Match Report - Eastleigh v Yeovil Town
Yeovil Town fell to their second 1-0 defeat in three days tonight as they were defeated 1-0 by Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium. Ryan Hill put the home side in front just before half time and Yeovil couldn't muster a response in a game where they struggled to get going for large portions of the match.
Darren Sarll made three changes to the side that lost 1-0 at Stockport County at the weekend. The suspended Lee Collins was replaced by new loan signing Billy Sass-Davies who arrives at Huish Park from League Two outfit Crewe Alexandra while Joe Quigley and Tom Knowles were replaced by Rhys Murphy and Charlie Lee respectively.
Yeovil lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with Alex Bradley, Max Hunt, Billy Sass-Davies and Michael Kelly in front of Adam Smith. Matt Worthington, Charlie Lee, Josh Neufville and Albi Skendi made up the midfield and Rhys Murphy and Reuben Reid lead the attack.
On the bench was Carl Dickinson, Matt Warburton, Joe Quigley, Tom Knowles and Chris Dagnall.
Yeovil Town kicked off towards the home terrace.
The opening 10 minutes were fairly tame with neither side looking very threatening. Yeovil won the first corner of the match on 10 minutes which was taken by Michael Kelly on the right hand side. His cross to the far post was headed back into the mix and Reuben Reid had a shot at goal but it was gathered by the goalkeeper.
As the half progressed Yeovil were slowly starting to look the better side but were still unable to create any decent chances.
Yeovil had a scare on the half hour mark as Michael Kelly lost the ball to Ben House on the halfway line who quickly laid the ball off to Sam Smart who was bearing down on the Yeovil goal but Yeovil could breath a sigh of relief as his shot flew way wide of the post.
Just one minute later it was Eastleigh who breathed a sigh of relief as Matt Worthington drive into the box and passed to Rhys Murphy who's quick shot was blocked on the line and then smothered by the goalkeeper.
As half time approached Yeovil were in the ascendency and were looking the more dangerous side but with just 3 minutes to go until half time they took the lead against the run of play as Tyrone Bennett held off the Yeovil defenders and passed to Ryan Hill and unleashed a shot on the edge of the box which found the back of the net.
1 minute of time was added on and Yeovil went into the break 1-0 down despite being the slightly better side overall in the first half.
Half Time: Eastleigh 1-0 Yeovil Town
As the teams entered the dressing room for half time Darren Sarll was sent to the stands for a spat with the referee - presumably over the soft foul that was given in the build up to Eastleigh's goal.
On 47 minutes Eastleigh had a penalty shout waved away as Joe Tomlinson went down in the box while battling with Matt Worthington but nothing was given.
As the hour mark approached once again it was Yeovil who were looking the slightly more dangerous side but they couldn't create any good opportunities and any attack they attempted was beginning to phase into nothing and eventually Yeovil were struggling to make any impact on the game.
On 65 minutes Tyrone Bennett caused Yeovil a world of problems as he gathered the ball mid-way in the Yeovil half and managed to shake off three Yeovil players before driving forward into the box but thankfully he was tackled at the last minute before he could shoot.
On 67 minutes Yeovil made their first substitution as Alex Bradley was replaced by Joe Quigley.
Five minutes later Yeovil made a double substation as Charlie Lee and Reuben Reid made way for Matt Warburton and Chris Dagnall respectively.
Two minutes later Eastleigh made their first substitution as Sam Smith was replaced by Cavaghn Miley.
On 82 minutes Eastleigh made their second substituting as Tyrone Bennett made way for Dan Smith.
Yeovil were still struggling in this game as the end of the 90 minutes approached and the frustration in the Yeovil team was showing. All evening they had tried to get themselves going and trouble their opponents but it just never happened for them and although the game could still be salvaged late on it just never looked likely.
On 89 minutes Eastleigh made their final substitution as Ryan Hill made way for Tom Blair.
Five minutes of time was added on and Yeovil briefly rallied to try and salvage an unlikely draw but they couldn't find the goal they needed and they fell to a 1-0 defeat for the second time in three days.
Full Time: Eastleigh 1-0 Yeovil Town
Another disappointing night for Yeovil in terms of the result but also in terms of the performance. While they did have brief spells of good possession they never managed to turn this into any sustained pressure and ultimately paid the price for it. The team will have to improve quickly if they are going to re-capture their recent good run of form otherwise we will soon find ourselves back in the relegation zone
Yeovil Town are next in action on Saturday where they welcome newly promoted Altrincham to Huish Park where they will be hoping to get back to winning ways.
Man of the match voting for this defeat at Eastleigh is now open. You can cast your vote here.
Eastleigh
1 - Joe McDonnel, 17 - Joe Tomlinson, 6 - Andrew Boyce, 5 - Pierce Bird, 3 - Michael Green, 11 - Sam Smart (replaced by 4 - Cavaghn Miley on 75 minutes), 19 - Danny Hollands, 8 - Jack Payne, 20 - Ryan Hill (replaced by 24 - Tom Blair on 90 minutes), 10 - Tyrone Barnett (replaced by 9 - Dan Smith on 83 minutes), 18 - Ben House
Substitutes
24 - Tom Blair, 14 - Tom Bearwish, 4 - Cavaghn Miley, 7 - Abdulai Baggie, 9 - Dan Smith
Yeovil Town
1 - Adam Smith, 27 - Alex Bradley (replaced by 19 - Joe Quigley on 67 minutes), 28 - Max Hunt, 35 - Billy Sass-Davies, 14 - Michael Kelly, 22 - Charlie Lee (replaced by 34 - Chris Dagnall on 72 minutes), 7 - Matt Worthington, 24 - Josh Neufville, 18 - Albi Skendi, 9 - Rhys Murphy, 33 - Reuben Reid (replaced by 11 - Matt Warburton on 73 minutes)
Substitutes
3 - Carl Dickinson, 21 - Tom Knowles, 19 - Joe Quigley, 33 - Chris Dagnall, 11 - Matt Warburton
