Match Report - Woking v Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town were forced to settle for a draw at the Kingfield Stadium this afternoon as a first half goal from Matt Warburton was cancelled out late on by Josh Davison. Both sides missed penalties in the second half which could have made the game much different however in the end a draw was a fair result on reflection of the play.

Darren Sarll fielded the same starting XI that beat Bromley in extra time last week with the only changes being on the subs bench as Matt Worthington was named in favour of Jack Clarke.

Adam Smith had Carl Dickinson, Luke Wilkinson and Morgan Williams ahead of him while the midfield was made up of Lawson D'Ath, Matt Warburton, Albi Skendi, Charlie Lee and Alex Bradley. Joe Quigley and Rhys Murphy lead the Yeovil attack.

Yeovil had slipped to the bottom of the National League table in mid-week as Dagenham & Redbridge beat Boreham Wood and Yeovil were hoping to rectify this as quickly as possible.

Yeovils' first corner came just one minute into the match however the cross in was caught by the wind and ended up going out of play for a goal kick.

2 minutes later Yeovil had their first opportunity as a Matt Warburton free kick on the right hand side was crossed to the far post where Charlie Lee was arriving and headed it goal wards but Craig Ross was able to turn it behind for a corner which came to nothing.

The positive start for Town started to die down and the game was fairly even for most of the remainder of the half as Woking settled into the game and neither side were able to take a firm grip of the match.

Wokings' first effort at goal came on 15 minutes as they were awarded a free kick 25 yards from goal. Charlie Cooper's effort was curled around the wall but ended up very wide of the target.

As the first half progressed Yeovil were looking the more settled side again and were starting to edge the play. Woking were looking solid as well but it was Yeovil who were pressing the most but clear cut opportunities were few and far between.

On 30 minutes a corner for Town taken by Carl Dickinson was crossed deep into the box and was once again headed goal wards by Charlie Lee but Craig Ross was able to catch the effort.

Just before half time Yeovil took a deserved lead as Matt Warburton produced a low curling shot from outside the area which nestled nicely into the bottom corner and the away side went into the break with something to show for their efforts.

Half Time: Woking 0-1 Yeovil Town

No subs were made for either side at half time and Yeovil were looking to add to their 1-0 advantage to go on and claim their first league win of the season however Woking started the second half the much better side and were creating better opportunities than they had in the entire first half.

On 51 minutes Woking were awarded a penalty as a found on Charlie Cooper was punished. Max Kretzschmar stepped up to take it and sent Adam Smith the wrong way diving to his right but fortunately for the away side the ball rebounded off the post and away and Yeovil had got away with one.

Woking continued to be the better side in the second half and on 63 minutes a header at the near post hit the side netting which gave Yeovil another warning that they needed to start to get a better foothold into the game if they were to go on to win.

Just 2 minutes later Yeovil did have the ball in the net as they caught Woking on the counter attack as an initial shot was blocked and Rhys Murphy was there to tap the ball in however he was adjudged to have been offside.

On 73 Yeovil were once again putting Woking under pressure and Rhys Murphy unleased a good shot that was well saved onto the crossbar and rebounded away. Yeovil continued to press and were given a golden opportunity to double their advantage as Matt Warburton was fouled in the box and Town were given a penalty.

After a short delay as a Woking player received treatment Rhys Murphy stepped to take the penalty but it was a terrible penalty - straight down the middle with hardly any power and Craig Ross was able to make an easy save and Yeovil had wasted a fantastic opportunity.

Woking sensed that they could punish Yeovil for this miss and on 81 minutes Adam Smith had to make an unbelievable save to keep the match at 1-0 as Woking were in on goal and Slavi Sposov unleased a hard low shot at goal but Adam Smith somehow made the save.

As the end of the 90 minutes approached Yeovil were hanging on but once again a mix up in defence cost us dearly which allowed Woking in on goal. Josh Davison rounded Adam Smith and fired the ball into the net to pull the home side level which was no more than they had deserved in the second half.

5 minutes of time was added on and straight from the kick off Yeovil almost regained the lead as an excellent cross into the box from the left hand side found Rhys Murphy but the header was skewed and the chance had gone to snatch a winner.

Full Time: Woking 1-1 Yeovil Town

After the final whistle there was some ugly scenes between the two sets of players as there was a bit of a brawl and it was unclear as to what had caused it but thankfully it didn't last long.

The unwanted run of 7 games without a league win now stretches to 8 and Yeovil will be very disappointed that they weren't able to end that run today as they had such a good opportunity to take the three points but it was wasted. Town were fortunate that Woking missed their penalty and by having a penalty of their own at 1-0 the chance was there for Yeovil to really command the game and have a much more comfortable advantage but it wasn't taken.

Woking were worthy of their point today and Yeovil must address the defensive mistakes that are costing us so dearly as we need to put an end to this winless run to kick start our season and start climbing the table before we begin to get cut adrift. I personally think we have the players capable of doing so and I also have faith that the management will turn it around but it has to be sooner rather than later.

The draw sees us remain bottom of the table but were certainly not out of touch with the rest of the league as there is only 3 points separting us in 23rd and Boreham Wood in 13th.

Town are back in action on Tuesday night as they make their shortest away trip of the season as they travel to face old rivals Weymouth at the Bob Lucas Stadium in what will be the first league encounter between these two sides in 31 years. Town will be hoping to put an end to their winless run while also claiming some bragging rights if they were to take all three points.

Man of the match voting for this 1-1 draw with Woking is now open. You can cast your vote here.

Woking

13 - Craig Ross, 2 - Jack Cook, 3 - Josh Casey, 4 - Charlie Cooper, 6 - Saul Shotton, 8 - Kane Ferdinand, 10 - Max Kretzschmar, 14 - Slavi Spasov, 16 - Kyran Lofthouse, 18 - Ben Dempsey (replaced by 17 - Josh Tarpey on 77 minutes), 25 - Josh Davison

Substitutes

5 - Ben Gerring, 7 - Dave Tarpey, 11 - Matt Jarvis, 12 - Nathan Collier, 23 - Jayden Wareham

Yeovil Town

1 - Adam Smith, 3 - Carl Dickinson, 6 - Luke Wilkinson, 8 - Lawson D'Ath, 9 - Rhys Murphy, 11 - Matt Warburton, 17 - Morgan Williams, 18 - Albi Skendi, 19 - Joe Quigley, 22 - Charlie Lee, 27 - Alex Bradley

Substitutes

5 - Ryan Burke, 7 - Matt Worthington, 10 - Jimmy Smith, 16 - Gabby Rogers, 23 - Harry Palmer