Yeovil Town fell to defeat after a game of two halves at FA Trophy finalists Southend United on Tuesday night.

The Glovers fell behind after just four minutes when Gus Scott-Morriss fired home to get Root’s Hall rocking and the home side were better in every department in the opening 45 minutes.

But, whatever was said by manager Billy Rowley at half-time, it worked and Yeovil deservedly levelled through a Goal of the Season contender from captain Jake Wannell who stroked a sumptuous effort in with 64 minutes on the clock.

Then with six minutes left Keenan Appiah-Forson headed home from close range for a hotly-disputed winner which the Yeovil players did not think crossed the line.

First half

If there was a nightmare start which Yeovil boss Billy Rowley dreamt about the night before, it could not have been much worse than the one he watched after four minutes.

A great ball in from the left side from Harry Boyes was met by the head of Keenan Appiah-Forson in the middle, Jed Ward made a fantastic stop to push it out but it only went as far as Gus SCOTT-MORRISS who lashed the Shrimpers in front. A lazy tackle to allow Boyes to get the ball in and only Alex Whittle was in the middle of the six-yard box to mark two Southend players. Ward did his best, but he can only do so much.

Jed Ward is helpless to keep out Gus Scott-Morriss’ opener.

We are playing slowly here and Southend are having the opportunity to reset every time we have it, the fatigue we have heard about looks to be kicking in already. We simply cannot keep up with the pace of this game. On 13 minutes, Charley Kendall, who was causing all sorts of issues down the left, broke forward and fired in an effort which Ward had to tip over the bar for a corner and shortly after a ball fizzed across the face of the Glovers’ goal where mercifully there was no-one there to turn it home.

The one way traffic continued as the game progressed and Southend are getting corner after corner whilst we can never get the ball out of our own half. It took more than 20 minutes for keeper Collin Ndeng-Adi to get his first touch, and that was to play the ball out. He did more in the warm-up than his has had to do in the first half of this half.
That man Kendall had time and space down the left cut in to the box and fed it in to Appiah-Forson whose effort went over the bar with two Yeovil in close proximity. Jed Ward goes down for treatment and Rowley screams for his players to come over for a new team talk. Into ’em, Billy!
On the half-hour mark, Wannell tried to head away under pressure from Andrew Dallas before Ward fell on the ball, before the keeper came to the rescue (yet) again this time to deny Kendall. The last few minutes we have at least made it a little more difficult for Southend, but the balls are still coming in from both flanks and we continue to be penned in to our own half. We are doing some of the ugly stuff which we were not doing in the first 25 minutes, but still not cutting off the source of the danger.
38 minutes played, Will Merry presses forward and has what we could charitably call a shot which Ndeng-Adi has to put his hands down to stop, but he barely broke a sweat. It’s a good forward run by the Southampton youngster but that’s about it.
A collector’s item, Yeovil Town in the Southend half.
Five minutes from half-time, a ball in to the box from the left (again) and its going towards Scott-Morriss who gets a hand (maybe two) in the back from Jake Wannell. Referee Abigail Byrne is unmoved, but I think we have got away with one there – and so does the home crowd.
As the clock ticked down to the interval, Rowley will have been hoping to get through to half-time just a goal behind. His heart would have been in his mouth on 43 minutes when Boyes fired in to the six yard box and Andrew Dallas was there to stab it home. Lady Luck was on Yeovil’s side again as the assistant’s flag was raised for an offside.
To say we are fortunate to only be one goal down at the break would be an understatement.

Half time: Southend United 1 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

Aaron Jarvis arrived at the interval, replacing Delano McCoy-Splatt, and playing through the middle. Merry is on the right side and Terrell Works on the left, hopefully to try and get joy in wide positions as they watched

Two minutes in to the second half and Ndeng-Adi had his first work to do. Daly hits a low shot from distance and the keeper has to get down to turn it away for a corner. Five minutes in and we are already looking to compete for the ball more than the supporters who made the trip to Root’s Hall saw in the first half.

Whatever Billy Rowley said to his players at the interval, it has made a difference, we look a completely different side. Brett McGavin sails a free-kick over the bar around the hour mark, but we have shown more effort in this opening 15 minutes.

I told you it was getting better and on 64 minutes, Yeovil drew level – and in some style. A free-kick was easily cleared as far as as Works who gave it to Jake WANNELL inside the area and he caressed a sumptuous shot past Ndeng-Adi. What a finish that is from the central defender. Take a bow!

What a finish, Jake Wannell.
On 70 minutes, Boyes smashed a fantastic shot in from outside the box and Ward does superbly to tip it over the bar and from the resulting corner Golding has an effort punched away by the on loan Bristol Rovers keeper. Southend are rallying and they make a quadruple change with Jack Bridge, Tom Hopper, Sam Austin and Alfie Massey came on with 73 minutes played.
There is a second wind blowing in this Southend side, but Rowley and his assistant Darren Simpson have got his tactics spot in this half, they are stopped the hosts coming through the middle of the pitch as they were doing at will in the opening 45 minutes.
But, with six minutes of remaining, Southend’s pressure told and they regained the lead. A ball bouncing around the box and substitute Austin heads it to the back post where Keenan APPIAH-FORSON headed it goalwards, Ward seems to claim it but the assistant insists he can see through a crowd of bodies to tell it is over the line. Wannell goes in to the book for his protests, the Yeovil players are furious. That is harsh on the visitors, who have looked much better in this half.
Millar Matthews-Lewis was thrown on as an 87th minute substitute and in second half stoppage time, the on loan Burton Albion man did well to make time for himself inside a crowded area and thrashed an effort just the wrong side of the post.

Full time: Southend United 2 Yeovil Town 1

Match Details

Venue: Root’s Hall
Date: Tuesday 31st March, 7.45pm kick-off

Competition: National League Premier Division

Scorers: Gus Scott-Moriss 4 (0-1), Jake Wannell 64 (1-1)

Pitch: Patchy in places
Conditions: Cold

Attendance: 7,793 (68 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jake Wannell 85
Southend United: Oli Coker 11, Gus Scott-Moriss 38, Harry Boyes 89

Referee: Abigail Byrne

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Aaron Jarvis (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 46), Harvey Greenslade (for Terrell Works, 81), Millar Matthews-Lewis (for Will Merry, 87), Jaydon Biss (not used), Ollie Hughes (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Southend United: Collin Andeng-Ndi, Gus Scott-Morriss, Harry Taylor, James Golding, Joe Gubbins (for Jack Bridge, 73), Harry Boyes, Keenan Appiah-Forson, James Morton (for Alfie Massey, 73), Oli Coker (for Sam Austin, 73), Andrew Dallas (for Ben Goodliffe, 90+1), Charley Kendall (for Tom Hopper, 73).

Substitutes (not used): Noah Mawene, Josh Walker.
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Mark
14 hours ago

Billy Rowley’s going to have his work cut out this summer. The worry is, he’s going to be handing out too many contracts to the misfits currently playing for us.

No effort to try & win the game. Looked as though we were playing for a draw all night long.

While he puts more creative players into the starting eleven than the previous managers the performances are all too similar & predictable.

Sideways, back, sideways, back, etc, then lose the ball. When we do occasionally get forward it’s all so slow & through the centre, where we struggle to create any space.
Nothing coming from the wings which naturally means a lack of chances with the obligatory lack of goals.

Still no leaders, still nobody who can tackle, still no strikers & a defensive plan of sticking everybody in & around our own 18 yard box & hoping for the best. We got away with it at Wealdstone but not tonight.

I’m still hoping when he gets his own players in we’ll start to see the attacking football we were promised.
At the moment we’re witnessing the complete opposite.

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