Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper was pleased with his side’s “powerful” performance as they picked up a 2-0 win over League Two opponents Newport County in the only pre-season friendly on home soil on Tuesday night.
Goals from defender Morgan Williams and striker Jake Hyde were enough to secure the victory with the Glovers even able to withstand a missed penalty by Hyde moments before he grabbed his side’s second goal.
A crowd of more than 2,000 was at Huish Park to watch the victory which means Yeovil have now picked up five wins out of their six friendlies to date
Speaking to the club’s Twitter account about the home win, Cooper said: “The longer the pre-season goes, the stronger we become and the better we become. We are growing and I thought we looked powerful tonight.
“We had a really good start for the first 25 minutes before Newport came in to the game towards the back end of the first half, but what pleased me most was that we stood up and defended those moments really well. Then second half I thought we totally dominated.
“I thought we played with a real intent and that was maybe because we knew we had to be really on it because we were playing against a team which is two leagues above us with some good players, that focused the mind and we knew we had to face it head on and we had a mentality to do whatever the game needed.”
The boss was pleased with how his side defended against higher division opposition and was quick to praise the physicality of his back line made up of Jamie Sendles-White, Jake Wannell and Williams with wing-backs Zac Bell and Alex Whittle alongside them. Club captain Josh Staunton remained on the bench for the match.
Asked about the clean sheet, Cooper said: “Jamie Sendles-White is now getting his fitness and you saw what a solid performer he is tonight.
“Most of the defending tonight was set pieces, most of their opportunities were corners but we defended them really well on the whole. We have a big team and a big squad which was always a thing (we wanted) because in (National League South) we are going to have to defend balls in to the box.
“And at the other end of the pitch, as you can see, we have got another threat with long throws on both side and we have got a threat.”
Yeovil now concluded their pre-season campaign with a trip to Southern League Premier Division South side Plymouth Parkway on Saturday, ahead of a the National League South opener at Hemel Hempstead Town on August 5th.