Torquay United

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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!

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Two-goal hero Jahmari Clarke could not stop smiling as he spoke about his part in a 3-0 home win over Torquay United at Huish Park today.

The 20-year-old, making his first home appearance in front of a league record crowd, poked the Glovers in to the lead in front of the Thatcher’s Stand after 40 minutes before sealing the win with a coolly-taken second on 63 minutes.

Asked if he could have done better on his first home outing, the on-loan Reading striker said: “A hat-trick maybe! It feels good to get two goals, I think I started off quite slowly but then I got in to the game and took my chances well. It just dropped for me and I reacted first, but that is how it goes inside the penalty area, you just have to be ready for anything.

“Being in the right place comes with playing and obviously I have not been playing much, but obviously now I am starting to play more I can get more match fit, so the more I play, the better I will be.”

It was the third appearance for the powerful frontman, who had a five-game spell on loan at Boreham Wood in the National League Premier earlier this season, having come off the bench in the goalless draw at Slough Town a fortnight ago and then started last weekend’s 1-0 win at Braintree Town.

He said he was happy with the reception he had got in the Huish Park changing rooms: “Everyone has been great, they have welcomed me well and being up here has been good. They are really positive in the changing room. We just need to get over the line! But definitely it is easier to come in to a winning team. I am a bit too young to be in this position before, but everyone is buzzing and happy.“

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper believes his side have their confidence back as they cruised to a 3-0 home win over Torquay United today.

A brace from on loan Reading striker Jahmari Clarke and another goal from Jordan Young sealed the three points on the day the Glovers’ broke their own league attendance record with a crowd of 6,462 inside Huish Park.

The win means we need six more points to seal the National League South title with a trip to local rivals W*ymouth next up on Easter Monday.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Cooper said: “I watched Leicester today and they were 17 points clear (at the top of the Championship) on Boxing Day and now they are behind (first-placed Leeds United) and look like they have gone. So, every person in the game I speak to tells you it is not easy to get over the line, and we have had said all season ‘just deal what is in front of us’. Today we looked like we have got our confidence back, we had some good intricate passing and I thought we were really good.

“We have taken the best two full-backs (Michael Smith and Alex Whittle) out of the team, we have taken two of the best forwards (Rhys Murphy and Jake Hyde) out of the team and we have had to find a different way. This late on in the season, clubs are not going to give you their best players, so we have had to take a gamble on two young lads in Brooklyn (Genesini) and Jahmari (Clarke). They have fitted in really well and found a different way, but now we look like we have our confidence back and we are marching on.”

Jahmari Clarke celebrates his opening goal after 40 minutes.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Clarke, who had an uncertain start to the game which saw him blaze an effort in to the Thatcher’s Stand after 20 minutes, was the headline maker after stabbing home the opener on 40 minutes before wrapping up the win with a composed finish on 63 minutes.

Cooper said: “He is raw, rough around the edges but he has something, I’m not quite sure what it is yet, but he has something that we like. He occupies defenders because of his size and his pace and you can see what he does with that second goal, he turns and got himself a good finish. He started off a bit rusty, but he is a young lad and he can be pleased with his two goals today. I think that first effort put a few windows out! But, he kept going and he was there for the first goal and the second was a great finish.”

Yeovil had to show composure against a Torquay side which fulfilled expectations by coming to Huish Park with a game plan to break up play leading to three bookings (two of the away side) in the first half-an-hour and numerous breaks in play.

The physicality of his side was a major plus for the manager who had praise right across the pitch, saying: “There was some big performances out there, we dominated the middle of the pitch, the two centre backs, the two midfield players and Frank, they physically dominated. That gives you a platform to go and play. Youngy has had some indifferent performances but he knows why and it is just a case of showing him why he is not quite at it if he is not quite at it. If he works really hard, even if it is just for 60 or 70 minutes he ends up playing well. He did that today.

“We can be physical if we need to, all the best teams can mix it and you can see clearly Torquay had come to try and kick us and rattle us. I thought we might throw a rugby ball on after ten minutes, but we stood up to it and played off the back of it.”

Jordan Stevens.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Jordan Stevens was recalled to the starting XI just a week after he was left out of the squad for the 1-0 win at Braintree Town with his manager said he had not seen enough of the midfielder in training to warrant a place. But, the boss was full of praise today, saying: “He is the best presser that I have seen at this level. If a ball goes square to the full back and they have got their head up, he is on top of them and he nicks so many balls off the full-back before they have a chance to play it. We just thought his pace down the side would exploit Torquay and I thought it did.”

The crowd surpasses the 6,301 which turned out for the Boxing Day win over Taunton Town at Huish Park and means Yeovil have now set the record for the league three times in one season.

Cooper’s praise extended to the fans, adding: “I said to the boys before today ‘it is a brilliant crowd in here, let’s keep them with us’, we didn’t want to let the place go quiet, we had to make sure they were with us and the only way you can do that is to show a real intent to dominate the opposition. I thought we did a bit of everything and the fans could see that and appreciated that, and we certainly appreciated them being with us.”

Next up is a trip to managerless W*ymouth, who sacked Bobby Wilkinson in midweek with his managerial highlight still being losing 2-0 at Huish Park in October, on Easter Monday, with more than 2,000 away supporters expected to make the journey across the Dorset border.

Asked whether he would make changes for that game, Cooper said: “We will see. It is like a Saturday-Tuesday, the players get a day off tomorrow and we are back in Sunday. They are all in the ice baths now recovering which they love! We will see how they respond and we will go again Monday.”

 

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Yeovil scored 3 and conceded 0 – that’ll do!

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Yeovil Town went within six points of the National League Premier with a 3-0 thrashing of Torquay United, two goals from Jahmari Clarke and one from Jordan Young separated the sides in a feisty encounter in the Somerset sun.

First half

Matt Worthington lost the toss to kick start the Bank Holiday weekend, it meant the Glovers were attacking the Thatchers End first up and the first coming together was just seconds in.

Jordan Young was subject to a tough 50/50 in the opening seconds, a Torquay player seemingly falling on to the winger who needed medical attention and a concussion test.

Young was booked… for getting a headache.

Tom Lapslie gave Charlie Cooper a clattering, and Jude-Boyd earned himself a booking for barging through Morgan Williams… the game barely four minutes old and the Gulls had set their stall out early.

Brad Ash and Jake Wannell tried to swap shirts as a long ball cleared them both, eight minutes on the clock and very little actual football had actually broken out. Cool heads from the Glovers needed, Torquay out to ruffle feathers as much as play football.

It took as much as 11 minutes before some football happened, ironically, from a free kick too, Torquay lofted the ball into the box, Jake Wannell dealt with the first ball before Joe Day took care of the rest.

Torquay found themselves into the attack with 15 minutes gone, but their move down the right was thwarted.

The Glovers quickly countered with Charlie Cooper who played the ball right to Brooklyn Genesini, his cross was just out of reach of the on rushing Jordan Stevens, the first glimpse of the attacking YTFC we’d all been hoping for.

Cooper gave away a free kick in the right back area with less than a quarter of the game gone, the ball, whipped in right footed never troubling anyone other than the away fans in the open terrace.

The Glovers were comfortable in possession, Frank Nouble popping up on both sides of the pitch trying to get the game going. 

Jahmari Clarke, who hadn’t really got much of a touch was finally in the game on 20 minutes, he got on the end of a long ball forward from Morgan Williams, but Clarke’s knock down couldn’t quite find Nouble in a good position.

Nouble, a former Torquay man, was proving instrumental. The referee played an excellent advantage when Cooper was clattered in the Glovers’ area with Nouble and Young linking up down the right hand side, the ball squirmed away, but shortly found its way to Clarke.

Clarke wound up a shot from distance… it might still be in orbit… do let us know if you see it.

More scrappy football in the middle, more unpunished Torquay challenges and more lumped balls forward from the visitors, finally lead to Austen Booth being given a booking for a rugby tackle on Clarke. 

Some lovely football between Genesini and Young led to the ball falling to Matt Worthington on the edge of the box, his shot was deflected wide and Young’s corner evaded everyone.

Yeovil were started to up the ante, Frank Nouble twisted and turned into a shooting position but his effort was blocked, Nouble then laid the ball right to Genesini who saw the headlines as his shot rose just too high.

Clarke and Stevens were next to team up down the left hand side, Stevens’ cross couldn’t find a green shirt.

No sooner did that happen did Torquay find themselves with their first sight at goal, but Brad Ash was muscled away from goal by Morgan Williams as Joe Day mopped up the ball.

Brad Ash had another flop about on the floor to win a free kick with just shy of 45 minutes on the clock, the resulting free kick was almost misjudged by Jay Foulston, who ended up flicking the ball out for a corner.

Brett McGavin’s looping header causing no danger for Joe Day.

The final five minutes became quite breathless with both sides making opportunities, Morgan Williams stretching to clear a cross, Jake Wannell breaking out some yoga move to stop an attack whilst Frank Nouble and Jordan Stevens was causing havoc.

Charlie Cooper benefitted from a great run from Stevens, his shot was blocked but fell nicely to Jahmari CLARKE who tapped home into an open net.

1-0 to the Glovers!

Jahmari Clarke opens the scoring – Pic Gary Brown

Yeovil weren’t switched on from the restart though and Tom Lapslie was inches away from equalising, Joe Day managing to get enough on Stobbs’ cross to force a corner. Nothing came from the resulting set piece. 

The scrappiness continued – Brad Ash scuffed a shot goalwards after Charlie Cooper was bundled off the ball. 

Genesini continued to find space down the right hand side, he and Nouble combined to whip a ball in, but Jordan Stevens couldn’t rise highest.

The visitors fizzed a shot wide as the game entered four minutes of added on time in the first half, 

It was feisty, scrappy, at times a little naughty, but the half ended with the Glovers a goal to the good… and Jake Wannell rattling the Torquay players.

Half time: Yeovil Town 1 Torquay United 0
Second half

No changes by either side at the break, but the visitors had started with a new formation, a more traditional back four and a two-man front line.

Torquay started the game in the ascendancy, a throw in found it’s way to Ash in the box, but his effort was never going to trouble anyone as the ball trickled out.

Yeovil’s first attack was once again the product of a smooth passage of play down the right hand side, Genesini and Young combined to earn a number of attacking throw ins, one of which found it’s way to Frank Nouble who’s smashed cross went right across goal.

The Glovers were back in possession soon enough, the Jordans were teaming up on the edge of the box, and it was Stevens who had the chance to fire a cross in, but Clarke couldn’t quite get to the ball ahead of the visitors goalkeeper.

Torquay, to their credit, were playing some football this half and Boyd’s cross caused a moment of danger, but with the Glovers back on the front foot with Young, Cooper and Genesini all trying to get into the game from an attacking point of view.

Frank Nouble was on a mission, he locked onto a long ball, skipped past another reckless challenge and gets his head up, to see Jordan YOUNG flying towards the edge of the area, his left footed strike cannoning off the bar and into the back of the net to double Yeovil’s advantage.

Huish Park was now rocking, another National League South attendance record announced and every one of them were enjoying their day out in the glorious sunshine.

Jahmari CLARKE was back in the action, a quite sensational turn saw the Reading loanee close down on goal and slot the ball under the on rushing keeper to give the Glovers a third – a really lovely goal – and one that might have prevented him from being taken off, Olly Thomas was ready to come on and had to sit back down!

He got a couple of more minutes before making way for the Bristol City man.

He was soon into the action, causing trouble in the box as Cooper whipped a free kick in, the ball bobbled to Jake Wannell’s left foot, his traction engine of a shot was blocked for a corner.

The corner was defended well, but the Green shirts were all over the ball, possession back with the home side within seconds. 

Thomas and Young were interchanging some very nice passes and Thomas was hauled down by a defender 20 yards from goal… Jordan Young territory.

Apart from the fact that Jake Wannell stood over the ball, not the most likely taker. 
There was a mix up, and another free kick, which was once again set up for Wannell – it didn’t work, move on, let’s not worry about that.

Jordan Stevens was next to try his luck, benefitting from more good work by Olly Thomas, he struck a ball towards towards the top corner, rising just too far.

With 15 minutes gone, Jenkins-Davies was booked for another foul on Charlie Cooper, the possession was once again with the Glovers, the Jordans were causing all kinds of bother with Wannell, Morgan and Day mopping up everything at the other end.

With the clock ticking down, the game had a bit of a lull.

Jordan Young got another clattering, he was replaced by Dylan Morgan with 12 minutes left. 

Olly Thomas was determined to get in on the goal scoring, chasing down lost causes and having a shot blocked with ten minutes to go.

Jake Wannell got booked for slowing the game down – I’m pretty sure a few worse things went unpunished.

Thomas was again causing all kinds of chaos, he nipped into the area down the left hand side, his shot was blocked for a corner, when the slightly better option might have been to find Jordan Stevens in the six yard box.

The resulting corner saw Dylan Morgan have a shot blocked, everyone was in on the act.

At the other end, Archer made progress down the left and fired a shot at goal, Joe Day was well placed, but it was nodded behind by Worthington nonetheless.

Jay Foulston was being treated for a knock, with only six minutes left.

Torquay continued to have  possession in key areas, but set pieces and final balls weren’t causing the Glovers any trouble.

Yeovil were happy to see the game out by this point, winning possession at regular intervals and marshalling the game, 

In a final change, Sonny Blu Lo Everton came on to give Charlie Cooper the chance to put his feet up.

The referee decided SEVEN additional minutes were required, Jake Wannell and Lo Everton were still happy to show their quick feet in the middle of the park, the Glovers were enjoying themselves.

It was some lovely simple passing from the Glovers to finish the game off, the ball moving far more than any Torquay player, both sets of players happy to wait for the ref to blow his whistle, 

Full time: Yeovil Town 3 Torquay United 0

Match Details

Venue: Huish Park
Date: Friday 29th March, 3:00pm

Competition: National League South

Pitch: Amazing considering the weather
Conditions: Beautiful Sunny Day with showers.

Attendance: 6,462

Scorers: Clarke 39 (1-0), Young 57 (2-0), Clarke 62 (3-0),

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jordan Young 1,

Torquay Uniteds: Jude-Williams 4, A Booth 26, A Hall 68, J Davies 74.

Referee: Matthew Norton

Yeovil Town

Substitutes: Dylan Morgan (for Young 78), Sonny Blu Lo Everton (for Cooper 89), Sam Pearson, Rhys Murphy, Olly Thomas (for Clarke 65)

Torquay United: M.Halstead, A Jude-Boyd (for Tomlinson 76), T Lapslie (for Ofori-Acheampong), A Booth, A Hall (C), B Ash, B McGavin, W Jenkins-Davies, D Moxey, J Stobbs (for Collins 79), E Archer.
Substitutes (not used): , R Lovett,

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Yeovil Town return to Huish Park in triumphant spirits, off the back of their 1-0 win at Braintree Town last weekend.

The Glovers put an end to their indifferent run of form with the win, and they take on a troubled Torquay United. The two South West sides have clashed around the Christmas period for the last four years, with varying degrees of success between the two outfits.

The last time these two sides met in the league, it was the mighty Yeovil who were successful, goals from Frank Nouble, Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Jake Hyde handing us a 3-1 win.

Yeovil Town Team News

Mark Cooper insisted that Torquay will still be a tough challenge for us, speaking midweek he said: “We know if they are fit they (Dean Moxey, Asa Hall, Kevin Dawson, Tom Lapslie) will play and they will be desperate to come here and get something, so we have to fully respect that and make sure we give everything we have got and get the result.“

Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

There are no returns from injury for any of our injured stars, the gaffer also confirmed mid-week that the highly anticipated returns of Michael Smith and Rhys Murphy would have to wait until after Friday’s game at least, saying: “Murphy and Smith are back in training, but it will be too soon for them to come back in.”

Alex Whittle will not be seen again this season, with initial injury concerns having been eased somewhat, as Cooper confirmed the dynamic left back wouldn’t need surgery on his hamstring.

Torquay United Team News

Interim Gulls manager Aaron Downes spoke to the media ahead of tomorrow’s clash, labelling his side as “rare underdogs”, stating: “It’s very rare that Torquay United in the National League South goes to a team, and is sort of looked at as underdogs, as far as the league position is concerned, so for once we’ll relish the opportunity to do that, but we know that if we play well and if we perform the way we can perform, then we definitely know we can get a result there”.

Downes also confirmed that starting striker Aaron Jarvis would miss Friday’s clash, with other injuries in the squad being assessed right up to kickoff, saying: “Marsh (Ross Marshall) and Daws (Kevin Dawson) both touch and go really, not 100% certain on them. Jarvs (Aaron Jarvis) will be out, he’s still not right; he was ill last week but he also got the knock at Tonbridge on his knee, and then he had to come off later in the second half. So Jarvs (Jarvis) will be out, and Daws (Dawson) and Marsh (Marshall) are both tight”.

The Devon side come into Friday off the back of a 1-0 win themselves, an Asa Hall penalty proving the difference between them and Hampton & Richmond. Torquay have also found themselves in spotty form, although still an improvement under interim boss Downes, following his appointment after Gary Johnson’s departure. The Australian has a record of two wins, two draws and two losses since being appointed near the end of February.

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper has said his table-topping squad are looking forward to an Easter of Westcountry action this weekend.

The Glovers take on Torquay United at Huish Park on Good Friday with more than 4,000 tickets already sold, before travelling to local rivals W*ymouth on Easter Monday in front of a huge away following.

They go in to the game seven points clear at the top of National League South following last weekend’s 1-0 win at third-placed Braintree Town knowing that nine more points will seal the title.

Speaking on Tuesday, the boss said: “It only works if you play well and it can work the other way if you do not. We need to be on the front foot and do what we do really well and give our fans something to cheer about. We are looking forward to it, they are two great games for us, we could not have picked them any better.

“There is loads riding on both games, certainly the Torquay one at both ends of the table. The W*ymouth one, they are safe, but they won’t be wanting to lose anything to their local rivals. The players will be up for it and I know the supporters will be up for it.”

Frank Nouble will be up against his old employers when Torquay come to Huish Park on Good Friday. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

On Friday, Torquay arrive in Somerset four places and four points off the relegation zone having been deducted ten points having stated their intent to go in to administration. But Cooper is under no illusion about the calibre of players in the Gulls’ squad.

He said: “If you are a player you just want to play, you want to get paid and play. The interim manager will have them well-organised like they were against Hampton (a game Torquay won 1-0 at home last weekend) when they had to withstand an awful lot of pressure and did it really well. When you look at their starting XI, it is a really experienced, solid one and they have Aaron Jarvis to come back in to it. We are really looking forward to it. 

“Looking at their last couple of games, if they have them available, they will play those players. So we have an idea of a group of players that will play. You look at Dean Moxey, a fantastic player who has had a top career, Asa Hall, Kevin Dawson, Tom Lapslie, all these kind of players are really experienced. We know if they are fit they will play and they will be desperate to come here and get something, so we have to fully respect that and make sure we give everything we have got and get the result.“

W*ymouth are sitting comfortably in mid-table, ten points away from the drop zone, but with local rivalry at stake, Cooper is under no illusions that they will not be giving Yeovil any quarter.

He said: “I am sure their manager (Bobby Wilkinson) and players will be wound up to not let us win. That is football and how it should be. We are taking hordes of fans their and I am just looking at seeing that green-and-white and seeing the occasion. Professional head on, we just want to go and get the job done.

“You want to be playing in front of big crowds. I do not have to worry about players being up for it, when it is a little bit quiet it can be a bit laid back, so we know we cannot step off the gas. We know the fans will be driving us on, at W*ymouth there is going to be a massive following which will make it like a home game. We just want to do really well for them.”

Fans got excited by the sight of striker Rhys Murphy and influential full-back Michael Smith in training this week. Murphy has been missing since picking up an innocuous looking injury in the victory at Taunton Town in January whilst Smith has not featured since going off early in the 1-0 home defeat to Welling United earlier this month.

Cooper said: “Murphy and Smith are back in training, but it will be too soon for them to come back in. Alex Whittle is out until pre-season. If you took any teams two frontline full-backs and two strikers who you spent all your money on out of that team, people would get a pass and an excuse for not being as on form as they are expected to be. We don’t get that and we don’t moan about that, we just get on with it. We have had to find a different way to keep us competitive we might not have been as scintillating as we might have been, but we have lost four massive players. We have added a couple of players that have given us a bit of a lift.”

He also confirmed that the omission of winger Jordan Stevens from the squad at Braintree was down to form, not fitness. He said: “No injury concern. He just has not done enough. We look at who has performed well in training and in games and there were players in front of him that had done a bit more than him. Maybe it is a kick up the backside for him, he has got to get going.”

Left-back Alex Whittle has also been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury with Jay Foulston stepping in for the 0-0 draw at Slough Town and the win at Braintree. Cooper admitted he had been impressed with Foulston and Brooklyn Genesini, who has filled in for Smith since joining on loan from Swindon Town.

The manager said: “I have been very impressed with both of them and we have kept two clean sheets with them in the team. It still takes time to bed them in terms of how we play going forwards. Brooklyn is coming in to replace an international, a crowd favourite who is so calm in everything he does, but he has done great. But again we are just looking at getting them prepared for Friday.

“(Alex) has been a real stalwart at the back and a top player, but we are lucky to have Jay Foulston to step in as a calm replacement. Alex is a big miss, but luckily we have found out today that he does not require surgery and they are going to let it heal naturally. That is a real big bonus for us and for him.“

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Yeovil Town’s winning run in the league came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Chippenham…

Who was your man of the match?

Who was your man of the match for Yeovil against Chippenham?

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Well, the run was fun while it lasted, but all good things must come to an end. Three Valleys Radio were there, and so was our very own Tom Bailey was there to give us his Five Conclusions on Yeovil’s exit from the FA Trophy.

Changes were a win-win. Not sure if this was just me, but I was still impressed with the majority of the changes made today by Mark Cooper. It was great to see Josh Staunton back in the side, and the same can be said for Jordan Maguire-Drew, who was my personal Man of the Match (for Yeovil at least). While it’s disappointing for the run to end, I can’t imagine this competition was high on the priority list of Mark Cooper, so resting key players like Michael Smith, Morgan Williams and Rhys Murphy was the right call.

Torquay were much improved. We can say all we want about Yeovil’s performance (which I didn’t think was that bad considering the amount of changes made), but we have to give Torquay credit where it’s due, they did a much better job than last time out at nullifying any attacking threat that came their way. Considering the only goal we scored was an own goal from a Torquay defender, they can go home with their heads held high, even with the wholescale changes for Yeovil.

 

 

Duncan Idehen had a decent debut. A baptism of fire for the 21 year old loanee, and a big gap in the defence to fill. It didn’t matter for Duncan Idehen though, who looked shaky in the opening stages of the game before growing into a dominant performance, commanding his area and putting in vital tackles to cut out attacks from the hosts. We’ve got him until the end of January, and I’m personally looking forward to seeing how he grows with us!

The pitch was… certainly something. We had concerns over the state of Yeovil’s pitch following the run of home games recently, and I think Torquay have reason to be concerned over their own. Players were slipping and sliding, and nobody really looked comfortable on a surface that was coming up from the first whistle.

 

Tricky conditions left quality football few and far between.

 

Back on track for Tuesday, then. There are positives to take from today, less games for us to think about, allowing us to focus on the league, as well as run outs and rests for a lot of players in the squad. The bus ride home was quiet but not a bad atmosphere, it was an “ah well, maybe next year” feeling, as we clearly have bigger fish to fry. Shout out to the 300+ fans that made the journey today too, plenty of noise from them!

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper admitted he knew there was a risk in making seven changes to his starting line-up for the 2-1 defeat at Torquay United in the FA Trophy second round this afternoon.

The Glovers named a completely changed back four with captain Josh Staunton paired alongside Bristol City loanee Duncan Idehen in the middle with Zac Bell and Alex Whittle at full-backs, in front of them Josh Owers, Will Dawes and Jordan Maguire-Drew were handed starts and Jake Hyde began up front.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall after the match at Plainmoor, Cooper admitted there were a number of his first-choice starters who he did not want to risk with two away trips in the National League South coming up at Chippenham Town on Tuesday night and Welling United next weekend.

He said: “I knew when I was picking the team that there was a chance we might not get through, but we could not risk Morgan Williams, Michael Smith, Rhys Murphy had an issue with his knee but he’ll be fine for Tuesday and we needed to freshen Frank (Nouble) up as well. But credit to Torquay, they got through and we march on.

“I thought if we got one we would have a big chance to get another and so it proved, but we did not score early enough. The way Torquay are going, especially at home, they become a bit anxious, but once we scored one I was convinced we would get another big chance and we did. But we just could not manage to force it over the line.”

Torquay took the lead when Dillon De Silva opened the scoring after just three minutes and then Fleetwood Town loan midfielder Callum Dolan added a second with a fine strike early in the second half.

Cooper said: “We got an attacking free-kick in a really dangerous position and probably our most productive player at the minute, Jordan Young, hits the ball straight in to the first man, they break on us and we don’t do our defensive job and we get caught out of position and the lad cuts inside and scores. Then the second one, we are caught of position again and it is another shot from the edge of the box because we did not defend the edge of the box well enough from our midfield.

“The players should know to the minute detail of what their position is because we are meticulous with it and we do it every day. There’s no criticism of the boys that came in to the team today, we felt it was a strong enough team to get a result but we fell on the wrong side of the important bits in the big moments.”

The boss had praise for debutant Idehen, who joined in the week following an injury to central defender Jake Wannell in the 4-2 home win over Farnborough on Tuesday night.

Asked about the 21-year-old’s performance, Cooper said: “Especially second half I thought he was great. He won every header, every tackle, was composed on the ball. It was a difficult game for him to come in to, but I thought he looked very good.”

The Glovers now travel to Chippenham Town on Tuesday night looking to bounce straight back and continue a winning run in National League South which stretches back to the 3-2 victory at Weston-super-Mare at the start of September.

Chippenham progressed to the next round of the Trophy with a 3-2 win on penalties at home to Basingstoke Town today.

Cooper said: “We have got to concentrate on Chippenham on Tuesday and go and get another big result in the league. I think we have won ten league games on the trot and we have to go and make that 11 now.”