The pre-match news saw Matt Harrold unable to recover from a training ground knock reducing Steve Thompson's options up front. However, Colin Miles and Scott Guyett on the other hand were fit enough to travel following their illnesses although doubtless their lack of match fitness influenced Thommo's decision to land both players on the bench. Otherwise, things were as you were, with the Glovers looking to get a result at a new-look Bloomfield Road that has changed radically since Yeovil's visit there in the FA Cup in December 2000.

The game started off quietly although Blackpool as the home side really took the game to the Glovers, doubling up often on the wings and attempting to push the Glovers onto the back foot. They succeeded in terms of territory but not really in terms of chances, with only a shot from Ian Morris from the right flank swirling in the wind proving worthy of note, but Chris Weale comfortably caught the effort.

It took Yeovil about 10 minutes to get going, but when they did, they started to cause the Blackpool back-line significant problems, mainly through the pace of Kevin Gall and David Poole. Poole burst down the left flank on one such run, cutting inside and shooting into the side netting. His next effort went closer though - a similar run resulting in Blackpool keeper Lee Jones being forced to beat the ball out the the loose chance dropping just behind an incoming Kevin Gall.

Midway through the first half it was Gally who got into a great position on the break. Another dink over the top saw the Welshman break the offside trap racing straight down the middle of the pitch. Perhaps the poor surface of the Bloomfield Road pitch didn't help matters, with the ball bobbling up off the surface, but with just the keeper to beat, Gally went to place his shot, and the ball bobbled agonisingly wide of the target.

Gally and Poole combined well again, with the two switching positions resulting in Poole feeding Gall out on the left wing. Gally's cross curled nicely in the direction of Phil Jevons who was coming in on the back post, but the strong end to end wind probably curled the ball more than intended and the end result was closer to the goal than his striking partner with the ball just clearing the far corner of the goal frame.

Blackpool had contributed little in the way of clear cut chances until the half hour mark but suddenly within a 60 second period they had three chances to score. Firstly Keigan Parker broke through the previously resolute Yeovil defence, forcing Chris Weale to come off his line. The Yeovil keeper parried brilliantly, and then was alert enough to deflect John Murphy's follow-up attempt and get it over his crossbar. From the resulting corner, Peter Clarke was able to play head-ball from 10 yards out without a challenge from a defender, but his second attempt saw the ball bounce wide of Chris Weale's far post.

Despite a reasonably promising first half, nearly all of Yeovil's play was going down Pooley's wing, and Steve Thompson chose to make an early substitution, withdrawing a rather quiet Paul Terry, who didn't make his relationship with his manager too good by petulantly brushing off Thommo's attempt to pat him on the back as he came off and sitting down in the dugouts in a decided huff.

Marcus Bean landed in the book after he deliberately obstructed an off the ball run by Arron Davies, denying him the chance to play a one-two with Andy Lindegaard. From the resultant free kick, Nathan Jones and Anthony Barry played it short, and Chris Cohen's late run saw him rifle the ball low and hard but wide of the post.

Arron Davies put a fairly tame looking shot straight into the arms of home keeper Lee Jones, and then right on half time a Phil Jevons cross swung in towards the back post towards Kevin Gall six yards out. Had it been the other way round, it would have been a certain goal, but Gally doesn't often score with his head and he couldn't keep the ball down as it went over the bar. A great half for the Glovers, and one in which they probably should have been two or three goals up, but once again they were guilty of not converting those chances when they came their way.

The second half saw Yeovil kick into the wind, and the start was an extremely scrappy affair with neither team looking like they were going to get into a rhythm. It was therefore more than disappointing when the first action of any note came from Blackpool and resulted in a goal. A free kick was awarded right under the Matthews Stand, and as it was curled in, Andy LINDEGAARD flicked a near post header past Chris Weale for an unfortunate opening goal.

Worst was to come for the disappointed Glovers. Just three minutes later a Neil Wood corner was flicked on at the near post, and at the far post, John MURPHY was able to nudge the ball home from close range with Andy Lindegaard's attempts to clear the ball off the line being all in vain. A disasterous opening to the half, and suddenly from being the dominant first half force, Yeovil had a real mountain to climb.

To their credit, Yeovil responded well and got an absolutely golden opportunity to score when Andy Lindegaard went on a superb 60 yard run, slipping the ball it Arron Davies at the last minute, whose excellent cross to the far post left keeper Lee Jones stranded as Kevin Gall headed in at the back post. Somehow Gally contrived to knock the ball back to the post that the keeper was scrambling back from, and his fellow Welshman managed to parry the ball clear of the goal-line. It was undoubtedly the chance of the game, and whilst credit had to be given to the striker for continually getting into the right positions throughout the game, Yeovil desperately need players like him to be more efficient with their chances.

That was Gally's last kick of the ball, as he was replaced by Pablo Bastianini. With 17 minutes to go, and the game looking as though it was going to fizzle out, Thommo switched from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 by taking off David Poole who had been much quieter in the second period, replacing him with Colin Miles, to allow Andy Lindegaard and Nathan Jones to be free to roam the flanks. The trouble was, that gameplan lasted only three minutes. A poor challenge by Robert Edwards, piling into the back of Phil Jevons's ankle, resulted in just a free kick rather than the booking it should have been and the result was that Yeovil's leading goalscorer had to leave the field, and with all three substitutions made the Glovers were also down to ten men.

Arron Davies joined Pablo Bastianini up front for the final period, but the end result was nothingness, with neither side looking like they were going to test the goalkeepers. The result was now merely a formality, and the final whistle a means of putting Yeovil out of their misery. A dreadful way to end a game that had seen such a promising first half showing, but once again Yeovil have been punished for not taking their chances. Blackpool only had four real chances all game and converted two of them. The Glovers need ten and even then can not guarantee that one will hit the back of the net.

There's not an awful lot else wrong with the team based on this performance that a win or two wouldn't cure, but with goals now having seemingly dried up, the focus is now on the scouting team to find a player, and the board of directors to find the money that will give Yeovil the loan signings they so desperately need to breathe new life into the team. The team does not need wholesale changes by any stretch of imagination, but to start a fire you've got to have a spark and it is increasingly obvious that the spark of life to get the goals going will have to come in from the outside.

Badger

MOTM Vote Result:

Overall match rating: 4.3 / 10
Performance: 4.6
Entertainment: 4

10 votes received.

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