Not a classic, but another goal for MOTM voters’ favourite Frank Nouble and a clean sheet for the Yeovil Town defence in a dogged 1-0 win at Taunton Town.
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Yeovil Town have made one change to their starting line-up for today’s all-Somerset clash at Taunton Town in National League South (7.45pm kick-off).
Top scorer Rhys Murphy drops to the substitutes’ bench in place of midfielder Sonny Blu Lo Everton replacing him in the starting XI.
There is a return on the bench for defender Jamie Sendles-White, who has not featured since scoring in the 3-2 win at Weston-super-Mare in September, alongside Will Dawes who missed the 2-0 win over Bath City last weekend.
Yeovil Town will take a quick trip down the A303/A358 to Wordsworth Drive on Tuesday evening as they face Taunton Town.
In the final game of ‘El Ciderco’ this season, the Glovers will be looking to take all six points from their local rivals. After a fairly comfortable win against the Peacocks in front of a record crowd on Boxing Day, Mark Cooper’s men will fancy their chances in the return fixture.
For the “Pride of Somerset” however it has been a difficult couple of months, with off-the-field issues leading to them having to sell/loan their best players, which has seen them drop down the table. Sitting just above the relegation zone, the Peacocks will be looking to show their board level problems haven’t affected the on-pitch performances.
Mark Cooper will be happy with his sides start to the new year. After the postponed game against Taunton, the home fixture against Bath was the Glovers first. In what was tough fought 2-0 win, Yeovil will not be able rest on their laurels when facing another local rival.
The game also saw Frank Noble continue his impressive form, scoring his 8th goal of the season.
After the game, there was even more good news for the Huish Park side, as top scorer and arguably the player of the season so far, Jordan Young signed a new deal that will keep him at the Somerset club until the summer of 2026.
The game will also see a possible three former Peacocks players in the Yeovil side, with the recent additions of Dylan Morgan and Jay Foulston joining Jake Wannell in the green side of Somerset.
Wannell’s superb performance vs Bath saw him make the National League South Team of the Week.
Injury wise only Jordan Stevens misses out.
The Peacocks’ Head of Football Rob Dray talked about the upcoming fixture. He said: “I’ve asked them to just go there and have a proper go, all my teams have a proper go, I look forward to it, roll on Tuesday”.
Mark Cooper and Rob Dray exchange pleasantries
? Gary BrownDray, 54, also spoke about how big the fixture is. He said: “If you told someone we’d be playing Yeovil at home in the league, four or five years ago, they would’ve laughed at you. So we’re not just going to turn up to make the numbers up.”
The former Yate boss also spoke about how he is looking to strengthen before the game “with a couple coming through the door”. Louie Slough is now available to play against the Glovers after originally being ruled out for this fixture on New Years Eve.
Some players for the travelling fans to look out for are midfielder Rabby Minzamba and defender Cameron Evans who both had good games against Slough despite losing.
Taunton Town have confirmed the visit from Yeovil Town will be played on Tuesday 9th January with a 7.45pm kick-off.
The New Year’s Eve fixture at Wordsworth Drive, which was due to be played in front of a sell-out crowd, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch in the county town.
The Peacocks have said the new date is “subject to league approval” – and presumably the state of their pitch – all tickets to will be valid for the rearranged date.
They have asked any supporters looking to get a refund on their ticket to contact their ticket provider at: support@fanbaseclub.com
Yeovil Town’s New Year’s Eve game against Taunton Town has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Wordsworth Drive has been deemed unplayable with almost constant rain in Somerset over the past 24 hours and the ongoing issues with the pitch in the county town.
Regarding tickets… Taunton don’t say anything specific, but you’d imagine that all tickets purchased will be valid for the replayed fixture, or you can contact the club for a refund.
If you’ve already bought streams from National League TV, well, their FAQs don’t offer you much hope.
Postponed Matches
If a match is postponed without sufficient notice of cancellation (two hours of the scheduled kick-off time), customers who have indicated they are a supporter of an affected team will receive a voucher code for a free future Match Pass.
If a match is postponed with sufficient notice of cancellation (two hours or more before the scheduled kick-off time), customers will not be entitled to a refund or voucher.
I’d still be sending an email to nationalleaguelive@streamamg.com and asking for, at least, a voucher for an upcoming game.
Michael Smith has said that the whole squad are delighted with the result and the performance as Yeovil Town beat Taunton 4-1 in the first of two back to back games over the festive period.
Speaking to Tom Seymour post match, he said that he and Frank Nouble had a great relationship and that setting a goal up for one another was a great feeling.
“It’s a great feeling on a good day, it’s nice, I don’t remember much about it, it was a good bit of play, Frank got in down the wing and back heeled it and then tucked it away with my left foot, which is surprising, nice on a good day and a good win on Boxing Day, it was a lovely feeling.
We (Nouble and Smith) paid each other one today which is nice, it was a great team performance today, everyone, even the subs that came on, it was brilliant, we’re delighted in the changing room.”
On the performance as a whole, the Northern Ireland international praised the whole squad for their work ethic in putting in a demolition job on the Peacocks.
“Very pleasing, Boxing Day games can be a little bit tricky, after Christmas, sometimes teams slip up, but it was a very professional job today by us, as I say, we’re delighted, every single one of us put a great shift in, and we deserved the win.”
The game also saw Yeovil break their own National League South Attendance record with over 6300 fans inside Huish Park, something Smith wants to see more of.
“It’s great, it’s twice this season now, it’s fantastic, we want more of it, we want to keep playing football, winning games and hopefully attract in more and more fans, it’s great to see, as you know it gives the lads a great boost, it was good to go out there and put on a show for them today.
We’re not getting ahead of ourselves, I know there’s a little bit of a gap at the top, but we’re just going to keep taking it game by game and trying to win every game obviously, we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves and say ‘we’re going to get this many points, that many points’, it doesn’t work like that, we’re a down to earth team and we just need to keep working hard and get those points on the board.”
Focus turns to the return game, at Taunton on New Years’ Eve, a game which is just the next on the road towards promotion for Smith, he’s pleased that the team got an enjoyable Christmas Day with their families and a brilliant Boxing Day win to top it off.
“We had Christmas Day off, which was great from the gaffer, I’ve been in a few Christmas Days, everyone is professional here, we did a little bit ourselves and kept ourselves right and you saw from the performance today, it’s the type of group and the bunch we are, we’re close knit and we’ll do a lot of stuff for each other, it was nice to get the rewards for that.”
Happy Christmas!
You can listen to the silky Northern Irish Tones of Michael Smith in conversation with Tom Seymour below.
Mark Cooper described his Yeovil Town team as “scintillating” as they swept aside Somerset rivals Taunton Town with a 4-1 win in front of another National League South record crowd at Huish Park today.
Goals from Frank Nouble, Michael Smith, Rhys Murphy and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton sealed the win which took the Glovers ten points clear at the top of the table in front of 6,301 supporters.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Tom Seymour after the match, Cooper said: “The players were magnificent, the crowd was behind the goal was magnificent, some of the football we played was magnificent, the tempo we played at, I just thought it was a great day.
“We should have been four or five up at half-time, but credit to Taunton, they are a big, physical team and they played their part today. They are difficult to score against at times. First half, we were scintillating at times, and the way we play with the control we have makes it difficult for the opposition to get too close to us.
“We need to be getting goals from all over the pitch. We have a real distinct way of playing and certain players have to do a certain job. The two centre backs, the two central midfield players have to play together as a box and they don’t move too far from that and their job is to defend and keep the ball, and the rest of the team is there to create, cross, score. They all know their roles at the minute.”
Asked about the goal his side conceded when Taunton defender Austen Booth headed home after 75 minutes, Cooper added: “Sometimes when you make changes, the boys that come on do not defend properly at set pieces and that was the situation there. One of the subs coming on did not mark his man and they get a cheap goal. But the way we controlled the second half today was outstanding.”
The game was played in front of a league record crowd – which was 12 greater than the previous attendance set when W*ymouth came to Huish Park in October – and the manager said he believed the crowd had an important role left to play this season.
With Hampton & Richmond, Maidstone United and Torquay United all dropping points on Boxing Day, Yeovil’s win moved then ten points clear at the top of the table.
Cooper said: “It is very pleasing, but there is 22 games left so the players have to keep going. It is not enough, we want more. We want more days like that with the atmosphere like a Football League stadium and fanbase, we want them to come and watch us play like that every week.
“Maybe it’s no coincidence that we play on the front foot when the fans are like that. They have a massive part to play, if they are negative it can drain the performance, but if they are upbeat it will usually lift the players and I thought they sucked the ball in that goal in the first half. It is just another great day for the club from where we were last year to where we are now is just chalk and cheese. We have good people in good places and if we get the trust from the fans to carry on, I am sure we will.”
Cooper confirmed that winger Will Dawes limped off after six minutes after picking up a dead leg in an early challenge which would presumably put him in doubt for the return fixture at Wordsworth Drive on New Year’s Eve.
The boss said he was expecting a reaction from the Peacocks. He said: “”We just have to do what we do and if we play like we play we will be difficult to play against. I am sure Taunton will regroup and they won’t want that to happen on their own pitch. They will be really physical and try and make it difficult, as we would expect.”
One interesting comment from Taunton boss Rob Dray surrounded attacking midfielder Dylan Morgan who was surprisingly left out of the visitors’ squad.
He told BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins that he had been approached by “a very local full-time club“, saying: “There has been an enquiry from a local full-time club for him which I was dealing with yesterday. His frame of mind was therefore not correct for him to be playing today. Anything else is got to be asked of the club, the people who are at a higher pay grade than I am.”
Now obviously Yeovil are not the only full-time which could be described as local to Taunton……but they are the most local one. Watch this space…..
As is often the way this season, Mark Cooper also spoke with the club’s official YouTube channel following the win and here is what he said there…..
Who was your Man of the Match for the first installment of the A358 derby?
One of the four goal scorers? One of the many fine performances from the defence and midfield?
We haven’t got enough space on the poll for all 6301 of those in the stands though.
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Yeovil Town took full advantage of the slip up by Hampton and Richmond earlier to go ten points clear at the top of the National League South, four goals, each from different players wrapped up the points in front of (another) National League South attendance record.
Here’s Gloverscast Ben’s match report.
The Glovers started brightly and did find their way into the Taunton penalty area with just a couple of minutes on the clock, but it was Taunton who first had a proper opportunity to force a save out of Joe Day.
Ross Stern, stood over a free kick 25 yards out, but instead of shooting, he dinked the ball into the area where a couple of Taunton players, challenged for the ball in an offside position.
Will Dawes sought medical attention soon after, a few Glovers players asking the referee if he intended to do anything further regarding the situation, he wasn’t, Dawes was fine.
… that was until he wasn’t.
Despite coming back onto the pitch, Dawes was to be replaced by Rhys Murphy, that would move Jordan Young into a wider to bring Murphy along side Frank Nouble up front.
The opening ten minutes resembled a passing session between the two goalkeepers, neither side able to get their foot on the ball.
Once someone did, a chance was created, Rhys Murphy crashed his way into the box on the right hand side and fizzed a ball across for the waiting Courtney Senior, but it was scrambled away.
It seemed to wake the Glovers up, Alex Whittle and Senior were teaming up nicely, but the crosses weren’t finding their men.
Senior failed to bring one down with the goal gaping, Charlie Cooper had a shot from distance that somehow, via at least one, if not two deflections skipped just wide.
At the other end, Stern and Nat Jarvis were attempting some of the game’s dark arts with former Peacock Jake Wannell their main target.
Dan Ball brought Jordan Young down with the Glovers man in full flow after picking up a loose ball, the set piece was being lined up by Charlie Cooper.
25 yards out, just to the left hand side of the area, it may have favoured the right footer, but Young pulled rank, but would sky the ball over the bar.
The Glovers would have their goal soon enough though, Morgan Williams picked out Jordan Young through the middle of the park, the winger skipped past one, sped past another and fed Michael Smith whose inch perfect cross ball was placed home from 12 yards by Frank NOUBLE.
The Peacocks were on the ropes early, their restart went straight out of play and then a loose pass through the midfield nearly gave Nouble another chance to run at the defence.
Nouble and Young got their wires crossed on 18 minutes, good work from Courtney Senior coming to nothing as Nouble couldn’t slide Young through on goal.
Rhys Murphy forced a great save from the Taunton keeper, a sensational pass from Charlie Cooper set the front man on his way, the keeper to his credit stayed big and just got a big toe on the shot, to send it round the post.
20 minutes gone and the Glovers had the ball in comfortable possession, Matt Worthington sent a long ball forward to Nouble, he brought the ball down and found Michael SMITH who slide the ball home as smoothly as only with a man with his silky voice could. 2-0 Gorgeous.
Frank Nouble picked the ball up on 25 minutes, ran the full length of the pitch with no-one in white able to get near him, his final touch was just a smidgen too heavy and a desperate defence could mop up.
Taunton were trying to find a way back into the game, with less than half an hour on the clock they were planning a change, but before they could make it, both Whittle and Young causing havoc down their respective wings.
Young was in full flow by this point, he drew a foul out of Zac Smith in the left wing back area, right by the corner flag.
Young whipped it in himself, some head tennis ensued and Taunton could make a break away, Stern forcing a throw in which would lead to a Glovers goal kick.
Stern – with short sleeves and gloves – claimed for a spot kick, but was waved away.
The change originally planned by Taunton was seemingly canned, the Glovers were looking for a third, Jordan Young was bundled off the ball in the area, but nothing doing there, Senior continued to snap at the heels of anyone in the Taunton defence, and there were chances beginning to flow.
Michael Smith was flying down the right hand side and he whipped a ball in to the six yard box where Rhys Murphy, who started the play off 50 yards further back, somehow missed the target. It looked easier to score.
Dan Ball didn’t like what he was seeing and told someone, and then proceeded to tell the referee his name. Yellow.
Murphy lashed another shot over the target, smashed at goal from distance, a frustrated swipe at the ball.
The first Glover in the book was Matt Worthington, the skipper adjudged to have fouled Joe Guest on 38 minutes.
Confidence was starting to flow, Senior travelled a long way quite quickly down the left hand side, he went sideways to Cooper who couldn’t find Worthington down the right hand side.
Five minutes left of normal time and once again Stern – he of the short sleeves and gloves (are you cold or not?) – was throwing himself to the ground, all it did was give the Glovers the possession again, possession which found its way to Jordan Young, who couldn’t quite squeeze either himself or a cross into the box.
Senior did manager to get the ball onto his left foot on the edge of the area, but one touch too many saw the Peacocks snuff out the challenge.
Rhys Murphy was in something of a mood after squandering chances earlier in the half, some great work by Nouble and Young saw Murphy skip past the person closest to him, but his left footed shot was again, nestled into the Thatchers Stand.
Taunton would end the half with some sort of pressure, a free kick down the right hand side, taken by Lloyd James found its way back into the area and the Glovers would pounce on a Joe Day punch to counter.
Frank Nouble sending Murphy through again, but the Bagsman couldn’t quite convert as the fourth official announced four additional minutes to play.
Ollie Chamberlain was involved in some nice play with James for Taunton down the right, but his cross was slashed at by the Taunton Skipper, Nick Grimes… it wasn’t close to Joe Day’s goal.
Day got a replacement ball and launched it forward, Nouble sent a couple defenders for an early half time hot dog and found Jordan Young.
Young skipped past one and tricked his way past a second, but another high shot didn’t trouble the away keeper.
The Glovers were approaching double figures for proper chances, Rhys Murphy was too strong for Dan Ball after a long clearance, but the ball got stuck under his foot, with a run at the goal at his mercy.
2-0 to Yeovil, it could have been six.
Taunton made a switch at the break, Marcus Day was taken out of the affair with Cam Evans brought in.
The opening exhanges of the second half, were a little bit scrappy, both sides tried some longer balls to get their rhythm back, Courtney Senior was the first player to get the ball down and get attacking, he linked up with Alex Whittle, but his cross evaded everyone and it was cleared by the visitors.
Those two would team up again, as the Glovers took their time to force another attack, Smith and Young were equally well teamed together on the right.
He found himself in acres of space near the Taunton corner flag, but his first time cross wasn’t met by a Glover.
The action was all in the Taunton box, Courtney Senior couldn’t find half a yard of space after linking well with Rhys Murphy.
With ten minutes gone, a slip by Senior gave Zac Smith the chance to move the ball forward, Taunton progressed forward before Cooper broke up the attack, he was hauled down for the second time in the first period of the second half.
Neither goalkeeper had done much in the way of anything arduous since the break, both sides making progress down the flanks, but nothing in the way of a final ball, or shot to cause much damage.
Taunton had clearly had something of a rocket at half time, they were trying to break up play as much as possible, Austen Booth did just that with a bursting run forward, only to foul Jake Wannell in the process.
Zac Smith pounced on a loose ball on the left hand side as the clock ticked passed an hour, but a heavy touch and a loud shout from the Glovers’ keeper meant Joe Day mopped up with minimal fuss.
The second half didn’t appear to have the same fizz to it as the first, Taunton had the most of the ball, a long shot was easily claimed by Day whilst Ross Stearn moaned some more at the ref who wasn’t falling for his antics.
Whilst the Taunton attackers were having a moan, their defenders were doing some attacking, Dan Ball fired a shot in, but a combination of Glovers’ defenders saw it wide; the corner was dealt with by Jake Wannell.
With just over 65 minutes on the clock, Joe Day took a clattering when claiming a high ball, as Taunton maintained a bit of possession in midfield, the hosts prepped a change.
Courtney Senior’s final action was to win a free kick down the left hand side, Sonny Blu Lo Everton coming on, a switch in tactics with Jordan Young going wide on the left.
As the Free Kick came in, it came to nothing, but it soon would.
The Goal Kick from Lavercombe saw a loveley through ball from Matt Worthington, Rhys MURPHY kept his cool as he slotted past the on rushing keeper.
The chances kept coming, corners and crosses galore.
Sonny Blu LO EVERTON found himself a bit of space 25 yards out, not long after having a shot saved, his fired shot, low and hard, off the post and nestled into the back of the net. 4-0 and it was all happening too fast for this report to be written.
Taunton made a change again, Nick McCootie coming on for Ross Stearn, who had clearly spent too much time and effort flailing about.
Soon after Joe Day finally had something to do; give the referee his name… for time wasting, at 4-0 up… riiiiiight.
Jordan Young was replaced by Alex Fisher and the Glovers played their final cards from the bench.
It was about now, the stream dropped to black, Taunton got a goal back with just over ten minutes left, Austen Booth rising highest at a corner.
Zac Smith was booked (finally) and he had a shot on goal, which went wide.
Nick Grimes had a go too, but that went over, the Glovers were able to take their foot off the gas as the half wore down.
Taunton were reduced to 10 men, after the sub Nick McCootie saw yellow… twice, in quick succession. A reckless challenge followed by a confrontation and that was it, early bath.
Four additional minutes, if you’ve made it this far and were hoping for more significant updates, the stream never came back – Gloverscast Ben will send an angry email shortly after publishing this match report.
Game over. 4-1, could have been a cricket score. Top of the league by ten points. Merry Christmas!
4-0 @YTFC @gloverscast #ytfc pic.twitter.com/f62LZ3p4Yx
— Chris Hockley (@Chrishockley) December 26, 2023
Venue: Huish Park
Date: Tuesday 26th December – 3:00pm
Competition: National League South
Pitch: Cut up in places, but nothing serious
Conditions: Dry and cool
Attendance: 6,301 (406 away supporters)
Scorers: Frank Nouble (1-0 ’15), Michael Smith (2-0 ’20), Rhys Murphy (3-0 ’69), Sonny Blu Lo Everton (4-0 ’72), Austen Booth (4-1 ’78)
Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Matt Worthington ’38, Joe Day ’74,
Taunton Town: Dan Ball ’36, Zac Smith ’81, Nick McCootie ’85
Red Cards
Yeovil Town: None
Taunton Town: Nick McCootie ’85 (Second Bookable Offence)
Referee: Ross Martin
Yeovil Town (4-4-2)
Substitutes: Rhys Murphy (for Dawes ‘6), Sonny Blu Lo-Everton (for Senior ’67), Alex Fisher (for Jordan Young ’75), Josh Owers (not used), Jake Hyde (not used).
Taunton Town: Dan Lavercome (GK), Nick Grimes, Dan Ball, Austen Booth, Ollie Chamberlain, Lloyd James, Nat Jarvis, Joe Guest, Ross Stearn (for Nick McCootie ’72), Zac Smith, Marcus Day (For Cam Evans ’46)
Substitutes (not used): Lloyd Irish (GK), Rabi Tabu, Callum Doman
Alex Whittle returns to the starting line up for the Boxing Day clash against Taunton Town.
Whittle replaces Jay Foulston – who is unable to face his parent club. Jake Wannell does indeed start against his former employers.
If you read earlier that Jordan Stevens was back, he isn’t – call it a typo from the official account – but Will Dawes is, just as quick, I suppose.