It was win number 44 in game number 100 as Yeovil Town manager for Mark Cooper, as his men put on a fantastic display in a 1-0 win at home against Dagenham & Redbridge.
Here’s how Yeovil Town Radio’s Tom Bailey saw it from the press box at HQ.
The first half was certainly Yeovil’s, with great linkup play across the field, and a couple of early chances from Jordan Young and Frank Nouble forcing Dagenham ‘keeper Elliot Justham into saves. All the first half needed was a goal for the hosts…
Into the second half, it was more of the same; despite Dagenham & Redbridge looking like they remembered how to play football, Yeovil continued their dominance of the game, and were duly rewarded as a beautiful James Plant cross found the head of Ciaran McGuckin to nod his second goal in two games.
Further chances came for Yeovil, and despite a small spell of late pressure for the visitors, it was a superb 1-0 win for a superb home crowd.
Across the 90 minutes, Yeovil deserved the win no doubt, in one of the most complete performances we’ve seen from the Glovers this season; long may it continue!
First half
Mark Cooper made two changes from last Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Aldershot Town, with Michael Smith and James Plant replacing Dominic Bernard and Alex Whittle. There was also a return to the squad for Josh Sims and Raphael Araoye.
It was a cagey opening few minutes between the two sides, with some wayward passes and poor touches for both teams; the first chance of the game came four minutes in, as we saw a trademark Jordan Young run, cutting inside from the right wing, his curling effort collected well by the Daggers ‘keeper.
The second chance came just a few minutes later, and it was again down the right hand side – a well worked chance starting in midfield, eventually reaching Michael Smith who whipped a lovely ball in for Frank Nouble, his towering header forced Elliot Justham to make a solid save between the sticks.
Yeovil continued to press and probe the visitors throughout the opening exchanges, with well timed tackles picking on sloppy mistakes from the opposing side – early signs of a good performance for the Glovers so far.
Play was halted in the 13th minute for Ciaran McGuckin, who was down clutching his ankle; he received treatment and was able to re-enter the field soon after.
More positive play for Yeovil followed, and a sloppy pass from the Dagenham defence led to Yeovil’s next chance; it fell to Ciaran McGuckin but he couldn’t repeat his heroics from last weekend.
The possession and chances continued to come for Yeovil as the “halfway-to-halfway” mark approached, not allowing Dagenham to grow into the game at all, the limited chances that they had on the ball being wasted, including a free kick that resulted in a foul for Yeovil after a shove in the back on Charlie Cooper.
On the half hour hour mark, Dagenham had their first half chance, as former Glover Dion Pereira cut inside from the right, in Jordan Young-esque fashion, his shot from outside the box being blocked by Morgan Williams. A half chance for Yeovil followed, a long ball over the top for Young just a little too heavy for him to get on the end of.
A corner in the 36th minute was wasted by Yeovil, allowing Dagenham to break in similar fashion to Aldershot’s goal last week, except Michael Smith was there to stop Pereira in his tracks, winning two 50/50s and getting the ball out for a throw-in.
Further spells of possession for Yeovil followed, before Dagenham made the Yeovil defence think for a moment with a break down the left; the eventual cross from the right was sloppy, and floated out of play for a throw.
Another couple of solid crosses were well defended by Nouble and McGavin respectively, with McGavin’s header sparking a counter attack for Yeovil and Jordan Young, with the number 11 squeezing the ball past two Dagenham players, feeding McGuckin on the left – the eventual chance came to nothing.
A good challenge from Brett McGavin was flagged as a foul, leading to the final chance of the half for Dagenham; the free kick from 35 yards amounted to nothing. All things considered, a positive first half from Yeovil, all we need now is one of those goal things…
Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Dagenham 0
Second half
A change at half time for the hosts, as Michael Smith made way for Dominic Bernard before the action got back underway.
Within the first minute, the visitors had themselves a corner, but it led to nothing as Yeovil’s counter-attack was stopped by Oscar Rutherford.
We had to wait until the 51st minute for the next flash of quality in this game, as a shot from Josh Umerah was well saved by Ollie Wright; he was flagged for offside, but good work from the shot-stopper nonetheless.
After more good possession for Yeovil, the icing on the cake came after 54 minutes… a well worked attack on the left hand side, with Morgan finding Plant; his cross was expertly on the head of Ciaran MCGUCKIN, who nestled it into the bottom corner to give the Glovers a well deserved lead.

Pic GARY BROWN
More positive play came a few minutes later, with Nouble charging down the right, he got past his man and laid it back for McGuckin once again, his shot was slightly scuffed though and ended up in the hands of Elliot Justham.
Further attacks followed, with Dylan Morgan winning a corner on the left hand side, McGavin’s ball floated deep and lost, but recycled well – shots followed from McGavin’s resulting cross from Morgan Williams and McGavin himself.
After Dagenham’s first substitution, another chance came for Yeovil, as Brett McGavin’s shot from distance forced Justham into a low save to his left, forcing a corner, which unfortunately led to nothing.
There was a flashpoint in the 65th minute, as a seemingly innocuous challenge on Charlie Cooper prompted ire from the Dagenham players as the whistle blew; things calmed quickly and a yellow card was handed out to Ryan Hill.
Another yellow followed in the 67th minute for Josh Rees for a heavy challenge in midfield, as the visitors continued to struggle against a well-drilled Yeovil side.
Just before the second Yeovil substitution, we saw our first goalkeeper header of the season, as a long ball forward for the visitors was cleared via cranium by Ollie Wright, eventually leading to a foul; the second substitution saw the re-introduction of Raphael Araoye, not seen since the victory at Boston United.
A spell of attacking play for Dagenham followed, defended well once more by the hosts, before a halt in play for treatment on Brett McGavin. A few cagey minutes followed, with Dagenham reaching the edge of the Yeovil box, but to no avail.
As the 80-minute mark approached, it was Yeovil on the attack once again, with a ball forward for Nouble from Plant leading to a throw-in, which then led to a corner; unfortunately it came to nothing, as Dagenham foiled Yeovil’s resulting balls forward.
83 minutes in, a ball down the left hand side for Dagenham was kept in play just about, as the ball in from Ryan Hill was headed out of danger by Morgan Williams, the resulting corner was poor and resulted in Yeovil regaining possession via a goal kick.
The visitors continued to show signs of life, with Dylan Stephenson flicking the ball over the head of a Yeovil player, but Charlie Cooper recovered expertly to send it out for a throw in.
Two late subs came for Yeovil, as Matt Worthington and Josh Sims entered play, replacing the sponsors (and my) man of the match Ciaran McGuckin, and Jordan Young respectively.
The final spells of play were somewhat sloppy from Dagenham, as Huish Park roared on Yeovil through the 6 minutes of stoppage time, despite the efforts of Dion Pereira on the right hand side as he shrugged off a challenge from Josh Sims, his cross finding nobody.
Another late cross was caught by Ollie Wright, and sent downfield, as the final whistle blew. The win takes Yeovil up to 10th in the league, as they sit just 3 points outside the playoff spots after 13 games – as Dave said last week, if you told me we’d be 10th after 13 games, I’d have shook your hand off!
Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Dagenham 0
Match Details
Venue: Huish Park
Date: Saturday 5th October – 15:00 Kick Off
Competition: National League
Scorers: Ciaran McGuckin 54 (1-0)
Pitch: Glorious!
Conditions: Sunny, with a fresh breeze
Attendance: 2,998 (114 away)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town:
Dagenham & Redbridge: Ryan Hill 65, Josh Rees 67
Referee: Ross Martin
Yeovil Town (4-2-3-1)
Substitutes: Matt Gould, Sam Pearson, Matt Worthington (for Ciaran McGuckin, 87), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Josh Sims (for Jordan Young, 87), Raphael Araoye (for Dylan Morgan, 70), Dominic Bernard (for Michael Smith, 45)
Dagenham & Redbridge: Elliot Justham (C), Frank Vincent (for Christian N’Guessan, 61), Jake Hessenthaler (for Dylan Stephenson, 78), Harry Phipps, Dion Pereira, Josh Rees, Josh Umerah, Ryan Hill, Romoney Crichlow, Oscar Rutherford, Paul Kalambayi
Substitutes (not used): Luca Woodhouse, Josh Strizovic, Shiloh Remy, Ralph Vigrass, Alfie Terry