Yeovil Town picked up another win at home on a wet and windy afternoon at Huish Park yesterday. The Glovers remain ten points clear at the top of National League South. Here are Ian’s conclusions from the Press Box…
The conditions played their part. The rain wasn’t that heavy before kick off but through the afternoon it got worse and worse. Yeovil enjoyed plenty of control in the first half, but couldn’t make the possession count. You could see the pitch getting heavier and by the time the second half kicked off the sideways rain and wind was directly at Joe Day’s goal. The familiar tactic of playing out from the back and drawing our opponents in before beating the press became increasingly difficult in the second half. The weather wasn’t conducive to quality football but the Glovers did manage to create some excellent chances…
…that should have been buried. San Pearson, Frank Nouble and Jordan Stevens all had 1 v 1s with Worner in the Havant goal and should have done better. The keeper managed to save from Pearson and Stevens when they had all the time in the world to pick their spot. Nouble could only put his effort over the bar as did Pearson when Worner dropped it in the six yard box. We’re in a position (10 points clear baby!) where we can afford to be profligate in front of goal, but if we have the tiniest eye on next season, we need to be getting used to putting those type of chances in the back of the net.
Another set piece routine was the difference. After last week’s success with Jake Wannell bagging two goals from headers, yesterday’s was a very different routine. The short corner grumblers can grumble no more, as slick interplay between Pearson and Sonny Blu-Lo Everton put Sonny in acres of space to put the ball on a plate for Wannell to bundle in on the line. There will always be an element of a hopeful hoof into the mixer for someone to try and get their head on, but if you can get some of these routines in the bank, it’s an added dimension to a team that relied on that solitary goal yesterday.
The referee seemed to want his moment. I’m breaking Gloverscast Rule #1 here by bringing up the man in the middle, but I thought George Lafin had a poor game. Jordan Young should have had a penalty in the first half, after he was cut down by a Havant defender who had to go through him to get to the ball. He gave Nouble and Young bookings for kicking the ball away. Nouble’s was ridiculous and Young barely touched the ball for his after conceding a cynical foul. He was also quite willing to allow Havant the time to chew his ear off without repercussions. The assistant gave two throws to Havant which we’re clearly for Yeovil. The lack of consistency among referees from the top to the bottom of English football is far more of an issue than blue cards.
Fortress Huish was a bit muted. I’m not sure if it was the weather or that we’d not been at home for a couple of weeks but it did feel quiet from where I was. For a club that’s not lost a single match at home, it’s strange to feel a lack of atmosphere. People out there will have better ideas than I do on how to fix it. Mark Cooper alluded to it afterwards and said his players “need the fans behind us”, especially for this final run. Yeovil have fourteen matches left this season and only six of those at at Huish Park. For many, that’s just six more chances to see this team, which is on course to win the club a League title for the first time since 2005. League titles don’t come round very often, it’s time to start enjoying it!