Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side were denied “a blatant penalty” as his side were held to a goalless draw at Sutton United tonight.
The Glovers’ boss insisted there was a handball from a defender when Ciaran McGuckin challenged for Frank Nouble’s cross to the back post with 52 minutes gone.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall after the game, he said: “It is another blatant penalty. I have just seen it back, the lad has his arm in the air, our players heads the ball on to his arm. I got sent off for lifting my arms above my waist (at Oldham) on Saturday, but their centre-half had his hand above his head, the ball hits his hand, it is a clear penalty. It doesn’t matter if he’s not looking at the ball, his hand should not be up there. We have not had a penalty this season, but let’s hope when these decisions do turn for us it will be like London buses and they all come at once.”
The boss praised his side’s first half performance which saw them dominate a Sutton United relegated out of League Two last season which went in to this match on the back of consecutive victories.
But, having failed to convert opportunities they carved out before the break, the home side came back in to the game and Yeovil were indebted to saves from on-loan Southampton keeper, Ollie Wright.
Cooper said: “I thought first half we were outstanding. We had two or three gilt-edged chances that we had to score, Youngy hits the goalkeeper in the face and Jarv has a chance which he should score. But when you don’t take those chance you know it is going to be more difficult in the second half because we do not have something to hold on to. I was really pleased with the performance, the boys were magnificent, we battled and ran and dominated the first half but then we had to dig in for the second half.
“If you do not score when you are on top, you are waiting on one mistake, we had to be wary but we defended brilliantly as a unit. They changed their shape at half-time because I thought we were on top in the first half, but we gave the ball away cheaply and that gave them energy. That is what we said at half-time ‘don’t give them any energy because we are on top. That is football.”
On Wright’s performance, the manager added: “He has been outstanding. He has had some stick from our fans which I do not understand. He’s a young man trying to make his way in the game, but he is going to be a top goalkeeper. He commands his goal and kicks the ball really well and it is another clean sheet for him.”
The Glovers made four changes from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic with McGuckin and Jordan Young brought in to the starting XI alongside Brett McGavin and Dom Bernard, the latter replacing the injured Michael Smith who has picked up a hamstring injury.
The boss added: “I thought the boys who came in were great, I thought (Brett) McGavin was really good. We controlled the game in the first half and our midfield was dominant, our centre-halves were aggressive and our full-backs were good. We looked lively at the front of the pitch, if we had scored I think we would have gone on to win the game.”
The result means the Glovers have not scored in 362 minutes of football since Bernard’s late winner at AFC Fylde on 7th September and it was an off-night for striker Aaron Jarvis, who toiled with little effect.
Asked whether more could be done to support the summer signing from Torquay United, Cooper added: “We played two wingers and two up front, I am not sure what more support we can get to him. There were seven or eight crosses across the face of goal in the first half, he had a one-v-one which he will be frustrated he did not score. But if we keep creating those chances and putting the ball in there, as long as we stay tight at the back, we will start scoring goals and winning well.”
The manager revealed that he expected Bristol City loan defender Raphael Araoye is expected to return to training on Thursday having been missing with a dead leg he sustained in the 3-1 win at Boston United at the end of August.
Smith is a doubt for Saturday’s home match with Aldershot Town, but the Glovers are hopeful he will be back for the following match at home to Dagenham & Redbridge. He was unsure how long he winger Josh Sims, who is suffering tendonitis in his knee, will be missing and forward Harvey Greenslade is still “a few weeks away” from returning to training after suffering a shoulder injury at Boston.