The second period started a little flat from both side's perspective and it wasn't long before
Gary Johnson made his first change, swapping Marcus Richardson for Bartosz Tarachulski to a large roar of
approval from the 1,053 strong travelling Glovers.
It is often said that games can be turned on single moments. For the Glovers that was the 55th minute when
they had three opportunities to break the deadlock. First Arron Davies produced a superb curling shot that
Scott Shearer tipped round the post for a corner. From Lee Johnson's corner, Efe Sodje's header seemed goalbound
all the way until Shearer again saved the ball, although given the way it ricocheted off his legs, it would seem
likely that he knew little about it. In the resulting melee Stuart Gray appeared to beat the ball down with his
hand, but referee Tony Bates either didn't see it, or saw it as ball-to-hand. Either way, three moments of what
could have been, but that slice of luck was eluding Yeovil out there.
Thereafter, Yeovil seemed to just dry up, almost as if they knew it wasn't going to be their day. Andrejs Stolcers
replaced Phil Jevons in an attempt to liven things up. Mark Williams became the first player in the book for hauling
back a Lee Johnson run whilst miles off the ball. Not an awful lot happened and with Yeovil not keeping much of
a coherent shape to create any chances of note, and Rushden apparently not good enough to break down the Yeovil
back four, a 0-0 seemed to be all the match was capable of producing.
But into the last 20 minutes the alarm bells started ringing. Andy Burgess volleyed a sweet long range shot
over the bar. Adrian Littlejohn almost got his boot on a nearpost low cross, but found the speed on the ball
eluding him as he struggled to get his attempt under control.
Yet still Rushden got closer. A Neil McCafferty right wing cross saw Andy Burgess hammer a shot from close
range at the target but Steve Collis showed he is every bit as good as Chris Weale with a flying save for a corner.
Sadly the ever-retreating Glovers couldn't hold out forever though, and with eight minutes left calamity struck.
Arron Davies appeared to duck out of a cross field pass that was intercepted by Rushden's David Bell.
He in turn fed right-back Sean Connelly, who demonstrated something that Yeovil had singularly failed to do all
afternoon - a decent cross from the wings - and when the ball rebounded off a wrong-footed Efe Sodje's shins,
all Stuart GRAY had to do was to poke the loose ball home and past Steve Collis.
If Yeovil's confidence had been ebbing away throughout the preceding 15 minutes, it basically got on the bus and
got ready to go home at this point. Bartosz Tarachulski, who had picked up a needless booking for a hand in
the face of Peter Hawkins a few minutes earlier was substituted for Kevin Gall - a swap that was already on the
cards prior to the opening goal. Bartosz had barely contributed positively to the game, but that didn't stop
his sharp exit being a shock to the visiting supporters who chose to chant his name long after he had sat back
down on the bench.
Three minutes left and a shell-shocked Yeovil side got another knife in the stomach as again more sloppy midfield
play saw them dispossessed. Arron Davies lost possession to David Bell, who in a near identical play to the
first goal exploited the gaps on the right flank, put in a low cross across the face of the Yeovil penalty
area, and with Andy Lindegaard losing his man, allowing Billy SHARP to wrap the match up from close range.
Something in the region of 150 Yeovil supporters chose to vote with their feet, although they missed little
in the way of action during
the remaining portion of the game, nor the three additional minutes of injury time, before we were all put out
of our misery.
Somehow Gary Johnson has to restore the shattered confidence of the Glovers side during the
next five games - a lack of confidence that seems to have rippled straight through both players and supporters.
Whilst that wasn't the only problem out there today - a number of players appeared to abandon their shape
on occasions, whilst the lack of width continues to be a concern. But this was a far improved performance in
comparison with Tuesday's match until the self-belief began to ran out like a hole in a leaking ship, and
by the final five minutes of the match, the players looked dead on their feet. Hopefully a clear week away
from it all will allow some heads to be cleared in advance of what is now a massive game next Saturday against
Mansfield. The dream of promotion can still easily be done - three wins from five is all that is realistically
needed - but it's all about knowing where that first win will come from that will kick start Yeovil's current
fragile state back into life.
Badger
MOTM Vote Result:
Player |
MOTM |
Score |
Efe Sodje |
10 |
670 |
Steve Collis |
3 |
310 |
Adam Lockwood |
1 |
190 |
Terry Skiverton |
1 |
150 |
Bartosz Tarachulski |
2 |
130 |
Arron Davies |
2 |
130 |
Phil Jevons |
- |
60 |
Darren Way |
1 |
50 |
|
Overall match rating: 3.9 / 10
Performance: 3.6
Entertainment: 4.2
20 votes received.
Any comments/questions please email [email protected]
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