It was late, late heartbreak for Yeovil Town as a 90+3 minute goal saw Eastleigh share the spoils in what turned out to be a Boxing Day goal bonanza at Huish Park yesterday.
Dave was in the Thatcher’s Stand to watch it all and here are his conclusions on it all….
Two sloppy mistakes cost us: At the time of writing, I have not seen the highlights of this one, but on first viewing that is such a frustrating result. Eastleigh are a side only one point below us in the National League Premier table and yet at times we looked far the better team and the biggest annoyance is that it is our own defensive sloppiness that cost us three points we deserved. How a player who is the same height as me (5’7″ish) wins a header against our defence for the first is annoying and the second equaliser looked like it might be offside on first viewing which would be irritating, but not as irritating as I suspect it will be on the highlights.
Two goals, but it should have been more: The statistics (courtesy of a well-known gambling firm which Gloverscast Ben works for) show we had seven shots on target and three off target and yet only managed two goals. The story of our season, I know, we’ve heard it all before, I get it. It’s not a revolutionary thought to say we are desperately crying out for a partner for Aaron Jarvis……but, my goodness, we are crying out for a partner for Aaron Jarvis.
Chip in for a cup of Kofi?: Kofi Shaw again looked unplayable at times. You could tell Eastleigh knew who he was by the way they had three defenders on him from the off and it is a massive compliment to him that he did not let that put him off. Never afraid to try something, never afraid to have a shot, I love that about it. The biggest concern is that his initial loan spell, advertised as “until January” when he joined in October, from Bristol Rovers may be about to come to an end. There’s a new manager in charge at the Memorial Ground, ex-Brighton & Hove Albion coach Indigo Calderon, and he might want to have a look at this teenage talisman.
The (not so) green, green grass of home: The one group of people I felt the most for on Boxing Day was the Huish Park ground staff, at half-time they could only do the most minor of running repairs to a heavily-sanded surface. They are the victims of some horrendous bad weather in recent weeks (months?) and it is impossible to think when it was not rainy and lacking in sun in Somerset. That team are doing their best to do what they can, all they (and we) can do is pray for more merciful conditions in 2025.
2024 – you’ve been a blast: Boxing Day 2023 was a great day with a 4-1 home win over Taunton Town and if you had told me the 12 months which followed would have panned out like it did, there’s not much would change. Maybe this season’s FA Cup and FA Trophy results, but if we’re honest, who would not have taken tenth in the National League Premier at this stage? It’s the start of a long road back to where we should be and there will be more ups and downs along the way – but 2024, you’ve been great. 2025? Let’s see what you’ve got!
📸 Gary Brown
Support the Gloverscast
The Gloverscast is a volunteer run website which costs money to maintain. If ever you feel like supporting with our running costs, which include our website hosting, Zoom subscription, The Daily Glove, we’d be extremely grateful for your donations.
