Venue: Huish Park
Saturday, January 22nd, 3pm kick-off

Conditions: Cloudy, calm and barely a breeze.
Pitch: Held up nicely with more attention required to the Thatcher’s End.

Attendance: 2,988 (814 away supporters)

Scorers: Tom Knowles 14 (1-0), Paul Mullin 59 (1-1), Williams o.g. 79 (1-2),

Referee: Sunny Sukhvir Gill

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Williams 86
Wrexham: Ponticelli 90



Yeovil Town
: (4-1-2-1-2)

Grant Smith
Mark Little, Josh Staunton (for Alex Bradley, 75), Morgan Williams, Jack Robinson
Dale Gorman,
Matt Worthington (for Adi Yussuf, 82), Jordan Barnett (for Reuben Reid,86)
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton
Charlie Wakefield Tom Knowles

Substitutes: Max Evans,Toby Stephens.

Wrexham: Lainton, Hall-Johnson, Hayden, Tozer, Lennon, Hosannah (for McAlinden, 66), J.Jones, Young, Davies, Mullin, Thomas (for Ponticelli, 46).
Substitutes: 
Dibble, Cleworth, Angus.


Match Report

As listeners to the Gloverscast know we have some rules, the first of which is: Don’t complain about National League referees, they’re all rubbish.

It was the man in black, Sunny Sukhvir Gill, who was in the spotlight as big-spending Wrexham came back from two goals behind to win 2-1 at Huish Park and extend Yeovil Town‘s losing run to six matches.

Up until just before the hour mark, the referee was having a good game (by National League standards) but with Dale Gorman on the floor clutching his head, the allowed the game to go on and Paul Mullin made no mistake to cancel out a first half opener from Tom Knowles.

Before kick-off defender Max Hunt was spotted on crutches and in the second half Josh Staunton limped off with what appears a hamstring injury.

Another defeat, more pressure on the already threadbare squad – and that’s before we get to the off-the-pitch stuff.

Here’s how Ian saw it from his spot in the Huish Park press box……

First half

The soundtrack to the opening seconds of the match was that of “We want Priestnall out”, as home fans made their displeasure at their absentee owner.

The day after he attributed low attendances as his reasons for selling Joe Quigley to Chesterfield, the Glovers started the game with no recognised striker in the starting line-up and with Max Hunt on crutches at pitchside. Wingers Tom Knowles and Charlie Wakefield started furthest forward and Mark Little made his full debut after returning from injury, moving centre back Morgan Williams to…centre back.

Tom Knowles. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

It was the man I’ve warned you about since day one, who opened the scoring for Yeovil after 14 minute. Tom KNOWLES continues to make the #DFILWF mantra difficult to follow, and his cleanly struck left-footed shot caught just about everyone by surprise as it flew past Wrexham ‘keeper Rob Lainton into the bottom corner. A strike he enjoyed enough to cup his in front of that TikTok lot in Martin Baker Glovers’ Trust Terrace. 1-0.

The Glovers advantage was nearly doubled in the 26th minute, when Josh Staunton met Sonny Blu Lo-Everton‘s deep cross with a towering header. The captain’s effort flew over the bar into a sagging Welsh flag behind the goal.

Chances don’t come more gilt-edged than Charlie Wakefield‘s ten minutes later. A fluffed clearance by Lainton only reached the incoming Matt Worthington and he squared the ball to the unmarked Wakefield inside the 18-yard-box who had time to pick his spot but barely connected with the ball. The ball trickled to the relieved hi-vis keeper as the Yeovil supporters planted their heads in their hands with the precision Wakefield was missing.

The Hollywood boys of Wrexham offered very little in the first half. But for a couple of speculative efforts from their beloved Jordan Davies, the Yeovil defence held firm and went into half-time with the lead as Netflix no doubt pondered whether they’d bought the rights to the wrong psychodrama.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 0

Second half

Yeovil started the second half with determination and some early pressing from Knowles forced a mistake in the Wrexham back line and very nearly created a carbon copy of Wakefield’s chance in the first half. Wakefield couldn’t bring the ball under control though and Wrexham cleared their lines.

Shortly after, Mullin took a tumble under a challenge from Morgan Williams and was adamant he should have had a penalty. The man in the middle, Sunny Gill, thought Mullin went down too easily and waved his appeals away.

Mullin, determined to grab Wrexham up to his level came close to equalising moments later, dragging his right footed shot wide of Grant Smith’s post.

He got his goal just before the hour mark in controversial circumstances. While Dale Gorman was on the floor clutching his head, the referee allowed play to continue around Gorman and last season’s top scorer in League Two put a fine strike into the top corner with Smith rooted to the spot. 1-1 Paul MULLIN.

Gill, who had been having a good game by National League standards, quickly became the villain of the piece as players and fans raged, bewildered by his decision to allow play to continue. Perhaps we missed a protocol where referees are allowed to judge the severity of head injuries, but it was largely shambolic and set him up for a difficult half an hour to see out with supporters well past boiling point.

Josh Staunton who limped off in the second half.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With fifteen minutes left on the clock, Staunton was replaced by Alex Bradley (who had been booked already while warming up) and made his way down the tunnel gingerly. Probably the sight that Yeovil supporters feared the most given our depleted squad.

Three minutes later, Wrexham went ahead. A cross went all the way to the back post to the feet of Jordan Davies. He drilled a left footed cross across the box which was bundled into his OWN GOAL by the sliding Morgan Williams. 1-2

As the time faded away, and Wrexham took control of the game against Yeovil’s tiring legs, Darren Sarll threw on Adi Yussuf and Reuben Reid to salvage the game.

Grant Smith was forced into a good save, low at his near post, from Davies well-struck free kick in the 88th minute.

With six minutes added on, Yeovil searched for an equaliser and Yussuf nearly connected with Bradley’s cross, but Wrexham saw the game out with a string of a corners at the death sending their 814 supporters back cheerfully back to North Wales. For the Glovers, it was another defeat in 2022 as we head into another week of uncertainty.

Full time: Yeovil Town 1 Wrexham 2

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