In what was almost a cut and copy of Tuesday night (except the three points, of course), Yeovil Town managed to clutch a point from the jaws of defeat yesterday against Maidstone United.
Another point on the board and three matches unbeaten now, let’s see how Tom saw it from his seat…
Did it go over the line? In the first half, a wonderful ball came into the box and landed on the head of Morgan Williams, who fired it into the bottom corner of the ne…wait, that wasn’t given?! At first glance, it appeared to be a truly mesmerising save from Maidstone stopper Lucas Covolan, and while it was still a brilliant save, it should’ve been for nothing as the ball had definitely crossed the line (no bias here I promise). A talking point for weeks to come, as the wait for a first competitive goal in front of the Thatchers Stand for Yeovil this season goes on.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
A very familiar feeling. Lots of wonderful build up play, followed by great chances that aren’t taken by the front line, or others for that matter. Chances for Morgan Williams, the previously mentioned Frank Nouble and Jake Hyde all came and went, and yet Yeovil went into half time at 0-0 when perhaps they shouldn’t have. For all the possession and quality Yeovil showed, it still left them a mountain to climb when, like on Tuesday against Truro when they climbed it better, a goal in the 55th minute from substitute Levi Amantchi gave Maidstone a lead from a well-worked corner routine. Yeovil managed to get one-goal back this time, but falling behind after dominance is not a pattern we want to be experiencing this season.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
Yeovil can feel hard done by when all factors are thrown into the equation. A dodgy goal line call, some questionable offside calls, a drop ball that was called poorly, and some gamesmanship going under the radar, Yeovil can feel hard done by here with a refereeing performance that didn’t exactly set the world on fire. To add on to that, Maidstone’s corner was well worked but unfortunate for Yeovil to drop behind, as Will Buse did make a good reaction save but could only send it into the path of Levi Amantchi. They made the best of what they could though, and recovered an important point against one of the fellow relegated sides who will be hoping, like Yeovil, to bounce back at the first opportunity.
Get behind Mark Cooper. He may not be your favourite manager you’ve had at Yeovil, but you can’t fault the changes he made in the second half to get Yeovil back into the game. Following the opener by Maidstone, Yeovil looked deflated until he made a raft of changes, bringing on the trickery of Jordan Young, the power and pace of Olly Thomas and the man who scored the equaliser, with his clinical finishing, Rhys Murphy. Like Tuesday, he made the right call, which helped Yeovil back into the match. We’re unbeaten in 3 games now, something we haven’t seen January where funnily enough, Maidstone were the third game in that run. Yeovil are (without looking at the table Ian!) in a good spot to open the season, with a freak goal costing us 3 points in the opener, and 2 important wins before a solid recovery today, let’s give him his credit where it’s due!
Make the most of the momentum we have. We’ve seen over the past couple of years that positive momentum is hard to come by. This is a great chance for us to generate exactly that. Four home games on the bounce, undefeated in the three we’ve played, and we’ve looked pretty good in the process, with the small point of needing some goals now. Let’s build off this and back the players, the manager, the owner, everything to do with the club, as there’s a real buzz and excitement right now, we can capitalise on this! It’s only been 4 games so far, there’s still a long, long way to go…
A solid assessment! There is little doubt in my mind we will improve, and that better resutls will come. Every player in the squad is necessary – everyone has a part to play. I do think it will click more when Jordan Stevens can participate – but who drops out? It could be almost anyone – yes, even a fan favourite like Worthy, especially as MC likes three strikers on the park. This is going to be a hugely competitive squad in a couple weeks time, and that should make the first eleven more productive.