REVIEW OF THE SEASON - PART THREE
Posted on: Sun 13 Jun 2010
In part three of our "Review of the Season", we look back at the period around the turn of the year when the fixture list was congested but didn't quite turn out that way...
Yeovil went into the busy festive period with just two defeats in the previous ten league games and with a home game against Walsall ahead, they were looking to maintain the rise up the League One table.
However a mediocre performance against the West Midlanders in awful conditions saw the Glovers slip to a 3-1 home defeat after going two goals down early on. Jonathan Obika pulled a goal back on the half hour but striker Sam Parkin netted a third in the last minute to confirm the victory.
Manager Terry Skiverton had spoken to the press in midweek stating his frustration at the team's slow starts in recent games but even in his wildest dreams, he couldn't have expected Saturday's away game with Milton Keynes Dons to begin in such stunning fashion.
Just twenty seven seconds had elapsed when Gavin Tomlin set up Dean Bowditch for an early lead. Sam Baldock equalised on four minutes but midfield maestro Shaun MacDonald put the Glovers 2-1 up on seventeen minutes. Peter Leven levelled matters in the second half but the winless run extended to four games.
That went to five after the following weekend's 3-3 thriller against Norwich City. The Canaries had thumped the Glovers in the August Carling Cup tie and the boss had confirmed that his charges had learnt from that setback. So it proved as a ding-dong game ended with the points shared.
Dean Bowditch gave Yeovil the lead against his old enemies from his Ipswich days but Chris Martin and then Gary Doherty eased the Canaries in front. MacDonald squared things up before Jon Obika looked to have won the game with a 90th minute strike. Doherty flicked in another equaliser three minutes into stoppage time and that was that.
The final pre-Christmas game offered the second longest trip of the season with a fixture against Hartlepool United. With the game in doubt until 1.00pm due to the snowfall from the previous evening, the game was given the go-ahead late in the day.
For the third game running, Yeovil took the lead with a great strike from Sam Williams but a late leveller from Andy Monkhouse also meant it was the third game running that the lead was surrendered.
Boxing Day arrived and the team gave the supporters a late, great Christmas present by quashing Wycombe by four goals to nil at Huish Park. Keiran Murtagh gave the Greens a half time lead but three goals in the last twenty minutes from Jean-Paul Kalala, Jon Obika and Sam Williams ensured a comfortable victory and a first win in seven games.
Respite was short for two days later, it was off to Swindon Town. The Robins were just beginning to put together a run of form that would lead them into the top two at one point and their lethal twin strike force of Billy Paynter and Charlie Austin gave the host a two goal lead before a spectacular cross shot from Gavin Tomlin gave Yeovil hope. Daniel Ward extinguished that hope early in the second period and despite huffing and puffing, there was no further reward.
2010 opened with an away game with Leyton Orient. Or at least it should have done except that on the 2nd of the month, a frosty pitch put paid to those plans and the game was called off on the morning of the match.
The next match to fall foul of the worst winter in years was the home fixture with Colchester United. Snow all around the country decimated the Football League calendar and Huish Park was no different with snow covering the surface to a fair depth and it was no surprise when it was called off.
Game three of 2010 also went west with a waterlogged pitch putting paid to the Friday night match with Tranmere Rovers.
Finally the Glovers New Year started with a 2-0 defeat at the Matchroom Stadium against Leyton Orient. A chilly Tuesday evening offered little in the way of encouragement for the travelling Glovers and goals from Tamika Mkandawire and Scott McGleish gave the O's all three points.
There were to be three more games in the month as Yeovil worked hard to get their fixtures back on track. A 2-1 victory over Exeter City at Huish Park was notable for several things, not least ex-Glover Adam Stansfield's refusal to celebrate a goal against his former bosses. Stefan Stam put his St James' Park nightmare behind him with a goal and Ryan Mason scored against the Grecians for the second successive game to grab the winner.
Impressive play-off contenders Huddersfield Town were next up at Huish Park but there was the small matter of the rearranged game with Tranmere Rovers to get out of the way. Mason netted again but sadly, it was merely a consolation as Ian Thomas-Moore and Ash Taylor had already given the Merseysiders a two goal lead.
Huddersfield came, saw and conquered in the final game of January with a 1-0 win earned for them by midfielder Nathan Eccleston midway through the first half. The Terriers shaded the match and with three games coming up against other playoff contenders, manager Skiverton was keen to reverse the run of inconsistent form.
Yeovil went into the busy festive period with just two defeats in the previous ten league games and with a home game against Walsall ahead, they were looking to maintain the rise up the League One table.
However a mediocre performance against the West Midlanders in awful conditions saw the Glovers slip to a 3-1 home defeat after going two goals down early on. Jonathan Obika pulled a goal back on the half hour but striker Sam Parkin netted a third in the last minute to confirm the victory.
Manager Terry Skiverton had spoken to the press in midweek stating his frustration at the team's slow starts in recent games but even in his wildest dreams, he couldn't have expected Saturday's away game with Milton Keynes Dons to begin in such stunning fashion.
Just twenty seven seconds had elapsed when Gavin Tomlin set up Dean Bowditch for an early lead. Sam Baldock equalised on four minutes but midfield maestro Shaun MacDonald put the Glovers 2-1 up on seventeen minutes. Peter Leven levelled matters in the second half but the winless run extended to four games.
That went to five after the following weekend's 3-3 thriller against Norwich City. The Canaries had thumped the Glovers in the August Carling Cup tie and the boss had confirmed that his charges had learnt from that setback. So it proved as a ding-dong game ended with the points shared.
Dean Bowditch gave Yeovil the lead against his old enemies from his Ipswich days but Chris Martin and then Gary Doherty eased the Canaries in front. MacDonald squared things up before Jon Obika looked to have won the game with a 90th minute strike. Doherty flicked in another equaliser three minutes into stoppage time and that was that.
The final pre-Christmas game offered the second longest trip of the season with a fixture against Hartlepool United. With the game in doubt until 1.00pm due to the snowfall from the previous evening, the game was given the go-ahead late in the day.
For the third game running, Yeovil took the lead with a great strike from Sam Williams but a late leveller from Andy Monkhouse also meant it was the third game running that the lead was surrendered.
Boxing Day arrived and the team gave the supporters a late, great Christmas present by quashing Wycombe by four goals to nil at Huish Park. Keiran Murtagh gave the Greens a half time lead but three goals in the last twenty minutes from Jean-Paul Kalala, Jon Obika and Sam Williams ensured a comfortable victory and a first win in seven games.
Respite was short for two days later, it was off to Swindon Town. The Robins were just beginning to put together a run of form that would lead them into the top two at one point and their lethal twin strike force of Billy Paynter and Charlie Austin gave the host a two goal lead before a spectacular cross shot from Gavin Tomlin gave Yeovil hope. Daniel Ward extinguished that hope early in the second period and despite huffing and puffing, there was no further reward.
2010 opened with an away game with Leyton Orient. Or at least it should have done except that on the 2nd of the month, a frosty pitch put paid to those plans and the game was called off on the morning of the match.
The next match to fall foul of the worst winter in years was the home fixture with Colchester United. Snow all around the country decimated the Football League calendar and Huish Park was no different with snow covering the surface to a fair depth and it was no surprise when it was called off.
Game three of 2010 also went west with a waterlogged pitch putting paid to the Friday night match with Tranmere Rovers.
Finally the Glovers New Year started with a 2-0 defeat at the Matchroom Stadium against Leyton Orient. A chilly Tuesday evening offered little in the way of encouragement for the travelling Glovers and goals from Tamika Mkandawire and Scott McGleish gave the O's all three points.
There were to be three more games in the month as Yeovil worked hard to get their fixtures back on track. A 2-1 victory over Exeter City at Huish Park was notable for several things, not least ex-Glover Adam Stansfield's refusal to celebrate a goal against his former bosses. Stefan Stam put his St James' Park nightmare behind him with a goal and Ryan Mason scored against the Grecians for the second successive game to grab the winner.
Impressive play-off contenders Huddersfield Town were next up at Huish Park but there was the small matter of the rearranged game with Tranmere Rovers to get out of the way. Mason netted again but sadly, it was merely a consolation as Ian Thomas-Moore and Ash Taylor had already given the Merseysiders a two goal lead.
Huddersfield came, saw and conquered in the final game of January with a 1-0 win earned for them by midfielder Nathan Eccleston midway through the first half. The Terriers shaded the match and with three games coming up against other playoff contenders, manager Skiverton was keen to reverse the run of inconsistent form.
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