up top and two really attacking wide players, so I’ve picked a team to try and win the game”

On the inclusion of Murphy following his hat trick in the FA Cup, Cooper said;

“(The 7-1 win) should give us confidence to go and attack, hence why Rhys Murphy is starting, he scored a hat trick, he can’t do much more than that, so we sacrificed a midfield player for a forward, hopefully it’s the right move”

You can hear the full conversation below.

In-form striker Rhys Murphy is recalled to the starting line-up for Yeovil Town’s trip to Hampton & Richmond today (3pm kick-off).

The frontman, who netted a hat-trick in the FA Cup win over AFC Stoneham last weekend, is one of two changes with Jordan Stevens also handed a start.

Captain Josh Staunton and midfielder Josh Owers are both named among the substitutes.

 

 


Seb White is a man with split loyalties on Saturday.

He’s been at Huish Park as a diehard Yeovil Town fan, he’s been on the board at Hampton and Richmond.

He’s fallen in love with YTFC and also in love with H&RBFC… His half and half scarf is at the ready for the weekend’s game.

We chat with Seb about how he ended up with a foot in both camps, how his love for both clubs has changed and what it means for the Beavers to host the Glovers.


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It’s back to National League South action for Yeovil as they travel to face an improving Hampton & Richmond side.
 
The Glovers go into the match in fine fettle after beating lower league AFC Stoneham 7-1 last week in the F.A. Cup. 

The Beavers have also come into some form recently after a slow start to the season, picking up just one win in their opening seven fixtures. Now unbeaten in three in all competitions, the London side will want to build on their improving form. 

Their last outing saw ex-Glovers’ striker Ben Seymour on target in a 2-1 win at Southall in the FA Cup. Check out a stunning 90th-minute winner from midfielder Sam Deadfield later in this preview.
 

Yeovil Team News: 

Manager Mark Cooper believes his team aren’t yet playing at their full potential. He said: “ I think we’ve settled but there’s still improvements… I still think there’s loads, I still think we’ve got 30%-40% left to develop and we’re not as fluent as I would like.” 
 
Cooper does feel that “freak results” have lead to an “open league” but believes that it will “settle down once the yellow balls come out.
 
The former Swindon Town manager reiterated his stance on every game being tough and feels Hampton & Richmond will have some tricky players. He said: “Obviously there’s a wealth of experience in there this year and it makes life easier in terms of delegation around the dressing room and around the club things kind of look after themselves a bit more.
 
Mark Cooper is only missing defender Jamie Sendles-White for the visit to Hampton & Richmond.

Glovers’ captain Josh Staunton spoke highly of the dressing atmosphere at the club. He said: “

The ex-Halifax Town man believes his team will “get the job done” if they “focus on themselves.
 
The only missing player for Yeovil is defender Jamie Sendles-White, who has been missing since the 3-2 away win at Weston-super-Mare where he picked up an Achilles injury.
 

Hampton & Richmond News

 
Hampton & Richmond manager (and former Yeovil Town loanee) Mel Gwinnett spoke briefly about the Yeovil game, saying how “massive” the game is for his team. 
 
Gwinnett does believe his team have the necessary quality to put and end to shaky start to the season. Speaking following a 2-1 FA Cup win at Southall and the weekend, he said: “Technically they are all good footballers but they just make poor decisions, all their best attacks came off us on the ball. That has been a bit of a story of our season so far.
 
We lost three on the spin and now we are three unbeaten on the spin…The one thing I have got is a team that can change shape.”
Hampton captain Jake Gray.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
 
The London team have two ex-Glovers amongst their squad in captain midfielder Jake Gray and striker Ben Seymour. Those two are also the two main threats for The Beavers.
 
And, yes, Gwinnett himself had a spell on loan at Huish Park in the late 1980s. [Thanks to reader Phil Sparks for the tip – Editor]. Having requested a transfer from Exeter City in 1988, Gwinnett was sent out on loan to Huish before signing permanently for a lesser club on the south Dorset coast in March 1989. Initially on loan before Gerry Gow brought him to W*ymouth in a £10,000 deal which saw Richard Cooper also cross the border…..and the Terras were eventually relegated. Good work Agents Cooper, Gow and Gwinnett.

There are no players missing for Hampton & Richmond.

 

Squad rotation is in full flow once again, Ben is back (Ian and Dave are not!) so Elliot Watts and Chris Fox are given more precious first team minutes.

We chat about a nice FA Cup draw, a nice charity initiative, the nice problem Mark Cooper has got trying to get all the in form players in… and answer some nice questions too.

It’s all a bit too nice.

——

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Yeovil Skipper Josh Staunton has spoken to the BBC ahead of the trip to Hampton and Richmond this weekend and has said he is enjoying the challenges this season has thrown up… including a positive kind of pressure. 

“It (This season) been a bit more unpredictable in terms of style of play, I’d say I think when you’re in the league above, it’s probably easier to do analysis on teams you’re playing against and teams are a bit more consistent in terms of players and style of play.

You kind of know what to get and obviously you’re going to games completely different, there’s a difference going to Chesterfield where you come away and think a point is a result, where we’re in a position this year where we want to try and win every game, so it’s enjoyable. 

They serve up the different challenges and sometimes going to games a bit more blind than you’d like to be it gives you a real chance of focus on yourself and not worry about about the opposition.”

“It gives you a real chance of focus on yourself and not worry about about the opposition.”

“I think pressure is relative to the position you’re in isn’t? I think it’s about learning to deal with pressure and making pressure bring out the best in you really, I know much rather have the pressure of being at the top of the table and winning than the pressure of scrapping around for points.
It’s a much more enjoyable situation and although there’s pressure, it allows you to be more free.
There’s pressure in football in every game, no matter where you’re playing, or who you’re playing for, there is pressure and as I say it’s a different kind of pressure, it’s one we need to learn to relish and and the team really needs to learn to make that pressure ‘positive pressure’.

 

Josh Staunton Pre-Tonbridge

When asked about the changing room environment, it’ll come of no great surprise to hear the skipper talk about the current situation as if it’s night and day compared to last year.

“Obviously there’s a wealth of experience in there this year and it makes life easier in terms of delegation around the dressing room and around the club things kind of look after themselves a bit more and obviously winning is a much easier environment than losing but it serves up his own challenges, keeping boys level headed – just because you win one game doesn’t mean you wouldn’t win the league – and it’s about that striving to be better every day – just because you won on Saturday doesn’t mean you’ve cracked it for this weekend – it’s it’s building building and trying to progress to where we want to be and it is it’s a much there’s no I think people should say it was a bet they were worse environment it’s a better environment when you win against a football and towards a writing at the table but it’s not coming complacent and it’s working every down there’s raining ground like you want to be a champion come the season and that’s the that’s the environment you have to try and build day to day in the dressing room.”

Focusing on this weekend’s game, Staunton says the homework has been done, but they’re ready for whatever is thrown at them.

“We know their shape in the last few games, but as I say the teams still searching at this time of season to find their perfect formula, I think we’re by no means the finished perfect form of ourselves so, we’ll go into it with an idea of what they’re going to produce, players might change they could throw different shape out and especially when you’re one of the bigger teams in the league you find a lot of teams adapt for you so you do kind of go into a game thinking they’ve done this the last two weeks but then they’re playing a bigger team they might change up completely so, its still a lesson still learning curve for us but we’ll go there focusing on us and believing if we do it right we’ll we’ll be able to get the job done.”

“We’ll go there focusing on us and believing if we do it right we’ll we’ll be able to get the job done.”

“I’ve grown up playing in and around London myself so I’m kind of adapt to that there’s always a physicality which comes with London teams there isn’t it from sick under 16’s onwards they used to be built like blokes at 15 – I don’t know what they put in the water around the Central London area.

The away day experience is learning to adapt to the environment, it’s eleven players playing against you every single week and it’s how you find the solution to beat them.

The away day experience is not letting the environment be an excuse for you, we could say ‘it’s hard to go to London’, but they’re going to come here and it’s the same group of players, so we can’t use that as an excuse.”

“At this moment in time the pitches are all to a relative standard, but we dont know where that’ll be in January, when the pitches are a bit more beaten up, but we’re not looking to make excuses, we’ll go to London with our chests out hoping to bring three points back.

With plenty of players performing well and the goals starting to flow, Staunton was pleased with how the team – including backroom staff. – had worked hard to make sure as many players were available and fighting for a spot and that depth could well become key as the season rolls on.

“Firstly, we’ve had a real onus this year – Joe the physio has done really well, we’ve brought in Weston who’s been excellent, to add to that department and oversee the football, it’s been about getting players on the pitch and making players available to be on the pitch. There were times last year we were down to the bare bones,

“There’s been a real hard work in that department, to try and make sure we are managing loads during training and managing minutes for some people, and that adds to the squad depth.

It’s a lot easier when you’re not relying on the same eleven players to play 44 games, you can take someone out for one and it stops them missing four games, that squad depth is key and it’s probably a strength we have over other teams because of the calibre of players we have in every position.”


You can listen to the full interview below

Glovers boss Mark Cooper is insistent that whilst a place in the play-offs at time of writing is adequate, there’s more to come from his side.

This weekend, Yeovil face Hampton & Richmond in what will mark the 10th league game of the season – a mythical point in time used by some to judge the current status of the team.

Cooper was chatting to the BBC ahead of the fixture and said he was expecting another tough test.

“It’ll be the same as lots of other teams, it’s a difficult game. Probably boring that I say that but they all are difficult games in our League and we have to be right, we have to be tactically right we have to keep working on our partnerships and the team, make sure we’re we’re a little bit more solid in our play – certainly you know as a group defensively – and we keep up the the goal scoring record.”

As it stands, Bath City top the table with 20 points from nine games, four others – including Torquay and Taunton – either sit bang on, or just above 2pts per game. But the manager thinks the division will start to mould itself from here on out.

“I think it’s such an open League at the minute and you see some freak results and I think it’s really Christmas when it starts to settle down and the night’s drawing and the yellow balls come out and it’s gets a bit miserable, I think you see a real honesty then about where you might end up finishing but we know it’s gonna be a tough game on Saturday we’ve know they’ve got some good players and but again, if we do our bit and play to our capabilities we can get a result.”

If the division is starting to settle, the team is too, but the manager wants to see more, in all areas and thinks we might yet be playing at just 60-70% of it’s capabilities. 

“I think we’ve settled but there’s still improvements (to be made) like you know echoing Josh’s (Staunton) comments that we’re still a little bit open I’m not just defensive as a unit, as a team and something that we’re trying to –  it’s relationships so the right centre back in the right full back or less centre half and he left full back or centre half and the midfield player in front of them, those relationships are key and if one moves in the team then the other last to move otherwise you leave a gap so we have to work on those relationships, keep working on it a lot of new players but there are sizes that we are settling.”

I still think we’ve got 30/40% left to develop

 

“I still think there’s loads, I still think we’ve got 30/40% left to develop and we’re not as fluent as I would like that any manager tell you never really out where you think you should be and the key is to keep picking up results and to stay in the hunt and that’s our aim”

Looking ahead to the weekend, Cooper said he’s aware of Hampton’s dangers and has asked his side to impose themselves on the fixture.

I said before, when I knew were getting relegated, I watched three, four games in the National League South last season towards the end just to make myself aware of the landscape and you find every team’s got two or three really tricky players so certainly when you go closer to London they have some really tricky wide forwards and you really difficult to deal with and that’s the bit that we have to deal with those variables and those transitional moments we have to be really good at.”

“Not really, like I say we’re still trying to build those relationships we’ve got you know we’re lucky that we’ve got some goal scorers in the squad and it’s just trying to get a balance right, you can’t play them all you’ve seen that we have to manage we’ve got two or three that we have to manage physically and you know finding that sort of solution and fixing the puzzle is the is the biggest thing but we’ve got Jamie Sendels-White still not right, the rest will all be available.”

With only JS-W missing from the squad, and the bench reduced to five (from seven in the FA Cup) the manager has some decisions to make regarding who he can call upon and how he manages his star players – hat trick or not!

“Rhys (Murphy) and Jake (Hyde) didn’t play a lot of football last year and the one thing when they came is I promise that I manage them physically and not put them at risk of getting injuries that will put them out for two three months at a time so that’s been the situation with them and why we’re taking them in and out and people say well they need to play every game to get into a rhythm that probably can’t so we have to be clever with that and Rhys scoring a hat trick of course there’ll be a clamour r to put them in the team but like I said it’s always about balance trying to fight if you put eight forwards in the team you’re gonna get of course so we have to make sure the balance is right”

Rhys Murphy.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

“I think we’re quite calm there’s a group I think they know where we need to be we know what we need to do they know that a win puts them position it’s just about, like I say, there’s 37 games left, we have to keep picking points up and if we can stay around the 2 points per game mark – there is a long way to go there is a long way to go there’s a lot of dark winter nights there’s a lot of mud, rain, snow so now is about picking points up and then getting ready for the charge towards the end.”

 


The Full Interview (Audio Only) can be found below.

 

 

Yeovil Town have announced that the home game with Braintree has been designated as a Pink Fixture in aid of Yeovil District Hospital and their Breast Cancer Unit campaign.

The Glovers host Braintree on Saturday 28th October (3pm kick off) and the Green and Whites will be wearing a bespoke Pink and Black kit for the day.

Speaking to YTFC.net Mark Robinson said:

“Everyone at Yeovil Town Football Club are striving to bring the community of Yeovil together and support our friends at the Yeovil Hospital Charity by dedicating this unique day to anyone who has been affected by cancer, directly or indirectly, anyone who has lost a friend or a loved one to this terrible disease. 

“We want to stand together as a community to show people they are not alone and give hope to anyone fighting their own battle. We want you to know you have the support of the town and the club behind you as we strive to help the hospital in achieving its aim of providing the best care it can to make a difference to everyone who needs it or may need it in the future.” 

“Pink is not just the colour of a ribbon, It’s the promise of hope, let’s make Huish Park pink for a day to give hope and support to so many people effected by cancer.”

The pink kits will be available to purchase on a first come first serve basis in the ‘near future’.

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Tickets for the game can be bought HERE

The Just Giving Page for the Yeovil Hospital Charity’s Breast Cancer Unit Appeal can be found HERE

Information about Yeovil Hospital Charity can be found HERE

We’ve attached an emotional clip from the club below with chats with Josh Staunton and Chris Todd.

 

Yeovil Town host Didcot Town in the FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round on Saturday 30th September and tickets are now available for the game.

Much like the game against AFC Stoneham, just the main (Bamfords) stand and Thatchers terrace are open for the game, and much like the game against Stoneham, tickets are set at £10 for Adults, £7 for concessions and just £2 for Under 16s.

Click HERE to go to the official YTFC ticket portal and buy your tickets.