Recap

Report

The Peacocks were handed a Boxing Day bashing by a rampant Yeovil side who extended their lead at the top of the National League South to ten points. The game felt more in keeping with a visit to a higher level side in a cup competition rather than a run of the mill league fixture, both in terms of the stadium with over 6000 fans inside and on the pitch where the gulf between full and part time status along with the current health of the constitution of each club was clearly evident.

The visitors were forced into one change from the side that had rescued a point three days earlier against Tonbridge, with Dylan Morgan not in the squad pending transfer speculation, meaning a recall for Marcus Day following his loan at Frome Town. In the scheme of things this was irrelevant given the domination of the hosts during a one-sided first half. The early interruption of having to replace Will Dawes with Rhys Murphy proved a mere inconvenience to a Yeovil team which once into their stride cut through at will. Murphy went on to be a real menace all afternoon, having a low centre across goal cleared by Austen Booth before Town keeper Dan Lavercombe tipped away a Charlie Cooper strike from outside the box. Jordan Young then curled a free kick over the bar as the home side kept pressing, the only respite coming when Nat Jarvis latched onto a knockdown to drift an effort high and wide.

The momentum final told on the quarter hour when Young fed Michael Smith on the right and his cross was perfect for Frank Nouble to wrap his foot around and find the corner of the net from 12 yards to give Yeovil the lead. Cooper then dissected the Peacocks’ defence to find Murphy who powered into the box, only to be denied by Lavercombe’s fine block. A second goal wasn’t far away though, arriving on 21 minutes following a long ball down the right side from Matt Worthington to pick out Nouble whose deft back heel fell into the path of Smith, and it was all too easy as he clinically steered his finish into the far corner of Lavercombe’s net.

Ross Stearn saw his shot obstructed to loop harmlessly to Glovers’ keeper Joe Day which epitomized Town’s attempts to try and break a solid Yeovil backline, with former Peacock Jake Wannell proving why the league leaders wanted him in their side. One such moment came with a trademark pass to Murphy, the ball finding Smith via Nouble, and his low cross was put wide by Murphy when he would have hoped to hit the target. The assaults continued as Murphy launched a 25 yarder over and then blazed high and wide before Young’s assist nearly put him in until Ollie Chamberlain’s interception.

Taunton skipper Nick Grimes who had salvaged a draw with an excellent strike at the weekend was out of luck when he fired well over, but it was Yeovil’s half and they ended it in total control, coming close when Nouble outwitted two men on the right to locate Young inside and his trickery along the edge of the area gave him enough room to drill a shot narrowly over.

Cameron Evans replaced Day for the second half, however it was more of the same early doors with the hosts on the attack while the Peacocks started to enjoy some increasing possession without hurting Yeovil where it mattered. Penalty appeals after Stearn went down in the box were waved away by referee Martin before the visitors posted their first meaningful effort, Joe Day making a routine catch from a Chamberlain shot. This was soon followed by the Peacocks’ first corner of the game on 64 minutes after Dan Ball’s strike had taken a deflection, but any glimmers of a comeback soon evaporated faster than a flame on a Christmas pudding as the Glovers added two more to their tally in quick succession.

Moments after Morgan Williams had guided a header wide from a free kick, the hosts added a third after 69 minutes courtesy of some slack defending, Murphy fastening on to a loft downfield from Worthington to get goalside of Ball and fire past Lavercombe despite the close attentions of Grimes. Another break saw Smith find Murphy in the middle and he teed up recently introduced substitute Sonny Blu Lo-Everton for a shot which Lavercombe got down to save and then did well to palm away the close range follow-up from Murphy. A fourth Yeovil goal duly followed after 72 minutes and it was a soft one to concede, Lo-Everton finding room on the left side of the box and his shot which wasn’t overly vicious somehow crept in between Lavercombe and his right-hand post.

Nick McCootie replaced Stearn a minute later, with the visitors managing to reduce the arrears after 78 minutes when Booth ghosted in to power home a header from a Lloyd James corner. The Peacocks’ most cohesive move of the game then ended with Jarvis finding Zac Smith who took a touch inside to see his strike turned wide by Day for a corner which was recycled to Grimes who rifled over from the edge of the box.

McCootie’s participation ended abruptly with five minutes remaining when he was cautioned for a challenge on Cooper which was followed by a second yellow and the mandatory red after a further altercation with the Yeovil player. The final throes of the game plus four minutes of added time were a case of going through the motions for the hosts who indulged in a routine of keeping possession. The second half had seen the Peacocks at least make more of a fist of it, but ultimately this fell far below what was required against a Yeovil side full of confidence and with the majority backing of a record attendance for a National League South fixture. How fortunes had changed since that FA Cup tie between the clubs at Huish Park 437 days earlier.

Line-Ups

Taunton: Dan Lavercombe, Nick Grimes (captain), Dan Ball, Austen Booth, Ollie Chamberlain, Lloyd James, Nat Jarvis, Joe Guest, Ross Stearn (Nick McCootie 73), Zac Smith, Marcus Day (Cameron Evans 45). Unused subs: Rabby Tabu Minzamba, Callum Dolman, Lloyd Irish

Yeovil: Joe Day, Morgan Williams, Alex Whittle, Jake Wannell, Matt Worthington, Jordan Young (Alex Fisher 75), Will Dawes (Rhys Murphy 6), Courtney Senior (Sonny Blu Lo-Everton 67), Michael Smith, Charlie Cooper, Frank Nouble. Unused subs: Jake Hyde, Josh Owers

Officials

Referee: Ross Martin (Weston-super-Mare)
Referee’s Assistant 1: James Tewson (Gloucester)
Referee’s Assistant 2: Sean Jenkins (Southampton)

Attendance

6301

Reaction

” We have to be more proactive, we were very reactive today but credit to them…………” watch the match reaction of Rob Dray on Peacocks TV HERE

Highlights

Match highlights courtesy of Yeovil Town FC can be seen HERE

Photos

Match photos from club photographers Debbie Gould can be viewed  HERE and Darren Harris HERE

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance MOM

No Man Of The Match award was made