Five Conclusions: Halifax Town 2 Yeovil Town 0

Yeovil Town failed to score for the first time this season in a 2-0 defeat to Halifax at the Shay.
Gloverscast Ben was in the commentary box for the game and here are his Five Conclusions.

We were flat by our own standards

There’s no excuses for the result, but maybe for the first time, this one felt like we fell short of our lofty new standards.

In the crunch moments where quality has to shine through, it just didn’t happen. Johl Powell has buried much harder chances than the one-on-one in the first half, Ryan Jones had chances to shoot which didn’t come off, passes weren’t as crisp and definitive as we’ve come to expect.

It felt like the ideas were all right, the processes were the correct ones, but execution levels just didn’t match the hosts – for every Glover whose performance was a 4/7, his opposite number registered a five.

Halifax took their high quality moments, we didn’t.

Halifax played a tactical blinder.

The hosts knew the best way to keep the Glovers at bay was to keep the ball for as long as possible and when they couldn’t do that, they’d stop the game.

They knew the referee was a whistle happy card flapper and were very clever at keeping the pressure tight and were happy to commit fouls, that prevented the Glovers from stringing the third, fourth and final pass together – 18 fouls by the Shaymen, 10 more than Yeovil.

McGavin’s departure changed the game

We were 2-0 up when Brett McGavin was taken off against Southend and that ended up rather badly, and it’s safe to say that at Halifax, his (enforced) substitution had a similar effect.

For what it’s worth, I gave Hayden Muller my Man of the Match having been asked to play in three different roles, he did a very good job of transitioning through those different roles, but there’s no doubt that taking out McGavin’s ability to control the pace of the game and dictate everything with his range of passing hampered the Glovers.

Let’s hope his calf doesn’t need too much time off.

Davies’ red card couldn’t have been timed worse

Halifax chucked away a 2-0 lead against Barrow in midweek, so even as Will Flint bundled the ball home (via an arm?) I didn’t feel we were totally out of the game, but not a handful of minutes later, a second yellow card for Archie Davies just put salt into the wounds.

Two challenges that definitely were fouls and the second one was a frustrated tackle on a very good Ben Tollitt who caused problems throughout, but it just meant that the right hand side lost that Davies/Jones combo which have combined so well this season and meant that the otherwise flexible defensive formation had to become a rigid back three.

The pressure is off now

Chesterfield in the FA Cup, Wells in the SMPC before the league leaders come to town.

Three games which give the Glovers the chance to shake off any nerves this result may have garnered, and that’s how we should treat them.

We’re the outsiders against EFL opposition in the Cup, we can give minutes to those who need the pitch time and confidence (and welcome back two suspended players in Davies and Radcliffe) in the County Cup and then feel ready to give Boreham Wood a challenge when the league action restarts.

One performance that falls just short isn’t the end of the world.