Match Report: Wealdstone 0 Yeovil Town 2

Yeovil looking to be more considered when they have the ball against their more fast and furious opponents. With ten minutes gone, Jake Wannell found himself on the edge of the box and he dragged a shot wide.

Five minutes later, Sims created a great opening having been played into the box by Troy Perrett, Sims pulled off a great bit of skill to beat his defender but his effort flew past just past the post. The best opening either side have created in the opening 15 minutes. We are starting to take the game to Wealdstone after the hosts’ frenetic start, plenty of energy and attacking purpose.

On the 23rd minute, Yeovil had the ball in the net as Brett McGavin’s corner found its way to a crowd of heads and the ball went in to the net. Referee George Laflin seemed to point to the centre circle before deciding it was a foul on Baptiste. The keeper will be breathing a sigh of relief as he looked weak from that one.

The next opportunity came just before the half-hour mark when a beautifully weighted ball from Works found Daly running forward, he lifted it but a Wealdstone defender got a foot to it and turned it away for a corner.

Yeovil were in the ascendancy and on 38 minutes they took the lead. Ryan Jones did superbly to nick the ball off a Wealdstone player, burst forward and fed it in to Terrell WORKS who showed some great footwork to fire in to the net. A great move and a great finish and thoroughly deserved it. This first half performance could not be more different to the opening 45 minutes at Woking seven days earlier.

Wealdstone came out brighter in the second half and you felt the next goal was going to be crucial – and it came for Yeovil just three minutes after the restart. A ball over the top towards James DALY on the right wing saw the in-form frontman have a great first touch, beat his defender and slot it under the keeper.

But, just when you thought this was going to be an easy night, Perrett was given his marching orders. The Cardiff City loanee challenged for a high ball with Connor McAvoy and referee Laflin saw it as malicious and got his red card straight out. One can only assume the referee felt Perrett led with an elbow, but interestingly assistant Anastasiya Voloshchuk did not put her flag up and the referee did not talk to her. Either way, we are down to ten men for the rest of this.

On 53 minutes, there was a great opportunity for Olomola who was found on his own inside the box by a ball forward from Enzio Boldewijn, but his header was high over the bar.

A double change for Yeovil with Alex Whittle and Delano McCoy-Splatt coming on for Josh Sims and Terrell Works with 55 minutes on the clock. Billy Rowley looking to shore it up as we have a numerical disadvantage. Five minutes later, Wealdstone responded with a quadruple change, presumably these are their more regular starters sensing blood.

On 70 minutes, Olomola was in the thick of it against his old employers again. Cook’s ball in was deflected in to the path of the striker and Jed Ward did well to go down bravely to turn it out for a corner.

Olomola had another opportunity turned over three minutes later and from the resulting corner Yeovil had to defend well to get it away. Wealdstone are knocking on the door and we are going to have to be focused and organised to keep them out. It is one-way traffic and a big test of our resolve.

Wealdstone have been going for it ever since the red card and Baptiste is out to the centre circle to get it forward. But it took until a minute from normal time for the next chance, great footwork from substitute Terrell Agyemang whose effort just crept the wrong side of the post for him.

From the resulting corner, Daly made a typical lung-busting run as he got on the end of McCoy-Splatt’s ball and burst in to space, rounded Baptiste only for Boldewijn to get back and deny him. What a run from that man Daly in the final minute of normal time. Immediately after McCoy-Splatt was replaced by Harvey Greenslade.

Five minutes in to the nine added on, a breath-taking bit of skill from Jones who spun past two Wealdstone players and put a ball forward to Greenslade to chase one in to the corner. It’s been mostly defending for Yeovil here, but those were two great moments.

Those were two very different halves. The first was full of effort and attacking play, but we had to dig deep for much of that second half with ten men. Clean sheet and three points. Real character.

Substitutes: Alex Whittle (for Josh Sims, 56), Delano McCoy-Splatt (for Terrell Works, 56), Harvey Greenslade (for Delano McCoy-Splatt, 90), Jaydon Biss (not used), Millar Matthews-Lewis (not used), Matt Gould (not used).

Wealdstone: Dante Baptiste, Mason Barrett (for Jack Cook, 62), Connor McAvoy (for Michael Adu-Poku, 77), Junior Tiensia, Enzio Boldewijn, Jack Wells-Morrison (for Terrell Agyemang, 62), Jack Hinchy (for Shay Spencer 62), Dylan Kadji, Dominic Hutchinson, Olufela Olomola, Sean Adarkwa (for Micah Obiero, 62).