Woking

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Former Yeovil Town attacker Charlie Wakefield has secured a permanent switch to National League side Wolking.

The silky winger, was apparently just what Darren Sarll needed this summer.

Wakefield was announced as leaving Huish Park at the end of the 2022/23 season.

The former Chelsea man played 57 games for the Glovers and spent the final stages of last season on loan at the Cards.

Thanks for everything at Huish Park, go well at Woking.

(any excuse to show that goal against Stevenage… Huish Park was rocking!)

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Yeovil Town captain Josh Staunton has told his team-mates it is their responsibility to get the club out of trouble at the wrong end of the National League table.

The Glovers sit one place and one point above the division’s relegation zone after a 1-0 home defeat to Woking on Saturday in another match where they were undone by a defensive lapse and an inability to score goals.

They take on play-off sides Eastleigh and Chesterfield in their next two games on Tuesday night and next weekend respectively.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the Woking defeat, Staunton said: “It’s my job as captain, I am responsible for those boys and therefore their head space and body language is a reflection of me. I will give my last kick to stay up, so there will be no feeling like we are going down.

“It is a game of fine margins and at the moment we seem to be constantly on the wrong side of those, but that is down to us to swing things in our direction.

“This is Yeovil Town, it is a big football club and ultimately the players are guilty for putting us in that position, so it is us who has to get us out of it.”

The failure to score was the 13th time this season that Yeovil have drawn a blank in National League action and they remain comfortably the lowest scorers in the division with just 28 goals in 33 matches, ten fewer than bottom club Maidstone United.

Staunton said: “In the last few games we have really struggled (to score) and we have said in the dressing room that it is not tactical, that has to come from within from an individual in that split second.

“I think the boys were getting in positions where we can score but at the moment everything seems to be going the wrong side of the post for us, but the boys are a confident group and it is just a matter of time before they start going the right side of the post.

“It is a team responsibility, we should all be chipping in with more goals, we have had plenty of box entries today and we are just not falling on it.”

The goal scored by Woking defender Kyran Lofthouse after 14 minutes followed a mistake by Owen Bevan, but the on loan AFC Bournemouth defender had the backing of his captain.

Staunton said: “People make mistakes and Bevs is a young lad and he’ll make a lot more mistakes, but it’s about us as a group galvanising it and turning it in to a 2-1 win.

“We can’t keep putting ourselves in a position where we have to be faultless at the back because it is extremely hard especially against a team like today where it is a lot of percentage football.

“They are just waiting for a mistake, and when they make a mistake we have to punish them and we are not doing that.”

Ahead of the game, new owners Matt Uggla and former England rugby union player Paul Sackey, who were unveiled as owners in midweek, took to the Huish Park pitch and Staunton said the atmosphere inside the ground had boosted the players.

He said: “That today was the Yeovil Town I signed for, that was the atmosphere I played against when I came here, that was the town and the community spirit which we had not had the last year or so.

“The fans deserve it because they have stuck with the club through darker times and everything seems like it could be moving in the right direction, but we have to back it up on the pitch.”

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said his players have to believe they can score a goal after watching them draw another blank at home to Woking this afternoon.

Striker Jordan Young had two glorious chances to get on the scoresheet; one moments before the visitors took the lead through Kyran Lofthouse’s goal in the 14th minute and one with the final chance of the match where his effort dribble wide.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, Cooper said: “When the ball is going in the box, the difference between the top teams and the rest is that they believe and expect to score, I think we hope.

“We hope it is going to fall perfectly for someone and fly in the back of the net, we have got to get across people and risk a broken nose to get on the end of those balls.

“We can only put the balls in the right areas and it is the job of the boys who are there to attack it, to attack it and we are not very good of that.”

Aside from having just four attempts on goal (two of which were on target), the goal which won the game came from a mistake from defender Owen Bevan in front of a Thatcher’s Stand which had been in full voice, buoyed by the appearance of owners Matt Uggla and Paul Sackey before the match.

Asked about the winner, Cooper added: “It was too easy, it just bounced in the box, I think Bevs got caught trying to clear it, not head it and it just ended up in the back of the net.

“When you are struggling, you are a bit fragile and the more I keep saying ‘stop conceding soft goals’, the more it plays on their minds.

“You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, we just have to make sure if we concede a goal, we go and score one.” Or even more than one, Mark!

He added: “They turned it in to a scrap which is what they are good at and when you concede such a soft goal as we did it makes it very difficult, they are very good at defending what they have got. I was pleased with the players’ effort, but we just need to show a bit more quality.”

The manager said he saw glimpses of the quality he believes new signing Jordan Stevens, signed following his release by League Two Barrow in the week, on his debut, but he said it would be difficult for him to add a goalscorer to boost their fight against relegation.

Eastleigh, who sit in sixth place after a 1-0 win over Scunthorpe United today, visit Huish Park on Tuesday night before Cooper takes his side to Chesterfield next weekend. They picked up a late 2-1 win at Gateshead, a result which kept Yeovil one place and one position outside the relegation zone.

On new signings, Cooper said: “Unless you are going to pay ridiculous amounts of money and people know you are desperate and will pull your pants down (to sell you a goalscorer), so it is going to be nigh on impossible to get a striker.”

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Venue: Huish Park
Saturday 4th March, 3pm kick-off

Pitch: Good – and now with a new groundsman.
Conditions: Overcast
Attendance: 3,237 (323 away supporters)

Scorers: Kyran Lofthouse (0-1)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Jamie Reckord 17, Charlie Cooper 26, Josh Staunton 68, Morgan Williams 79.
Woking: Rohan Ince 49.

Referee: Elliot Swallow

Yeovil Town (5-3-2)

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Edwinn Agbaje, 65), Seb Palmer-Houlden (for Alex Fisher, 83), Chiori Johnson, Jordan Maguire-Drew, Josh Owers.

Woking: Jaaskelainen, Lofthouse (for Simper, 80), Casey, Cuthbert, McNerney, Amond (for Sass-Davies, 90+1), Moss, Nwabuokei, Kellermann, Dackers, Ince  Substitutes (not used): Ross, Korboa, Simper, Nelson, Sass-Davies.

Match Report

A masterclass in the true spirit of Darren Sarll’s sh*thousery was enough to see his Woking side complete the double over Yeovil Town in front of a big crowd at Huish Park.

More than 3,000 turned out buoyed by the start of a new era of ownership of the club following the takeover by SU Glovers in the weekend and they witnessed a typically lacklustre first half from their side which saw Kyran Lofthouse open the scoring on 14 minutes.

To add insult to insult, Jordan Young had a glorious opportunity with a header moments before the opening goal and it was the striker who had the game’s final chance in injury time at the end of a disjointed second half, but his dinked effort over the keeper trickled wide.

A late Chesterfield goal condemned Gateshead to defeat and meant they remain a point inside the National League relegation zone with the Glovers hovering just above the dotted line.

 

First half

New owners Matt Uggla and Paul Sackey were introduced to the crowd before the match and Huish Park was in the kind of voice not seen for at least two seasons – maybe more!

 

Matt Uggla, left, and Paul Sackey, right, meet with some guy who we assume is part of their group! Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

But it was a familiar theme early on as a good header from Marcus Dackers was superbly saved by Grant Smith, but the keeper could only push it as far as the striker who scuffed his effort in to the grateful hands of the best keeper in the National League – don’t @ me!

On 15 minutes, great play by Edwin Agbaje on the counter attack, who looked to have a great opportunity to have a shot as he went in to the penalty area, but he held it up and crossed it for Jordan Young whose header was straight at Will Jaaskelinan.

But, at the risk of saying ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’, the visitors broke straight down the other end and took the lead.
Owen Bevan was at fault (not often we have said that) for not clearing a ball convincingly and it broke to Kyran LOFTHOUSE who thundered home on the half-volley.

It was a sloppy goal and so disappointing after a decent opening 15 minutes from Yeovil. Well, we’ve seen them play a lot worse this season.

But the visitors took confidence from that opener and on 22 minutes a great attacking move found Dackers almost on the penalty spot, but he shanked his effort wide with Smith beaten. Big let off.

On 27 minutes, Cooper went down under a challenge, jumped up and squared up to his aggressor, Jim Kellermann, and ‘got in his face’ – literally. It was a yellow card from referee Elliot Swallow, but let’s call that a dark orange card! Darren Sarll, now obviously in the away dug-out, made his feelings known to the official and ended up with a yellow card of his own.

Three minutes later, Smith was in action again after a nicely worked move by Woking saw Dackers nod the ball down to Ince whose thunderous effort was superbly turned aside by the keeper at full stretch.

With ten minutes of the half remaining, a chance (half chance?) fell Yeovil’s way when a good cross by Matt Worthington almost found Alex Fisher. The striker went down claiming a push in the back……yeah, probably not, Alex.

There was little else to write home about in the rest of the first half and it is probably fair to say Mark Cooper was glad to get his side back in the dressing room. Changes afoot in the second half, perhaps.

 

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Woking 1

 

Second half

Well, no changes in personnel, but a change in intent. From the kick-off, a good ball over the top from Bevan and Fisher got away from his marker Scott Cuthbert and hit a shot which didn’t really test Jaaskelinan. Bit better though.

On 51 minutes, a powerful free-kick from Young clipped the crossbar with the keeper expecting the cross. It could have gone anywhere but unfortunately it did not quite dip under the bar.

Jordan Stevens had an effort blocked four minutes later but there was not much more in terms of attacking threat and on 65 minutes Andrew Oluwabori came on in place of Edwin Agbaje.

Jordan Stevens. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Now remember how when Darren Sarll was our manager we used to laugh about other fans raging as our players sh*thoused to disrupt and frustrate our opposition? Well, now we are the “other fans”. Referee Elliot Swallow did not offer any kind of response.

Oluwabori could not really make an impact with his team-mates unable to find him in exactly the type of disjointed second half the away dug-out would have loved to have seen.

With seven minutes remaining Seb Palmer-Houlden, the young striker on loan from Bristol City, replaced Fisher and within two minutes of his arrival he released Oluwabori, but the Peterborough United loanee could not get a shot off. Two minutes later he was unable to get a header on target after a ball in from Cooper.

As the game crept in to two-and-a-half minutes as Jordan Young beat Cuthbert for pace and dinked it over the keeper……but it just crept agonisingly past the post. That would have taken the roof off the Thatcher’s End.

Another second half where we were in the ascendency in the second half late rally was too little, too late.

Full time:  Yeovil Town 0 Woking 1

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Mark Cooper has handed a debut to new signing Jordan Stevens as his Yeovil Town side taking on Woking at Huish Park (3pm kick-off).

The midfielder, who has arrived following his release by League Two Barrow, is joined in the starting XI by captain Josh Staunton and midfielder Matt Worthington, who both missed the midweek draw with Altrincham through injury.  Striker Jordan Young comes in up front alongside Alex Fisher having been on the bench in the last match.

Ryan Law and Lawson D’Ath are not named in the squad whilst on-loan Bristol City players Josh Owers and Seb Palmer-Houlden are both named on the bench. There is no place for striker Malachi Linton, who was an unused substitute against Altrincham.

There are plenty of familiar faces in the Woking squad, managed by ex-Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll, with former Yeovil men Dan Moss and Rohan Ince in the starting line-up and centre half Billy Sass-Davies, signed on loan from Crewe this morning, and midfielder Lewis Simper on the bench.

The visitors do not include defender Luke Wilkinson, who captained Yeovil during his time at Huish Park.

Yeovil Town (5-3-2)

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Former Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has said he expects Huish Park to be a “tough opponent” when he returns for the first time in charge of Woking tomorrow.

The ex-Glovers’ boss, who quit for the Surrey side last March, has led his side to third place in the National League and his squad enjoyed week without a midweek fixture this week.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, he said he expects the takeover by SU Glovers to provide “an extra energy” to the crowd tomorrow.

He said: “I have always found Huish Park as an opponent to be a tough place, I’m sure they will be buoyed by the takeover and there will be supporters that come back out that were not supporting. I am sure there will be an extra energy in the ground, that would be natural.

“It’s been a long time for those supporters, I experienced that for 18 months of my three years there, so I am sure there will be more there, but we don’t play against supporters, we play against the team.

“In terms of their roster, they have some really good individuals, some really good men that I respect highly and 11 men v 11 men on any given day is a battle. It will come down to those small moments and we will see which way they go.”

Sarll said his squad is “the worst we have been in terms of availability this season” with a number of players missing, including ex-Yeovil striker Rhys Browne, who is suspended following a red card against Bromley last month.

Last weekend, the Cardinals drew 1-1 at home to Wealdstone and have won just twice in their last eight games – although the won four on the bounce in the run before that.

Sarll is hoping a midweek off will be a boost for his side who saw ex-Glovers’ captain Luke Wilkinson go off at half-time against Wealdstone. The centre half returned from injury last month having been out since the end of February with a calf strain.

The manager said: “We need to use that extra energy and freshness to get a big win, but it will be very tough.

“We are probably the worst we have been in terms of availability this season, I think we may have had a couple of games where I could not fill the bench but probably had less players to select from in terms of the squad.

“But we have never used that as a reason to not win or perform or be at our motivated best, we have used that to galvanise to create a strong bond and we will have to have that really strong bond tomorrow.

“We will have to show better quality than we did last weekend (against Wealdstone).“

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Mark Cooper has said he is being supported by SU Glovers as he seeks to recruit new players to help Yeovil Town’s relegation battle at the foot of the National League.

But the manager has reiterated that it is difficult to convince clubs to give him players as the season reaches its ‘business end’ at both ends of the table.

Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s visit by Woking, he said: “(The new owners) are keen, but because of the stage of the season we are at I don’t think they are daft enough to just go and get people for the sake of it and get caught wasting money.

“There still has to be some process behind how we recruit, if that person is not available, we can’t magic them up and at this stage of the season it is very difficult to get good players because nobody wants to let them go.

“I have given them some names and we have tried to move on that, but it is a difficult time to recruit.”

Asked exactly what he needed, he added: “I need somebody who can score us 15 goals before the end of the season, but I am not daft enough to think we are going to get one of those.” Amen to that, Mark!

He admitted the team had felt pressure with an announcement that the group, led by Matt Uggla and former England rugby union player Paul Sackey, coming just an hour before the 1-1 draw with Altrincham at Huish Park on Tuesday night.

Having gone a goal down to a first half header from visiting defender James Jones, the Glovers rallied and earned a valuable point courtesy of a penalty from Jordan Maguire-Drew after the break.

Cooper said: “There was a lot of apprehension among the players and the pressure they feel. Because it is such a young group it is just about reassuring them and making them feel good and I thought second half they were very good.

“It is the same thing when new people come in, you put yourself in the position that you are going to be there and not replaced, it’s football and they know the owners will come in and have ideas, but the only way (to make sure they are involved) is by performing well and getting results.”

The manager rested captain Josh Staunton and midfielder Matt Worthington for that game, but confirmed both will be available for the return of former manager Darren Sarll with his Woking side on Saturday, adding: “There was probably five or six people we needed to rest, but we didn’t have the depth to do that. They will be fine (for Saturday), we had one or two others who might have picked up knocks.”

The manager said that his initial discussions with the new owners had gone well and said he hoped the public statements made by both Uggla and Sackey would encourage supporters who had stayed away from Huish Park under the ownership of Scott Priestnall to return this weekend.

Cooper added: “With the new people being in the same it might give everyone a lift, there might not be as much negativity around the stadium because the players pick up on that. Hopefully there is a feel good factor.

“We sincerely hope we get excellent numbers because that can only help. I understand that fans when they have been beaten down for so long are very sceptical – who it is, what it is and why it is. Hopefully that has been put to rest and they can now fully get behind the club they support.

“If we can get the place bouncing again it can be so powerful and there’s no reason why the last few games we have at home that we can’t have it like that.”