FLTR1: Yeovil Town 1 Exeter City 3

Another first round cup competition: Another defeat. Terry Skiverton's unwanted record of failure in knock-out competitions continues apace. What's left for this season? On this form a battle against relegation and, er, that's it.

Tuesday night's Football League Trophy game against Exeter was disappointing on several levels. The Glovers began the game reasonably well and created several half-chances without reward but it was the visitors who went ahead with only 10 minutes gone and in the simplest of fashions, a long-ball seeing the veteran Jamie Cureton beating Adam Virgo for pace and finding the net from an acute angle. You might have thought that the Glovers would learn from the goal, but as the half wore on the same scenario was repeated 3 or 4 times, but with keeper John Sullivan proving his worth with some very good saves. Paul Huntington was unlucky not to score when his volley from the edge of the box crashed off the bar, but aside from that effort the Glovers were huffing and puffing with a lot of the ball but not much in the way of inspiration. On the stroke of half-time Sam Williams reminded us that he was still on the pitch when he head-butted Exeter's James Dunne after a spot of handbags in the visitor's penalty area, a piece of rank stupidity that will now see him banned for the next 3 games following the inevitable red card.

So, 1 goal down at half-time and down to 10 men, the Glovers collapsed, right? Well, no, actually. In Williams' absence the team seemed to realise that there was no point in punting the ball aimlessly upfield in the general direction of an (ineffective) target-man, instead they began to pass the ball on the floor at pace, began using the wings and the midfield started pushing forward to support lone striker Dean Bowditch up front. And glory be, whaddayouknow, it began to work. Chances were being created, the crowd got behind the 10 men and we all began to remember that football can be entertaining after all, not just prosaic and mundane. Stewart, Tudur-Jones and Bowditch all went close before Andy Welsh notched a well-deserved equaliser on 76 minutes, the winger picking up a loose ball on the edge of the box following a blocked Bowditch effort and rifling home. All the good work the Glovers had put in since the break went to waste immediately after however, when virtually from the re-start the Grecians regained their lead. And again, it was a sickeningly simple goal to concede. Jamie Thompson wasn't closed down quickly enough on the right and his cross found an unmarked Cureton in the box who had all the time he needed to fire a shot past Sullivan from close-range. Schoolboy defending at best. The Glovers went for broke, sending Virgo up front in a 3-3-3 formation but to no avail and it was the visitors who had the last word, Ryan Harley firing home a splendid free-kick to give the scoreline that extra bit of gloss.

We lined up as follows (4-2-3-1):

1. John Sullivan: 7/10 - Couldn't fault him for any of the goals and made some excellent stops to deny Exeter even more. We couldn't have complained if they had scored 3 in the first half alone. Deserves far more protection than he's currently getting.

2. Craig Alcock: 5/10 - No lack of effort but a definite lack of inspiration. To be fair he had his work cut out defensively as all too often was left two-on-one against attackers with Cameron Stewart AWOL somewhere up the field. Looked frustrated.

5. Paul Huntington: 5/10 - You would have hoped that after 6 games together both Huntington and partner Adam Virgo would be forging a solid defensive partnership. Not much sign of it so far. Unlucky not to score himself when he hit the bar in the first half, but he's there to defend above all else.

19. Adam Virgo: 5/10 - Same comments as above. Almost redeemed himself with a brief cameo as emergency target-man late in the second half, and actually won more balls and made more of a nuisance of himself in that 10 minutes than Sam Williams managed in an entire half - which ought to give the manager some food for thought.

6. Nathan Smith: 5/10 - Strangely subdued performance. Didn't get forward much, looked vulnerable defensively; what's happened to the Nathan Smith that was galloping up and down the left flank creating havoc in the latter half of last season?

15. Cameron Stewart: 6/10 - Like the curate's egg, good in parts. Showed some lovely touches and flicks and at times looked genuinely exciting when running with the ball at the Grecians defence, but rather too often his crosses came to nothing. Tended to go missing from the action and I suspect Craig Alcock will be having words about his tracking back, or lack of it. Having said all that at last showing glimpses of what he might be capable of. More to come, hopefully.

20. Owain Tudur Jones: 7/10 - Didn't do much wrong, and did quite a few things pretty well. Was unlucky not to score twice with shots from the edge of the box and was evidently at least trying to get forward to support the strikers. Provided a presence in midfield that was lacking in previous home games.

21. Jean-Paul Kalala: 6/10 - Usual solid defensive display, but didn't add much going forward. Taken off after 61 minutes with a possible hamstring strain.

11. Andy Welsh: 7/10 - Marked him up a point for taking his goal well, but like Cameron Stewart tended to fade in and out of the game a touch. Of course it would have helped if he had the ball passed to him as much in the first half as he started to receive it after the break, but still...

9. Sam Williams: 2/10 - No lack of effort as usual and puts himself about but, I'm sorry, I'm starting to lose patience. His flick-on's rarely lead to anything, he doesn't hold the ball up particularly well and as a striker his goal record is poor to say the least. I'm not going to say his lack of discipline cost us the game because we actually played better and looked more threatening after he was sent off, but what was most telling was that when Adam Virgo went up front to play the target-man role he looked more effective in 10 minutes than Williams has managed in 5 and a half games this season. Perhaps I'm being harsh, but I don't think so and we've now got 3 games to see how we cope without him.

10. Dean Bowditch: 6/10 - Marked him down a point because for all his good movement and efforts on goal I can't recall him actually making their keeper make a save. He should take a leaf from Jamie Cureton's book - all his shots were on-target and forced John Sullivan to save. If he didn't, Cureton scored. Easy game really, isn't it?

Subs:
8. Luke Ayling (61 mins for Jean-Paul Kalala): 6/10 - Decent display. Looked to be playing a more defensive role, allowing Tudur-Jones to get forward more.

18. Luke Freeman (83 mins for Cameron Stewart): n/a - Not on long enough to make a difference.

It's been a sobering month. Played 6, won 1, drawn 1, lost 4. Scored 4, conceded 9. Oh, and two players shown red cards in those 6 games. The bare facts show a team in some trouble and in need of a lift. Hopefully the return of Shaun MacDonald (when he's finished playing for Wales u-21's) will provide a boost and Skivo has said that he's looking for another forward to add to his attacking options. Bear in mind that that means either a free agent now the transfer window has closed or another loan - and we already have 7 loan players at the club, with a maximum of 5 loanees available for the matchday squad. At this rate the manager is going to have his work cut out to keep all of his loanees - and their parent clubs - happy. Interesting times!

The Glovers travel to newly promoted Notts County this weekend for an L1 fixture. As mentioned above they'll definitely be without Sam Williams and have Shaun MacDonald and Rob Kiernan unavailable because of international commitments. Added to that JP Kalala and Paul Huntington both limped out of the Exeter game before the end, it remains to be seen whether they'll be fit for Saturday. Andy Williams also missed Tuesday night's game, it's to be hoped he'll be back for Saturday. The bookies make County 5/6 favourites for the win, the draw is priced at 12/5 and a Glovers win at 7/2. I detest betting against my own team but that would be the smart thing to do on current form. However I'll let my heart rule my head. My fiver's going on the draw. Running total: -£2.25p

Just read: Assegai by Wilbur Smith: And it's Wilbur Smith by numbers. Do we have a manly hero with a surname of Courtney? Check. A brutal protagonist with scars and an evil laugh? Check. A beautiful heroine who 'belongs' to the brutal protaganist who eventually falls for the manly hero called Courtney? Check. Noble natives who serve the white men faithfully while keeping their dignity at all times? Check. Ferocious lions being slaughtered to order? Check. Ditto elephants, buffalo, rhino's and anything else on four legs? Check. I think I'm definitely all Wilbured out now. He's going through the motions, and so was I reading it. Merde.