Five Conclusions

By:
On:
In: Gloversblog

It was a dead rubber as the National League South’s bottom side, Dover Athletic, hosted the champions, that’s Yeovil Town, if you didn’t know! And the Glovers signed off the season in style with a 3-1 win at Crabble.

Dave was there to bring the curtain down on the campaign.

Farewell National League South: That’s all, folks! The National League South season is done and we wrapped it up nicely with a bow on it. For a game that meant nothing in terms of league positions to either side it was competitive in flashes with long periods of passing practice in between those flashes for the visiting champions. All respect to Dover, they have a lovely set-up at Crabble (no ‘the’ remember?) and I have no doubt they will be back up the pyramid again soon.

Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

Dylan Morgan could be a gem: If there’s one thing you can draw from yesterday it was that there could be a very handy player growing in Dylan Morgan. Yes, he was playing against a team which had been relegated three weeks previous, but the precision with which he finished his chances yesterday show he could be quite a goal-scoring midfield player. In the same way Jake Wannell has gone from a shaky start to life at Yeovil to a defensive colossus (he’s the Somerset Cannavaro), with the right coaching and no doubt a bit of luck, Morgan could do the same.

Was that goodbye from a few?: It was good to see some players we have not seen much of lately getting a good run out. Josh Owers got the full match, Jake Hyde got half-an-hour and both looked like they were enjoying being out there again. As we discussed on the last podcast, there was a definite feeling that this could have been farewell from a few. Alex Fisher’s wave to the travelling fans looked like goodbye. If I’m not just reading too much in to that, the man will bow out as a true hero – got us over the line and a thoroughly good chap.

This is how I always want to remember Alex Fisher.

An important summer: As Mark Cooper says, now it’s time to see what we are really made of. On the face of it the National League Premier is wide open, as he describes it, but every club in it will be thinking the same thing. What we decide to do this summer will be important, we’ve had a undoubtedly impressive budget on the playing side this season, and that will probably equate to something more middling at a higher level. You get the sense Cooper knows what he wants to do and it’s really down to the economic realities, but I am hopeful we can be competitive next season.

The Crabble burger was everything I remember: Now we are on to the real important stuff, but the Crabble burger was everything I remember it being. And at £4.80, it was a bargain as well. Maybe it could have done with the cheese slices melting for a little longer – but I’ll take it. If you got one, I trust you enjoyed it too.

The Crabble Burger

By:
On:
In: Gloversblog

Six more points, folks. That’s what Yeovil Town need to finish their first season in National League South as champions after a 3-0 win over Torquay United in front of a league record crowd (yes, another one). Dave was in the Thatcher’s to see it and here’s what he made of it.

 

We were in total control: From minute one to minute 90+7, we were thoroughly in control. Our defence looked assured, the midfield never looked flustered or overrun, and going forwards we always looked like we had the better of a Torquay side who, admittedly were not at full strength, but still had players quite capable of causing problems. We dominated them in every department. How nice was it to spend the last 20 minutes just enjoying being in complete control? 

He’s the Somerset Cannavaro……just don’t mention his second half ‘free kick’. Sorry, Jake. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Clean sheet #17: Let’s take a moment to appreciate our defence. With our two first-choice full-backs missing, we did not miss a beat. Everything Joe Day needed to do, he did well, I thought Genesini and Foulston both looked every inch worthy replacements for Smith and Whittle, now that really is saying something. But what a performance from Jake Wannell and Morgan Williams, they will be shaking the Torquay frontline out of their pockets.

It’s Jahmari: I gave Jahmari Clarke some criticism at Braintree where he was pretty ineffective and I don’t mind admitting for the first 20 minutes against Torquay I was thinking the same. He’ll not get a much easier finish than his first goal, but he was in the right place to turn it home and that is a what a good striker does. That second goal showed exactly what he can do though. He did what he had been threatening to do at Braintree and the first half yesterday, spun his man and showed a composure in front of goal to finish. Plus he threw in some poophousery with his celebration  and who doesn’t love that? More to come from this kid. Maybe not with us, but there’s something there.

Huish Park did its bit: Huish Park has come in for not being overly supportive when our play has been about controlling the game, but yesterday it did its bit. I’m not get talking about another record-breaking attendance, I’m talking about the supportive noises which reverberated around the place for the entire game. The Thatcher’s was absolutely bouncing and you could see the players fed off it. When we’re good, boy are we good. 

I believe: It’s taken me until now to shake off ten years of hurt, but I’m a believer. That performance today showed this team has its mojo back and, when I look at our remaining games, they have enough (more than enough) to get the six points we need to seal the title. Now I’m gonna believe you, WE’RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!

By:
On:
In: Gloversblog
Charlie Cooper battling in midfield.

The gap at that top of National League South is now seven points (with a game in hand) over Chelmsford City, but goals are proving difficult to come by for Yeovil Town. A goalless draw at Slough Town yesterday did nothing for the Glovers’ goals for column and here’s how Marcus Duncomb saw the game from his vantage point in the away side (first half)/end (second half).

I didn’t realise quite how much influence a right back can have on a whole team. I know Michael Smith was playing in the Europa Conference League last season and scoring worldies against Germany a few years ago… BUT I still didn’t expect a right back to hold quite so much importance to our team. Whether it’s his technical ability or his calmness and leadership on the pitch, he is sorely missed. This is no dig at Genesini, but not having Smith effects the whole team – especially whoever is playing on the right wing.

New signing Brooklyn Genesini. Picture courtesy of YTFC.

Speaking of right backs, Brooklyn Genesini is definitely more of a wing back than a full back. The Yeovil lad started the game at right wing back and throughout the game was one of our more assured performers. He was still sound as a more natural full back towards the end when we switched to four at the back, but he looked more comfortable going forward so I wonder if we may stick with the five/three at the back until Michael Smith is back. Still, it’s nice not to have dealt with the issue rather than sticking square pegs in round holes for the rest of the season!

We’ve now got four very tall frontmen. Towards the end of the game there was a moment where we had Jahmari Clarke, Alex Fisher and Frank Nouble (all 6ft3) as our front three, with Olly Thomas not in the squad. Earlier in the season Cooperball was certainly more about passing it around and patiently waiting to create opportunities, but now with the height of those three I think there’s certainly an argument to be made to play our football a bit more direct. Especially as we enter the crunch point of the season – at this point I’d like to start seeing us win ugly in games where our normal patient style isn’t working. We missed that in Slough.

Jordan Stevens. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

We can get more out of Jordan Stevens. It took me a while to work out his role in our formation at Slough yesterday. Cooper was playing as the deepest midfielder and then Worthington and Stevens were playing in the advanced midfield roles. Stevens struggled to influence the game with his pace and energy in a packed middle of the pitch – it was when he instinctively drifted out wide that he showed glimpses of his danger. There’s a serious player in there and unlocking it (and wrapping him in cotton wool) could be crucial to us securing the title.

We’re missing a poacher type striker to finish off the scraps in the box. Jahmari Clarke looked exciting and played the ball across the face of the box twice in a short space of time, but without Hyde and Murphy, our two more classic number 9s, there was no one there to fire home. This has been the case for a few games now and while the energy and hard work of players like Fisher is definitely adding something, you can never say no to a classic fox in the box striker to win you a game from a messy goal.

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Chippenham made it four points from a possible six against Yeovil this season, as they inflicted a double dose of home defeat on the Glovers. An uninspiring performance was witnessed by Tom, who has given us his Five Conclusions…

Alex Fisher celebrates his goal against Farnborough.

Classy from Fisher! There were some pretty dour performances out there tonight, but one player that did impress me was Alex Fisher. His header was taken expertly, meeting Olly Thomas’ wonderful cross to give Yeovil the lead. I think his determination alone earned him my Man of the Match (and the sponsor’s Man of the Match as well). His work rate, and success in aerial duels across his 90 minutes were great to see, and I think he’ll continue to play a part in Yeovil’s run-in. Credit must also go to Sonny-Blu Lo-Everton, and Alex Whittle, who also put in solid performances.

Credit to Chippenham. As much as Yeovil clearly weren’t up to the races tonight, credit to Chippenham for executing their gameplan to a tee. I spoke to Steve Rutter before the game, and he said we had to be careful of a potential banana skin here, as their away form, particularly against better teams, has been impressive this season – and we saw exactly that. Calm in defence, with Fisher’s goal the only real lapse in performance for the visitors, three well taken goals to give them three well earned points.

Jordan Young. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

It’s time to discuss Jordan Young. He started the season quietly, before setting fire following his opening goal against Tonbridge Angels, but since his contract extension at the start of 2024, I’ll be honest and say I’ve seen nothing from our number 11 at all. Tonight was no different, as we saw Young either trying too much at once and being dispossessed, or being pushed out of the game. I don’t know where the Jordan Young of 2023 has gone, but I’d desperately like him back for the end of the season please!

Some positives… It’s easy to be negative after a loss, but there were some positives to take from tonight. Josh Owers gave a good account of himself when he replaced the injured Charlie Cooper, that pairing with Sonny-Blu gave us a little bit of both defensive stability, and a little bit going forward with our special number 16. We looked a bit more fluid in the second half compared to the first, before the goals took the wind out of our sails, and the ideas were there from Nouble and Stevens, nothing was coming off for us though. It’s not all doom and gloom yet!

However… we got away with it tonight. Yes, I’ve listed off the positives above, but these are games we need to be clinching, and widening the gap at the top. We have got seriously lucky tonight, with Chelmsford and Worthing both losing too, there’s no need to panic but we have got to be careful that this doesn’t set a precedent for the end of the season. Up the Yeo!

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

Welling United secured their second win over Yeovil Town this season, completing the double and ending the Glovers’ unbeaten record at home. It was not a pretty afternoon at Huish Park, and here are Ian’s Five Conclusions…

Jay Foulston challenges for the ball. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

It all fell apart when Michael Smith went off. His quality is undeniable and we’re a significantly better team with him in it. But, surely he’s not THAT important. After Smith’s injury in the 15th minute, Yeovil lost all flow, rhythm and patterns of play. There was a very brief switch to a back three, with Jay Foulston left of the three, but that quickly shifted back to a back four with moved Foulston to right back. He really struggled. He didn’t look comfortable offensively or defensively and the part of Jordan Young’s game that depends on the overlapping and defensive security of Smith was lost too.

Our attackers are struggling. Mark Cooper said that the goals had ‘dried up’ following the match and it was a match where there was little flow from the forward players. Frank Nouble and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton swapped positions in the first half to try and make things happen. (I thought Nouble looked more effective through the middle.) Jordan Young had another game where nothing clicked. He had some sloppy moments in possession and didn’t make the impact we’ve come to expect. Sam Pearson wasn’t able to get into a full flow and show his pace and neither was Jordan Stevens. It was only when Olly Thomas came on and he had a couple of decent chances, that Yeovil really threatened.

Olly Thomas shoots at goal. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

You have to give credit to Welling. They’ve done us in league twice now, and with two very different teams. They weathered the early storm from Yeovil and managed to create a few half chances and shots from distance. Their goal came from a calamitous error from Charlie Cooper, but it was a great finish from Anthony Grant who rifled the ball into the top corner from a tight angle. With less than 20 minutes on the clock, it then became an exercise in seeing the game out and the Wings did it masterfully. Time taken in dead ball situations, patience in the corners keeping the ball away from Yeovil. 

We seemed to lose our composure. Morgan Williams and Jake Wannell have been a calming influence at the back all season, but there was a mad spell in the second half where they were caught out by Welling and conceded fouls. Wannell relished the first half battle with Reece Grant and largely controlled it, but in a second half where most players seemed to get shaky, it was noticeable when they struggled. Perhaps because their standards have been so high. Through the midfield we kept trying to go long, hitting hopeful balls towards Sam Pearson, who was on a hiding to nothing against Welling’s big back line. 

Morgan Williams rises highest. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Don’t panic! With Chelmsford’s win against Truro City yesterday evening, the gap at the top is nine points with a game in hand. There’s a chance to move on quickly against Chippenham and Tuesday and with a bright cameo from Olly Thomas, we could soon have a focal point at the top of the pitch. It was hard to stomach defeat at the final whistle, and there was almost a stunned silence when proceedings came to an end. So remarkable has the home form been, that defeat was hard to take. However, we have the buffer at the top and a chasing pack that’s inconsistent. On to Tuesday!

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Latest Yeovil Town News

Was it ever in doubt that Yeovil Town would bounce back from a knock on the road last weekend? Nah, not for anyone who has seen this team this season. Remarkably, Dave was at Farnborough to see us get back to winning ways and here are his conclusions.


Feed the Fish: This was a big win on the road. This maintained the 11-point lead. But this one was for Alex Fisher. He’s been very public in talking about how the road to recovery has been since that horrific injury last April and you could feel every person in that away end was genuinely delighted for him. He may not be the most prolific striker, but you cannot fault his effort and he deserved every minute of the adulation he got for a great performance. 

Can you feel the love? Fish celebrates his goal.

Bouncebackability: I wrote about it in my conclusions after the defeat at Chelmsford seven days earlier, but the most important thing was to bounce back with a performance and three points. It may not have been pretty at times, but do not underestimate the significance of these three points. If Chelmsford, Worthing or anyone else thought we were faltering – sorry, not sorry. Please mind the gap.

How good is Sonny?: Honestly, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton is such a joy to watch some times. He may get a lot of time on the ball in this division but what he does with it is sensational. With Charlie Cooper back alongside him doing the dirty work, Worthy the engine alongside him, you felt he was able to enjoy himself. Took his goal superbly and was my Man of the Match. Sorry, Fish.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown


48 hours later: At the risk of sounding like a football manager, the next game is the most important. Especially as Aveley choose (according to some of their fans at least) to play on a Monday night. The window for recovery is very short and bringing off a number of players who ran their proverbials off again (well done, Sam Pearson) was important. Hopefully a fresh Jordan Young is chomping at the bit to go again after his two-match ban.

Jinx? What jinx? Okay, I’ll bite and, okay, probably not for the first time. As someone who has seen their fair share of defeats in a season when defeats have not been that common place, seeing a win was fantastic. I’ll put it next to St Albans, Truro and Taunton at home, Hampton, Worthing, Eastbourne and Tonbridge away. Plus a couple of points at Chippenham and St Albans. See you all at Braintree!

I was definitely there! All that sun glinting off my blonde hair makes it look grey!🤣

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog, Latest Yeovil Town News

A bad day at the office for Yeovil Town at Chelmsford City yesterday as they went down 1-0 to a side now sat (12 points behind them) in second place in National League South. Dave made the trip to Essex and here’s his conclusions from him trip to the athletics stadium.


This is nothing to panic about: First things first, our lead at the top of National League South is still 12 points. Yes, it could have more, but it is far from anything to lose our heads over. 
There is not a team in this division that would not swap places with us in a heartbeat. Chelmsford quite rightly celebrated their win and good luck to them for the rest of the season. I see they have Worthing next weekend, a draw from that one would be lovely.

Jake Wannell wins a header in the first half.

We never got going: Second things second, this was a bad day at the office for us and Chelmsford deserved their win. Was it the worst performance I’ve seen this season? I don’t know about that, Welling might take that prize, but we certainly did not show up in the way we know we can. It was not until we went more direct when Alex Fisher came on that we were did much to lay a glove on Chelmsford. I still don’t understand the logic of playing Sam Pearson through the middle, he was expected to win aerial duels against a defender who was at least a foot-and-a-half taller than him. So much more effective in wide positions in the second half. Olly Thomas back for Farnborough would be wonderful.

Come on, lino!: I know Rule #1 of the Gloverscast (if it still exists) is not to complain about referees, but what about assistants? If so, whichever of Nathan Briggs or Simon Parberry was running the right-hand line gave us absolutely nothing. There were blatant corners that were goal kicks and I look forward to seeing Fisher’s ‘goal’ from a better angle because I would trust that guy as far as I could throw him – which ain’t far! Don’t get me wrong, we were poor and Chelmsford deserved their win, but that guy was hopeless.

Joe Day pulled off some great saves to keep the scoreline down.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Super Joe Day is in goal: And thank goodness he was, because without him this could have been a more comprehensive defeat. The perils of changing ends is you never get to see what good saves he made, but I fully expect the highlights to show he made a couple of good ones. A lot more class than his opposite number in every sense of the word, as well.

Time for some bouncebackability: Was it Iain Dowie who coined the phrase ‘bouncebackability’? Whatever happened to him by the way? Anyway, excuse a typical Gloverscast tangent. But, every time we’ve had a blip (and that is all this is) this season we have bounced back and Farnborough seems a good place to do exactly that. If we can get more training in to the likes of Charlie Cooper and Alex Whittle, get Olly Thomas back again and give a couple of players a rest, that would be lovely.

On your marks! Yeovil Town fans Dom Maine and Tim Lancaster enjoyed the surroundings of the Melbourne Stadium.
Picture courtesy of Andy Craig.

 

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog

With 15 games to go, the gap between Yeovil Town and the rest of National League South remains at ten points after a 4-2 win at Tonbridge Angels yesterday.

Dave was in the away end at the Longmead Stadium and here’s his conclusions on wjhat he saw….

Worried? Not for a second: Okay, I will not deny there were a few hairy moments in our defence after Tonbridge scored their two goals. We gave them some hope and they took, but scoring four goals away from home against a side sat in mid-table, let’s not underestimate that. Yes, our defending left a bit to be desired, but Worthing scored six and yet conceded four against a Dover side at the bottom of the league and they are the darlings of the division. Let’s just keeping on winning, boys. 

Jake Wannell was Skiverton-esque with his goals. You heard me right!
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Goals from all over: With 17 goals out injured in Rhys Murphy and Jake Hyde up front, goals will have to come from other places between now and the end of the season. So seeing Jake Wannell scoring two headers straight out of the Terry Skiverton’s playbook (yes, I went there), Dylan Morgan showing his creative quality and Young and Worthy chipping in is vital.  By my (questionable) maths, Jordan Young now has as 13 goals in all competitions – the same as Murphy.

Great to see you back Jordan: Having looked wrapped up for his previous substitute appearances, seeing Jordan Stevens’ shin pads as he took his place on the bench gave me confidence he’d see some action yesterday. As soon as the third goal went in, the outstanding Dylan Morgan was withdrawn and Stevens introduced. He showed a few turns of pace, got us worried by needing some treatment after falling heavily on his shoulder, but above gave me confidence he can still play an important part in this season.

Jordan Stevens replaced Dylan Morgan after 67 minutes.

No segregation. No problem: There’s about 15 miles between Maidstone and Tonbridge, but the difference between the way the two clubs treat away supporters could not be more different. There was no segregation at Tonbridge, unlike the set up of putting home and away fans head-to-head at Maidstone, stewarding was sensible and, funny thing, no issues. Just like there were no issues at St Albans two weeks prior where there was (again) no segregation, or the rest of the season, for that matter. Now I’m not making excuses for idiots in our fanbase at Maidstone, but to read them issue a statement – read it here – effectively saying the issue was solely with away fans is beyond delusional. No doubt the innocent little flowers who chucked bottles and coins from the Maidstone end enjoyed their Sunday morning choir practice today.

I’m beginning to believe: I’ve been trying so hard to stick to the Mark Cooper philosophy of not getting carried away, not looking at league tables, games in hand, other teams’ fixtures, and I am just about holding it together. But, this performance showed me the spirit which has got me starting to believe. Two home fixtures are to come and good results there from a tricky trip to Chelmsford and I’ll be fully converted. Champions elect ole, ole, oleeeeee! 

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog

Yesterday was not a great day for anyone involved with Yeovil Town with a hopeless first half performance and then stupidity in the stands culminating in a 2-1 defeat at Maidstone United. Dave made his second journey to the South East in as many weekends and here are his conclusions.

 

The first half killed us: For months we have said that “if we do what we do well, we’ll win” and the simple fact is we didn’t yesterday. Defensively we were all over the show in the first half. Mark Cooper described it as “soft in the box” and he was being generous, we looked like strangers playing together. I can count on one finger the amount of times Jake Wannell has looked exposed this season and now I need two. But he was not alone, throughout the team we allowed ourselves to get bullied by a Maidstone side who looked like world-beaters in the first half. Every credit to them, they deserved their win.

Michael Smith. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

We missed Cooper and Smith: There was a Michael Smith-shaped hole down the right side of our defence. We started with Morgan Williams out there and, after the first goal, we went back to Matt Worthington there, and all Maidstone’s threat came from that side in the first half. The quality and experience of Smith cannot be underestimated, but the control, bite and experience of Charlie Cooper was also noticeably absent in midfield. The things he often gets criticised for doing – putting his foot on the ball, retaining possession – we missed them all.

Sam Pearson is not a number nine: It was our mistakes in defence which cost us the game, but going forwards we never got going. Sam Pearson is a talented player, the kind who gives defenders nightmares with his pace and trickery but we persisted with knocking long balls against the 6’5″ Reiss Greenidge in the Maidstone defence. It didn’t work and we could not seem to find another way through in the first half. Second half things improved. When Olly Thomas came on, he was more of a number nine, but the damage was done by then.

Setting off a pyro at 1-0 down is as embarassing as our defending for the goal.

No-one comes out looking good: Sadly, the off-the-pitch stuff has to be referenced for the first time this season. My conclusion? Everyone looks bad. Pyros lit and then thrown in to the away supporters – idiotic. Pictures of Lee Collins being held up by home fans – disgraceful. This is the first time this season I can say a small section of our support have let themselves down, just last weekend St Albans City fans (no segregation there) were saying how good we were. There’s a place for banter, atmosphere, having a go at opposing fans, but this quickly turned in to something which was none of those things. There was blame on both sides and no-one comes out looking good.

‘Only’ ten points clear: Let’s not get carried away, there wasn’t a huge amount to be positive about our performance, but that is why our advantage at the top is so important. Those battling wins at places like Eastbourne, Taunton and Bath the last-gasp winner at Worthing, our unbeaten home form, they have all put the ground work in. It was a poor performance, Maidstone deserved their win, but we move on to Tonbridge.

If you take one thing from yesterday, make it this.

By:
On:
In: Five Conclusions, Gloversblog

A 1-1 draw against a decent St Albans City extended Yeovil Town’s unbeaten run to nine matches and keeps them top of the National League South table by ten points with games in hand over many promotion rivals.

But, they also lost defender Michael Smith to injury and we learned strikers Rhys Murphy and Jake Hyde are out for “the foreseeable future.” Here’s what Dave made of it all.


A great advert for National League South: Before the game, we’d heard about two sides on good runs of form who were capable of playing exciting, attacking football.In the first half, it was Yeovil who were in the ascendency and really should have gone in at the break with more than a 1-0 advantage. Second half, it was St Albans’ game and they showed excellent spirit to cause us more problems than any team I have seen us play this season. Their interim manager said they should have taken all three points, but I thought a draw was a fair reflection of the game. How many times this season have we heard opposition managers say they should have beaten us when they haven’t?Add John Meakes to the list.

Put yer laces through it, Jordan: I mentioned on the podcast the other week that Jordan Young needs to be more clinical. It sounds ridiculous to say about a player with 12 goals this season, but he had two glorious opportunities to either score of set up a team mate at 1-0 and another in the second half. Take one of those and we’re talking about three points rather than one. He does so well to get in to those positions, if he could find a more clinical edge he could be running away in the scoring stakes.

Jordan Young put the Glovers ahead in the 19th minute. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

Super Joe Day’s in goal: It’s been a season where Joe Day has often not had a lot to do between the posts, but in the second half he showed exactly what he’s about. On a number of occasions he had to be on his game to keep St Albans out and was unflappable even in the nervy moments when the ball was pinging around inside our box. Sign him on!


Injuries starting to bite: If there were three players that were poster boys for Mark Cooper’s minute management, they would be Michael Smith, Rhys Murphy and Jake Hyde. Two players only at this level because of their injury records (Murphy and Hyde) and one who is 35 years young. In reality, we have done well not to lose them for longer. Smith will be the biggest loss, he’s been beyond exceptional this season, but hopefully he is not out for too long. Up front, we definitely missed the bit of devilment that either Murphy or Hyde give us off the bench at St Albans, but we have options. Hopefully the new arrival on Monday offers a focal point a’la Nouble for the links of Young, Pearson and hopefully Jordan Stevens to revolve around.

 
Michael Smith limped off with a hamstring injury late in the second half at St Albans. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown
 
Three points on Tuesday, please: This game feels like a point gained against a decent side, and pick up three points at home to Slough Town on Tuesday and it looks even better. Win your home games and pick up points on the road is the recipe for success. Up the Glovers!