I'm not going to say much about Saturday's 1-3 loss to Exeter City, mainly because I wasn't there but also because from the various reports I've read it sounds very similar to the last time we played the Grecians at home, which also resulted in a 1-3 loss. At any rate the result leaves the Glovers one place above the relegation zone with the worst goal difference in the division. We now play Southampton at home tomorrow night, followed by away games at fellow strugglers Walsall and a resurgent Rochdale. It's not hard to imagine that by the time we get back to Huish Park to entertain Sheffield Wednesday on October 16th that not only will we be by then firmly in the relegation zone but quite possibly bottom of the league. What's going wrong?
The abysmal goal difference figure provides the answer in my view. Quite simply we haven't replaced Steven Caulker and Terrell Forbes with players of the same quality. It would perhaps help if Adam Virgo was allowed to play regularly with Paul Huntington and not be shifted to wherever the latest injury crisis has occurred, but even then they both have the turning circle and acceleration from a standing start of a rusty oil tanker, so we're still vulnerable to pacey attacks. We weren't helped on Saturday by Craig Alcock's absence and in hindsight I'm sure Skivo will be regretting his decision to move Virgo to right back and bring in Stefan Stam to partner Huntington, but a manager lives and dies by such decisions and right now Skivo's judgement and tactical nous is being scrutinised as much as it ever has been by a fanbase - those of us that are left - getting increasingly impatient with poor results and worse performances.
Of course it's far too early in the season for real panic to set in and I would argue very strongly that Skivo deserves a lot more time and patience yet for his achievements in keeping us in the League One last season and the year before. But I do wonder if he'll get that time. As I said above we have a tough run of four games coming up now and on current form one can't see us picking up many points if any. All it will take is a few 'sack the Board' chants at the Sheffield Wednesday game for those at the top to start worrying about their own skins, and if there's one thing we do know about John Fry and Norman Hayward is that they can act with ruthless efficiency when criticism is directed at them. If I was Skivo I would be looking over both shoulders and praying for some results and clean sheets over the next fortnight. That Sheffield Wednesday game just might become pivotal otherwise.
As for tomorrow night's game the bookies unsurprisingly make the Saints evens favourites to win the match, with the draw at 5/2 and a home win at 13/5. I'd love to put my fiver on the home win but being realistic the draw looks much better value. Well, if we're being honest a Southampton win is the most likely outcome, but I I'm not going to start betting against us just yet. My fiver's going on the draw. Running total: -£7.25p. I hear a certain well-known local dentist has put £20 on the Glovers winning tomorrow night, let's hope his faith is rewarded. And if he loses then we will all know why a filling is so soddin' expensive these days.
It was sad to see the news that Len Harris has passed away, aged 73. I'm old enough myself to have just caught him in action at the end of his YTFC career, as part of the Southern League winning side in 1971 until he retired from the game a year later. He clocked up an incredible 691 appearances for the Glovers, a record that will surely now never be broken. Like so many others I remember him from my time at Yeovil School and used to see him pretty much every day walking to the College as it was then after the grammar school closed. He always used to smile and nod, and always had time for a chat. A nice man and he will be missed. Dellboy's appreciation of Len, written in 2003, is a must read.
Just read: Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. Not quite an horror story and not quite a romance and not quite an historical tale and not quite a murder thriller either; rather a mix of all four. Slow going at times but Mosse is such a good writer that it kept my interest for all it's 500-odd pages. Must try Labyrinth next....
Showing posts with label Terrell Forbes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Terrell Forbes. Show all posts
Monday, 27 September 2010
Sunday, 8 August 2010
L1: Yeovil Town 2 Leyton Orient 1
Goals from Dean Bowditch and Luke Freeman got the Glovers off to a winning start to the new season at Huish Park yesterday. Visitors Leyton Orient probably had more possession during the match and in truth looked the better side for much of the game, but a combination of good finishing and last-ditch defending won the points for Terry Skiverton's men.
The Glovers started the match well and dominated the first quarter-of-an-hour of the game, taking a deserved lead through a Bowditch solo effort. The striker received the ball wide on the right, cut inside to beat his marker and placed the ball wide of the keeper in the left hand corner of the goal from just outside the box. An excellent start, but strangely the Glovers couldn't capitalise and instead seemed to retreat into their shell, allowing the visitors to gradually take control of midfield and the match. It was no surprise when the O's pulled level on 41 minutes, Alex Revell nodding home a Dean Cox cross with the Glovers central defenders stranded. What was a surprise was the Glovers going into half-time with the lead intact, and it came about through a mistake from O's keeper Jamie Jones. A long ball out of defence found Andy Williams wide on the right who did well to take the ball down under heavy pressure and lob a cross into the box from the by-line. It looked easy for Jones but somehow the ball squirmed out of his grasp to fall into the path of Freeman, who side-footed gleefully into the open goal for probably one of the easiest goals he will ever score. 2-1 to Yeovil at half-time.
And that's how it stayed. The pattern of the game had been set: The visitors had most of the possession, passing the ball around nicely up to the home side's penalty box and invariably grinding to a halt there - all very familiar to long-time watchers of Russell Slade's sides, it must be said. Former Glover Terrell Forbes was unlucky not to score when a bullet header hit the post from a corner, and on the odd other occasion the visitors did break through Adam Virgo crowned an excellent competitive debut by clearing off the line. Orient huffed and puffed, the Glovers threatened sporadically on the break and that, in the end, was that. Not the the most convincing of performances from the Glovers, but a very welcome three points and plenty of room for improvement. I'll very happily take that.
We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 formation:
1. John Sullivan: 7/10 - Good, competent performance. Not overly stretched by the O's attack but did what he had to do well and without fuss.
2. Craig Alcock: 6/10 - Decent game, without ever quite hitting the highs that we know he's capable of. Looked to be caught out of position for Orient's goal, but that's what can happen when your full-back is looking to attack as much as Craig does.
5. Paul Huntington: 7/10 - Very solid and reliable. I was a tad concerned about his parternship with Virgo beforehand and indeed they were caught out once looking at each other wondering who should have been marking who after Revell's goal; but apart from that lapse combined very well.
19. Adam Virgo: 8/10 - I take it all back! I said a week or so ago that I didn't think that Virgo would be a good signing, good in the air but too slow. I was wrong. Dominated at the back, dangerous at set-pieces, and kept us in the game with a couple of goal-line clearances where he literally put his body on the line. Mea culpa!
3. Nathan Jones: 5/10 - No doubting his enthusiasm, nor his effort and certainly not his spirit but these days the flesh is getting weaker. I assume Nathan Smith has some sort of knock?
7. Andrew Williams: 6/10 - Didn't quite get into the game with the same kind of positive effect we saw in the friendlies. Didn't have a bad game by any means and the second goal came from his assist, but was generally fairly quiet by his recent standards.
8. Luke Ayling: 5/10 - Tried hard but found it tough against Orient's 3-man midfield. Rarely had the time on the ball that he found in the pre-season, but kept going against the odds. It's all part of the learning curve for him.
21. JP Kalala: 6/10 - Looked like a one-man wrecking squad at times. Threw himself into tackles but was always swimming against the tide of that 3-man midfield. When he did get the ball his passing wasn't as precise as it might have been.
18. Luke Freeman: 7/10 - Decent game. Made one or two good runs down the left but guilty at times of trying to beat one man too many before delivering the ball. Again, it's all part of the learning curve for him. Attacking instincts led him to be in the right place at the right time for the winning goal.
9. Sam Williams: 5/10 - No lack of effort but no real penetration or anything much else really. Did okay, but you can see why Skivo has started talking about the need for an alternative target-man.
10. Dean Bowditch: 7/10 - Good game. Enthusiastic running, put himself about the pitch, always available for the pass, took his goal very well and was unlucky not to score again in the second half.
Subs:
14. Rob Kiernan (84 mins for Luke Freeman): N/A - Not on long enough to make an impression.
15. Cameron Stewart (77 mins for Dean Bowditch): 6/10 - Did enough in the short time he was on to suggest that Andy Williams is going to have real competition for the right-wing role.
One down then and 45 to go. Tuesday night sees the visit of Championship side Crystal Palace. The bookies make the Eagles favourites at 13/10, the draw is priced at 12/5 and a Glovers win at 17/10. My fiver is going on the home win. Running total: +£6.25p.
The Glovers started the match well and dominated the first quarter-of-an-hour of the game, taking a deserved lead through a Bowditch solo effort. The striker received the ball wide on the right, cut inside to beat his marker and placed the ball wide of the keeper in the left hand corner of the goal from just outside the box. An excellent start, but strangely the Glovers couldn't capitalise and instead seemed to retreat into their shell, allowing the visitors to gradually take control of midfield and the match. It was no surprise when the O's pulled level on 41 minutes, Alex Revell nodding home a Dean Cox cross with the Glovers central defenders stranded. What was a surprise was the Glovers going into half-time with the lead intact, and it came about through a mistake from O's keeper Jamie Jones. A long ball out of defence found Andy Williams wide on the right who did well to take the ball down under heavy pressure and lob a cross into the box from the by-line. It looked easy for Jones but somehow the ball squirmed out of his grasp to fall into the path of Freeman, who side-footed gleefully into the open goal for probably one of the easiest goals he will ever score. 2-1 to Yeovil at half-time.
And that's how it stayed. The pattern of the game had been set: The visitors had most of the possession, passing the ball around nicely up to the home side's penalty box and invariably grinding to a halt there - all very familiar to long-time watchers of Russell Slade's sides, it must be said. Former Glover Terrell Forbes was unlucky not to score when a bullet header hit the post from a corner, and on the odd other occasion the visitors did break through Adam Virgo crowned an excellent competitive debut by clearing off the line. Orient huffed and puffed, the Glovers threatened sporadically on the break and that, in the end, was that. Not the the most convincing of performances from the Glovers, but a very welcome three points and plenty of room for improvement. I'll very happily take that.
We lined up as follows in a 4-4-2 formation:
1. John Sullivan: 7/10 - Good, competent performance. Not overly stretched by the O's attack but did what he had to do well and without fuss.
2. Craig Alcock: 6/10 - Decent game, without ever quite hitting the highs that we know he's capable of. Looked to be caught out of position for Orient's goal, but that's what can happen when your full-back is looking to attack as much as Craig does.
5. Paul Huntington: 7/10 - Very solid and reliable. I was a tad concerned about his parternship with Virgo beforehand and indeed they were caught out once looking at each other wondering who should have been marking who after Revell's goal; but apart from that lapse combined very well.
19. Adam Virgo: 8/10 - I take it all back! I said a week or so ago that I didn't think that Virgo would be a good signing, good in the air but too slow. I was wrong. Dominated at the back, dangerous at set-pieces, and kept us in the game with a couple of goal-line clearances where he literally put his body on the line. Mea culpa!
3. Nathan Jones: 5/10 - No doubting his enthusiasm, nor his effort and certainly not his spirit but these days the flesh is getting weaker. I assume Nathan Smith has some sort of knock?
7. Andrew Williams: 6/10 - Didn't quite get into the game with the same kind of positive effect we saw in the friendlies. Didn't have a bad game by any means and the second goal came from his assist, but was generally fairly quiet by his recent standards.
8. Luke Ayling: 5/10 - Tried hard but found it tough against Orient's 3-man midfield. Rarely had the time on the ball that he found in the pre-season, but kept going against the odds. It's all part of the learning curve for him.
21. JP Kalala: 6/10 - Looked like a one-man wrecking squad at times. Threw himself into tackles but was always swimming against the tide of that 3-man midfield. When he did get the ball his passing wasn't as precise as it might have been.
18. Luke Freeman: 7/10 - Decent game. Made one or two good runs down the left but guilty at times of trying to beat one man too many before delivering the ball. Again, it's all part of the learning curve for him. Attacking instincts led him to be in the right place at the right time for the winning goal.
9. Sam Williams: 5/10 - No lack of effort but no real penetration or anything much else really. Did okay, but you can see why Skivo has started talking about the need for an alternative target-man.
10. Dean Bowditch: 7/10 - Good game. Enthusiastic running, put himself about the pitch, always available for the pass, took his goal very well and was unlucky not to score again in the second half.
Subs:
14. Rob Kiernan (84 mins for Luke Freeman): N/A - Not on long enough to make an impression.
15. Cameron Stewart (77 mins for Dean Bowditch): 6/10 - Did enough in the short time he was on to suggest that Andy Williams is going to have real competition for the right-wing role.
One down then and 45 to go. Tuesday night sees the visit of Championship side Crystal Palace. The bookies make the Eagles favourites at 13/10, the draw is priced at 12/5 and a Glovers win at 17/10. My fiver is going on the home win. Running total: +£6.25p.
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