Mark Cooper described his Yeovil Town team as “scintillating” as they swept aside Somerset rivals Taunton Town with a 4-1 win in front of another National League South record crowd at Huish Park today.
Goals from Frank Nouble, Michael Smith, Rhys Murphy and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton sealed the win which took the Glovers ten points clear at the top of the table in front of 6,301 supporters.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Tom Seymour after the match, Cooper said: “The players were magnificent, the crowd was behind the goal was magnificent, some of the football we played was magnificent, the tempo we played at, I just thought it was a great day.
“We should have been four or five up at half-time, but credit to Taunton, they are a big, physical team and they played their part today. They are difficult to score against at times. First half, we were scintillating at times, and the way we play with the control we have makes it difficult for the opposition to get too close to us.
“We need to be getting goals from all over the pitch. We have a real distinct way of playing and certain players have to do a certain job. The two centre backs, the two central midfield players have to play together as a box and they don’t move too far from that and their job is to defend and keep the ball, and the rest of the team is there to create, cross, score. They all know their roles at the minute.”
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
Asked about the goal his side conceded when Taunton defender Austen Booth headed home after 75 minutes, Cooper added: “Sometimes when you make changes, the boys that come on do not defend properly at set pieces and that was the situation there. One of the subs coming on did not mark his man and they get a cheap goal. But the way we controlled the second half today was outstanding.”
The game was played in front of a league record crowd – which was 12 greater than the previous attendance set when W*ymouth came to Huish Park in October – and the manager said he believed the crowd had an important role left to play this season.
With Hampton & Richmond, Maidstone United and Torquay United all dropping points on Boxing Day, Yeovil’s win moved then ten points clear at the top of the table.
Cooper said: “It is very pleasing, but there is 22 games left so the players have to keep going. It is not enough, we want more. We want more days like that with the atmosphere like a Football League stadium and fanbase, we want them to come and watch us play like that every week.
“Maybe it’s no coincidence that we play on the front foot when the fans are like that. They have a massive part to play, if they are negative it can drain the performance, but if they are upbeat it will usually lift the players and I thought they sucked the ball in that goal in the first half. It is just another great day for the club from where we were last year to where we are now is just chalk and cheese. We have good people in good places and if we get the trust from the fans to carry on, I am sure we will.”
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
Cooper confirmed that winger Will Dawes limped off after six minutes after picking up a dead leg in an early challenge which would presumably put him in doubt for the return fixture at Wordsworth Drive on New Year’s Eve.
The boss said he was expecting a reaction from the Peacocks. He said: “”We just have to do what we do and if we play like we play we will be difficult to play against. I am sure Taunton will regroup and they won’t want that to happen on their own pitch. They will be really physical and try and make it difficult, as we would expect.”
One interesting comment from Taunton boss Rob Dray surrounded attacking midfielder Dylan Morgan who was surprisingly left out of the visitors’ squad.
He told BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins that he had been approached by “a very local full-time club“, saying: “There has been an enquiry from a local full-time club for him which I was dealing with yesterday. His frame of mind was therefore not correct for him to be playing today. Anything else is got to be asked of the club, the people who are at a higher pay grade than I am.”
Now obviously Yeovil are not the only full-time which could be described as local to Taunton……but they are the most local one. Watch this space…..
As is often the way this season, Mark Cooper also spoke with the club’s official YouTube channel following the win and here is what he said there…..