Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper heaped praise on goal-scoring hero Sonny Cox as his double strike capped what the boss described as “the most dominant performance of the season for his side.”
The on-loan Exeter City striker netted twice in the second half to seal a new club record 13th consecutive victory with a 2-0 win over Dover Athletic at Huish Park today.
The result moves Yeovil six points clear at the top of the National League South table with at least one game in hand over all but one of the sides in the division’s play-off positions.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, the manager said: “We needed one of the forward players to step forward today. Youngy (Jordan Young) was great in possession, but he didn’t have his shooting boots on today and I think he put more in to the industrial park than he did anywhere near the goal. Sonny stood up today and they were two great finishes and it was a strong performance from him.”
The Glovers did not have it all their own way against a Dover side which sits second-from-bottom of the table, and endured a frustrating first half when they were unable to do much to trouble visiting keeper Billy Terrell.
The opening 45 minutes was punctuated by an 11-minute stoppage following a serious-looking injury to Dover defender Peter Ojemene who was stretchered off after falling awkward during a challenge.
But Cooper believes that despite going in goalless at the break, his side were always in control.
He said: “I thought it was a game we totally dominated from start to finish. The first half we just were not as incisive with our forward players and our end product was slightly off but it was all one-way traffic. We had 16 chances in the first half and probably more than that in the second half but it was a great, dominant performance from us.
“We have kept the opposition away from our goal with control of the ball and it was probably the most dominant performance we have had this season.
“I said to the players before the game that teams are not going to come here and lay down for us. We have to be patient and that was the big thing for us today. We had to concentrate, put the right weight on every pass and I never really felt we would not win the game and I thought some of our football was outstanding.”
With Cox and fellow frontman Jake Hyde, who was handed a start after scoring coming off the bench in recent weeks, unable to find a breakthrough, Cooper also had praise for his defence – goalkeeper Joe Day, full-backs Alex Whittle and Michael Smith, and central defenders Jake Wannell and Morgan Williams.
He added: “That is how it had to be. The base of our performance came from our two centre halves whose distribution was amazing and set off play in to midfield, our two full-backs were excellent with the ball, our two midfield players passed a record amount of passes for us today and we got from the edge of our box to the edge of theirs really smoothly. It was the last little bit in the first half was not what it would usually be.”
The win means that Yeovil are now just two points away from matching last season’s 40-point total for the National League Premier season – and it’s not even the middle of November.
On Tuesday night, Farnborough Town – who missed a stoppage time penalty to settle for a home draw with W*ymouth today – come to Huish Park looking to become the first side to overcome the Glovers on home soil.
Cooper is in no doubt as to what his side need to do. He added: “Every time we win a game when I go upstairs (to the boardroom) in a minute people will be saying ‘you’ve got to win the next one’, so it is great. Football is about dreams and we have to keep doing that and dream that we can keep winning.
“I am sure Farnborough will be looking and thinking ‘God, we have got to go to Yeovil on Tuesday’. They have to come here and play in front of a brilliant fanbase and, if we play well, we are a really tough team to play against.”
As is the way this season, the club’s official YouTube channel did a separate interview with manager Mark Cooper – you can watch it here.