10th July 2014

Manager Gary Johnson was pleased with his side’s 6-1 victory against Frome in their opening pre-season fixture on Wednesday.

The Glovers came away from Blindmans Brewery Stadium convincing victors thanks to goals from Kieffer Moore (2), AJ Leitch-Smith (2), Sam Hoskins and Sam Foley.

Of the eight new signings, seven made their first appearance of the season in Green and White with only Chris Weale missing through injury.

Whilst Weale is likely to return for the trip to Basingstoke on Saturday, Johnson was left with a lot of “positives” ahead of the remaining pre-season fixtures.

“You can’t make too many rush judgements one way or the other, but the way the game went we were a bit sloppy early on and we had a few new lads who hadn’t played much together and it looked like it, but there were a lot of positives and a lot of play which I could see was our game already.

“The first half lads probably wore them down because we’re full-time and they’re part-time but we pressed and got our rewards through pressing in the second half and being a bit more solid as a back four. But they probably had the benefit of me having a go at the first half team!

“All in all, it was a good work out and I thought it was a good game; it was a good pitch and they’re a good team for this level. Of course our lads are going to finish stronger, I would be disappointed if they didn’t, but it made for a nice competitive game and we got out of it exactly what we wanted.”

The Glovers boss admits the next few games will begin to shape his starting XI for the opening League One fixture of the season against Doncaster, with new signing AJ Leitch-Smith impressing early on in his Yeovil career.

“Basingstoke on Saturday is another few levels up and a few of them have got to learn our game very quickly, but it gives you thoughts for the next game and then the next game and in your mind you start thinking ‘he’s nailed on for a first team spot’.

“You can nail on four, five, six maybe and the rest have to show that they warrant a first team place. I thought AJ showed exactly what he can do, and so did some of the others, but he looked quality up there with his runs and his work rate and his all round ability came out really well on the day.”