L1: Yeovil 0 Huddersfield 1

Well, that was pretty dismal. A cold, cold day; a sticky, lumpy pitch which made passing the ball on the ground difficult; and a referee and linesman (on the Cowlin side) who seemed to have no feel for the game whatsoever and whose pernicious whistling and flag-waving stifled at birth any attempt at getting any kind of flow to the game. Chances for either side were few and far between. Huddersfield took one of theirs, Dean Bowditch's penalty attempt would have missed two goals, one stacked upon the other. The atmosphere from the home fans was flat and it was one of those days when you looked around the stands at the end of the game and asked yourself why you bothered.

We lined up in what I thought looked like a 4-2-3-1 formation, with new loan signing Owain Tudur-Jones in the middle alongside JP Kalala, Shaun MacDonald and Dean Bowditch on the left and right respectively and Ryan Mason in the hole behind the lone striker Sam Williams. Later in the game this turned into a 4-3-3, with Macdonald, Tudur-Jones and Kalala in midfield and Andy Welsh and Gavin Tomlin either side of Williams. We looked more threatening after the change but it was too little too late, both Welsh and Tomlin missing presentable chances late on.

Individual merit marks:

1. Alex McCarthy: 7/10 - Unlucky with the goal. Collided with Caulker going for the same ball, recovered to make a very good save but could do nothing when the rebound squirted unkindly straight to the eventual scorer. Apart from that one moment looked comfortable all match.

2. Craig Alcock: 5/10 - Bit of a nothing game. Gave the ball away too often, didn't really get forward enough and when he did get forward didn't do much. Why is he captain?

5. Steven Caulker: 6/10 - As said above, collision with McCarthy led to the Huddersfield goal. Decent defensively otherwise.

4. Stefan Stam: 7/10 - Came in for some criticism for his performance on the green room but I'm not sure why. Thought he had a very solid game, dominant in the air and on the deck. Led by example, why isn't he wearing the armband?

3. Nathan Jones: 4/10 - Just not very good on the day. No lack of effort, but even less effective than Alcock on the opposite flank. When both of your fullbacks are having bad days and you're relying on them to provide your width then you've got problems.

21. Jean-Paul Kalala: 4/10 - Probably his least effective game since his return to the club. Just couldn't get into it, no matter what he did. Dare I say the enforced 2 game rest he has coming up may do him some good.

20. Owain Tudur Jones: 6/10 - Decent enough debut without setting the world on fire. He's a big old unit alright, but I thought may have been carrying a little too much weight. Got forward well on occasion and at least had a go at shooting, even if he wasn't particularly accurate. More to come as he regains match fitness.

25. Shaun MacDonald: 5/10 - Wasted out on the left. I suppose he added some defensive solidity but virtually nothing going forward, but he's not a winger so no surprise there. Square peg in a round hole.

13. Ryan Mason: 6/10 - Quiet game for Ryan. Conditions won't have been to his liking I'm sure, but he never seemed able to get close enough to Sam Williams to provide much in the way of support to the lone striker. On one of the few occasions he did get into the box with the ball he won a penalty, another time should have done better with a free header in front of goal.

14. Dean Bowditch: 4/10 - Wasted out on the right. Will doubtless be bitterly disappointed with the penalty miss, but he's a striker. Play him as one or don't play him at all. Square peg in a round hole.

9. Sam Williams: 5/10 - Too isolated up front on his own. Got no change out of a strong defence. Ineffective.

Subs:
10. Gavin Tomlin (69 mins for Dean Bowditch): 7/10 - Looked lively when he came on, one of the few Yeovil players to give the defence any kind of trouble. Created chances for himself and Welsh.

11. Andy Welsh (77 mins for Ryan Mason): 6/10 - Barely had time to influence the game, but probably should have scored when put through on goal by Tomlin.

The result leaves the Glovers in 14th position on 31 points after 28 games, 5 points away from the relegation zone. There's no doubt that the unscheduled midwinter break has done us no favours, but equally it must be said that Skivo's current insistence on playing strikers and central midfielders as wingers isn't helping the team's cohesion either. However, as things stand we are still well on course for a lower-mid-table finish, which most realistic Yeovil fans would have been more than happy to accept at the start of the season. The obvious worry is that the manner of this home defeat, taken alongside the ugly win over Exeter last Saturday and the miserable performance at Tranmere on Tuesday evening, could be the precursor to a bad run that includes home games. We're used to doing badly away from home this season, if we start losing at Huish Park as well then we could yet find ourselves in real trouble sooner rather than later. No panic yet, but some consistency in both team selection and tactics might help steady the good ship YTFC and all who sail on her. Play left-wingers on the left wing! Play your striker as a striker, not a right-winger! Put your central midfielders in the centre of midfield! It's not rocket science, but it might just work.