31st August 2019

Starting brightly in front of a vocal home support, they almost had more to cheer about when Charlie Lee struck the woodwork inside the opening 20 minutes. 

Playing some neat football on a blustery afternoon in Somerset, the hosts were rewarded for a largely positive first-half when Courtney Duffus continued his run of scoring in every home match so far in 2019/20.

Held at arm’s length in the opening 45 minutes, the visitors were quick out of the blocks in the second as Ben Turner went close twice in quick succession. 

Ticking towards the final quarter-of-an-hour, Wes Thomas crashed a shot off the crossbar as the visitors but County were made to pay for poor finishing inside the final 10 minutes. 

Luke Wilkinson settled the nerves inside BA22 before Myles Hippolyte slammed home a quick-fire third.

In stoppage time Kristian Dennis added a consolation from the penalty spot but it wasn’t enough to stop the Somerset outfit returning to winning ways.

Needing to rediscover a winning a formula, manager Darren Sarll made three changes from the side that suffered an agonising late defeat at Dagenham on Monday. 

Striker Gold Omotayo was handed a debut to partner Duffus upfront, whilst Remeao Hutton and Hippolyte earned recalls in place of the injured duo Craig Alcock and Rhys Murphy.

Tweaking formation slightly to 4-3-1-2 it was a bright start from the green and whites who boasted plenty of attacking options, with their top scorer providing the game’s first meaningful attempt on goal. 

Receiving the ball towards the left-hand side of the box, Duffus looked to curl an effort into the far corner with his accuracy letting him down by a yard. 

Former Yeovil trialist Regan Booty then fired wide of the target at the other end before Lee continued the theme of strikes from distance as his 30-yard strike flew over the bar.

Despite sitting in front of the back four the 32-year-old continued to cause the Magpies problems and almost netted a goal of the season contender on 16 minutes.

Carl Dickinson’s floated free-kick delivery found Lee at the back post, with his acrobatic scissor kick clipping the top of the crossbar to leave the midfielder with his hands on his head.

Narrowly surviving that scare, Neal Ardley’s side then forced the first save of the day from home debutant Marcin Brzozowski who palmed away Enzio Boldewijn’s well-hit shot.

However, with Lee pulling the strings in midfield for the Glovers it wasn’t long until he was orchestrating another chance for the hosts. 

Taking a short goal-kick, his driving run to halfway led to a inch-perfect switch of play to Dickinson, with his ball into Hippolyte resulting in a shot from the attacker skidding just wide with Sam Slocombe scrambling in the Notts goal.

Followed by something of a dry spell in terms of chances, the game burst back into life five minutes before the break. 

Brought in for his physical prowess, Swiss striker Omatayo made an impact by rising highest on the edge of the box to knockdown into the path of Duffus who made no mistake lifting the ball into the back of the net for his fourth of the campaign. 

Deserving of their lead at the halfwway stage, it was almost wiped out inside the five minutes of the restart as the Magpies came out reinvigorated. 

Up from the back for set-pieces, Turner turned Booty’s delivery onto the post before moments later having a second headed attempt cleared off the line by a perfectly placed Matt Worthington. 

Struggling to enjoy the territory they created in the opening 45 minutes, the green and whites remained on the defensive as Sam Graham and Kristian Dennis both had further attempts on goal as the hour-mark came and went. 

With an equaliser feeling increasingly likely, Sarll’s side had the woodwork come to their rescue again on 73 minutes when Thomas’ shot from a corner cannoned off the underside of the bar and out. 

Producing waves of attacks, the visitors were left frustrated again just moments later when Dennis’ low shot was saved well by Brzozowski who’d narrowed down the angle in readiness of the shot. 

As frustrations grew amongst the County ranks as the equaliser continued to elude them, they were left deflated by a rampant five minute spell from the Glovers.

Knowing the importance of the game’s second goal they doubled their lead on 81 minutes when Dickinson’s delivery was headed back where it came from by Lee where Wilkinson was waiting to head in from close range on his home debut. 

With the 2,400-strong crowd still celebrating, the game was put beyond doubt when Hippolyte weaved past a succession of challenges before firing a low drive under Slocombe and into the back of the net from 20 yards for his first in green and white.

In a last twist, Dennis converted from the penalty spot for nothing more than a consolation strike as Sarll’s side emphatically got back on track.

Yeovil Town: Brzozowski; Hutton, Wilkinson, Bradbury, Dickinson; Worthington (Whelan 90′), Lee (Skendi 89′), D’Ath (Rogers 74′); Hippolyte; Duffus, Omatayo.
Bookings: D’Ath 27′.
Subs not used: Seager, Shako.

Notts County: Slocombe; Kelly-Evans, Turner, Graham (Rawlinson 84′), McCrory; Booty (Wootton 72′), Doyle; O’Brien, Boldewijn; Dennis, Thomas.
Bookings: Boldewijn 68′.
Subs not used: Fitzsimons, Bakayogo, Osborne.