Grant Smith

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Yeovil Town goalkeeper Grant Smith says securing survival in the National League is still in the hands of his team-mates.

The Glovers’ stopper, who has kept 13 clean sheets in all competitions this season, follows the thinking of his manager Mark Cooper that midweek defeats for Aldershot Town and York City have pulled them back in to the relegation scrap.

Yeovil go in to Saturday’s home game with Southend United occupying the top spot in the division’s bottom four with only Gateshead, who now sit two points and one place above them, having played fewer games.

Speaking on Thursday, Smith said: “All we can do is focus on ourselves, if we win our games that’s all we can do. Obviously teams around us play each other and we have to play those teams, so if we can get some wins then that will lead to others not getting results. So it is truly in our hands.

“By Saturday we will be fully focused on what we are doing, we can’t affect anything else so ultimately it doesn’t matter if other teams don’t get results. If we don’t win the game, it doesn’t matter if others win, lose or draw.”

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

He admitted that the team’s poor form in front of goal – just 32 goals in 38 matches which is 11 worse than bottom club Maidstone United – was putting extra pressure on the defence not to concede.

The Glovers have the best sixth best defensive record in the division and you have to go up to 12th place to find a better goals against tally – which is Saturday’s opponents, Southend United, incidentally!

Smith said: “It adds pressure on us defensively because we need to be perfect because we do lack in goals, but we have faith in the boys and hopefully starting Saturday that will come.

“When you know we don’t create five, six, seven chances, we know we might only create one chance that does add pressure because we know that if we let in one or two goals, the stats don’t lie, so it does add pressure.”

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Yeovil Town goalkeeper Grant Smith has praised the side’s reaction to being reduced to 10 men as the Glovers picked up a point against Wealdstone.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, the stopper was happy with yet another clean sheet.

“The lads dug in well and we had chances to nick it at the end, but it was a good clean sheet and a good point.
We work on it daily, whoever it is we look solid, obviously Ben (Richards-Everton) stepped in today and a lot of the clean sheets are down to (the defenders).”

The goalless draw was not just a 13th stalemate of the league season but also represented a 12th clean sheet for Smith and the Glovers side, something which he says comes from hard work under Mark Cooper’s stewardship, with a focus on possession and being more involved in the middle of the pitch.

“He’s (Cooper) changed a few players and we have had a few weeks to work on (our style of play) with no games, we have changed little things slightly and I am enjoying it.
You can see we gain much more possession and momentum, when we are playing it short we have more bodies around so whenever we give it away we can press, whereas when we are going longer there is a lot more spaces between defence and midfield which makes it harder to gain control of the ball.”

Grant Smith gets down to make a save in the goalless draw with Taunton Town. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

With just 26 goals conceded in the league, the Glovers boast the joint-third best defencive record, but remain the lowest scorers in the division with just 23, Wealdstone has their chances to pick up the win, but Smith and his defence stood firm.

“Today they (Wealdstone) tried to play as well and it was two teams trying to play in the right way, but unfortunately we could not get that goal.
The fans sometimes don’t like the slow play sometimes, but we are doing it for a reason we are doing it.”

The former Chesterfield keeper is approaching the total number of clean sheets he achieved in the whole of last season already and said that his performances have been enjoyable, and consistent throughout the course of the season.

“For me, I am most happy with my consistency, keepers are always going to make saves when they are called upon but for me it is more about consistently playing well rather than being a 9/10 and then 4/10 rather than just a six or seven consistently.” (We need to talk about your rating scale, Grant…)
“Now it’s just about trying to get a clean sheet in the next game and try and get some wins so we are pulling the right way up the table.”

Here’s to “Cleano” number 13 on Saturday!

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Glovers’ gloveman and ‘best keeper in the League’ Grant Smith has been named in the Official Vanarama team of the week.

He was the final line of defence as Yeovil became the first side to keep Notts County at bay at Meadow Lane for over 500 days.

We’re not shocked, he’s just damn good.

 

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Yeovil Town goalkeeper Grant Smith spoke to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game against Woking on Tuesday and, in a wide ranging interview, spoke about the teams perceived lack of confidence and how they’d be working hard to turn the form around.

“I don’t think it’s confidence, I just think it’s the way games pan out at the moment, we’re trying to hold on, whether it’s for the 1-0 win or just holding on for the clean sheet i just think we’re adding more and more pressure… eventually, teams can’t defend for 90 minutes.”

The “Best ‘Keeper In The League (Barrett, B Nov ’22) told Sheridan that he’s pleased with his own performances but that it counts for little in the grand scheme of things.

Grant Smith gets down to make a save in the goalless draw with Taunton Town. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

“Personally, I feel like I’ve been doing OK, but it’s a team game and at the end of the day if we’re not picking up results, it doesn’t matter how good or bad you do.”

With no First Round FA Cup game this weekend Smith hopes the break between games will serve his side well as they adjust to life under a new manager.

“I think this weekend, not having a game, could be a blessing because now we can spend some hours on the training pitch and hopefully the manager can play and put into shape what he wants from us and we’ve got enough time now before the next game now, we can put it from practice.”

The Glovers host Maidenhead United next Tuesday before Adi Yussuf’s Gateshead visit Huish Park the following Saturday.

 

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Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The good news just keeps on coming this evening, Yeovil Town goalkeeper Grant Smith has extended his stay at Huish Park for another season.

The stopper has been a mainstay in the side since joining from Chesterfield keeping over a dozen clean sheets this season.

Speaking to YTFC.net he said;

“I’m delighted to be on board for another year, I’m really looking forward to the season ahead and hopefully we can improve on last season. 

“Personally, I think I have done well since I arrived, but I feel there’s definitely a lot more to come from me next season! 

“The conversations with Chris Hargreaves have been really positive, I’m really looking forward to working with him next season.”

… and we’re looking forward to having you, Grant!

(Any excuse for this pic too…)

Grant Smith… celebrates… against W*ymouth

 

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Yeovil Town  goalkeeper Grant Smith will be back between the posts for the visit of Aldershot Town to Huish Park on Good Friday.

The first-choice stopper has been missing with a groin injury in recent weeks and his place has been filled by West Bromwich Albion loanee Ted Cann, who has returned to his parent club today (Thursday).

However, caretaker manager Charlie Lee confirmed that midfielder Matt Worthington will miss the next four matches through suspension with the club not planning to appeal his red card against King’s Lynn Town last weekend.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking ahead of the start of the Easter period, Lee said: “Ted came in at a perfect time for us because Grant was struggling with his groin.

“He’s strong now and he’s been training, he was probably ready for the last game but it would have been unfair to take Ted out.

“But Grant is a top goalkeeper and he’ll be ready for the game on Friday.”

The boss admitted that he still felt the dismissal of Worthington, a straight red card for a full-blooded tackle on Linnets’ midfielder, Theo Widdrington, was questionable –  but did not think the video evidence was strong enough for an appeal.

He said: “There just isn’t enough angles. I still feel that watching back that it is a very harsh red, but to get an appeal going and overturn the red card is not that easy.

“Unfortunately, he will be missing for four games which is a massive loss for us. He’s in good form, he’s a good player and he will be missed, but we have some players ready to step in.

“We are in a position where we have a bigger squad than we have for the last few months.”

Both Lawson D’Ath and Alex Bradley could step in to the void left by the absence of Worthington. Both stayed on the bench for the 2-2 draw in Norfolk last weekend.

The interim boss confirmed defenders Max Hunt and loanee Jack Robinson were back in full training having been missing through injury.

The visit of Aldershot seems certain to be too soon for either player to be in contention for a start, but they could be in contention in the coming weeks.

Of injured midfielder Josh Staunton, Lee added: “We are waiting to find out a bit more, he has another specialist to see and there will probably be more news on him next week.”

Asked about any discussions around the future of the club’s players, Lee said that he was not involved in any discussions around their futures.

Going off the public statements made by the club at the time of player’s arrivals, we believe that only defender Morgan Williams has a deal beyond the end of this season.

Charlie Lee talks to the BBC ? YTFC YouTube

Lee said: “That’s something I’m not involved with. The club is progressing well, the owner knows what he wants next season, but for me it is about preparing the games on Friday and Monday.”

However, he did say that the players had shown no sign of slowing down despite being set in mid-table in the National League with little prospect of either troubling the relegation or promotion picture.

He said: “When I took over, I said to them ‘if we win games, that is not going to effect anyone negatively’, it will only help the club, the fans, the players.

They have bought in to that brilliantly and they have proven since I have taken over that they have bought in to that.

“We played a little 11v11 game in training yesterday and there was no player who was not interested in winning on Friday.”

 

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Goalkeeper Grant Smith could be available for Yeovil Town‘s trip to Barnet this week having sat out the last three games through injury.

Grant Smith. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Caretaker manager Charlie Lee said the keeper had impressed in training this week and would be in contention for the match in North London.

On loan West Brom keeper Ted Cann has been between the post for the past three games – all of which have ended in wins for the Glovers.

Speaking on Friday ahead of the match, Lee said: “Grant is looking good, we will see how he is today, it’s good to have him firing. He’s nearly fully fit.”

Striker Adi Yussuf is back at the club having been missing for the past fortnight on international duty with Tanzania and the boss said he would be assessed in training today.

Central defender Max Hunt has had a slight set back as he makes his way back from an ankle injury which has kept him out since the end of January.

Charlie said: “Hunty has done well, he’s having a little problem with his quad. He’s not too far away, but not for tomorrow.”

The game will be Lee’s first in the hot seat following the departure of Darren Sarll to join National League rivals, Woking, but he has done his homework on Barnet, who Yeovil beat 1-0 in the reverse fixture in December.

Of the opponents, he said: “We have looked in to Barnet and we know they have good players. They have had an up and down season similar to us, but we have to do what we have been doing lately.

“We know what we are good at and we have to do that.“

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Goalkeeper Grant Smith seems likely to be out of tomorrow’s visit to bottom club Dover Athletic with loan signing Ted Cann expected to fill his gloves.

Manager Darren Sarll said the first-choice keeper had been playing with a groin injury which has kept him out of training ahead of recent matches and the arrival of West Brom youngster Cann provided the opportunity to rest him.

Grant Smith, who is expected to miss out against Dover this weekend. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The boss also revealed that captain Luke Wilkinson, who came off in the second half of last weekend’s defeat against Grimsby Town, midfielder Dale Gorman and on loan defender Jack Robinson are all “touch and go” for the weekend.

Speaking about Smith’s injury ahead of the long trip to Kent, Sarll said: “Grant has been carrying a groin injury over the past two or three weeks and it was getting to the point where I thought it was starting to effect his distribution.

“We know Ted from my first season at the club (2019-2020) was available and I thought it was good timing and a chance to make sure Grant could properly recover and rehabilitate his groin.”

He added: “I thought we needed to address the injury Grant has. He’s been spending quite a few games not training and coming in to the games without a full week behind him.

“At this point of the season, Ted was available and he performed really well for us when he was here with us last time when he was only 19 and he played behind an experienced back four – Lee Collins, Luke Wilkinson, Carl Dickinson.

“I thought he handled himself well. He’s a good cross taker, he has good distribution and he’s a good goalkeeper.

“West Brom see this as a real benefit for Ted’s development.”

Cann’s return on a short-term loan was announced on Friday morning and follows a previous spell the 21-year-old has had at National League North strugglers AFC Telford United.

Wilkinson’s calf injury is one of a string of niggles that the defender has been suffering with this season, albeit he has already played six more matches than he managed last season.

When he departed against Grimsby last weekend, Morgan Williams moved in to a back three formation alongside Ben Barclay and Mark Little. Sarll spoke about “experimenting” with formations in what remains of the season, and if Wilkinson misses out at Crabble that could be something we see him try.

Gorman’s injury seems to have been picked up in training during the week whilst Robinson’s is a reoccurrence of the injury which has plagued him this season.

A win at the weekend would confirm the long-awaited relegation of Dover to National League South, but Sarll says his side will not be thinking about anything except their own form.

The Glovers have managed just one National League win since December 18 – the 1-0 success at Woking at the end of January – and have managed just ten goals in that time.

Sarll said: “We have enough to worry about in our own camp, we need to make sure we need to improve our individual and collective performances to get back to what we know we can be.

“It’s been a longer process than when you have the experienced players because (the younger players) have not had the life experience of seeing their way out of these dips in form.

“All these trial and error times are testing for them, but they have to go through this. They will come out of stronger for the experience.”

The manager said the training ground had been “nice and calm” this week with he and his assistant Charlie Lee working with individuals who are out of form.

He added: “We have spent quite a lot of time this week working with individuals and pick aspects of their game and lift them to bring out things we have not seen lately and Charlie’s been excellent with that.

“We want to finish the season strongly, everyone knows how excited I am about this group and how exciting they can be in the long term, but to take care of that long term we have to do something sooner rather than later.

“Tomorrow is another opportunity to do that.“

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Goalkeeper Ted Cann has returned to Yeovil Town on a short-term loan deal from Championship side West Bromwich Albion.

The 21-year-old played three times in January 2020 when he was brought in to cover for an injury to Stuart Nelson.

Having made his debut in a 4-0 FA Trophy win over Hampton & Richmond, Cann played in a 2-2 home draw with Hartlepool United and a 1-0 defeat at Woking – beaten by a worldie from Shaun Donnellan in the latter game!

Ted Cann in action during his last spell at Huish Park.

There is no indication in the club’s statement as to whether the arrival of the young stopper means there is an injury to first-choice Grant Smith, although manager Darren Sarll did say Smith had not trained ahead of the draw at Notts County a fortnight ago.

We will have to wait until the Friday morning press conference and then hope a member of the assembled media thinks to ask the manager.

Since returning to The Hawthorns, Cann has been a regular in West Brom’s under-23s side and has been on loan at National League North strugglers AFC Telford United since the end of November.

It’s not been an easy time for the second-from-bottom side who have conceded 33 times in the 19 matches since his arrival.

He goes in to the matchday squad for tomorrow’s visit to bottom-of-the-table Dover Athletic with Yeovil looking for their first win since the end of January.

Welcome back to Huish Park, Ted!

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Glovers’ ‘keeper Grant Smith

Yeovil Town Goalkeeper, Grant Smith has praised the defensive unit that has proved so strong this season.

The Glovers have conceded just 25 goals during the league season, one of the best defensive records in the division.

speaking ahead of the Solihull game, the a Number 1 was proud of the team’s efforts.

“We don’t concede many chances, a lot of the games where we’ve kept clean sheets, I’ve barely had a save to make, we work very hard on that.”

‘Shakira Hips’ Smith said that whilst he used to set himself targets for clean sheets that was no longer the case as he preferred to keep his focus elsewhere it did admit to the Gloverscast, he’s been known to celebrate a save like a goal and enjoys a scrappy 1-0 win more than most.

“For a goalkeeper, nothing beats a 1-0 win, everyone would love to win four or five-nil and have an easy win, but when you walk off the pitch at the end of the game having dug in for that last 30 minutes, they’ve been throwing absolutely everything at you and you’ve kept a clean sheet, it makes you feel like you’ve done a god job”

“That one on one save in the Stevenage game, I did celebrate it like a goal, I think it comes down to an important save at an important time, it wasn’t necessarily an unbelievable save, it was just an important moment in that game.”

Smith praised Luke Wilkinson for his consistency, Morgan Williams for his flexibility in different roles and Ben Barclay for the way he’s settled into the side but finished by saying that the side were up for the challenge of keeping Solihull’s front men out.

“It’s a good challenge, everyone wants to challenge themselves against the best in the league… But we take it for face value and give them all the respect”