Five Conclusions (Page 4)

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In what might have been one of the worst footballing spectacles the National League has ever seen, FC Halifax Town and Yeovil Town played out a 1-1 draw at The Shay on Saturday.

Gloverscast Ben was on co-commentary duty for BBC Somerset in the press box and explores the reasons for this, of which plenty were out of Yeovil’s (or anyone’s) control for that matter.

A point on the road should be taken as a good thing on the whole.

I’ll get to the game itself in a moment, but I think it’s worth noting that we are at the stage of the season where we can’t really worry too much about style of play, or level of performance, but it’s now about getting as close to 50 points as possible.

As mentioned on previous podcasts, ten 1-1 draws between now and the end of the season might be enough. Although you’d rather get it wrapped up far sooner.

After the game Yeovil manager Mark Cooper told of his pride in the squad for coming back from 1-0 down and for putting their bodies on the line.

I’ve slept on it (Rule 2) and with some of the teams below us in the table dropping points – Torquay and Gateshead drawing and Dorking losing – it goes down as a ‘good away point’.

Now to the match… well, actually no, to the pitch now.

Manager Mark Cooper leads the applause for the away supporters at the end of the game.

The Shay stadium pitch was an utter disgrace.

Yes, I know it was the same for both teams, but I have to include something on the sandy surface.

I got the chance to stand on a little bit after the game, it was exactly like running across the beach when the tide had just gone out.

It was tough to get any grip if moving at speed, but in tight areas it was sticky and sludgy enough to get your foot stuck in it.

It was basically like playing on a non-Newtonian liquid. (Ask your science teachers, kids).

There’s no doubt in my mind it prevented any kind of a football match from breaking out and could well have contributed to one – or maybe both – of the serious injuries suffered by Lawson D’Ath and Edwin Agbaje.

Lawson D’Ath is lifted to his feet after suffering a hamstring strain.

Speaking of which, I’ve heard rumours that if you win the Golden Gamble next week, the prize has been changed from cash to a place on the bench for the second half. Bring your boots if you’re coming to the game on Saturday.

Edwin Agbaje looks set to be out for a considerable amount of time, Lawson D’Ath broke our hearts again by pulling up chasing to correct an error by Ryan Law, and Matt Worthington is out for two games after a tenth yellow card of the season after ‘taking one for the team’.

Goal-scorer Malachi Linton looked more like Malachi LIMPton as he came out of the tunnel to chat after and Charlie Cooper and Josh Staunton are bandaged up enough to represent an ancient Egyptian artefact.

Alex Fisher and Jordan Maguire-Dre both looked to be nursing something or other as well.

It’s a big week in the physio room as we patch a few bodies up and get them ready.

If Agbaje is out for a while, it would make sense to try and replace that loan spot, but my word do we need some bodies.

I still haven’t mentioned the football have I?

Let’s talk playing out from the back.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I love the commitment to the cause, it’s clearly something Mark Cooper wants to see and maybe the personnel we have doesn’t suit long goal kicks, but oooof does it make me nervous.

The best keeper in the league, two centre backs in Josh Staunton and Owen Bevan you’d hang your hat on more often than not, but with the margins so fine and meaning so much, the risk-reward balance is right on the line and at times it was inviting more pressure than it drew on us.

Finally then. What happens now? A week off, but only for the players. 

Well, the assumption is that we need to bolster the ranks (see Matt Uggla’s tweets from Saturday night – here), which is far easier said than done, we’re already oversubscribed on loans but may need to roll that particular dice again.

We appear to have already earmarked targets for the summer (what is this forward thinking… and why do I like it?) but the suggestion is we might be in a position to move a bit earlier for those, which would be helpful.

Do we need to think about recalling some loans? We have two players in Will Dawes and Ollie Hulbert playing reasonably well in the division below, we have Ollie Haste, who is incredibly highly thought of, who can play as a back up to the left side.

But more than that, we have two home games in a row, the first of which falling on Non League Day. Is there time to try and do something to entice Bristol City fans, Southampton fans… any fans of Premier League/Championship clubs to spend their international break at Huish Park?

I’ve seen some clubs offer any season ticket holder of a Premier League or EFL side a £10 ticket, or similar, but having a bouncing Huish Park will only help the lads get through 90 more minutes against a very good team.

Nine more cup finals to go…

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Only one of the Gloverscast trio got eyes on the 2-1 defeat to Barnet.

Gloverscast Ben watched on the stream as Yeovil lost at the Hive and had to do so in silence as to not wake the youngest mini Barrett, here’s how he saw (but not heard) the game… he’s off to source some headphones.

Physically, it was a game too far.

The previous two results against Eastleigh and Chesterfield have been positive, four points from play-off contenders, who have gone on to put in good performances since.

Let’s not underestimate how good those outcomes were, but this one felt like we’d spent a lot of energy and had very little left.

The team news suggested as much, the slow nature of our counter attacks confirmed it.

We’re clearly nursing a few players through some games.

I’m not going to fault effort, but you are left wondering if we’re paying the price for having no physio for as long as we did.

That being said, we did have moments, but…

If you’re going to only get a few chances, you simply have to take them.

It’s perfectly acceptable to soak up pressure away at good sides, it’s fine to try and get a stereotypically away performance and try and scrap a 1-0 win and call it a day.

But, we did make chances, and I’d argue we could have made more of them.

Ryan Law had a first half header, we had moments on the edge of the box where shots were snatched at rather than placed or forcefully put into the far corner, we made some silly decisions at times which were counter productive in the final third and we had more than one cross or melee in the box crying out for someone to take the moment by the scruff of the neck.

Let’s starting chucking our bodies in the line of crosses, be a bit ugly in attack, be forceful… be a bit nasty up top.

Malachi Linton fires in a shot. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

If in doubt… keep it simple.

I’ve really enjoyed the freedom Mark Cooper has brought to this side, we’ve added play makers, we’ve given midfielders licences to play and try and get involved.

We’ve got a defence, who for the most part, have been solid and want to get involved, but sometimes, we need to keep things a bit simple in tight, important games.

Ryan Law lost the ball twice trying a little pirouette in midfield, we played ourselves into trouble at the back when a pass to or from the keeper got a bit close for comfort and finally, the second goal came from Owen Bevan trying to morph into peak Rio Ferdinand and take the ball out from the back.

Owen, you’re good, very good and I think you’re destined for the top, but just launch that one please.

Maybe, we’re not just feeling the effects physically (see point 1) but also, mentally.

It’s a fine balance and quite how Mark Cooper finds that level of releasing the handbrake, but also keeping things simple is how he’ll earn his corn over these final 10 or so games.

The game changed with the addition of Nicke Kabamba, I mean, of course it did.

He got his 18th league goal of the season when pouncing on Bevan’s mistake and it goes to show exactly what we have been missing.

That depth in quality just hasn’t been there, bringing on Reo Griffiths was a nice little addition, but how Mark Cooper would have liked to have turned around to see a Charlie Wakefield or Scottt Pollock to try something a little different or add a little star quality.

Matt Worthington ran himself into the ground (again), there’s no way he can be fully fit all the time – he’s only one yellow card from a two match ban, with an England call up to squeeze in next midweek too, you can see why M Cooper wanted to keep C Cooper out of the firing line for as a long as possible. This side is going to be squeezed for every sinue before the season is up.

Charlie Wakefield. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

and finally, The season may hang on those all important games against Gateshead and Dorking.

There was a point last night where we were one goal away from being in 17th, leaping above York and Aldershot and putting seven(!) points between ourselves and the drop zone, we are instead wondering about Gateshead’s games in hand and if they’ll start catching us up.

Fine margins don’t just decide games, they decide entire campaigns.

Scunthorpe and York both came unstuck on Tuesday night, it’s impossible not to look at other results as we play, but after a run against three play off contenders we face the teams currently in 16th, 17th, 20th and 21st before the season is out… they will define our season.

 

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Back-to-back defeats in relegation six pointers left Yeovil Town a point and a place below the dreaded dotted line at the bottom of the National League table.

A second half winner from York City striker Lennell John-Lewis earned our relegation rivals (yes, don’t kid yourself this isn’t a relegation scrap) their first win in six matches and meant the Glovers are five without a win.

Here’s how Dave saw it from his position in the West End at the LNER Community Stadium…..

 

That first half performance was a team destined for relegation
Yes, there are a lot reasons (excuses?) which the players have – no physio, uncertainty over the ownership of the club, a crowded fixture list, too few players, the list goes on.
But, the body language of too many players was at best disinterested and at worst simply evidence they are not good enough.
I lost count of the occasions when Grant Smith got the ball and looked for options to distribute the ball to it, no-one was moving, no-one looked like they wanted the ball.
The biggest insult I can offer to that performance was it had echoes of the team which took us out of the Football League in 2019. Believe me, boys, that is not a comparison you want.

There was more effort in the second half
Whatever Mark Cooper said at half-time it got a response – but why does it always take that for us to get a response?
There was a lot more effort in the second half, we controlled the game and deserved our equaliser no matter how scrappy it was, but the quality where it was needed was missing – again.
It was needed in the putting the ball in the back of the net region, by the way.

What happened to our defensive solidity?
I feel like I have said this before, but if we can conclude we need to be better up front, I can repeat this one. What has happened to us in defence?
Yet again if it wasn’t for Grant Smith and wasteful finishing from the York attack this could have got much worse.
Even with Owen Bevan back there it felt like we were flying by the seat of our pants with us looking a disorganised mess at the back. The first goal was evidence of that.
We are definitely missing the heading ability of Max Hunt back.

Shopping in a bargain basement again
It is not a conclusion to say we are sorely lacking up front. Seb Palmer-Houlden was given a go up front alongside Jordan Maguire-Drew and Jordan Young, but struggled to get the better of a physical York defence.
It was an awful lot to ask an 18-year-old whose previous experience has mostly been in under-23s football to lead the line in such a crucial match.
I totally understand we have to try different things up front, but this combination looked utterly National League South, especially in the first half.
At the other end, our opponents who only recently came from the tier down (North, not South) had an experienced head in Lennell John-Lewis up top. If you are in a relegation scrap (and we are!), the moments of quality he showed are what you need – but we’re shopping in the bargain basement. We all know why that is.
And, whilst we’re on the subject, how bad do we have to begoing forward before Charlie Wakefield gets a go?!

Man of the match? I’ll give you 167 of them.
If there was one positive from our first ever trip to the LNER Community Stadium it was the 167 souls in the away end.
Many of them of them travelled the length of the country to be there despite everything which has been thrown at them by this club.
If ever there was a group of people who had excuses for not bothering it was us and yet for the vast majority of the game there was a tremendous noise to try and inspire the team – even if some of the noise was linked to throwing various toys around.
These are people who have paid hard earned money for the privilege of being there, and they did put a proper shift it.

 

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Yeovil conspired to draw yet another game yesterday after being 2-1 as the game entered stoppage time. Here are Ian’s Five Conclusions after the draw against bottom of the table Maidstone.

This one is blindingly obvious, the first half performance was nowhere near good enough. I went into yesterday’s game pretty confident after our performance on Tuesday. I thought we were excellent against Wealdstone in the first half but we didn’t come close to matching that level. As Yeovil tried to figure out their own system, Maidstone got comfortable on the ball and scored a brilliant team goal. After fifteen minutes we switched from a back three to a back four and only with a double substitution at half time did we really start to impact the game.

Alex Fisher is Yeovil’s top scorer this season with five goals. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Alex Fisher made the difference. I was surprised that we started with no recognised striker and as the first half wore on it was apparent that it wasn’t working with Andrew Oluwabori through the middle. Fisher’s arrival immediately brought about a focal point to the attack and gave Maidstone defenders something to contend with. When Morgan Williams launched a hopeful ball towards the Maidstone box, Fisher had to watch it travel some distance and executed a fantastic volley into the top corner. He has so many different types of finishes in his locker but as Mark Cooper said afterwards, he needs to do it in every game.

Once again, Matt Worthington put in the ultimate team player’s performance. He didn’t see much of the ball when he started in his usual midfield role, but the half time change saw him move to right wing back. Much like Torquay on New Years Day he made an impact on that side as we focused our play down Maidstone’s left. Our second goal came from his cross with either an opposition player or Chiori Johnson getting the decisive touch. Worthington finished the match at left wing back – he really has become Mark Cooper’s Swiss army knife. (Honourable mentions to Morgan Williams and Edwin Agbaje who moved around as required too.)

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I thought I could manage to conclude without using the word frustrating, but Maidstone’s leveller was the epitome of frustrating. From an attacking position Yeovil attempted to kill some time and hold the ball in the corner rather than go for the third. Maidstone regained possession and got the ball forward quickly forcing Morgan Williams into a foul. Then, much like Yeovil’s first goal, a hopeful ball into the box was met by the man mountain Jerome Bindon-Williams who headed home. It felt like an avoidable series of events, which Mark Cooper put down to a mentality issue. We worked so hard to get ourselves in front and to somehow draw it was….frustrating.

It seems like things are moving on the takeover front. Rumours were rife yesterday that the club’s potential new owners were at the match. That’s a promising step that things are moving in the right direction. If we’re at the point where they’re comfortable to attend matches, it would be a welcome time for an update or an introduction to supporters. I understand the reluctance to get out there until the deal is done, Yeovil Town is a probably a case study in going public too soon. However, there are takeovers going on up and down the country at the moment and most supporters have an idea of who’s coming in (spare a thought for Morecambe). Let’s have a bit of clarity and some idea of what the future could hold.

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Another draw… that’s 13, another clean sheet… that’s 12… and another 5 conclusions to go alongside.

Gloverscast Ben had his stream beaming into Barrett HQ, here’s how he saw it.

Edwin Agbaje

I was fearful of Jamie Reckord’s absence, but the introduction of Edwin Agbaje might rank very high for debut performances for a young loanee.

Just 18 years of age, I thought the borrowed Ipswich man looked assured beyond his years, trying to get forward at every opportunity, linking well with his team mates and not afraid to stick a boot in where it hurt at a vital time.
I’ve said before I wanted a little more in the full back areas and based on that introductory 90 minutes, I’m hopeful we’ve got a good one.

The Thatchers Gold End – Photo Chris Fox

We need to talk about the pitch.

Just seven days on from the original postponement of this game the pitch was an early focal point.

The troublesome Thatchers End goal mouth was primed for sand castle building competition and the rest of it had its moments.

Lawson D’Ath tripped over nothing when trying to defend a through ball, the edge of the 18 yard box made a wonderful tackle on Andrew Oluwabori and if a Wealdstone attacker hadn’t turned his back on Grant Smith early doors, the keeper’s stumble and slip would have left a gaping goal.

There was plenty of misplaced footsteps and wobbles, the football you play is only as good as the surface its played on. Whatever has happened in the past couple weeks has clearly taken its toll on the surface and we could do with looking after it… not training on it to make a point.

Owen Bevan sees red from referee Scott Jackson.

The red card of course changed the game.

Firstly, I think it was a red card, not malicious or particularly dangerous, but certainly out of control and certainly worthy of the red circle of doom from Scott Jackson’s back pocket.

I think it forced our hands to make changes we didn’t want, or need to make and it means that our most assured defender will miss three games.

Ben Richards-Everton looked fairly comfortable when he came on, but Staunton is clearly hobbling more and is a warrior to the end.

I’m confident in Hunt, Williams or BRE to fill that gap, but I’d much rather have Bevan for the next few games.

Jordan Maguire-Drew. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

JMD is human after all!!!

Our new star man had his first off day, his Sat Nav hadn’t been configured properly, his radar needs some recalibration.

A couple wayward shots, a few set pieces not quite on their mark and suddenly we’re taking off our new number 10 as the reshuffle followed the red card.

He will turn the machine off and on again and be back again for Saturday.

Finally… time for an unpopular opinion…

Jordan Maguire-Drew, left, talks to Alex Fisher. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

I cannot celebrate or even enjoy a home performance in its entirety, when we have 0 shots on target.

Off the back of a very good away win, it was important to back that up with another positive result.

The Wealdstone keeper didn’t have to get muddy (or sandy) at any point.

He was never troubled. Not with 11 Glovers on the pitch, not with 10.

I found myself getting increasingly wound up as the game wore on, I found myself begging players to pull the trigger, to get a shot in on goal that at least wakes the keeper up.

Yes, we are OK at the back, but let’s not pretend we didn’t give up chances, Grant Smith cements his title as the best keeper in the league and a better opposition strike force probably score 2 or 3 with minimal fuss.

If we’re happy with that as a 0-0, wrap the season up, call it a day and let’s try again in August.

We enter February sat in no man’s land (on and off the pitch), and I want to be entertained.

I don’t want to try and win 1-0 but settle for a stalemate, I want to try and win 4-0 but settle for a 3-3.

I’d like us to set our standards higher. Our players our better than they were, the manager is better, the whole club is better than enjoying another 0-0 draw.




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Yeovil Town became the last National League side to pick up a win away from home as they saw off ten-man Dagenham on Saturday.

The win keeps the Glovers five points clear of the relegation zone with many of the division’s struggling sides picking up wins, but also means there are ‘just’ nine points between them and the play-off places.

Here’s what Coatesie thought of his most recent visit to the Chigwell Construction Stadium……


An away win, and what an away win. It would be easy to point to the fact Dagenham played for an hour with ten men, but let’s not forget they were in the play-offs at the start of the game and we had not won an away match all season. Far from the rusty display we saw after a period of not playing last time out against Bromley, we were at it from the off. We stepped off the gas after half-time which allowed Dagenham to create some good chances, but we were more than worth the win – plus two goals and a clean sheet.

The new boys made a difference. In the first half, the combination of Jordan Young’s hard work, the quality of Jack Clarke, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Andrew Oluwabori caused Dagenham all kinds of problems. We pressed them and, for players who are presumably still getting to know each other, there was enough to think we could have a way to improve our goals scored rally. Further back, I did not really notice Charlie Cooper much and that is to his credit. In a defensive midfield position, he was neat and tidy and seemed to do what he needed to do.

We finished enough chances, but still plenty to do. We scored goals – two of them! A coolly taken penalty from Maguire-Drew and then an absolute beauty from outside the box from Matt Worthington. But, if I am being greedy (and I am), it really could and should have been more. As he did at Bromley two weeks prior, Oluwabori had a great chance to add another. His pace causes problems and he gets in a lot of the right positions, if he could add finishing to his game he’d be almost complete. Then, right at the death, Alex Fisher will have been disappointed not to have added another to his tally.

Stay where you are, Josh. Josh Staunton back in defence alongside Owen Bevan brought that solid feel back to us which was sadly lacking at Bromley. It is early days, but if Cooper proves a good anchorman in midfield, I would be quite happy to see Staunton stay back for the foreseeable. Equally, Morgan Williams on the right and Jamie Reckord on the left coped well against a lively Dagenham forward line. I’d be quite happy to keep that defence…….what’s that about Reckord being banned?!

Now we need to follow it up. An away win on the board, three points, two goals – mission accomplished. But we need to follow this up with a win at home to Wealdstone on Tuesday night. Looking at our games throughout February it feels like we should be going in to next weekend’s home game with bottom club Maidstone United and the trips to Maidenhead, York to get three points. If we can do that, the taller tasks of a trip to Wrexham and a visit from Notts County can be free hits.

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Yeovil Town picked up a huge three points yesterday against FC Halifax Town in dire conditions. Ian was at Huish Park and here are his Five Conclusions…

This was a massive result. Off the back of last week’s defensive shut out against Notts County, it was important to show the progress with three points at Huish Park and the Glovers delivered. FC Halifax have had their own problems this season but have turned a corner and were unbeaten in four league games before yesterday. Now it’s Mark Cooper’s Yeovil who are unbeaten in four and showing the ability to put in different performances to grind out points. With Maidstone, Aldershot and Altrincham picking up wins, the three points yesterday look even more valuable.

The conditions played their part. It was a pretty dour game of football in truth, largely down to the horrendous weather. In the first half, Yeovil tried the patient game to keep the ball, much to the frustration of supporters at times, but when that final ball came the Glovers couldn’t get it right. The ball either skidded off the surface or the wind carried it out of play. Halifax had the same problem in the second half when they had the wind (and rain) behind them. We’ve seen plenty of teams struggle to play at Huish Park in those conditions and yesterday was no different. When you look at what Yeovil had to defend in, with ten-men for the last quarter of an hour, the result is even more impressive.

Matt Worthington. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Matt Worthington had a busy afternoon. It looks like we’ve finally found our penalty taker. After Malachi Linton’s and Alex Fisher’s misses earlier this season, when Aaron Jackson penalised a Halifax defender for holding in the box (after warning him 20 second earlier) I was wondering who’d be stepping up. Worthy grabbed the ball pretty quickly and put himself front and centre. When you’ve missed two in a season, with different players, it builds up to what was quite a high pressure moment in a season and Worthy made no mistake. A well struck penalty, which the keeper could do no more to stop put Yeovil ahead and proved to be the deciding goal.

Mr Jackson in the middle seemed to enjoy getting his cards out. In the 75th minute when Worthington went down under a challenge from Luke Summerfield outside the Halifax box it looked like Yeovil had an opportunity in a decent position. What followed was a second yellow for Worthington and a red card for a dive. From my view, it looked like there was a kick on the ankle, and without getting too ‘he’s not that type of player’ if Yeovil had one player who doesn’t go down easily, or look for fouls it would probably be Worthy. His suspension leaves a big hole in midfield ahead of another crucial match next weekend against our pals Bromley.

Last week set us up perfectly for the last 15 minutes. As soon as Worthington was sent off, the game really fired up. Yeovil got themselves into a solid defensive structure and looked well prepared to see off Halifax’s threat with ten men. The Shaymen grew frustrated when passes went awry, got in the referees ear when Grant Smith was taking a little long on goal kicks and every time they conceded a freekick or throw to Yeovil, you could see there frustration build as time ticked away. The concentration levels never dipped as the back line were bombarded by wind, rain and the Halifax attack and the Glovers held on resolutely.

Never in doubt…

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Was it pretty? No. Was it effective? Heck, Yes.

The Glovers’ Wall stood firm to hold off wave after wave of Notts County attack and take home a well earned point from Meadow Lane in front of a National League record, 16,500.

Gloverscast Ben joined Gloverscast Dave in the away end for this one, it’s conclusion time….

I think it’s worth putting some stats together to just understand just how good that result was.

Notts County have scored in every game this season, in every competition, regardless of eventual outcome.

49 goals in 19 games prior to the weekend, doesn’t take a genius maths wizz to work out that’s a seriously good XG return.

County had actually scored in every game since drawing a blank against Stockport County at the back end of last season. The last time Meadow Lane didn’t see a goal from their side in a competitive match…. April 17th 2021 when Eastleigh kept them out, 520 days between away clean sheets.

Notts County will be fine, on that evidence, they’ll finish top three, no question.

Their ability to find short passes through lines of players is second to none, every pass is quick, crisp along the ground and presented with pin point accuracy, which for me, only makes the Glovers’ rear guard action even more impressive.

Notts County are probably the best footballing outfit I’ve seen this season, or maybe even for a couple of seasons… and the Parma Violet Party Poopers gave them a good old dollop of ‘thou shall not pass’. 

The difference between this game and the Oldham shambles came down to a very simple gameplan.

Be. Organised.

A very flat back five, a central but very flat four in front of them, and at times a rather defensively minded frontman.

I don’t think Scott Wickens’ running tracker would have had too much of a tough task getting the numbers for this one, it wasn’t expansive.

But that’s okay, sometimes, you have to dig in and get it done, what I want to highlight is the levels of concentration needed. To stay switched on at the back for basically 95 minutes is tough, mentally.

Only for maybe twice could messrs Hunt, Bevan and Williams dare to switch off as the ball made a foray forwards, but they kept their cool. Block, Tackle. Head. Clear. Repeat.

One misplaced foot and a penalty would have gifted their hosts a chance to undo all that hard work, one flung out limb could deflect a ball beyond Smith, one lapse in concentration and your (very good) opponents have a yard of space and a free chance to ruin it all.

It never happened once.

The legs might not have done quite so much of the hard work, but the brains would have done extra.

Owen Bevan in particular for me was outstanding, but I truly believe that was one of the most assured defensive displays I’ve ever seen from Yeovil.

Owen Bevan heads away. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Now… there were a couple of moments where the County barrage broke through the wall, that’s to be expected, they’re a wonderful outfit, but what they got when their half chances came around happened to be…

The best ‘keeper in the National League.

It’s not even close, the levels of trouble we’d be in as a team without Grant Smith is astronomical.

He makes the easy ones look easy, because his positioning is always foot perfect, he makes the difficult ones look easy, because he is quick, agile with spring powered boots.

It’s the boring stuff like he always gets the parries AWAY from goal, he never stopped marshaling his back line, and I’ve never seen a man take a slower goal kick in my life!

I joked to Dave that the reason Will Buse was on the bench was in case Grant Smith got booked twice for time-wasting, in the end, he didn’t once, he got warned, but it turns out he can even charm an official to keep his cards in his pocket. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT MAN CAN’T DO!?

Can I ask about the contract situation? Are we able to make that a longer deal? He’s a genuine asset and with January fast approaching and EFL teams looking to shuffle the pack, he’s worth a few quid, I’d quite like that protected.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Our new additions have really added something – something we were missing.

Andrew “What’s the Story” Oluwabori was the brightest attacking spark in a performance which wasn’t very attacking, but I found myself really appreciating the little nuances of his performance.

More than once, he held a defender off on or around the half way line, kept the ball and won a throw in, free kick or made the simple pass to someone who can get the ball forward.

He’s rapid, and the Notts County left back didn’t stand a chance when they got in a foot race, he’s direct and will cause plenty of decent teams trouble, I’d like him to stay for the season please, thanks.

Jamie “Taller than you think” Andrews is another one who really shone for me. Again, I know I’m talking about a different style of performance, but I saw enough in his resolute sideways defensive formation to know he’s got something.

Towards the back end of the second half, Josh Staunton was really starting to feel the injury that has prevented him from training, he came to a bit of a standstill in the middle, so Andrews did his chasing for him. Harrowing, closing down, side to side like a crab at times, blocking one path, then shuffling to the next and so on.

There were glimpses of his ability to take a ball and go from back to front quite quickly, but this wasn’t the game for that.

And finally, it was mentioned after the game that the team “couldn’t apologise” for their approach to this game.

I don’t want an apology, I don’t need an apology.

I think every one of the 452 fans there appreciated that it might be the toughest point we get all season, the toughest clean sheet (Not a ‘Cleano’) we might have to fight for all campaign.

I said as we left that if this game was a month or two further down the line, then yeah, ok, I dont mind if people get a bit disgruntled, but not now.

You can just start to see the beginnings of a run; that’s unbeaten in three, that’s just one goal conceded in three. That’s a game which can set up potentially massive clashes at home with FC Halifax, Scunthorpe United and Torquay United before the New Year is rung in.

It was a top draw defensive masterclass, but maybe, just maybe, we’ll look back in a couple of months and pinpoint it as so much more.

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It was another frustrating night in front of goal for Yeovil Town as they lived up to their billing as the division’s lowest goalscorers with an eighth blank of the season in the 0-0 draw with Maidenhead United at Huish Park last night.

But, as Ian concludes, there were some reasons to be cheerful about at least some parts of the performance, here’s how he saw it……

Confidence is key. The first half performance showed a real lack of confidence and belief. Mark Cooper’s team played safe, we’re reluctant to take risks and barely threatened the Maidenhead United goal. Midway through the second half things started to click though. There was energy, attacking intent and the Glovers looked more likely to get something from a game that often ends goalless. After the match Mark Cooper said it was all about rebuilding the Confidence in his players and I think the last 20 minutes was a good platform to build off.

Cooper’s signings look the part. We expected changes in the squad and Mark Cooper has wasted little time. Jamie Andrews has come straight into the midfield and put in a man of the match performance last night. Anthony Georgiou was forward thinking and once settled looks like he can make a good contribution and the lift that Andrew Oluwabori gave the team and crowd was the highlight. His dribbling and speed got supporters on their feet and Yeovil improved with him on the pitch.

Goals are still a problem. Despite a couple of positives (and boy do we need some of those) the lack of goals is a huge problem. There was no shots in target on the first half and just two all game. That comes from a lack of confidence but we’re crying out for a striker to put anything in the goal. After the match the manager revealed Louis Britton, a former Bristol City striker, hadn’t got international clearance yet but is incoming. He was optimistic he would add the goals we so desperately need, hopefully in time for Gateshead. We’re the lowest scorers in the league and if we don’t rectify that we’re in for a long hard slog.

It’s going to take time for things to click. Given our position in the league, it’s difficult to remain patient but we need to be patient again. There was criticism on social media of the performance but two weeks ago most of this team were at their lowest with anger directed at them and Chris Hargreaves. As confidence builds, hopefully the adjustments will click, the patterns of play will develop and results will turn. We kept a clean sheet, looked comfortable defensively for the majority of the game and the attacking intent got the supporters behind the team and we need to harness that.

It’s groundhog day off the pitch. As performances dwindled, the crowds have too. It was a grim night in Yeovil last night and you can forgive those for not deciding to venture out in those conditions, but the reality is 21st vs 16th in a match notorious for a lack of goals isn’t going to draw the punters in. Yet again we find ourselves in the midst of takeover saga that needs a speedy conclusion so that we don’t go through months of uncertainty for the second season in a row.

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It was a first match up against Darren Sarll since he left back in March, and the Glovers’ former manager got one over his old team guiding Woking to 1-0 win in Mark Cooper’s second match in charge of Yeovil Town.

A late Padraig Amond goal was the difference between the two sides in Surrey but only after he had seen a penalty saved by Grant Smith.

Sheridan Robins from her usual vantage point watching Yeovil Town from the BBC Radio Somerset commentary box.

BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins was in the commentary box at Kingfield and here are her five conclusions.

It is plainly obvious the issues stem from not scoring goals.
Woking are a good side. They have goals all over the pitch, but Yeovil kept them at bay through some excellent one-on-one defending and a superb penalty save. But, when you have little up front, one mistake and the game is gone.

Sticking your centre back up front when chasing a goal tells you all you need to know about the lack of attacking prowess, but Mark Cooper was right, he was a threat. However, you don’t want to rely on that. The lack of natural goal scorers all over the pitch is the killer.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Grant Smith has had a superb season – but is not getting the plaudits he deserves.

And that is not a criticism of supporters, it is natural because the team are in the bottom four. However, he has continually kept the Glovers in games, and now saved two penalties this season. He did not deserve to be on the losing side last night – and that has been true multiple times this season.

Alex Fisher, Chiori Johnson and Max Hunt applaud the fans at Maidstone
? David Coates

Players will be given a chance under Mark Cooper and Max Hunt being back in the side showcases that.

He mentioned post match that there are still players vying for a place. I think this week is a big week for him to properly assess what he has at his disposal. He also said it is his job to get the best out of this squad which has been assembled. There will be changes and additions – I have no doubt about that – but it is also about instilling belief into the players currently wearing the shirt.

I think this is obvious and has been for a while but Yeovil are in a relegation battle. After Torquay’s storming win last night, things are getting tight at the bottom. The poor start to the season has put them in this position and a change has been made. The priority now has to be to pull away from that drop zone – experience is crucial in this division and the man in the dugout has plenty of that. I felt the fans were behind him last night – that can only be a positive. One game at a time, as they say!

We all wanted to be in the first round of the FA Cup, but maybe with everything that has happened a full week on the training pitch could be just what the Glovers need.

I will be commentating on MK Dons v Taunton, but I imagine Yeovil will be in a lot over the next week and it is a chance for new and fresh ideas.

With two home games in a row coming up – it might be just the reset they need to get results over the line.