Match Report: Southend United v Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town fell to a 1-0 defeat at Roots Hall yesterday afternoon in a game where Yeovil had to play with 10 men for just over 70 minutes. Yeovil were playing well until Gime Toure was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident with Kacper Lopata and the game shifted in Southend's favour. Jake Hyde put Southend in front just before half time and Yeovil couldn't find a way back into the game and returned to Somerset empty handed.

Chris Hargreaves made just one change to the side that drew with Boreham Wood last week. Jamie Reckord was dropped from the side and replaced by Owen Bevan who was back from international duty.

Yeovil opted for a 3-4-3 formation with Owen Bevan, Josh Staunton and Ben Richards-Everton in front of Grant Smith. Morgan Williams, Matt Worthington, Lawson D'Ath and Charlie Wakefield made up the midfield with Sam Pearson sitting just behind Alex Fisher and Gime Toure up front.

On the bench was Max Hunt, Jake Scrimshaw, Malachi Linton, Finley Craske and Will Dawes.

Southend kicked off towards the home end.

Yeovil made a positive start to the game and were the side in control of the opening exchanges.

After just two minutes Yeovil came close when Alex Fisher found Charlie Wakefield who's curling shot was just wide of the post.

However, on 17 minutes the game shifted completely when Gime Toure was shown a straight red card for an off the ball incident with Kacper Lopata. Nobody in the away end appeared to see what the red card was for, in fact, neither did the home fans or the referee but it was the linesman who gave the foul.

From then on Yeovil were struggling and lost their shape and Southend were gradually becoming more of a threat to the Yeovil goal.

Despite this, Yeovil had the ball in the net just after the half hour mark when Josh Staunton rose highest to head the ball home but the referee gave a free kick for a foul on Southend keeper Collin Andeng Ndi. It seemed as though the foul was rather harsh for Yeovil as Staunton was simply more eager to get the ball but as we see so often these days, the slightest touch on a goalkeeper is given as a foul.

Unfortunately, Southend went straight up the other end and scored as Jake Hyde's header beat Grant Smith to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Four minutes of time was added on at the end of the half and Yeovil went in trailing at the break.

Half Time: Southend United 1-0 Yeovil Town

Neither side made changes at half time and the second half continued with Yeovil struggling.

On 53 minutes Yeovil were awarded a free kick right on the edge of the box but Alex Fisher's effort was fired straight into the wall.

Yeovil made their first substitution on 60 minutes as Alex Fisher was replaced by Malachi Linton.

Southend made their first substitution on 64 minutes when Jake Hyde was replaced by Callum Powell. Yeovil also made a substitution as Sam Pearson was replaced by Ollie Craske.

Southend also replaced Jack Bridge with Tom Clifford on 66 minutes.

In the final 20 minutes Yeovil were starting to play a bit better and were no longer under constant pressure from Southend. Despite this though Yeovil were rarely a threat going forward and it didn't seem likely that Yeovil were going to find the goal they needed.

Yeovil made their final substitution on 77 minutes as Charlie Wakefield was replaced by Jake Scrimshaw.

Southend made their final substitution on 81 minutes as Dan Mooney was replaced by Wes Fonguck.

Six minutes of time was added on and despite a late push by Yeovil they weren't able to find and equaliser and they made the trip home empty handed.

Full Time: Southend United 1-0 Yeovil Town

The game was going so well until Gime Toure was sent off. After the game it became apparent that he had indeed lashed out and Chris Hargreaves was quite vocal in his post-match interview that Toure will be fined for his actions. Yeovil will need to start picking up wins very soon as they are in 19th place with 9 points, just one point off the bottom of the table.

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

Match Attendance: 5,324 (81 from Yeovil Town)

Southend United

30 - Collin Andeng Ndi, 5 - Shaun Hobson, 6 - Ollie Kensdale, 7 - Jack Bridge (replaced by >12 - Tom Clifford on 66 minutes), 8 - Noor Husin, 10 - Dan Mooney (replaced by 19 - Wes Fonguck on 81 minutes), 15 - Marcus Dackers, 17 - Cavaghn Miley, 22 - Kacper Lopata, 24 - Jason Demetriou, 39 - Jake Hyde (replaced by 11 - Callum Powell on 63 minutes)

Substitutes

4 - Louis Lomas, 11 - Callum Powell, 12 - Tom Clifford, 18 - Wes Fonguck, 19 - Chris Wreh

Kit

Navy Blue Shirts, Navy Blue Shorts, White Socks
Goalkeeper: Fluorescent Yellow

Yeovil Town

1 - Grant Smith, 2 - Morgan Williams, 6 - Ben Richards-Everton, 7 - Matt Worthington, 8 - Lawson D'Ath, 9 - Alex Fisher (replaced by 14 - Malachi Linton on 59 minutes), 10 - Gime Toure (dismissed on 17 minutes), 15 - Sam Pearson (replaced by 18 Ollie Craske on 65 minutes), 19 - Charlie Wakefield (replaced by 11 - Jake Scrimshaw on 76 minutes), 24 Owen Bevan, 32 - Josh Staunton

Substitutes

5 - Max Hunt, 11 - Jake Scrimshaw, 14 - Malachi Linton, 18 - Finley Craske, 25 - Will Dawes

Kit

Pink and Purple Striped Shirts, Purple Shorts, Pink Socks
Goalkeeper: Orange

Officials

Referee: Sam Mullhall
Assistant: Marc Meeten
Assistant: Aaron Conn
Fourth Official: Jack Willmore