Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side’s wastefulness in front of goal is the reason why they have finished the season four points off the National League Premier Division relegation places.
The Glovers missed three glorious opportunities to go ahead at Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday before going down to a 2-1 defeat which sees them finish the campaign in 18th place.
It means they finished the season with 51 league goals in their 46 matches, the joint third-lowest in the division with Braintree Town, and only relegated Ebbsfleet United and AFC Fylde have scored fewer.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah after the game, the manager said: “If I am being conservative we should have been 3-0 up (before they scored). We had some incredible chances in the first half, but it should be comfortably game over in the first 20 minutes, but then we go from missing all those chances, they have one attack and it is in the back of our net. It has been a bit of a pattern this season. We have not scored enough goals this season, whatever combination of attacking players we have used. We have created numerous chances today.
“It is clear that we need to strengthen in the forward positions. We are not bad from tee to green, but it is that last bit which is where we need to spend any money we have got. We need to spend it on really strengthening that area with proven players at this level who can score and assist. I think that is where we have fallen short this season.
“We have got some good players. Aaron Jarvis needs pre-season now, but he is a top number nine for this level. But the ones that play to the side of him, those four or five players need to be players proven to score goals and create assists at this level – but they cost a lot of money.”
Asked if he was satisfied with the club’s final league position on their first season back after winning the National League South, the manager said: “Of course not, I would be a fool to say ‘yes’.”
After forward Lewys Twamley and on loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin spurned glorious opportunities, Aldershot striker Jack Barham broke away and fired the opening goal past Aidan Stone in the visitors’ goal. Tyler Frost added a second when poor defending saw Yeovil allow Aldershot to walk through them just four minutes after the restart, before Dom Bernard pulled one back on the hour.
Cooper added: “It is frustrating because it is a similar pattern. We played quite well in the first half, but when you miss that many chances you know what is coming. The trick is you need to stay really solid behind the ball and not concede two really sloppy goals which is what we did. Defenders will say ‘if we scored all our chances we missed, we would not need to defend as much’ and attackers will say ‘I can’t score every one, if you keep it tight we will nick one.’
“We had a really good spell and then we have lost the last three. We should have been 2-0 up at Eastleigh before they scored, we went 1-0 up and should have been 2-0 up against Sutton and then lost and we should have been 4-0 up today (before they scored). So it is clear to see what the issue is and we have to sort that out in the summer, if and when things are sorted out (with the ownership of the club).”
Once again, Yeovil’s away support turned up in huge numbers for a fixture which was meaningless with safety in the division already secured. Cooper hailed the efforts of the 575 travelling supporters in Hampshire, adding: “It was a brilliant following again today, an amazing following. We want to give them loads to cheer about next year and I am sure this time next year we will be having an exciting end to the season.“
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The worry is, it’s taken him all season to recognise the problem that was staring him in the face before the season kicked off!
Cooper played Nouble in 36 games this season, for 3 goals. McGuckin scored 2 in 20. Our lack of goals is no surprise. We’ve got plenty of defenders, though – Whittle, Wannell, Williams, Smith, Cousin-Dawson, Terry, Bernard, Cooper, Morgan, Lavinier, Ferguson, etc.