Match Report - Yeovil Town v Altrincham

Yeovil Town made it four home wins in a row this afternoon as they beat Altrincham 2-0 in a game that was slow to get going. After a dull first half goals from substitutes Rhys Murphy and Chris Dagnall gave Town a welcome three points.

Darren Sarll made four changes to the side that was defeated 1-0 by Eastleigh in midweek. Carl Dickinson was re-introduced in favour over Michael Kelly. Tom Knowles and Jimmy Smith regained their place in the starting XI replacing the injured Charlie Lee and the suspended Matt Worthington while up front Joe Quigley was in for Rhys Murphy.

On the bench for Yeovil was Max Evans, Michael Kelly, Rhys Murphy, Chris Dagnall and Matt Warburton.

Yeovil Town kicked off towards the away terrace.

The first half was a pretty dull affair with neither side creating any good chances. The first corner of the game came Yeovil's way on 11 minutes which was taken by Carl Dickinson on the left hand side. His cross into the center of the box was headed away for another corner on the opposite side which was taken by Alex Bradley but his cross caught the wind and sailed out of play.

On 13 minutes Altrincham were awarded a free kick in a dangerous position - just to the right of goal 25 yards out. Ryan Colclough stepped up to take it and went for pure power and it flew over the bar.

Altrincham won their first corner on 17 minutes which was taken short and worked into the box but it eventually came to nothing.

On 27 minutes Yeovil won another corner on the left hand side and again Carl Dickinson took the corner and delivered the ball into the center of the box which had to be pushed behind by Tony Thompson in the Altrincham goal.

Alex Bradley took the resulting corner from the opposite side but his delivery was poor and was easily cleared away.

In 30 minutes Adam Smith made his first save of the game as Altrincham charged forward in the box and Ryan Colclouch unleashed a low shot which was comfortably saved. Up to that point neither keeper had a save to make which was indicative of the way both sides were struggling to carve out any opportunities.

On 43 minutes Yeovil thought they had taken the lead out of nowhere as Yeovil were able to break away down the left hand side and a good cross into the box found Joe Quigley who won the header and was able to direct the ball into the back of the net however for reasons that were unclear at the time the goal was disallowed.

3 minutes of time was added on and both sides went in at half time all square and both sides would have felt that the game was there for the taking.

Half Time: Yeovil Town 0-0 Altrincham

The first 10 minutes of the second half was just like the first half with neither side creating any chances.

On 58 minutes Yeovil and Altrincham both made their first substitutions. Joe Quigley was replaced by Rhys Murphy while Matty Kosylo was replaced by Yusifu Ceesay for Altrincham.

On 63 minutes Altrincham made their second and last substitution as Tom Peers is replaced by Joe Piggott.

The introduction of Rhys Murphy proved to be a good one as on 64 minutes he gave Yeovil the lead. A good team move allowed Yeovil to get into a dangerous position in behind the Altrincham defence and Rhys Murphy was there to cap off the move by slotting the ball past Tony Thompson.

The goal came out of nowhere as up to that point there hadn't been any clear cut chances in the second half but Yeovil were able to make their chance count and now had control of the game.

On 73 minutes Yeovil make their second substitution as Reuben Reid is replaced by Chris Dagnall.

With 15 minutes of the game to play and Yeovil's lead a narrow one it was vital that Yeovil didn't just sit back and invite Altrincham forward and rather worryingly at this stage of the game Altrincham were starting to look a bit more dangerous, enjoying more of the ball and starting to create chances of their own.

With 10 minutes left Yeovil won a free kick in a similar position to Altrincham's in the first half - 25 yards from goal just to the left. Ales Bradley crossed the ball into the box and after a bit of ping-pong in the box it was eventually cleared. Yeovil managed to win the ball back though and after an excellent bit of play from Albi Skendi who simply refused to lose possession he managed to find Alex Bradley who in turn found the substitute Chris Dagnall at the back post who headed home from close range to give Yeovil a 2-0 lead.

With the score line looking rather more comfortable now Yeovil just needed to keep their heads and see the game out for a very welcome three points.

Yeovil made their final substitution on 86 minutes as Matt Warburton was introduced for Jimmy Smith.

5 minutes of added time was given which passed without incident and Yeovil ran out worthy winners to put the last two disappointing defeats behind them.

Full Time: Yeovil Town 2-0 Altrincham

After such a dull first half the game was hanging in the balance and whichever team came out after half time with a greater hunger to grab the game by the scruff of the neck would go on to win it. Yeovil showed that they were willing to fight for the three points and the put in a very good shift to ensure the points stayed in Somerset.

The win sees us move up the table a couple of places to 17th with 23 points although it is worth bearing in mind that only three games were played today in the National League as the recent cold weather has forced most of the games to be postponed. Nevertheless a win is a win and the more we can climb away from the drop zone the sooner we can start to look up the table rather than down.

Yeovil have another game to try and make it back-to-back wins as they travel to face Boreham Wood on Tuesday evening with a 7:45PM kick off.

Man of the match voting for this win is now open. You can cast your vote here.

Yeovil Town

1 - Adam Smith, 27 - Alex Bradley, 26 - Max Hunt, 35 - Billy Sass-Davies, 3 - Carl Dickinson, 21 - Tom Knowles, 10 - Jimmy Smith (replaced by 11 - Matt Warburton on 87 minutes), 24 - Josh Neufville, 18 - Albi Skendi, 19 - Joe Quigley (replaced by 9 - Rhys Murphy on 58 minutes), 33 - Reuben Reid (replaced by 34 - Chris Dagnall on 74 minutes)

Substitutes

31 - Max Evans, 14 - Michael Kelly, 9 - Rhys Murphy, 34 - Chris Dagnall, 11 - Matt Warburton

Altrincham

1 - Tony Thompson, 2 - Andy White, 5 - Tom Hannigan, 6 - Jake Moult, 10 - Josh Hancock, 15 - Matty Kosylo (replaced by 11 - Yusifu Ceesay on 58 minutes), 23 - Tom Peers (replaced by 9 - Joe Piggott on 63 minutes), 24 - Joel Senior, 25 - Toby Mullarkey, 29 - Alastair Smith, 34 - Ryan Colclough

Substitutes

4 - Ritchie Sutton, 9 - Joe Piggott, 11 - Yusifu Ceesay, 28 - Byron Harrison, 30 - Simon Richman