Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side will “dust themselves down” after suffering their first home defeat of the National League South season with a 1-0 loss against Welling United on Saturday.
A second half strike from Anthony Grant saw the visitors completed a double over the table-topping Glovers who never got in to gear following the loss of influential full-back Michael Smith after just 16 minutes at Huish Park. Cooper confirmed the Northern Irishman will be “a doubt” for Tuesday night’s home game with Chippenham Town.
Going forwards, they never looked like adding to the 67 goals they have scored in their 35 league games this season and it was only when on-loan striker Olly Thomas came on after 75 minutes that there was any spark going forwards.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Tom Seymour after the game, Cooper said: “The goals have dried up a bit at the minute and we have got to solve that problem. I thought we had a few good final actions in the first 15 minutes and then we had a right wobble when Michael Smith comes off. We had to put a left-footed player on at right-back and it made us a bit stodgy and we could not really get going until Olly Thomas came on. We have to dust ourselves down, lick our wounds and move on to (the home game with Chippenham Town on) Tuesday.”
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown
It was an error from midfielder Charlie Cooper which gifted Grant the chance to fire a well-struck shot past Joe Day for the winner. The manager added: “We got caught in between trying to play going long and sticking to what we do. It is a long pass in to Charlie, Charlie makes an error and I thought the guy finishes it really well. They didn’t have lots and lots of chances, it was just a stale game. It was for us as the home team to take the initiative and we didn’t do that. But we have to move on, dust ourselves down and move on.
“It is disappointing to lose any game, but the boys have been magnificent. We have just got to hold our nerve and bounce back. I think the next game coming Tuesday will do us good. We can get back out there on Monday and train and prepare for Tuesday.”
Yeovil have drawn a blank in front of goal in three of their last four games and Cooper admitted the absence of strikers Rhys Murphy and Jake Hyde was having an impact.
He said: “We lost Murphy, Hyde, Fisher has just come back, but we have Olly Thomas back with us now. It is just one of those spells, but the boys are doing great and training hard. We just have to try and create more chances for them. We have not played as much football as I would have liked, we have gone away from that and gone a bit longer and it might be something we have to look at.”
“Solve the problem”. We don’t have a centre forward, we create nothing cos the system we play is tippy tappy football in our own half, but we look great playing along our back line!!!! Now that Chelmsford won tonight and Taunton, if they don’t complete the season could cost us 6 points, so it’s not a done job. Cooper, yes both of them, have to go before the start of next season. Sorry for being negative but I really hope that our illustrious owner can see the “problem”. Btw the new car park system is crap, one ticket machine for the main car park. At least we should make the playoffs😂
No reliable striker centre forward, Forward Players with history of injuries was always going to be an issue.If Cooper knows that, he is a fool to have not seen the problem coming and now 3 games with no goals.