Venue: Root’s Hall
Saturday October 1st, 3pm kick-off
Conditions: Dry and bright
Pitch: Green
Attendance: 5,324 (81 away supporters)
Scorers: Jake Hyde 37 (0-1),
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Richards-Everton 77, D’Ath 88
Southend United: Andeng-Ndi 52, Powell 65
Sendings off:
Yeovil Town: Gime Toure 17
Referee: Sam Mulhall
Yeovil Town : (3-4-3)
Grant Smith
Owen Bevan Josh Staunton Ben Richards-Everton
Morgan Williams Matt Worthington Lawson D’Ath Charlie Wakefield (for Jake Scrimshaw, 76)
Sam Pearson (for Finley Craske, 65)
Alex Fisher (for Malachi Linton, 59) Gime Toure
Substitutes: Max Hunt, Will Dawes.
Match Report
It was yet another hard luck story for Yeovil Town as the wait due a second National League win of the season goes on.
Having been reduced to ten men after Gime Toure was sent off after 17 minutes for his part in an off-the-ball incident with Southend defender Kacper Lopata. This correspondent, like referee Sam Mulhall, did not see what it was given for but reports on social media suggest a kick out from the Frenchman. If so, that is inexcusable.
The real hard luck came when Josh Staunton had the ball in the net from a corner only for it to be given for a foul on Southend keeper Collin Andeng-Ndi, moments later play swung to the other end and Jake Hyde got what turned out to be the winner.
Here is Dave’s verdict from the away end…..
First half
The first surprise saw Charlie Wakefield slotting in at left wing-back in place of the injured Jamie Reckord.
The first chance fell to the star man playing down the….errr….left after just two minutes when a sweeping move made its way out to him and he curled a shot just wide of the post.
Chances were few and far between, but on 12 minutes Morgan Williams got away down the left and put a ball in which ended up at the feet of Sam Pearson whose effort hit as much air as it did ball and failed to test the hosts’ keeper.
Another effort saw a scramble in the hosts’ box which came to nothing before play broke to the other than end Cav Miley effort from the edge of the box was palmed aside by Grant Smith.
The most notable of the game so far came on 18 minutes after an off the ball incident led to a red card for Gime Toure. The incident seemed to pass everybody in ground, including referee Sam Mulhall by, but a tussle and a Southend defender Kacper Lopata saw the latter hit the deck. The assistant flagged and, after discussion with the referee, the man in black produced a red card.
A bit of Googling (thanks, Ben) suggests Mulhall was the same man who gave an early red to Wealdstone defender Lewis Kinsella for a boot up Malachi Linton’s backside. Suggestions on social media suggest Toure may have done the same to Lopata. Impossible to see from the angle of the away support.
Cue confusion in the away end and an intense period of pressure from the home side as Yeovil went deeper and deeper, welcoming the Shrimpers pressure on.
A lot of the threat came from Jack Bridge down the left but Ollie Kensdale and Marcus Dackers both called Grant Smith in to action as it seemed
On 32 minutes, Sam Pearson was set away on the left and fired a ball in to the near post where Alex Fisher could not make the contact and the ball went away for a corner. From the resulting corner by Lawson D’Ath, Josh Staunton rose highest in the box to head home, only for a foul to be given against Southend keeper Collin Andeng-Ndi. Against any other player on the pitch, that is never a foul but it’s the keeper.
There was a sense the dye may be cast there and two minutes later, a cross by Bridge was met by a close range header from Jake HYDE to open the scoring.
Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0
Second half
The first chance of the half fell to Yeovil on 52 minutes when Andeng-Ndi brought down Fisher on the edge of the box after a self-inflicted foul due to some poor decision making.
As the half wore on, the home side saw a lot of possession without creating too many opportunities to force a save out of Smith with an effort out of the dangerous Bridge putting an effort over the bar after cutting in off the left flank either side of the hour.
Malachi Linton replaced Fisher up front for the visitors on 59 minutes and six minutes later Finley Craske replaced Sam Pearson, taking up a position in the middle of the park.
The two substitutes combined on 72 minutes when good pressure from Linton presenting Craske with a chance with the hosts’ keeper off his line, but his effort floated wide. Speculative but that’s all I have!
Dackers put an effort just over four minutes later but, for all the possession they enjoyed (and they did enjoy plenty of it), that was as near to a meaningful chance as the home side got.
The frustration of knowing that the standard of our opponents is not that far off our own even on a sub-par showing like this one was palpable to those in the away end in Essex.
Socks were worked off, no doubt bits were being chomped at but again it’s those decisive moments. One came just in to the first of six minutes of added time when Matt Worthington did superbly to break in from the left flank, picked out Craske with a great opportunity but his shot sailed high, wide and not so handsome.
Goal difference is all that separates us from the National League relegation zone and, after 11 matches, that is no hard luck story.