Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, 15th April, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Glorious sunshine

Pitch: In remarkable condition in mid-April.

Attendance:  2,528 (293 away supporters)

Scorers: Giles Phillips 65 (0-1), Ryan Glover (0-2)

Bookings:

Yeovil: Ben Barclay 45

Aldershot: Ryan Glover 61, Giles Phillips 90+1, Ethan Ross 90+8, Ryan Glover 90+12

Sending off:

Aldershot: Ryan Glover (two bookable offences) 90+12

Referee: Steven Copeland

Yeovil Town : (4-4-2)

Grant Smith

Mark Little (for Adi Yussuf, 81), Luke Wilkinson, Ben Barclay, Jordan Barnett

Tom Knowles, Dale Gorman, Alex Bradley (for Lawson D’Ath, 70), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton

Reuben Reid, Josh Neufville (for Charlie Wakefield, 65)

Substitutes: Morgan Williams, Max Hunt (not used).

Aldershot Town: Ross, Kinsella (for Daniel, 81), Lyons-Foster, Berkeley-Agyepong, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sylla, Ndjoli (for Whittingham, 90), Phillips, Harris, Saunders, Willard (for Glover, 58). Substitutes: Hall, Bettamer (not used).

 

Match Report

Charlie Lee’s first league match at Huish Park ended in defeat his Yeovil Town side paid the price for wasteful finishing and sloppy defending.

After a first half lacking in quality from either side, the Glovers’ were laying siege to the opposition goalmouth and then on 65 minutes they gifted Aldershot defender Giles Phillips the freedom of the area to head home.

Then when substitute Ryan Glover smashed home a second four minutes later after Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain took advantage of more sloppy defending, the game was over.

Here’s how Coatesie saw it on a rare appearance (for him, at least) at Huish Park…

 

First half

The first chance fell to Tom Knowles after five minutes, played in by Reuben Reid, Knowles broke in to the right-side of the box and his shot cannoned off the outside of the post.

Five minutes later, Reid and Knowles combined again with the latter splitting the Aldershot defence to Reid who dragged his shot wide.

At that point it could have been 2-0 to the Glovers, but the possession had largely been dominated by the visitors who passed it nicely in midfield without creating an effort to threaten Grant Smith, who returned between the posts for the hosts.

Defensively the visitors looked shaky and the game was crying out for the likes of Knowles and Josh Neufville to test them.

Tom Knowles, who was a rare bright spot today.

Knowles was at the heart of the action again with ten minutes of the half remaining, getting away down the right and smashing a ball across the face which was begging for a touch home. No-one was there to do it.

From the following play, the ball broke to centre half Ben Barclay who smashed it wide.

Despite having the better of the chances, the half finished with as many goals as the quality on display. Goalless at the break.

Half- time: Yeovil Town 0 Aldershot Town 0

Second half

After opening exchanges which were as cagey as the first half, Yeovil turned up the heat with a string of corners before Knowles forced a smart stop out of Ethan Ross in the visitors’ goal.

A number of penalty shouts were voiced by the home side with Knowles, Bradley and then Neufville all going down under pressure in the area. From my position in the centre of the Thatcher’s Stand, none of them looked enough to ask much of a question of the referee.

But, as the missed opportunities mounted up, the fear was that only one mistake was needed at to give the visitors’ the advantage, and on 65 minutes exactly that happened.
A free-kick by skipper Lewis Kinsella found Giles PHILLIPS at the back post and he had a free header to nod home. One chance, one goal.
Five minutes later, sloppy defending gifted Aldershot a second. A ball forward found Christian Oxlade-Chamberlain in acres of space down the right hand sight and he had all the time he needed to fire it across to  Ryan GLOVER (yes, Glover!) who smashed home the second at the far post.
Having been totally in control but failing to convert their chances, Yeovil found themselves 2-0 behind against a side which has been only too happy to sit back and hit on the break before they even scored.
There was a break in play after three travelling supporters who had taken a tumble on the Screwfix Family Stand steps celebrating the second goal.
Mark Little. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With Charlie Wakefield coming on for Neufville moments before the opening goal, Lee introduced Lawson D’Ath for Bradley and then Adi Yussuf for Little.

But even with countless attacking players on the pitch, the home side abandoned what had been working before going behind and returned to aimless long balls forward.
Aldershot were quite happy to sit back and continue their tactic of hitting us on the break.
As the fourth official held up the board for 12 minutes of stoppage team, a break away saw the ball come to substitute Alfie Whittingham, the son of former Glovers’ striker, Guy, but his shot went over.
To be honest, it would have taken more minutes and attacking players to see the home side muster a meaningful effort.

However, there was time for Glover’s day to turn sour as he picked up his second yellow card and a subsequent red in the final minute of time added on.

A mixed day for everyone connected with the Glovers’ name.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Aldershot Town 2

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