McGavin: We want to apologise to the fans
2025-01-25
Brett McGavin apologised to the travelling Yeovil Town supporters who made the almost 500-mile round journey to Rochdale to watch the team capitulate to a 4-0 defeat on Saturday.
The midfielder was the player who faced the post-match media interviews at Spotland after being part of the team which committed four defensive blunders to extend the team’s run without a win to seven matches.
Asked how he responded to the defeat by BBC Somerset reporter Josh Perkins, McGavin said: “First of all I would like to apologise to the fans, they should not have to travel as far as they did and witness a performance like that. They are a credit to this club and we let them down today.
“We will do what we need to do, analyse it and we will move on to our next game. We are a team, so we take the loss together, if you make an individual mistake you put your hand up and say that you made one, apologise to your team-mates and the people who have done today have done that. But we are a team so we take a loss as a group.”
Cooper: We were miles off it
2025-01-25
Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side had “no excuses” for the second half horror show which saw them crumble to a 4-0 defeat at Rochdale today.
Having gone in at the break level, the Glovers committed three defensive errors which handed the home side a comfortable win and extended the run without a win to seven matches.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the match, Cooper said: “That is the first one for a long while where I can say we were nowhere near it. We had a spell for ten minutes in the first half where Sean McGurk had a great chance to put Kyrell (Wilson) in for one-v-one and then Ciaran McGuckin hits one which looks like it’s going in the top corner, and you think ‘okay’ and we go in nil-nil at half-time.
“Every goal was horrendous defending. I just said to the players in the dressing room that the way I would describe us today was ‘powder puff’ and you cannot be powder puff, sometimes you can not play well and get a result. No excuses from us, we were miles off it. There was not enough leadership out there. We let the fans down massively, there was a great following and we let them down massively.”
He added: “We told them ‘start well and stay on the front foot’ at half-time and then it is just people not doing their jobs at a set piece, Wanns get blocked in, Ollie comes and tries to punch it and misses it and it comes off Alex Whittle’s bum and goes in. The goals were all horrendous, they were all terrible.”
Yeovil lost midfielder Jacob Maddox, one of just three central midfield players in the squad following the departure of captain Matt Worthington on Friday, to injury in the first half and handed a debut to Swansea City loanee Kyrell Wilson as they made three changes from the side which started the goalless draw at home to Gateshead.
They are now without a match next weekend due to their intended opponents Boston United’s involvement in the FA Trophy and do not play again until the trip to Dagenham & Redbridge on February 8th. Cooper said that the break in fixtures would give the squad a chance to “reset” and said there would be further incomings and outgoings from the club before the next match.
He said: “Now we have a bit of a break a chance to reset and there will be one or two players coming in this week and one or two going out, so hopefully that gives us a bit of added impetus.
“We need to make sure we give our new players the chance to settle and we need to keep improving our squad. We have lost our captain (Matt Worthington), we were confident Jacob (Maddox) could step up and he has got a niggle now which will hopefully be cleared up (by the time we play next) but we still need more at the top of the pitch.”
Match Report: Rochdale 4 Yeovil Town 0
2025-01-25
A second half horror show saw Yeovil Town crumble to a their joint heaviest defeat of the season as they capitulated at the hands of Rochdale at Spotland.
Having weathered an early storm of pressure from the home side, the Glovers could even have taken the lead when Ciaran McGuckin forced a fine out of Sam Waller and probably deserved to go in level at the break.
But after an error from goalkeeper Ollie Wright gifted Rochdale the lead four minutes after the break, it went from bad to worse for the visitors. Wright conceded a penalty for a foul on Kairo Mitchell eight minutes later which the striker converted before another defensive blunder gifted Leon Ayinde the third on 64 minutes.
Dale lifted their foot off the gas after that but found just enough for Jake Burger to add a fourth in second half injury time to send the travelling supporters back on the 240-mile trip back to Somerset thoroughly dejected.
Here’s how Dave saw it from the away end at Spotland…..
First half
The game started with both teams trying to avoid the huge square of new turf laid down in the middle of the pitch and a mud-sand hybrid in both corners of the end which Yeovil were attacking in the first half which offered the potential of being a serious risk of injury.
A fifth minute scramble inside the box which was hacked away by Ciaran McGuckin after a melee of bodies and a 12th-minute free-kick – featuring a yellow card for Finn Cousin-Dawson – which was has eventually headed over by Kairo Mitchell for Rochdale was as near to action as the opening 15 minutes offered.
On 16 minutes, Devante Rodney put a ball over the bar after good play down the left by Ayinde before the striker stroked another one harmlessly in to the arms of Ollie Wright. But the opening exchanges were almost entirely one way traffic against a Rochdale side happy to keep probing at the Yeovil back line.
On 26 minutes, one of our only midfield players, Jacob Maddox, who had gone down with an injury twice was replaced by Josh Sims.
It took until the last 15 minutes for Yeovil to begin to come back in to the game and on 34 minutes McGurk and Wilson combined well for the latter to lift a shot over the bar when he would have been better feeding the Swansea City youngster for a chance on goal.
But undoubtedly Yeovil’s best chance of the first half fell to McGuckin after 39 minutes. Good pressure by McGurk and Wilson saw the ball break to the Rotherham United loanee whose effort looked to be going in the top corner only for Dale keeper Sam Waller to turn it over for a corner.
At the other end Ollie Wright was in action after 43 minutes after Charlie Cooper’s foul – leading to a booking for the midfielder and a two-match ban – gave Rodney an opportunity to get his effort on target only to be denied by the on loan Southampton keeper.
Half time: Rochdale 0 Yeovil Town 0
Second half
The first chance of the second half led to the first goal of the game and from an error from Ollie Wright. He came to punch a corner from East and it comes off the back of Alex Whittle and cannons in to the net. I think there’s a flick from Devante RODNEY before Wright punches it, but that looks like an own goal to me. A disastrous way to start the second half.
A complete communication break down between Wright and Cousin-Dawson saw Mitchell sneak in and go down under pressure from the keeper. Penalty. Kairo MITCHELL put the ball in the far corner with 57 minutes played. It’s gone from bad to even worse.
Rochdale are running riot and our team looks like they have never met each other – an excuse which only new signing Kyrell Wilson can offer as any kind of defence. Charlie Cooper lucky not to pick up a second yellow card for a foul on the edge of his box.
On 61 minutes, Yeovil made three substitutions with Morgan Williams, Lewys Twamley and Frank Nouble coming on in place of Dom Bernard, Alex Whittle and Sean McGurk.
Three minutes after the changes and it is 3-0. The third goal was another defensive calamity, a ball from Tobi Adebayo-Rowling was completely missed inside the box by Cousin-Dawson and lands to Leon AYINDE who could not miss from inside the six yard box.
It could have been worse on 68 minutes when a corner was nodded on by Liam Hogan who came back off the bar and away. The amount of times that Rochdale cut us open down the right side with complete ease, even though that side of the the pitch is basically a swamp.
McGuckin has an effort well-saved by Waller before Cooper is replaced by Kofi Shaw with 68 minutes played, presumably as much to protect him from a second yellow card as much as anything else. Mercifully, Rochdale make a raft of changes with just over ten minutes remaining and seem to have taken their foot off the gas.
That said, Wright makes a good save from substitute evergreen striker Ian Henderson with eight minutes remaining and then with four minutes of second half stoppage time played, it’s four. A shot from substitute Jili Buyabu is saved by Wright, falls to Henderson who is denied by a last ditch tackle and Jake BURGER is on hand to smash it home from close range.
The final whistle is met by the sound of boos from the away end and quite rightly. That was a performance completely lacking in spirit from Yeovil and there can be no defence for it.
Full time: Rochdale 4 Yeovil Town 0
Match Details
Venue: Spotland
Date: Saturday 25th January- 3pm kick-off
Competition: National League Premier Division
Scorers: Devante Rodney 49 (0-1), Kairo Mitchell 57 (0-2), Leon Ayinde 64 (0-3), Jake Burger 90+4 (0-4)
Pitch: Looked like the type of carpet your Dad puts down in his garage, but inside of oil stains there were huge muddy patches
Conditions: Brilliant sunshine
Attendance: 2,463
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Finn Cousin-Dawson 10, Charlie Cooper 41, Dom Bernard 41
Rochdale: Sam Beckwith 90
Referee: Scott Oldham
Yeovil Town (3-4-2-1)
Substitutes: Josh Sims (for Jacob Maddox, 26), Lewys Twamley (for Dom Bernard, 61), Morgan Williams (for Sean McGurk, 61), Frank Nouble (for Alex Whittle, 65), Kofi Shaw (for Charlie Cooper, 69), Harvey Greenslade (not used), Matt Gould (not used).
Rochdale: Sam Waller, Jid Okeke (for Jili Buyabu, 77), Tobi Adebayo-Rowling, Liam Hogan, Kyron Gordon, Sam Beckwith, Leon Ayinde (for Jake Burger, 77), Ryan East (for Charlie Weston, 87), Harvey Gilmour, Kairo Mitchell (for Connor McBride, 77), Devante Rodney (for Devante Rodney, 73).
Substitutes (not used): Kyle Ferguson, Tarryn Allarakhia.
Man of the Match Voting: Rochdale (A)
2025-01-25
Who was your Yeovil Town man of the match for the match at Rochdale?
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.Team News: Rochdale (away)
2025-01-25
New signing Kyrell Wilson has been handed a debut as Yeovil Town take on Rochdale in the National League Premier Division today (3pm kick-off).
The Swansea City forward plays alongside Ciaran McGuckin and Sean McGurk in a front line in place of Josh Sims as on of the two changes from the goalless draw with Gateshead in the last match.
Jacob Maddox replaces the departed Matt Worthington in midfielder with Jake Wannell taking the captain’s armband.
A foot in the opposition camp – Rochdale (A)
2025-01-25
Yeovil make the trip north to Rochdale today for National League action. Ben had a chat with Chris Fitzgerald about Rochdale’s season so far and how the hosts are doing at the moment.
Match Preview: Rochdale AFC vs Yeovil Town
2025-01-25
It’s trip to Greater Manchester for Yeovil this weekend, as they face Rochdale AFC in the league.
Form Guide…
The Dale have been in ok form in the cup and league over their last five fixtures, with three wins and two loss in that period.
The Spotland side three wins have come against lesser teams respectively in Stockton, Fylde and Tamworth. It’s against the historically “better” teams that Rochdale have for form against in recent time with losses at Forest Green and Dagenham & Redbridge, which is where the Glovers could capitalise.
No wins in the last six games has seen the Glovers slowly fall down the league table. Over the last five of those games Mark Cooper’s men have drawn four and lost one which isn’t ideal but shows his side are hard to beat at least.
The worry however comes from draws against bottom side, Ebbsfleet and a last 10 minute capitulation at Forest Green on New Year’s Day.Last time out the Glovers drew to high flying Gateshead 0-0. So, if Yeovil want to turn their form around Rochdale will be a tough place to do it.
Pic Gary Brown
Key Players…
Yeovil – Jake Wannell
The imposing centre-back had a tough start to the season, but since the new year it’s seems as though Wannell has stepped up a gear.
Pic Gary Brown
Having played over 2,000 minutes for the Glovers, he has been a mainstay of Coopers side (when not suspended). That consistency gives confidence to a young goalkeeper in Ollie Wright and breeds strong partnerships with Morgan Williams and Finn Cousin-Dawson and the midfielders in front. He is at the core as to why Yeovil have been hard to beat recently.
Rochdale – Kairo Mitchell
The centre forward has been unstoppable for the Dales this season, bagging 11 goals in 21 games.
As mentioned in other previous key player sections, having a goal scorer is key to be a successful team, which is why the Greater Manchester side currently lie in 8th. Mitchell also has two assists to his name.
Another notable name in the side is former Wolves centre-back Ethan Ebanks-Landell. Now captain of Rochdale, quality like that in the National league is hard to come by.
Thats what he said…
Forward Connor McBride spoke to club media ahead of the game. He said: “They’re a good side…we’re expecting a difficult game on Saturday but we know if we bring our game we will win.”
Yeovil boss Mark Cooper spoke to the BBC ahead of the match. He said: “They are really well coached and you can’t go there and play your own game, you have to pay respect to how they play.”
We’ve met before…
In the 11 times the two teams have met, Yeovil have won four, Rochdale have taken the spoils five time and there has been two draws.
The last time they met, the game finished 0-1 to the Dale with tricky winger, Connor McBride scoring.
Don’t I know you…
Unfortunately we don’t. There are no ex Yeovil players in the Rochdale squad.
Who’s been naughty then…
There are no red cards to not this week for Yeovil.
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Wilson wings in from Swansea
2025-01-24
Yeovil Town have announced the signing of Swansea City youngster Kyrell Wilson.
The 20-year-old has been a mainstay of the youth set-up at the Liberty Stadium since joining from Chelsea on scholarship terms in 2021 . He signed a new two-and-a-half year contract with the Championship side earlier this month.
Having scored 18 goals for the South Wales side’s Under-21s last season, but his start to this campaign has been hampered by injury. He scored twice on his return to fitness for the young Swans in a 4-1 win over Colchester United earlier this month.
Predominantly a right winger he’s capable of playing anywhere across the attacking line and heads into the Glovers’ squad ahead of the away game at Rochdale on Saturday.
Welcome to Huish Park, Kyrell!
Worthington departs for Oldham
2025-01-24
Yeovil Town club captain Matt Worthington has joined National League Premier rivals Oldham Athletic.
The departure comes days after the midfielder made his 250th appearance in green-and-white in last Friday’s goalless draw at home to Gateshead.
The 27-year-old has moved on a free transfer and signed for the Latics, who presently sit fifth in the National League, until the end of next season.
In a statement from Yeovil chairman Martin Hellier, he said that it was “with a heavy heart” that the club had allowed the skipper to depart seven years after he joined the club permanently in September 2019.
The owner said: “Whilst I, as well as the club’s supporters, are saddened to see Matt go, I am also fully supportive and excited for him receiving what is a great offer and an exciting move for him and his career, and I have no doubts that fans will share in that support for Matt’s ambitions.
“Matt has shown great loyalty and service to Yeovil Town, and I am always reminded of his commitment in staying with Yeovil Town after it was relegated to the National League South, despite offers he had at the time from clubs in higher leagues. Jack and I have enjoyed an endearing friendship with Matt off the pitch too, and when Matt approached us requesting this move, we are first and foremost commitment to the happiness and welfare of an employee as well as a good friend.
“Myself, Mark and Jack, as well as all the staff and supporters of Yeovil Town salute you Matt for your dedication and loyalty, and sincerely wish you the very best for the future.”
In their announcement, Oldham confirmed Worthington had agreed a deal until the end of next season and quoted Worthy saying he only found out about the move on Thursday.
He said: “When I was presented with the chance to join, it was something I could not turn down. The move came about very quickly to be honest, I found out yesterday it could get done so I headed up here this morning (Friday) to get it done.
“I am a good age and I have played a lot of games at the level for Yeovil, when Oldham come in and showed interest it was something I had to get done.”
A freak injury sustained in the goalless draw at Tamworth in late October kept Worthington out of the team for a month and has limited him to 16 starts and six substitute appearances in all competitions this season.
However, the former AFC Bournemouth youngster has showed his versatility filling the role of wing-back in the absence of first-choice Michael Smith and Alex Whittle through injury at points this season.
Worthington’s first appearance came off the bench in a 2-2 home draw against Morecambe in September 2017 when he joined Darren Way’s Yeovil on loan from AFC Bournemouth in the first half of the 2017/18 season in League Two. He made 19 appearances for the club that season, before starting the following campaign at Forest Green Rovers, then managed by current Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper.
At the end of his time in Gloucestershire, he signed permanently with Yeovil in January 2019 and was part of the side which took the club out of the Football League at the end of the 2019-20 season. Following relegation, he was a key part of teams under first Darren Sarll, the temporary charge of Charlie Lee and briefly Chris Hargreaves, before suffering relegation in to the National League South under Cooper’s charge in 2022-23.
He was one of the first to sign a new two-year contract in May 2023 despite interest from other National League Premier clubs for his services. He was rewarded by being the man with the armband who lifted the National League South title 12 months later, confirming his place in the club’s history.
This season back in the top flight of the non-League game has seen him used more sparingly due to the form of Brett McGavin and Charlie Cooper in the centre of midfield and injury, but he did make his 250th appearance for the club in the goalless draw at home to Gateshead last weekend.
