Source: FOOTYMAD
The S24 Preview: Southend United v Yeovil Town
Here we go again, the latest 'must win game' since the last one, with both teams needing the points at Roots Hall on Easter Saturday, kick-off 15.00. v SHRIMPERS I think I'm getting over the shock of that defeat at the Memorial Stadium, the shaking has stopped anyway, but that might be the new bottle of Glenfiddich. Here we go again, another 'must win' after the last one, which we did, 3-0 over the Saddlers, I'll take that again of course, but how? We have no width, the loss of Scannell and the Moose are huge blows. The thought that Francis Laurent may be fit feels me more with concern than enthusiasm after his last few starts, then again he'll probably be a genius and score a hat-trick, then again, probably not.Personally, I'll pack the central midfield with the strength and skill of Macca and Christophe. The Frenchman did not have a great return against Rovers, but we have to stop Yeovil from scoring first, the defence are doing OK four goals or not last week, and I like the idea of Anthony Grant a touch wider on the right. (Though any more Yellows for Macca and Granty and it won't only be width we'll be worrying about.) Francis is a risk to me, especially as he's only just started training again, but I'd certainly have him on the bench. It's the form of Vernon and Spencer that brings hope of further goals and the points that could see us out of the bottom four. They are both working very hard with no little skill, if we can get the ball in the danger area, Johnny and those throws are a bonus, you feel confident one of them will finish it off. Once again, just go out there lads, give it your all, and the Roots Hall faithful will be with you all the way, especially from the North Bank after all these years.COME ON YOU BLUES!!!!! Possible Southend United: Mildenhall, Francis, Baldwin, Barrett, Herd, McCormack, Christophe, Grant, Vernon, Spencer, Malone.Subs: Jack, M'Voto, O'Keefe, Laurent, Paterson, Crawford.OPPOSITION Glovers midfielder Gavin Williams concludes a three match ban and will not play at Roots Hall Easter Saturday.Central defender Stefan Stam has picked up a hamstring injury that's expected to rule him out for the rest of the season.Meanwhile, after the hammering at home to the Gasmen of Bristol, midfielder Jean-Paul Kalala picked up hip problem and striker Sam Williams a knee injury, which sees them unlikely to face the Shrimpers.The Relegation Zone15Yeovil Town 38865312235111530111116465244-616Leyton Orient 38766282135111633101117445441-1017Gillingham 3897326110613133991316395040-1118Exeter City 3878425182512153591316405340-1319Oldham Athletic 3756818235491423101017324640-1420Hartlepool United 3875724243412223510919465939-1321Tranmere Rovers 378382227251193210819315938-2822Southend United 3868525233214193591019445837-14Last Time Out - Yeovil Town 0 Bristol Rovers 3(We feel your pain Glovers!)Yeovil Town were comfortably beaten this afternoon by Bristol Rovers as the Pirates recorded their first ever victory at Huish Park in the Football League. Two goals for Jo Kuffour, including one with just four minutes on the clock, were added to by a Paul Heffernan finish in between. All three goals came before the break, leaving the second half as a non-event as Rovers snuffed out any Yeovil attempts to get back into the game with ease. Manager Terry Skiverton made just one change to the side that travelled to Carlisle United, with Scott Murray making way for Jean-Paul Kalala, who had recovered from a hip injury. Bristol Rovers were unchanged for the fourth consecutive match despite only picking up one point from their last two games. It was Rovers who grabbed the lead as early as the fourth minute, with a goalkeeping error to blame. Alex McCarthy dithered a little bit too much with a backpass and his clearance was charged down by Jo Kuffour and on the rebound the Rovers striker got himself a 4th minute lead. Despite the goal, the Glovers were well on top during the early stages, with dangerous crosses from Scott Davies and Craig Alcock inches away from hitting either the goal direct or incoming players as their back post delivery was judged to perfection. But the problem was that there was no-one getting on the end of the balls, and despite the pressure, nothing to make Rovers keeper Mikkel Andersen actually work for his money. Yeovil suffered a mid-half blow when Sam Williams pulled up twice with what appeared to be knee ligament problems after an attempt at a shot was blocked by two Rovers defenders and the target man appeared to jar his knee. He hobbled about after treatment but after pulling out a second time, he was withdrawn, replaced by Arron Davies. Without their target man, Yeovil seemed to lose the ability to provide any attacking focus, even if a Terrell Forbes powerful header from a corner, blocked on the line by Steve Elliott, threatened to double his career tally against the opposition that had given him his first career goal. Rovers had done little all half, but their first proper outfield move was to double their lead. Left-back Daniel Jones broke forward wide and his cross into the box found Paul Heffernan eight yards out who converted in far too much space, having been given the chance to take one touch inside the box before converting. Two shots, two goals, 2-0. By this time Yeovil were starting to look a little ragged and sorry for themselves, and a third goal was soon forthcoming. Another cross into the box from Dominic Blizzard saw Jo Kuffour with his back to goal, but his swivel and turn was decisive and emphatic as he turned the scoreline into 3-0. Three shots, three goals, 3-0. Rovers had further attempts to increase their lead, with Alex McCarthy partially redeeming himself for the opening goal and a series of nervy clearances on a greasy pitch that was a goalkeeper's nightmare. His saves from Daniel Jones and Jeff Hughes stopped the half time scoreline getting any more embarrassing than it already was. The second half saw Rovers a lot less inclined to go forward, sticking their two banks of four in front of Yeovil and inviting the home side to try and break them down. Yeovil's answer was to huff'n'puff and not really do a lot to threaten an improbable comeback. In fact it took 21 minutes for either side to have any chance of any sort with an ambitious Craig Alcock run finishing with a shot wide of the target. Gavin Tomlin also shot wide minutes later. Manager Terry Skiverton tried switching things but without effect. Arron Davies swapped with Gavin Tomlin to allow Davies to partner Dean Bowditch. Scott Davies swapped with Shaun MacDonald to give the Swansea player a chance to play a more central role. Then Davies made way for Andy Welsh for a more orthodox left winger. But all to no avail as the Glovers struggled to unlock a defence that had been quite open during the first half. With 13 minutes remaining an unusual statistic was broken - Steven Caulker picked up his first booking of the season for a foul on Daniel Jones. The Tottenham Hotspur loan player has played over 30 games as a centre-back without landing in the book, but he will have had few complaints about his yellow card on that occasion. Gavin Tomlin shot wide of the target as he attempted to surge forward. Then Nathan Smith shot high and wide and out of the away end and across to the top pitch area, but this was fairly typical of Yeovil's afternoon and in particular the second half, where Rovers found containment an easy job and Yeovil found it impossible to break through. Into injury time and a Craig Alcock attempt was blocked on the line, but the game was long since gone. This was a game of two halves, but not in terms of the balance of the game, but more in terms of the style that Bristol Rovers adopted. In the first half they soaked up Yeovil's attempts to open the scoring, counter-attacking brilliantly and efficiently to convert their chances. Then in the second half, they provided two brick walls for Yeovil to get past, and thus it became a "play on until midnight" game, where it became increasingly obvious what the final score was going to be. Rovers had the game long since won, and they didn't need to attack any more, whilst Yeovil didn't have the invention or belief to open them up and get back into the game. In the end, only one team was ever going to win, and win comfortably. Scorers: Jo Kuffour (0-1, 4 mins), Paul Heffernan (0-2, 37 mins), Jo Kuffour (0-3, 41 mins) Yeovil Town (4-4-2): 1. Alex McCarthy 2. Craig Alcock 5. Steven Caulker 6. Terrell Forbes 28. Nathan Smith 10. Gavin Tomlin 21. JP Kalala 27. Scott Davies 25. Shaun MacDonald 9. Sam Williams 14. Dean Bowditch Substitutes: 15. Richard Martin (GK) 7. Arron Davies (24 mins for Sam Williams) 8. Keiran Murtagh 11. Andy Welsh (63 mins for Scott Davies) 16. Scott Murray 17. Aidan Downes 23. Danny Hutchins Bristol Rovers (4-4-2): 27. Mikkel Andersen 15. Byron Anthony 5. Danny Coles 6. Steve Elliott 48. Daniel Jones 16. Dominic Blizzard 4. Chris Lines 7. Stuart Campbell 11. Jeff Hughes 9. Paul Heffernan 17. Jo Kuffour Substitutes: 51. Rhys Evans (GK) 2. Carl Regan 3. Mark Wright 8. Andrew Williams (82 mins for Paul Heffernan) 20. Charles Reece 23. Ben Swallow 28. Elliot Richard Yeovil Bookings: Jean-Paul Kalala (56 mins, foul), Steven Caulker (77 mins, foul) Rovers Bookings: Danny Coles (53 mins, foul), Steve Elliott (58 mins, foul) Referee: Mark Haywood (West Yorkshire). Assistants: Ron Ganfield (Somerset) and Eric Mackrell (Hampshire). Fourth Official: Mark Pottage (Somerset). Attendance: 5,968 (Report provided by www.ciderspace.co.uk) PREVIOUSLY At Southend Utd. (7)At Yeovil Town (8)ResultsTotal%ResultsTotal%Southend Utd.228.57Yeovil Town562.50Yeovil Town342.86Southend Utd.337.50Draws228.57Draws00.00GoalsTotalAv.pgGoalsTotalAv.pgSouthend Utd.81.14Yeovil Town111.38Yeovil Town60.86Southend Utd.81.00On Neutral Ground (0)Overall (15 matches)ResultsTotal%ResultsTotal%Southend Utd.00.00Southend Utd.533.33Yeovil Town00.00Yeovil Town853.33Draws00.00Draws213.33GoalsTotalAv.pgGoalsTotalAv.pgSouthend Utd.00.00Southend Utd.161.07Yeovil Town00.00Yeovil Town171.13RecordsHighest Aggregate5Southend Utd. 4 - 1Yeovil Town2005/2006 Highest Southend Utd. score:4Southend Utd. 4 - 1Yeovil Town2005/2006 Highest Yeovil Town score:4Yeovil Town 4 - 0Southend Utd.2003/2004 SeasonDateHomeScoreAwayCompetition 2009/2010Sat 14 NovYeovil Town1 - 0Southend Utd.League One 2008/2009Sat 24 JanSouthend Utd.0 - 1Yeovil TownLeague One Sat 04 OctYeovil Town1 - 2Southend Utd.League One 2007/2008Sat 23 FebYeovil Town0 - 3Southend Utd.League One Sat 12 JanSouthend Utd.1 - 1Yeovil TownLeague One 2005/2006Sat 04 FebYeovil Town0 - 2Southend Utd.League One Tue 27 SepSouthend Utd.4 - 1Yeovil TownLeague One 2004/2005Sat 30 AprSouthend Utd.0 - 1Yeovil TownLeague Two Sat 20 NovYeovil Town3 - 1Southend Utd.League Two 2003/2004Sat 24 AprSouthend Utd.0 - 2Yeovil TownLeague Division Three Sat 15 NovYeovil Town4 - 0Southend Utd.League Division Three 1982/1983Sat 11 DecSouthend Utd.3 - 0Yeovil TownF.A. Cup 1963/1964Sat 16 NovYeovil Town1 - 0Southend Utd.F.A. Cup 1958/1959Thu 20 NovYeovil Town1 - 0Southend Utd.F.A. Cup Sat 15 NovSouthend Utd.0 - 0Yeovil TownF.A. Cup REFThe man in the middle is Russell Booth from Nottingham He gives an interview here: www.refworld.com/referee/126/1/russell-booth FIXTURESGood Friday, April 2nd; (kick-offs when stated): Carlisle v Bristol Rovers, 15:00, Exeter v Colchester, 15:00, Millwall v Brentford, 19:45, Tranmere v Norwich, 19:45. Easter Saturday, April 3rd; (all kick-offs 15.00): Leeds United v Swindon, Leyton Orient v Hartlepool, MK Dons v Charlton, Oldham v Gillingham, Southend v Yeovil, Stockport v Walsall, Wycombe v Huddersfield.Easter Monday, April 5th; (all kick-offs 15.00 unless stated): Brentford v Exeter, Bristol Rovers v MK Dons, Charlton v Carlisle, Colchester v Millwall, 13:00, Gillingham v Southend, Hartlepool v Brighton, Norwich v Stockport, Southampton v Leyton Orient, Swindon v Tranmere, Walsall v Wycombe, Yeovil v Leeds United, 12:30. Tuesday, April 6th: Huddersfield v Oldham, 19:45 BETTo Win:Southend (to win) - 5/4, Draw - 12/5, Yeovil (to win) - 23/10. For all the footy odds go here: www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-oneHISTORY Yeovil have spent almost all of their history outside of The Football League but are still one of the most famous FA Cup "giant-killing" teams that has earned them notoriety around the country and indeed it can be said around the world. The club, founded in 1890 as Yeovil Football Club, shared a ground for many years with the town's rugby club. In 1895 they became Yeovil Casuals and moved to play their home games at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. The club became Yeovil Town in 1907, and in 1915 an amalgamation of Yeovil Town and Petters United led to a new club called Yeovil and Petters United. This season's away shirt, a predominantly black kit with amber trim, was inspired by the amber and black colours of Petters United. In the 1948-49 FA Cup, Yeovil defeated Sunderland in the fourth round, in front of over 16,000 ecstatic fans (a club record) this gave them the "Giant-Killing" status. At the next hurdle, over 81,000 saw them lose to Manchester United at Maine Road 8-0. Between 1955 and 1973 they lifted the Southern Football League crown three times, with the runners-up spot being reached on two occasions.During this period, Yeovil Town applied for election to the Football League on a number of occasions, coming within a few votes of being elected in 1976. 1979 saw the birth of what is now the Football Conference the game's 'Fifth Division' - of which the Glovers were founder-members. In 1985 they were relegated to the Vauxhall Opel League. After three years Yeovil won the championship in 1988 and returned to the Conference.There was success in the Bob Lord Challenge Trophy in 1990 and three years later Yeovil finished fourth in the Conference, their best finish ever. In January 1995 Graham Roberts was appointed manager, but demotion back to the Isthmian League (ICIS) soon followed. Yeovil secured promotion back into the Conference in 1997 after winning the ICIS League (as it was then known) by a record number of points - 101.Gary Johnson took charge in June 2001 and he won the FA Umbro Trophy in his first season in charge with a 2-0 victory over Stevenage Borough in the final at Villa Park. This was their first major trophy in 106 years as a Football Club. Yeovil Town earned promotion to the Football League in the following season, by winning the Football Conference by a record 17 points margin. They accumulated a huge 95 points and scored 100 goals, remaining unbeaten at Huish Park.The team's first season in League football saw them finish in a creditable eighth place just missing out on the play off positions by goal difference, just four goals.In February 2004, the team released the single "Yeovil True". The single reached 36 in the UK charts before dropping out of the top 75 the next week. The single was only available in major record stores in the town.In 2004-05, only their second season in the Football League, Yeovil were crowned champions of League Two and were promoted to League One sealing the success on Saturday April 30 with a 1-0 win at Roots Hall in front of 11,735. In September 2005, manager Gary Johnson left Yeovil Town for Bristol City, after having turned down job offers from both Plymouth Argyle and Derby County. He was replaced by second-in-command Steve Thompson, and Kevin Hodges was appointed as his number two, but at the end of the 2005-06 Thompson was demoted to first team coach, with the club advertising for a new manager. Russell Slade was named as his replacement on June 7, 2006.The Messiah, (for some of us anyway), David Webb bought the club from Jon Goddard-Watts in December 2005, taking over the role of Chief Executive from Chairman John Fry. He resigned from this position in February 2006. In June 2006, it was announced that John Fry had bought all of Dave Webb's share to become the new owner of Yeovil Town FC.On September 30, 2006, Yeovil moved into second place in League One after a 2-1 victory over Brentford, which was their highest-ever league position. Yeovil finished the regular season in fifth position, securing a play-off semi-final against Nottingham Forest, twice European champions. On May 11, 2007, Forest won the first leg 2-0 at Huish Park. Seven days later, Yeovil won the return leg at the City Ground 5-2 after extra time, taking the tie 5-4 on aggregate. Yeovil met Blackpool at Wembley Stadium on May 27, 2007, and were beaten 2-0, thus missing out on promotion to the Championship. Almost 30,000 supporters took the trip up to Wembley, a large following for a club based in a town with a population of only 41,871.2007-08 was less successful, as Yeovil finished 18th in League One with 52 points, and last season S24 predicted relegation, however manager Russell Slade left the position in February 2009.After 1 game with Assistant Manager Steve Thompson acting as caretaker manager, club captain Terry Skiverton was announced as manager until the end of the 2009-10 season, with ex-Blue Nathan Jones as his assistant. The duo had to wait seven games before their first victory, which came against Swindon Town. The one-nil victory was vital considering Swindon were also flirting with relegation and it started a good run of form with two more wins and a draw against difficult opposition. Yeovil secured their League One status with a 1-1 draw against Tranmere Rovers on Saturday 25 April. That left Terry Skiverton free to discuss contracts with players such as Terrell Forbes and Lee Peltier. Securing these players is considered vital if Yeovil are to remain in League One in the future.Yeovil had a good start to the 2009-10 season with a 2-0 win over Tranmere but then went 7 league games without a win.Yeovil Town Football club have had many players who have played at the international level, for instance Marc Bircham [Canada], Andrejs Stolcers [Latvia], Efe Sodje [Nigeria!], Lloyd Owusu [Ghana], Jean-Paul Kamindumba Kalala [DR Congo], Arron Davies and Gavin Williams [Wales].Huish Park is Yeovil's latest stadium and there has been a mention that Huish could become the new home of a 15,000 all seater.
