Chippenham made it four points from a possible six against Yeovil this season, as they inflicted a double dose of home defeat on the Glovers. An uninspiring performance was witnessed by Tom, who has given us his Five Conclusions…
Classy from Fisher! There were some pretty dour performances out there tonight, but one player that did impress me was Alex Fisher. His header was taken expertly, meeting Olly Thomas’ wonderful cross to give Yeovil the lead. I think his determination alone earned him my Man of the Match (and the sponsor’s Man of the Match as well). His work rate, and success in aerial duels across his 90 minutes were great to see, and I think he’ll continue to play a part in Yeovil’s run-in. Credit must also go to Sonny-Blu Lo-Everton, and Alex Whittle, who also put in solid performances.
Credit to Chippenham. As much as Yeovil clearly weren’t up to the races tonight, credit to Chippenham for executing their gameplan to a tee. I spoke to Steve Rutter before the game, and he said we had to be careful of a potential banana skin here, as their away form, particularly against better teams, has been impressive this season – and we saw exactly that. Calm in defence, with Fisher’s goal the only real lapse in performance for the visitors, three well taken goals to give them three well earned points.
It’s time to discuss Jordan Young. He started the season quietly, before setting fire following his opening goal against Tonbridge Angels, but since his contract extension at the start of 2024, I’ll be honest and say I’ve seen nothing from our number 11 at all. Tonight was no different, as we saw Young either trying too much at once and being dispossessed, or being pushed out of the game. I don’t know where the Jordan Young of 2023 has gone, but I’d desperately like him back for the end of the season please!
Some positives… It’s easy to be negative after a loss, but there were some positives to take from tonight. Josh Owers gave a good account of himself when he replaced the injured Charlie Cooper, that pairing with Sonny-Blu gave us a little bit of both defensive stability, and a little bit going forward with our special number 16. We looked a bit more fluid in the second half compared to the first, before the goals took the wind out of our sails, and the ideas were there from Nouble and Stevens, nothing was coming off for us though. It’s not all doom and gloom yet!
However… we got away with it tonight. Yes, I’ve listed off the positives above, but these are games we need to be clinching, and widening the gap at the top. We have got seriously lucky tonight, with Chelmsford and Worthing both losing too, there’s no need to panic but we have got to be careful that this doesn’t set a precedent for the end of the season. Up the Yeo!
Is the squad now spread too thin? Do we need a couple players (loans or permanent for forward planning) to at least provide depth. Possibly look outside Somerset and into the national league?
We’ve seen the likes of Staunton and JSW exit; JMD and Linton sent elsewhere; Who knows the Pollock situation; Murphy and Hyde long term injuries; Smith, Dawes and now Cooper (possibly) shorter term injuries. So 9-10 gone, unfavoured or injured and 4 brought in. We’ve not really replaced the first two in the list (positionally at least), and definitely missing Smith. Is it time to add some depth?
IMO, the team looks tired, a bit predictable and somewhat unsure – a month ago it was composed, ready to fight, and could snuff out opposition threats while imposing their own.
Couldn’t agree more, once ‘Plan A’ doesn’t work, there is no other plan currently. Smith out for a few weeks is a massive hit and currently we look like a bunch of trialists that’ve been put together for a pre season. I can’t see why we haven’t recalled Linton, as he can clearly perform at this level and chuck him in the mix for the last run in. I think bringing in a recognised RB is a must, otherwise we are really going to struggle and this could end up being a lot nervier that it needs to be!
Ditto to all of that. Looks like we have a problem. Time for the Club Leaders to have a significant impact. Probably a mixture of inside/outside stuff thats all doable and can get a high return.
I sincerely hope we can put these two Poor loses down to a blip.The next two games are absolutely crucial and at least 3 points required.We have got more tricky games coming up after that especially Torquay and Weymouth.Still think 9 points should do it though.COYG.