Starship Enterprise National League
A point away from home, a new-look side playing some eye-catching football and more than 5,000 people there to witness it. Sounds suspiciously like a decent start to the season to us.
But, as ever, our resident cartoonist Distant Glover has applied cold, hard Vulcan logic to Yeovil Town’s opening day draw at Scunthorpe United…
We’re back for a new season and for now, we only have one Yeovil Town player on our Loan Watch radar.
Defender Dan Ellison is now with Salisbury and was key in their opening day win in the National League South.
The defender played his part in a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Hampton & Richmond.
Former Wycombe Wanderers front man Jaiden Bartolo scored a hat trick for The Whites and really cemented the win.
Ellison has joined the Wiltshire side on an initial six-month deal, and marked his first appearance in a friendly against Havant & Waterlooville in their final pre-season friendly where he recorded a lovely assist for his side’s second goal.
Images Courtesy of Harry Phillips Photography @HarryPhillipsPhotography.7 on Instagram
We. Are. Back!
The summer of waking up at stupid a.m. for an advertising/hydration breaks in the middle of a game between two nations we don’t care about is over, we have the proper football! We’re all a little bit (too?) excited and we are off and running with National League action.
Ben was on the mic for the season opener at the Attis Arena here are his key takeaways.
We saw some really nice debuts.
Throwing in so many new faces all at once was something that Billy Rowley had to do, he didn’t have much of a choice. But what he saw was a really positive showing from all his new lads.
I’ll highlight a few, but honestly, I think the vast majority gave a great account of themselves as individuals and as a unit.
Mason Obeng’s goal will rightly take the headlines (and the spuds), but he was a constant threat down the left hand side. If anything I think we maybe under-utilised him during the first half, but the way Archie Davies was getting success down the right, I understood.
Jos Barker didn’t put a glove wrong in goal, one first half save in particular was crucial. Joe Gubbins is going to key at the back and organised things well and kept Scunthorpe’s danger man Danny Whitehall quiet.
Jordan Norville-Williams is going to be a real fans’ favourite. Never gives an inch, runs for his life and adds something in attack and defence equally.
We saw two really good goals.
He meant it. There might have been a suggestion that Luke Brennan’s last gasp equaliser was a bit fortunate, but being in the Press Box right behind it and having him confirm it post match as he walked past the media teams, we saw a genuinely brilliant goal.
No blame on Jos Barker, maybe our defenders could have closed that space down a bit quicker, but sometimes, you doff your cap to a brilliant goal.
Was it better than Obeng’s though? They’re not far apart! A seriously good finish to a seriously good delivery from Ryan Jones’ free-kick.
There’s more to come.
We didn’t see either Charlie Lennon or Ste Walker at all, both saved for another day as we looked to sure up in the second half, and that’s quite exciting. On loan defender Loick Ayina was there with the group but now we have that thing called ‘depth’ we had to leave him out. That’s bonkers!
At home, having the ability to bring quality players, exciting game changers off the bench at different times should fill the fans with optimism, and hopefully put a little fire in the belly of those who missed out at Scunthorpe.
Permission to believe.
We would have lost that game at the exact time last season, in fact, my guess is it would have gone the same way as those Hartlepool openers the last two seasons, cagey, dull and eventually a bit of a damp squib.
But we didn’t yesterday. We’re gutted not to win, away at one of the toughest, most physical teams in the league who I expect to be play-off bound once more. That’s not something to take lightly at any point in the season. Plenty will come away from Glanford Park with little more than a Danny Whitehall bruise or six and a total of zero points.
The officials are allowed to be rusty as well, right?
You’ve probably seen the screenshot on social media of the third contentious ‘offside’ call against Luke McCormick by now. If you haven’t it’s below. I don’t think referee Michael Barlow or his friends were really up to speed yet. They are coming back off the break too, but being overly lenient in that game didn’t really do any favours to anyone and they called at least two (possibly three offsides) in the hosts’ favour that clearly were not.
Yeovil Town vice-captain Joe Gubbins said his side’s 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United was a fair reflection of the Glovers’ efforts on the opening day of the new season.
The centre half, one of nine new summer signings who made the starting XI in Lincolnshire, was part of the visiting backline which controlled the attack of a side which reached the play-offs last season.
Having taken the lead through a cool Mason Obeng goal three minutes in to the second half, Yeovil had to put in a dogged defensive performance as Scunthorpe pushed for an equaliser which eventually came through Luke Brennan with a minute of normal time remaining.
Talking to BBC Somerset reporter Mark Stillman after the game, Gubbins said: “I think we really dug in and deservedly got a point and it probably could have been more. We’re all we’re really happy with the start, but we need to keep going and take it to next Saturday (at home to Carlisle United).
“At half-time we knew they would come at us, this is a hard place to come and I thought we stood up to them well and deserved our point.”
Gubbins played the full 90 minutes in defence alongside loanee Ben Radcliffe with Jordan Norville-Williams and Archie Davies alongside them, with Hayden Muller and Zain Westbrooke providing calmness when it was needed from midfield in front of them. There was also a National League debut for goalkeeper Jos Barker, who made one impressive stop to deny Scunthorpe winger Pat Jones in the first half, and Gubbins was full of praise for his keeper.
He said: “(Scunthorpe) is not an easy place to make your debut, so he was brilliant and it was a really commanding performance from him. It was good to have him behind us and he really helped us out. All the boys are getting on really well and I think you could see that out there.
“We are a new group and communication is massive especially with crowds like we had today. We are a new group and we need to talk to each other and I felt like we did that today.
“I felt we held them at bay really well and had the better chances and I am not sure about some of the offside calls (against McCormick), I felt we looked threatening on the counter attack and I thought it was a really good performance.”
Goal-scorer Mason Obeng was delighted to mark his National League debut with a goal as Yeovil Town picked up a decent point after a 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United on the opening day of the season.
The winger, who has stepped up two tiers of the football pyramid having signed from Walton & Hersham in the summer, coolly stroked the Glovers in to the lead with 48 minutes gone.
Speaking exclusively to Gloverscast Ben after the match, the 22-year-old said: “I was actually originally meant to be on the edge of the box, but Westy (midfielder Zain Westbrooke) said ‘go and get yourself round the back. I’m sure, they were fuming in the in the dugout, but I managed to get us a goal and put us in the lead, so no complaints. It was pretty surreal if I’m being honest and I didn’t actually know how to celebrate. But, it was it was amazing to do that, especially in front of our fans.”
Having become the Glovers’ first scorer of the season – remember it took 216 minutes to do that last season – Obeng is now the proud owner of a bag of potatoes! Yeovil have decided to follow with an old tradition which was re-introduced after decades away last season, awarding their first marksman with new campaign a sack of spuds!
Obeng seemed a little perplexed by the honour. He smiled: “You know what, I did hear about this, and I’m not going to complain, you know?” When asked if he preferred his potatoes boiled, mashed or jackets, he laughed: “All of the above.” Let’s hope there’s plenty in that bag!
Having taken the lead early in the second half, Yeovil looked to have held up well against pressure from a Scunthorpe side looking to get their season started with a win in front of their home crowd. They had to wait until just a minute of normal time remaining when substitute Luke Brennan lofted a shot in to the net.
But Obeng insisted that the late equaliser would not detract from a positive performance. He said: ”
The match ended 1-1 thanks to a late, Luke Brennan goal, whilst it’s fair to say it could have taken the wind out of the Glovers’ sails, the feeling amongst the team was remaining positive.
“It was definitely upsetting for me personally with me getting the goal that I thought had us the win, but there’s no complaints. Coming here and getting a point is something very difficult to do, especially at the start of the season, so I feel like when we look back here, we’ll see it as a very good point on the road.
“When we first got in (the dressing room) heads were down, but when you look at it you think getting that point is very important for us at the start of the season.”
Speaking about the transition back to full time football, Obeng said he couldn’t wait to get back to working with manager Billy Rowley and assistant Darren Simpson, who he had played under at his previous club Walton & Hersham.
He said: “It was definitely something I always wanted to do, get back into full-time football. Just seeing that atmosphere here on an away day was just amazing and to have that Huish Park next weekend is just something I’ve always looked to do.
“I feel like just like the way [Billy Rowley and Darren Simpson] play football and the passion they have for it is just unreal. It was always something that I wanted to do throughout my career, so I feel like (joining Yeovil) was a no-brainer.
And now the winger is looking forward to his first league action in front of a home crowd when Carlise United make the trip down to Huish Park next weekend.
He said: “Having our home fans will definitely make a difference. I feel like we need get our heads down (in training next week), work hard and then see how we get on on Saturday.”
A point away at Scunthorpe United on the opening day is nothing to be sniffed at, but there was still disappointment from the Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley following his side’s 1-1 draw.
After am even first half, the Glovers took the lead when winger Mason Obeng stroked home the opener with 48 minutes on the clock and the visitors looked to have done enough to earn three points before Iron substitute Luke Brennan found a late equaliser.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman after the match, Rowley said: “When you come to Scunthorpe away, when you eat your breakfast this morning, you probably would take a point. But, having just watched and been part of this game, I feel like I think we’re a bit unfortunate not to win. They’re really good team – Andy (Butler, the Iron manager) does a great job here, home support was excellent – but we’ve had a couple of big chances.
“We’ve had two offsides given which I’ve been shown on freeze frame, that aren’t offside and I think Macca (midfielder Luke McCormick) goes on to score one of those and makes it 2-0, which makes the game very different, so I think there’s two sides of this. I’m happy with a point here, but I’m a little bit frustrated we didn’t win it.”
A new look starting XI saw nine debutants make their first competitive appearances in green and white, including an entirely new back line and Rowley was pleased with his defensive unit’s efforts despite the late equaliser.
He said: “Scunthorpe are really good at what they do, they put the ball in the on your back line and they’re great at running off you, they create little overloads out wide and we dealt with all that really well. I’m really happy with all the lads, in particular (goalkeeper) Jos (Barker), he’s young lad who’s come from two leagues below and made a made a (league) debut in front of 6,000 people. He’s not really put a foot wrong. I thought the goal was an unbelievable goal from them although I think we probably could have done a slightly better job of of closing off that lane and showing him outside.”
One man who is familiar to the Yeovil supporters was midfielder Brett McGavin, who replaced Hayden Muller at half time. Rowley was full of praise for the midfielder, saying: “Brett is elite at this level for technical ability to dictate games, he’s able to shape people off his back, he can receive the ball in tight spaces. The idea was to bring on Brett when the when their legs are a little bit tired and do that job for us and I think he did it really well and I think he matched defensively as well. I was really pleased with Brett when he came on and I thought he did excellently.”
After an even first half, the Glovers took the lead with just three minutes of the second half gone after Ryan Jones’ free-kick from way out on the right found Obeng at the back post. The winger showed great coolness and technique to confidently stroke the ball in to the net and celebrate in front of the 260 away supporters.
Rowley was pleased with the goal and all of the trio of players he brought from his former club Walton & Hersham – goalkeeper Barker, Obeng and midfielder Johl Powell, who appeared as a second half substitute.
The boss said: “Initially, I thought our goal was a bit lucky, but after rewatching it’s just an unbelievable goal. I am really pleased for Mason. I made a big point at the end of the end of the game with the boys in the dressing room, Jos, Mase and Johl, they are lads that have come from two leagues below to play in front of one of the biggest crowds they have done in a long time and I felt they all dealt with it superbly well. I thought the the goal from Mase, might make goal of the week this week in this league.”
There were 260 supporters who made the long journey up from Somerset for the opening fixtures and made themselves heard in a crowd of 5,111 on a sweltering day in Lincolnshire.
Rowley said: “The support was incredible. I was smiling throughout the whole warm up. Some of the staff that are new here as well, they were amazed by it. I can’t thank them enough and I know all the boys absolutely loved it as well, it made the warm up, made this whole day really special.”
A late equaliser saw Yeovil Town have to settle for a point from a trip to Scunthorpe United on the opening game of the season.
After an even first half, the Glovers took the lead when winger Mason Obeng stroked the ball home three minutes in to the second half.
Scunthorpe, who finished in the National League play-offs last season, pressed hard for an equaliser and eventually found one when substitute Luke Brennan lifted the ball in to the net with a minute of normal time playing.
Despite the tinge of disappointment at not being able to hold out for three points, there was plenty to feel positive from Yeovil about in their first competitive outing of the season.
Manager Billy Rowley gave a league debut to nine players with captain Luke McCormick and Ryan Jones the only members of the starting XI who were at the club last season. One of the recent arrivals Slavi Spasov was preferred to Stephen Walker up front whilst Hayden Muller started in midfield in place of Brett McGavin. Both Walker and McGavin were named among the substitutes.
The opening 15 minutes did not create a chance worthy of a mention but a definite desire from both sides to play the way a beautiful surface at the Attis Arena deserved. The joy Yeovil found came mostly down the right side with Archie Davies delivering a couple of crosses from the box and a jinking run from Ryan Jones leading to an effort which Scunthorpe keeper Louis Jones needed to be sharp to get down low to deny.
On 33 minutes, McCormick ran on to a ball forward and looked to be through on the Iron goal, but lifted his effort over the bar. The linesman flagged him as offside although the Yeovil bench’s protests would suggest the call was closer than it looked from the away end.
The first meaningful chance of the game fell to the home side a minute later. Winger Pat Jones skipped past Archie Davies and found himself one-on-one with Yeovil keeper Jos Barker who stuck a strong left hand to make an impressive stop to deny him. That save will give the young keeper huge confidence.
Then with five minutes of the first half remaining, another good chance for Scunthorpe. Declan Howe got a ball in from the left, it clipped off the heel of Joe Gubbins and landed invitingly to Jordan Richards but his effort over the bar.
The half-time whistle sounded with the home side having had the better of the opportunities to go ahead, but Yeovil acquitting themselves well. There’s definitely a fans’ favourite being made in Jordan Norville-Williams who has not given an inch against Howe whilst Gubbins and Ben Radcliffe in the middle have managed to keep Scunthorpe danger man striker Danny Whitehall nullified.
The half-time break saw Brett McGavin replace Hayden Muller in the heart of midfield.
A Ryan Jones free-kick from out in the right found its way to Mason OBENG on the far post and he was the coolest man inside the penalty area to confidently stroke Yeovil ahead. The away end of 260 travelling supporters erupted as the players celebrated in front of them.
Just five minutes after going ahead, McCormick found himself through on goal again but (again) was denied by the offside flag. The skipper, much like the visiting bench in the first half, had serious questions about the call. VAR might have had a different opinion – but we don’t want that at this level of the game…….right? Soon after that Ryan Jones forced his namesake Louis Jones in the Scunthorpe goal in to a fine stop.
As we reach the middle of the second half, the home side are turning up the pressure as they search for an equaliser. Archie Davies does well to block an effort from Pat Jones and Ryan Jones took a heavy blow scrambling a Tyler Denton effort off the line from a corner. Jones needed to come off and was replaced by Johl Powell whilst James Daly replaced Slavi Spasov in the forward line with 64 minutes played.
Scunthorpe made changes on their own bringing on winger Luke Brennan, experienced midfielder Jacob Butterfield and striker James Gale as they looked for an equaliser. On 70 minutes, Whitehall had his first opportunity but his header from a Butterfield free-kick was blocked by a Yeovil shirt. The Glovers are standing up well to intense pressure and defensively looking impressive.
With 20 minutes left to play, Billy Rowley made his final two substitutions of the permitted five changes and it is a defensive change. McCormick is removed in place of Joy Mukena whilst Jack Kingdon replaces Archie Davies in the right wing-back position.
In the 73rd minute, a long ball forward from Barker is helped on by Obeng in to the path of James Daly. The substitutes powered in to the box and was only denied by a superb tackle from Tyler Denton. The Iron defender picks up an injury for his troubles.
Scunthorpe were dominating possession and continuing to press and we found ourselves dropping deep to try and repel the danger. Then with a minute of normal time, Joe Gubbins tries to clear a ball in from the left but can only as get it as far as Luke BRENNAN on the left left of the box and he lifts the ball over the head of Jos Barker to snatch a draw.
Venue: Attis Arena
Date: Saturday 8th August, 3pm kick-off
Competition: National League Premier Division
Scorers: Mason Obeng 48 (1-0), Luke Brennan 89 (1-1)
Pitch: Like a snooker table
Conditions: Sunny in Scunny
Attendance: 5,111 (260 away supporters)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Ben Radcliffe 72
Scunthorpe United: Pat Jones 31, Callum Howe 54,
Referee: Michael Barlow
Yeovil Town
Substitutes: Brett McGavin (for Hayden Muller, 46), Johl Powell (for Ryan Jones, 64), James Daly (for Slavi Spasov, 64), Joy Mukena (for Luke McCormick, 70), Jack Kingdon (for Archie Davies, 70), Jack Lennon (not used), Stephen Walker (nor used).
Scunthorpe United: Louis Jones, Ross Barrows, Alfie Beestin (for James Gale, 64), Tyler Denton (for Branden Horton, 76), Will Evans, Callum Howe, Declan Howe (for Luke Brennan, 64), Pat Jones (for Kyle Hurst, 83), Jordan Richards, Joe Rowley (for Jacob Butterfield, 64), Danny Whitehall.
Yeovil Town’s first line up of the season at Scunthorpe United features full debuts for nine players. Luke McCormick and Ryan Jones are the only two familiar faces from last season in the starting line up. There’s no spot on the for Matt Gould and Salford City loanee Loick Ayina misses the squad entirely.
It’s the first foot in the opposition camp of the new season! In this episode, we preview the long journey from Somerset to face Scunthorpe United in the opening game of the National League Premier Division. We are delighted to welcome back Barra from the Iron Hour podcast to get the inside track on the opposition ahead of the match.
