Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 7)

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The Glovers finished off 2025 with a 1-1 draw against Eastleigh at Huish Park. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions from the sub-zero press box.

We’re not creating yet. We showed moments, we saw glimpses in the final third, especially in the second half but if it wasn’t for Eweke’s slip, I’m not sure we would have found the back of the net. Certainly after we scored we didn’t push on. In the second half we looked the more likely to find a second goal, but other than the McCormick and Daly two v one, I never felt confident that there was another one coming. Which is a problem when…

We’re conceding sloppy goals. The way in which we conceded the penalty was entirely avoidable. The goal on Boxing Day was really sloppy, the second goal Forest Green Rovers scored was poor, as was the defending for Maidstone’s equaliser in the FA Trophy. As a defensive unit we’ve shot ourselves in the foot so many times this season and when you’re struggling to score, you can’t afford any slip ups at the back.

Luke McCormick | Pic by Gary Brown

Luke McCormick made the difference again. Yeovil’s number 8 has another man of the match trophy to his name and yet another goal. He finishes 2025 with more goals for Yeovil than anyone else. He’s really made his mark in green and white and without his goals Yeovil would be in a very different position. But, we can’t rely only him.

Eastleigh have a striker in Aaron Blair. If you we’re looking at adding a different kind of striker to bolster the front line, we witnessed it last night. Blair chased down everything, bothered our back line and confidently put away his penalty. He worked hard for his team and reminded me of those strikers Gary Johnson always relied on his teams. If we were looking for another type of striker to bolster the front line, someone of Blair’s ilk would fit the bill.

Billy Rowley | Pic by Gary Brown

It’s clear reinforcements are needed. Billy Rowley said there would be changes ahead his post-match press conference. The loans of James Plant and Andrew Oluwabori are expiring and Rowley has inherited a squad that three managers have had an input on before him so and he needs to build it in his vision. January will be a big month and hopefully the manager has the means to balance out this squad and build some momentum in 2026.

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley said he expects there to be changes to the squad after the Glovers ended 2025 with a 1-1 draw at home to Eastleigh.

The boss said he had highlighted areas he wanted to “build upon” and pointed to the recruitment at the club being different to his own philosophy for the game, suggesting there will be incomings at Huish Park in the coming weeks.

Loan deals for both James Plant and Andrew Oluwabori are both due to expire at the end of the year and it seems likely that attacking changes will be Rowley’s priority with Yeovil having managed just 23 goals in their 25 league games this season.

Reflecting on his time at the club so far to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman, the manager said: “The thing I have not enjoyed so much is putting as many points on the board as I would have liked to, so that is going to be the aim in 2026. I know we need to continue to help this group, whether that is with ideas or fresh players, there is going to be some changes in the near future. I have really enjoyed working with these lads, they are good pros and there are a lot of good characters in there, so it has been a good start.

“How I see football and how I want to attack teams is obviously slightly different to how recruit has gone in the past which is natural, so I think we are going to highlight some key areas that we want to build upon and that is going to be the work in the next couple of weeks.”

Yeovil Town celebrate Luke McCormick’s opener.

A first half goal from midfielder Luke McCormick, the summer signing’s seventh of the season, put Yeovil ahead after 28 minutes on a chilly night in Somerset, before a defensive lapse gifted Eastleigh a penalty in first half stoppage time which striker Aaron Blair dispatched.

The Glovers’ goal was their only effort on target in the first half, but Rowley said he felt his side controlled the opening 45 minutes.

He said: “When I watch it back I think there will be large parts I enjoyed and there will be parts we definitely need to improve on. I thought we had some good control in the first 20 minutes of the game and found ourselves 1-0 up, but then we went a bit against the game plan because we were not great in our positions in that spell leading up to half-time. The lads know that because a lot of them were nodding (in the dressing room), we turned the ball over too cheaply and it was just poor decision-making. No disrespect to Eastleigh when I say this, but that spell was comfortable for us and what we needed to do was double down and score two or three goals. We obviously didn’t, we took our foot off the gas and then you are dealing with the elements, it’s two degrees, slippery, the crowd are frustrated which I completely understand. The second half I thought the substitutes changed the game and we should score in that second half.”

Talking about his side’s lack of attacking threat, he added: “That is going to be the message to these players for the next few months. We do not want to be predictable when we attack, that was the message and for large parts of the game I thought we executed it well, we found space and we found space when we needed to, got on to second balls, so there were some really pleasing parts of the game. Obviously the scoreline is disappointing.”

Yeovil open 2026 with a home game against Braintree Town on Saturday. The Essex side picked up a valuable 1-0 win at Woking on Tuesday night, but sit just one point above the National League Premier Division relegation zone.

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Yeovil Town goal scorer Luke McCormick has said that the Glovers are ‘heading in the right direction’ after securing a point against Eastleigh.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman he said;

“Obviously, it stops the little rut we were on, and yeah, we would have liked to get three points, I thought we probably deserved it, I thought for the first 20-25 minutes we were brilliant and that’s when you’ve got to put teams to the sword – and we didn’t.”

“We conceded a sloppy penalty and then I thought second half there was only one team that were going on to score, they had a few corners but I felt we dealt with them really well, on another day we score two or three, listen we’re still a work in progress, but to show the resilience to take a point today, move on to the new year and hopefully three points against Braintree”

Yeovil Town celebrate Luke McCormick’s opener.

The former Bristol Rovers man appreciates that results might not have been going the way anyone would have liked, but wanted to stress the bigger picture about a team working with their fourth manager of the season, he stressed that he feels like the club is heading in the right direction.

“[The goal] is your bread and butter as a box-to-box midfielder, getting the timing right and finding the corners, I thought Simsy did really well, it’s nice to have him back and hopefully we can create more chances, I think that’s what we’ve struggled [with] in recent weeks, it’s difficult when the staff come in, there’s a lot of things they want to implement and obviously games come thick and fast in this division, we’re moving in the right direction slowly by surely.”

“We’ve been trying to take on what the manager wants from you, because he’s the boss, his enthusiasm for the game and Dazza (Assistant Darren Simpson), all the boys are buying in but these things take time.”

McCormick’s seventh goal of the season earned him another sponsors’ Player of the Match, which he says his partner will be delighted about to have another trophy for the mantlepiece, but that focusing on earning the points is more important than the prizes.

“It’s all about the team, it’s all about the three points… we just want to keep moving in the right direction and hopefully, by 5:30pm against Braintree we can get three points. There was good elements in the Truro game, emotions are always high after games, so when you pick the bones out of things, there’s always bits that we’re working on behind closed doors, but obviously the result is the main thing and that’s what we’re tying to do… we’ll get there!”

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Yeovil Town played out a draw at home to Eastleigh in their final fixture of 2025 on a cold night at Huish Park.

The Glovers took advantage of a slip by visiting defender Temi Eweka to open the scoring when Luke McCormick fired in his seventh goal of the season just before the half-hour mark, but it was sloppy defending which gifted Eastleigh an equaliser.

Having failed to clear the danger, Morgan Williams, returning to the side after three matches out through suspension, tripped a visiting player inside the area and Aaron Blair stepped up to fire home the resulting penalty.

First half

Defender Morgan Williams returned to the starting XI having missed the past three matches through suspension and was one of four changes for the Glovers. Striker Aaron Jarvis replaced Tahvon Campbell with Josh Sims and Max Jolliffe in for Josh Tobin and Michee Efete, whilst Finn Cousin-Dawson made way for Williams.
The game came to a standstill within just five minutes when Eastleigh defender Richard Brindley went down in a seemingly innocuous incident involving James Plant in the corner in front of the away end. The experienced full-back was replaced by James Waite, who is on loan from Weston-super-Mare, following a long delay.

The first opportunity fell to the visitors after 15 minutes when Sam Pearson, who was weirdly booed by some in the home support, was released by Waite down the right side and found Aaron Blair at the near post, who put his effort in to the Thatcher’s Stand. The striker will be disappointed with the finish and Yeovil manager Billy Rowley will be as upset with the defending.

Jarvis collapsed in the centre circle four minutes later following an off-the-ball clash with visiting defender Aaron Pierre. The pair continued their contest with some verbals after the incident and got a booking each from their troubles.

Josh Lundstram put one over the bar shortly after and Yeovil are looking either a bit rattled by a feisty start to the game or a little unsure as to their roles.  But, the first attack of the game for Yeovil led to an opening goal. A slip from the visitors Temi Eweka allowed Jolliffe’s ball to release Josh Sims, who burst in to the box and fired a pass in to Luke McCORMICK who side footed it in to the net.
Yeovil Town celebrate Luke McCormick’s opener.

But with eight minutes of first half injury time put up due to the earlier stoppage time, Yeovil conceded a penalty. A lack of ownership from anyone in the Glovers’ defence saw Jed Ward sprawl underneath Blair to clear the ball as far as Saunders who went down under a clumsy tackle from Williams. Aaron BLAIR stepped up and fired it home.

You can’t say Eastleigh do not deserve it, they have not had too many opportunities but they have certainly been in the ascendency since they went behind. There were two or three opportunities to clear the ball before it got in to the danger area. That’s another sloppy goal we have conceded. Ugh.

Hopefully attacking the Thatcher’s Stand can bring some of the energy going forward which Billy Rowley spoke about ahead of the game.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Eastleigh 1

Second half

The visitors started the second half as they finished the first in the ascendency. On 51 minutes, a corner was not dealt with by the Yeovil defence and Lloyd Humphries was given time to do keepy uppies inside the area before hooking a shot which fortunately went in to the hands of Jed Ward. We were so passive inside the box again which is what cost us at Truro on Boxing Day.

Shortly after Luke McCormick flashed an effort just past the post after good play by Jarvis and then Plant played a great pass to set McCormick free to fire a ball in to the box but Eastleigh were there to defend. That’s more like it, moving the ball quickly and the Thatcher’s is responding. Not rocket science, is it?

On 56 minutes, Michee Efete replaced Max Jolliffe and the defender, who played as part of a back three in the defeat at Truro, took a position on the right.

There was a heart in mouth moment when a terrible pass from Josh Sims went straight to Blair who thundered forward and Yeovil were grateful to some cool defending from Efete, who did not jump in with a tackle when he could have. Sims owes Efete a spud if he’s got any left!

Just after the hour there was another great opportunity when Pierre won a header at the back post from a corner, before Yeovil had two on one as McCormick thundered away down the left side, he squared it to James Daly whose shot was turned aside by Nick Townsend in the visitors’ goal.

With 73 minutes played, Yeovil made two changes with Josh Tobin and Andrew Oluwabori replacing Josh Sims and James Daly, and six minutes later Tahvon Campbell replaced Jarvis whilst Finn Cousin-Dawson coming on for Kyle Ferguson.

There was a minute of normal time remaining when an opportunity came Yeovil’s way with when Wannell’s ball in from the left went in to a crowded area when Tobin could only prod it wide.

We huffed and puffed in the second half but the quality in the final ball in the final third was still missing against an Eastleigh side which defended well. All in all, a draw was a fair result, but we are finishing 2025 the same way we started it – struggling to score.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Eastleigh 1

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Tuesday 30th December, 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: Enterprise National League Premier League

Scorers: Luke McCormick 28 (1-0), Aaron Blair pen 45+2 (1-1)

Pitch: Looking okay, a few slippy spots.
Conditions: Cold. Very cold.

Attendance: 3,102 (238 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Aaron Jarvis 19, James Plant 45+6, Morgan Williams 56, Jake Wannell 62
Eastleigh: Aaron Pierre 19, Aaron Blair 62, Josh Lundstram 83, Kieron Evans 90+5

Referee: Harrison Blair

Yeovil Town (3-4-3)

Substitutes: Michee Efete (for Max Jollifee, 57), Josh Tobin (for Josh Sims, 73), Andrew Oluwabori (for James Daly, 73), Finn Cousin-Dawson (for Kyle Ferguson, 79), Tahvon Campbell (for Aaron Jarvis, 79), Harvey Greenslade (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Eastleigh: Nick Townsend, Richard Brindley (for James Waite, 10, for Angel Wariuh, 88)), Lloyds Humphries, Temi Eweka, Kieron Evans, Aaron Blair (for Paul McCallum, 88), Harvey Saunders (for Tommy Whitehead, 90+2), Aaron Pierre, Josh Lundstram, Sam Pearson (for Luis Fernandez, 88), Archie Harris.

Substitutes (not used): Josh McNamara, Niall Maher.

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has said he has gone back to basics on the training ground ahead of tonight’s home match with Eastleigh.

The Glovers picked up three wins in the boss’s first three matches in charge, but have lost their last two National League Premier Division matches including a 1-0 defeat at bottom club Truro City on Boxing Day.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman ahead of the Eastleigh match, Rowley said: “I feel the messages against Boston and Hartlepool were really simple and we worked on some really clear ideas and patterns of how to make that happen and the boys executed it brilliantly. I think potentially me and Darren (Simpson, assistant manager), I’m not going to say we overcomplicated things in the last two or three games, but I am really mindful the players have had four managers this season and have heard multiple different ideas.

“We maybe should have slowed down a little bit because footballers are eager to impress a new manager and if you ask them to do one thing they will do that, so we should have stayed on course to be a bit more front foot and attack instead of slowing games down at certain moments, but I feel that is still going to be a massive part of how we attack teams. It is knowing what they are giving us and how we expose it, but we want to put Eastleigh on the back foot and play over them.”

Defender Morgan Williams, who has missed the last three games through suspension following his red card in the win at Hartlepool United, returns to the starting line-up against Eastleigh.

Rowley revealed he suffered an injury in training in the past 48 hours, but said he was pleased to have Williams available for selection again.

He said: “I was really worried he was not going to feature, but credit to him and the medical team, they have worked wonders in the last 48 hours not only with the injury but dealing with him mentally. He got a slight knock in training which he was worried about and it looks like he is going to play, so that is great.”

Morgan Williams has been missing for the past three matches through suspension. Picture courtesy of Frank Reid.

Williams is one of four changes from the side which started at Truro with striker Aaron Jarvis and midfielders Max Jolliffe and Josh Sims all returning. Defender Finn Cousin-Dawson and Michee Efete, midfielder Josh Tobin and striker Tahvon Campbell, all drop to the substitutes’ bench.

The boss said: “We have freshened things up, but it is all based on merit and how we think we can score and create, it is not just going to be someone’s turn to play. I think Max and Simsy will come in to the team and that is based on what we think they can bring to the game.

“I want us to be really united in getting after teams and I am going to urge all of us connected to Yeovil to support the players, there is going to be ups and downs along this road. The boys are learning new ideas every day and it is not always going to be a smooth process all the time, but if we show good character and determination we can score some goals.“

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Defender Morgan Williams makes an immediate return to the Yeovil Town starting XI following suspension to face Eastleigh at Huish Park (7.45pm kick-off).

The centre half has missed the last three games following his sending off after the final whistle in the 2-0 win at Hartlepool United earlier this month.

He is one of four changes from the 1-0 defeat at Truro City on Boxing Day with striker Aaron Jarvis and midfielders Josh Sims and Max Jolliffe, who is on loan from Colchester United, named from the start. Striker Tahvon Campbell, defender Finn Cousin-Dawson and midfielders Josh Tobin and Michee Efete, who all started in Cornwall, all drop to the substitutes’ bench.

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Defender Dan Ellison has joined National League South promotion hopefuls Weston-super-Mare on loan until the end of February.

The 20-year-old has made just two substitute appearances since joining from Bristol Rovers at the end of October, totaling less than an hour of football in a green-and-white shirt.

He could make his debut for the Seagulls against Salisbury on Tuesday night.

Dan Ellison seen here in a Bristol Rovers shirt during a pre-season friendly because there’s not been many opportunities to photograph him in a Yeovil Town one. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

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Jed Ward has absolutely trounced the field in the vote for a Man of the Match against Truro.

It was a disappointing 1-0 defeat in Cornwall, Ward making a couple of key saves to prevent it being a wider margin.

Jake Wannell came second with a tie for third between Aaron Jarvis and Josh Tobin.

DATEOPPONENTRESPONSES1ST
(Votes / Percent)		2ND
(Votes / Percent)		3RD
(Votes / Percent)
August
09.08.2025HARTLEPOOL
(Home, 0-0 draw)		172JED WARD
(52 / 32.4%)
Morgan Williams
(44 / 25.6%)		Jake Wannell
(22 / 12.8%)
16.08.2025FOREST GREEN
(Away, 2-0 loss)		87JED WARD
(39 / 44.8%)
Byron Pendleton
(16 / 18.4%)		Morgan Williams
(11 / 12.6%)
20.08.2025BRACKLEY TOWN
(Home, 2-1 win)		153JED WARD
(89 / 58.2%)
Josh Sims
(23 / 15%)		Tahvon Campbell
(14 / 9.2%)
23.08.2025BRAINTREE TOWN
(Away, 1-0 loss)		71JED WARD
(29 / 40.8%)
Josh Sims
(15 / 21.1%)		James Plant
(7 / 9.9%)
25.08.2025GATESHEAD
(Home, 4-3 loss)		174HARVEY GREENSLADE
(65 / 37.4%)
Junior Morias
(59 / 33.9%)		Josh Sims
(23 / 13.2%)
30.08.2025HALIFAX
(Away, 3-2 loss)		93JOSH SIMS
(36 / 38.7%)		Harvey Greenslade
(29 / 31.2%)		Junior Morias
(13 / 14%)
AUGUST PLAYER OF THE MONTH 🥇 JED WARD
(12 PTS, 3 MOTM)
🥈 JOSH SIMS
(8 PTS, 1 MOTM)		🥉 HARVEY GREENSLADE
(5 PTS, 1 MOTM)
02.09.2025SOLIHULL M
(Away, 1-0 win)		98 JUNIOR MORIAS
(28 / 28.3%)		Luke McCormick
(24 / 24.2%)		Jed Ward
(15 / 15.2%)
06.09.2025YORK CITY
(Home, 3-1 loss)		108JOSH SIMS
(48 / 44.4%)		Luke McCormick
(33 / 30.6%)		Jed Ward
(7 / 6.5%)
13.09.2025WOKING
(Home, 1-0 win)		127 LUKE MCCORMICK
(47 / 37%)		Kyle Ferguson
(37 / 29.1%)		Harvey Greenslade
(11 / 8.7%)
20.09.2025TAMWORTH
(Away, 1-0 loss)		62JED WARD
(17 / 27.4%)		Kyle Ferguson
(10 / 16.1%)		Josh Sims
(7 / 11.3%)
24.09.2025ALDERSHOT
(Away, 4-1 win)		94ANDREW OLUWABORI
(36 / 38.3%)
Tahvon Campbell
(25 / 26.6%)		Luke McCormick
(10 / 10.6%)
27.09.2025ALTRINCHAM
(Home, 1-0 win)		154ANDREW OLUWABORI
(51 / 33.1%)
Jed Ward
(37 / 24%)		Morgan Williams
(18 / 11.7%)
30.09.2025SUTTON UTD
(Away 2-1 win)		119JOSH SIMS
(88 / 73.9%)		Andrew Oluwabori
(20 / 16.8%)		Jed Ward
(6 / 5%)
SEPTEMBER PLAYER OF THE MONTH 🥇 ANDREW OLUWABORI
(8 PTS / 2 MOTM)

🥈 JED WARD
(8 PTS / 1 MOTM)		🥉 JOSH SIMS
(7 PTS / 2 MOTM)
04.10.2025BOREHAM WOOD
(Home - 0-3 loss)		87JED WARD
(61 / 70.1%)		Harvey Greenslade
(10 / 11.5%)		Kyle Ferguson
(5 / 5.7%)
11.10.2025HEMEL HEMPSTEAD
(Away 2-1 loss)		44HARVEY GREENSLADE
(18 / 40.9%)		Jed Ward
(10 / 22%)		Byron Pendleton
(6 / 13.6%)
18.10.2025ROCHDALE
(Away 3-0 loss)		49JED WARD
(17 / 34.7%)		Harvey Greenslade
(10 / 20.4%)		Kyle Ferguson
(5 / 10.2%)
25.10.2025CARLISLE
(Home 1-1 draw)		140Max Jolliffe
(60 / 42.9%		Harvey Greenslade
(16 / 11.4%)		George Nurse
(13 / 9.3%)
OCTOBER PLAYER OF THE MONTH 🥇 HARVEY GREENSLADE
(9 PTS / 1 MOTM)

🥈 JED WARD
(8 PTS / 1 MOTM)		🥉 MAX JOLLIFFE
(3 PTS / 1 MOTM)
04.11.2025WEALDSTONE
(Home 0-2 loss)		67 LUKE MCCORMICK
(13 / 19.4%)		Jed Ward
(12 / 17.9%)		Aaron Jarvis
(9 / 13.4%)
08.11.2025SCUNTHORPE
(Away 1-0 loss)		46JAMES PLANT
(15 / 32.6%)		Jed Ward
(12 / 26.1%)		Harvey Greenslade
(10 / 21.7%)
15.11.2025SOUTHEND
(Home 0-1 loss)		89JED WARD
(74 / 83.1%)		Max Jolliffe
(5 / 5.6%)		Junior Morias
(3 / 3.4%)
22.11.2025MORECAMBE
(Away 0-0 draw)		49JED WARD
(22 / 44.9%)		Harvey Greenslade
(12 / 24.5%)		Finn Cousin-Dawson
4 (8.2%)
29.11.2025BOSTON UNITED
(Home 2-1 win)		108 LUKE MCCORMICK
(68 / 63%)		Brett McGavin
(10 / 9.3%)		James Plant
(6 / 5.6%)
NOVEMBER PLAYER OF THE MONTH 🥇 JED WARD
(10 PTS, 2 MOTM)
🥈 LUKE MCCORMICK
(6 PTS / 2 MOTM)		🥉 JAMES PLANT
(4 PTS / 1 MOTM)
06.12.2025HARTLEPOOL UTD
(Away, 2-0 win)		106 LUKE MCCORMICK
(78 / 73.6%)		Jed Ward
(11 / 10.4%)		Harvey Greenslade
(7 / 6.6%)
13.12.2025MAIDSTONE UTD
(Home, 1-1 [4-2 on pens])		125JED WARD
(83 / 66.4%)		Brett McGavin
(10 / 8%)		Harvey Greenslade
(9 / 7.2%)
20.12.2025FOREST GEEEN
(Home, 0-2 loss)		94 LUKE MCCORMICK
(22 / 23.4%)		Harvey Greenslade
(20 / 21.3%)		Jed Ward
(17 / 18.1%)
26.12.2025TRURO CITY
(Away 0-1 loss)		67JED WARD
(55 / 82.1%)		Jake Wannell
(3 / 4.5%)		Josh Tobin / Aaron Jarvis
(2 / 3%)
30.12.2025EASTLEIGH
(Home 1-1 draw)		113 LUKE MCCORMICK
(46 / 40.7%)		Jed Ward
(29 / 25.7%)		Jake Wannell
(10 / 8.8%)
DECEMBER PLAYER OF THE MONTH 🥇 JED WARD
(10 PTS, 2 MOTM)
🥈 LUKE MCCORMICK
(9 PTS / 3 MOTM)		🥉 HARVEY GREENSLADE
(4 PTS / 0 MOTM)
03.01.2026BRAINTREE
(Home 3-1 win)		164 LUKE MCCORMICK
(44 / 26.8%)		Aaron Jarvis
(27 / 16.5%)		James Daly/Brett McGavin
(20 / 12.2%)
10.01.2026ALVECHURCH
(Home 0-0 [3-1 on pens])		172DAKARAI MAFICO
(86 / 50%)
Jed Ward
(55 / 32%)		Josh Sims
(9 / 5.2%)