Well that was a frantic game wasn’t it?! Tom Bailey was in the press box for Three Valleys Radio on Saturday, here’s what he thought.
What a game. End to end for almost the full 90 minutes, we witnessed two teams who set out to play good football, and defend later. Sadly, we were punished much heavier for this, alongside other problems we need to face up to, but both sides were keen for goals today.
Gateshead displayed their attacking quality from the off, with many chances for different players showing why they’re almost certainly going to be involved in the playoff picture come the end of the season.
Yeovil too showed what they’re made of, going forwards and asking questions of the Gateshead defence, some good chances were made and wasted, but positive signs for a Yeovil attack that can look stodgy at times.
We missed Alex Whittle today. Our Scouser didn’t travel today, following the knock he received in the Ebbsfleet game midweek, and it showed how important he really is to this side. Jordan Thomas was chucked in at the deep end as Mark Cooper switched to a 5 man defence, with Sam Pearson having to fill the LWB position to little effect.
Cooper recognised this and switched things up, and we did look steadier for a period with Thomas at LB, but you have to feel that Yeovil could’ve done so much more had Whittle been fit. Raphael Araoye didn’t even have a look in, which may be an early cause for concern, but of course it’s early in the season still.
That was Aaron Jarvis’ best game so far. He’s had an indifferent start to the season has Jarvis, as he’s looked involved, but never really in with a shout of scoring, until today. He was terrorising the Gateshead backline, and making himself some really good space. The goal came from a beautiful Michael Smith cross, and he worked hard to win the header to get Yeovil back into the game.
It’s unfortunate he had to come off at half-time, early speculation suggests he was holding his back as he walked off following the whistle, so hopefully there is nothing too serious in that, as he really started to show why there was hype around him during the off season.
Brett McGavin is going to cause some headaches. I’m really enjoying the dynamic that Brett McGavin is bringing to this Yeovil side, I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t 100% sure on him throughout pre-season, but he’s very quickly proving me wrong!
He’s got such a deft touch on him, some great footwork, he’s picking up better positions too when Worthington takes his turn to go forwards, and he’s got a cracking shot to boot (as we saw against Ebbsfleet), he’s going to cause some selection headaches if he keeps playing like this while Charlie Cooper returns to full fitness.
We can be proud of that. Yes, it’s a defeat, and yes there were some silly mistakes and questions surrounding the defence, however within the context of the full season, I think we’ll look back and be proud of how we did today.
Gateshead are going to be around the playoffs barring some extreme circumstances this season, and having started the season with 10 points from 12, you know for a fact they’re setting themselves up for some kind of success come May.
We showed grit and determination to get ourselves back into it, and kept ourselves in it until the penalty at the end, the tactical switch from Cooper following the second goal brought stability and shape that we desperately needed, showing how game-smart he really is, and all this against a team that could easily finish the season in the top 3.
Yes we’re Yeovil Town, and we’re massive, but we’re also a newly promoted team that is only in its second year of a rebirth following over a decade of torture. Let’s be proud of ourselves, especially considering how we played the last time we came here…
Up the Glovers!