QPR and Wigan

I have a very lovely guest blogger who has kindly done a write up of QPR and Wigan from their view in my absence at these games, a very warm welcome to Lou Hart! 

QPR 15/3/14

Today saw the Green and White Army head east to the capital for a clash with a QPR side hoping to bounce back to the Premiership following a season in the 2^nd tier.

The South Africa Road Stand

The GWSC were kind enough to pick me up on the side of the A303 (pre-arranged!!) giving me an extra hour in bed, not that I got much sleep – maybe a touch of excitement setting in. A pretty good run up to London saw us arrive on time to catch the England match at O’Neils in Shepherds Bush punctuated with periodic blasts of “Allez Allez Oh”.

The 1,388 travelling fans then packed into the cramped upper tier of the School End of Loftus Road with the noise building before kick off. Before the match itself got underway there was a minute of applause for Alec Stock which was enthusiastically embraced by the entire stadium, in fact it was probably the most enthusiastic the QPR crowd got all afternoon.

It was a very different looking Yeovil to the team beaten at home by Ipswich on Tuesday night. Not only did the team look lively and completely up for the match but a Palazuelos injury during the warm up saw Ayling pushed forward into central midfield and Lanzoni starting at right back.

And our newest midfielder came close to opening the scoring – minutes in Ayling lobbed keeper Green only to have the goal disallowed for a foul by Hayter which frankly only the referee saw.

This should have warned us that it wasn’t going to be our day and so it proved. Ayling pulled another shot just wide of Green’s goal and Stech saved from Morrison as Yeovil refused to be intimidated by their opposition. Things did go wrong for Yeovil about 25 minutes in when West Ham loanee Ravel Morrison shot home past Stech from just outside the box. Goal music blasted out effectively masking the lack of response from the home fans.

Gary made an early substitution, bringing Dawson on for Holmes after only 30 minutes and this looked to be a good move with Dawson bringing power and running to the Yeovil right. However we were unable to make a dent in the score line. Despite their lead the QPR fans were very quiet and a loud away contingent continued to out sing them as half time came with a 1-0 deficit.

For a former Priemier League stadium Loftus Road was disappointing. Restricted views, a long thin seating area that spread the singing contingent wide apart and a tiny concourse where it was virtually impossible to move. It was also hard to catch up with other fans as the stewards (who on the whole seemed pretty relaxed where I was) were strict about only allowing you into the section printed on your ticket. Prices were high too.

So after that little break back to the action....

Yeovil again came out fighting but as has often been the case they lacked that extra bite in the final third and good build up play time and again came to nothing. Stats later showed that the Glovers only managed one shot on target in the entire match, easy to see why of our 29 points, 20 have come in games where we kept a clean sheet. Lawrence was unlucky not to make that 2 shots on target when he hit the woodwork on 57 minutes with a cracking shot that left Green watching and hoping. The woodwork at the other end also got a pounding as Jermaine Jenas hit the crossbar, the look of relief on Stech’s face was mirrored by the Yeovil fans just above his goal. It was not to last; QPR made us pay again when a great break down their right by Junior Hoillet lead to a cross which was met by Bobby Zamora to double their lead.

Undaunted the players continued to try to push forward and the fans continued to sing with some good natured banter being directed at the one QPR fan who seemed to be truly enjoying himself despite being almost lost under a ridiculous sombrero. The layout of the stand also lent itself to a blast of right side/left side although there did seem to be two left sides at one point there.

As time ticked away players again appeared in unfamiliar roles with Webster appearing to double as front man and centre back (impressive) whilst Miller played a wider role over to the right. Nothing was running for us though and into stoppage time QPR added a rather flattering third to their tally from the boot of Morrison to give a score line that didn’t quite do justice to Yeovil’s efforts.

So time for the visiting support to squash once again into the tiny concourse and file slowly towards the exit, lots of people commenting on the lack of space and possible implications in an emergency. Luckily we all made it safely back to the waiting coaches.

The packed concourse

Heading west into a rather glorious sunset most pinned their sporting hopes of the day on a French victory in the RBS Six Nations that was playing on the radio as we left the ground. However to cap a not so brilliant day the coach radio faded out with France edging towards the try line only to fail at the final hurdle, hand the title to Ireland and disappoint us once again.

Mission Survival continues at Wigan on Tuesday night. COYG.

Wigan 18/3/14

Just 3 days after the trip to QPR, Tuesday saw Yeovil away at another of last season’s Premier League clubs, Wigan Athletic.

A beast of a bus journey for a Tuesday evening did not put off 223 (well 3 turned out to be Bolton supporters who just like to watch Wigan lose!) of the Glovers faithful who travelled hoping to see the team cause something of an upset against an in form side, on an 8 game winning run, whose recent victims included Manchester City.

The journey was passed with general Glovers chat, a re-run of our last meeting with Uwe Rossler and a quick round of guess the score (I went 0-0). On finally arriving we drove straight past the entrance to the stadium before parking on a waste land up the road. Scrabbling down a small bank, heading round the back of the retail estate took us to the stadium and then onwards to the pub before heading to the match itself.

The fans returned to their usual formation (sit at the front, stand at the back) whilst the team lined up in a slightly unusual formation with Ayling taking his place in a 5 man midfield which frankly failed to give us any width what so ever and we looked poor both going forwards and in defence. Luckily Wigan didn’t look much better and a rather lack lustre first half ensued with only one real incident of note when Wigan were awarded a very soft penalty which was saved by Stech diving to his left and getting a strong hand to the ball which went out for a corner which Yeovil then went on to successfully defend.

Half time came and the Yeovil contingent spilled into the huge concourse of the DW and bought reasonably priced pies and beer to see them through the rest of the match. Rumour suggested before the match that Paddy Madden had travelled to watch his old team mates and I got to meet him during the break and wish him luck in his current league 2 campaign. Shame he declined an invitation to join the noisy bunch at the back of the stand.

The second half started with more of the same and it proved to be very hard to get an atmosphere going. The stadium was huge and open corners and an upward sloping roof let the wind in and the sound out and an unconvincing performance on the pitch did little to inspire.

On 56 minutes the evening got worse with Nick Powell nodding in a McArthur cross and there was no sign of where any Yeovil goal would come from. The midfield continued to be narrow and Miller seemed disinclined to chase any of the deliveries that landed in his vicinity. Then after 71 minutes Gary made the change that proved to be key; Moore on for Lanzoni, 2 up front and Ayling returning to his more familiar right back position. The difference was almost immediately apparent with Yeovil showing more width and more attack. 11 minutes later Miller hit home for the equaliser followed in quick succession by a second strike which sent the travelling fans into near delirium and some Wigan fans to the exits. Could it be that Yeovil would pull off a shock result? The game, however, was far from over and chants of “we are staying up” were abruptly silenced as Beausejour crossed from the left with McArthur slotting home to draw the home side level. Despair set in on 88 minutes when Beausejour sent in another cross which Byron Webster was only able to help into his own net.

Those who were at the Ipro were suffering from a severe case of Deja Vu but, unlike Derby, Wigan had left Yeovil a precious 7 minutes to save the day. The lads never gave up and 3 minutes into time added on the entire team, including Stech, went forward for a corner which was swung in hard by Lawrence to a packed box where Stech in his bright yellow kit distracted everyone and allowed Ayling to tap the ball home for his first ever league goal and a precious equaliser. Cue a return to delirium in the North Stand, tempered by a fear that a final Wigan attack could still rob us of that vital point. We hung on in there and spilled out into the freezing northern night our happiness somewhat tinged by news from the Valley that Charlton had snatched a late winner to stay above us.

So was it 2 more points thrown away or a point snatched back from almost certain defeat? For me it was a point well earned and my faith in survival is alive and well, let’s face it, pre-match I would have settled for a 0-0!

Next up Bolton at home and then another Tuesday night away day at league leaders Leicester City. COYG

Reading 1/3/14

Reading is a nice local game for me, it's only about 20 miles away and if you know the local back roads, it's a really quick and easy journey. I left just after half 11 and arrived just after 12, parking up on Whitley Wood Lane just down the road from the stadium. It's free to park there - and only a short walk to the stadium. Why anyone would pay to park I don't know, but then again as I work in the area, I was more clued up as to where parking was available! I met up with my dad and headed over to the pub at the Holiday Inn, for a swift pint, to meet up with some friends and to watch the first half ish of the QPR game on the big screens. We then took a wander over to the stadium, which is seriously impressive.

All around the ground, there were kiosks for food, help and information points and activities for kids. This stuff doesn't cost a lot of money, but was clearly engaging the fans and was very well received.

We headed around to Gate 9 and after a quick frisking (oo-er) we used our barcode scanny ticket things to get through the turnstiles. The Yeovil fans were already very vocal inside - I think lubricated slightly by the concourse bar :) We managed to get a seat at the top left of the section we were given, our usual standard spot, and got an absolutely beautiful view.

I had a good feeling about the game - we were unbeaten in 3 games and Reading were typically very hit and miss. Before the game I had optimistically predicted a 2-1 win. But the game was far beyond prediction!

Reading started the brighter and for the first 20 minutes were the stronger, faster and hungrier team. We looked unsettled, panicked and off the pace. But, completely against the run of play, Alex McCarthy didn't deal with a cross and Shane Duffy headed home to give Yeovil the 1-0 lead. The stunned silence of the fans and delayed celebration said it all - how had that gone in, how were we ahead? Literally seconds before the goal The Royals fans were chanting "going down going down...."

Following the goal though, Yeovil were well on top and it was Reading's turn to look rattled and panicked. They had a few shots on target, and had the ball in the back of the net but it was disallowed for offside. A real let off for Yeovil and we went in with the 1-0 lead at the break. It slowly funneled through the fans that -  due to other results around us - we were actually outside the relegation zone on goal difference. For the first time in months! But this is Yeovil -  we don't do things the easy way do we?

Now, I haven't seen any replays so this is purely based on what I saw live in the stadium.

Reading started the second half resurgent and bright. Clearly, they had the proverbial rocket up them at half time, the usual "how can you be losing to Yeovil!?" talk. They had 5 corners in quick succession, thankfully resulting in nothing, but it epitomised the pressure we were under. I think the pressure was getting to our defence and Byron Webster apparently hauled back their forward in the box and the penalty was given. As I said, I haven't seen the incident again, so I can't really say whether it was harsh or not, but he was given a straight red. The penalty from Le Fondre was well taken and it was a brilliant save from Stech, far outstretched. We didn't repay Stech though, as we were scrambling around in the goal mouth and I think there goal was eventually given as an OG on our part, on 69 minutes.

So, 1-1, down to 10 men, with 20 minutes to go. What happened next was a farce, and I still can't entirely believe what happened.

Ralls was given a straight red for a challenge on the touchline. It didn't look like he got the ball -  fair enough. It was a booking, probably. But a straight red? The referee didn't initially look like he was even reaching for a card, but the baying crowd and being completely surrounded by the Reading players seemed to sway his decision. I sincerely hope we appeal the card because a straight red was incredibly harsh, certainly from what I saw live. I can't see it being classed as a goal-scoring opportunity on the touchline, and it certainly didn't seem malicious. But the replays will no doubt show the truth!

So down to nine men, and 15 minutes to go, and we are really hanging on at this point. There were few Reading chances on target where you thought they'd definitely score, but with the space they had to create and our tired legs, it felt like it was coming.

88 minutes, and a second yellow for Kieffer Moore for a foul which probably did warrant a yellow, took us down to 8 men. 8 MEN. Against top 6 Reading!! But our defending was absolutely sublime from this point - I never really felt, for all their pressure and lumping the ball forward - that they were going to score. The laughable 8 minutes added time played couldn't phase us. The Yeovil faithful were in good voice, willing the players on and being the 12th man, or maybe it's the 9th?

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the final whistle blew and we had gained a hugely valuable point following other results around us, in spite of the referee trying to give them every opportunity to take the lead and injuries and of course, the sendings off. The final 8 were absolute heroes today - seriously I know that word is used so often but their defending, their resolve and their strength really was heroic today. I am counting this as a massive point - definitely a point gained in the circumstances, and I take heart from the thought that had we had 11 men, I think we genuinely could have walked away with the three points today.

Nottingham Forest 2/2/14

After Derby in midweek, who just had too much class for us, I travelled back up the M1 on Sunday for the Forest game. Forest hadn't lost in 12 games, so my confidence wasn't exactly running high. We'd sold Ed Upson in the week, and signed only one player in the transfer window - a Man United youth player. Ish Miller wasn't allowed to play, as part of his loan agreement with Forest, so all in all it wasn't looking like it was going to be a promising afternoon.

We arrived at about 1 o'clock and headed to The Trent Navigation pub. It's the other side of the water to the City Ground, and so was a little quieter than the closer pubs. We'd been there before and it had a great atmosphere so felt a return was in order. We sat outside with our drinks - thankfully there was a patio heater - and were soon joined by some Forest fans - lovely chaps who were full of nothing but pessimism regarding the possible result later that afternoon. We headed round to the ground and were in by about 2 o'clock, greeted by signs saying "unreserved seating". 'Hooray, we can sit where we want' we thought, but no. We had been given the tiniest part of the stand, with the back two rows blocked off, so trying to get all the mainstay standers together was difficult. We managed to get a spot right at the back, and were allowed to stand the whole game, in spite of there being a steward immediately to our left.

The City Ground is impressive, and full of wonderful memories as I'm sure every Yeovil fan knows. We were sat just to the left of where we were on that fateful night. Could we recreate that atmosphere and incredible result?

The answer to that is a firm no. But the final scoreline of 3-1 to Forest does not in any way reflect the game. For the first 10-15 minutes, it was all Forest. We could barely get hold of the ball and the marking was none existent. They then scored, after around 15 minutes, as Stech came out to collect and their forward just slotted through his legs. I think Byron Webster probably got the last touch, but it was going in anyway. We felt like we were in for an afternoon of more punishment, but the goal seemed to spur us on however, and the next 20 minutes were all Yeovil. We were playing some lovely football at times, with Hayter and Moore working well again and a couple of shots from Ralls and Hayter just wide and at the keeper respectively. On 25 minutes, big Kieffer rose like the cliched salmon above everyone else (unusually for him, normally he gets shorter when he jumps) and headed home to make it 1-1. Game on then, and we were looking lively. Both sides had their fair share of possession but I'd say overall, the first half was pretty even, if not slightly tipped towards Yeovil. That was until on 38 minutes, when Forest scored again, a rare blunder from Stech who should have dealt with the first shot better, only parried into the path Cox who made it 2-1. The goal was massively against the run of play of the previous 5 or 10 minutes and there was no way we deserved to be behind going into half time.

After the break, we looked defensively poor but bright going forwards. Ditto for Forest in some respects, with several shots for them early on in the second half, one hitting the post and the other well saved by Stech at the post. But when we ran at them, on the deck, they looked panicked. Which is of course why we took Hayter off, and put Byron Webster up front to play long ball. Hmmm. The new lad Lawrence, who'd been brought on just before half time, seemed lively and well up for it, and very eager to impress. He closed everything down and didn't give up on anything, chasing down passes he thought he could intercept. He seemed a little naive though, as a kid is likely to be in his first Championship game. Lundstram was the opposite - he didn't seem to want to run for anything, particularly in the second half, and consistently gave the ball away. Not long before full time we had a free kick on the edge of the area that, for some reason, Lawrence took and absolutely skied over the bar. That was the chance -  that was the draw right there. But into injury time and Forest made it 3-1 in a goal mouth scramble to make the result look like a comfortable one.

A word about McAllister - he is absolutely past it. Every tackle is either late, or he goes down in a heap injured. He's at least a yard off the pace, and undisciplined. And this is our captain!! There is no way he should still be getting picked, I would rather have Lanzoni play out of position at the back than McAllister. At least Lanzoni does the simple things, and doesn't constantly pass back to the opposition. Webster should be the captain, without a doubt.

My man of the match was Luke Ayling who dealt well with their wingers forward runs and attacked at every opportunity. He never gives up and you'll always get 110% from Luke.

The next match is Leeds at home, and we don't have an away game now until March the 2nd - at Reading -which seems a lifetime away. Until then, then...

Derby Away 28/1/14

After a very successful trip to Birmingham and a not-so-successful but heartening performance at Southampton in the FA Cup (so I'm told, I wasn't there because if the ticket 'fiasco'...) we travelled up to Derby for a Tuesday night game at the iPro AKA Pride Park. Having never been to Pride Park before, I definitely wanted to do this one, and took a half day from work. We arrived at Pride Park just after 6pm, after driving around for a good 10 minutes trying to find somewhere to park. Pride Park is an industrial and office park as well as having a retail bit and the stadium, yet they do NOT want you to park there. There were the usual £10 and £5 car parks but I'm tight and refuse the pay that to literally leave my car somewhere. So we found a housing estate on Pacific Way which seemed to be well used by other football fans and made the short walk up to the stadium.


Night matches always have that tangible atmosphere, I'm not sure what it is about them but something just feels really different. I felt quite confident about the game after recent performances and felt we could at least get something out of it if we held our own. We wandered round to the ticket office only to be told it was pay on the gate. We got to the gate, only to be told it was a barcode entry, and we needed to get a ticket. There was an away ticket sales booth, but there was no one there, and we had to wait 10 minutes for anyone to turn up - this was at 6:45 and counting down to less than an hour to kick off. The game was also being advertised as £26 around the stadium when we had all been told £23, but thankfully I managed to keep the extra 3 quid in my pocket. Piss ups and breweries...

We did finally get into the stadium and what an impressive stadium it is! Even with the wonky roofs and only being a little more than half full. We picked a spot top left of goal (of course), not that there was much choice with the small section they had cordoned off for us. Fans slowly started to filter in and it seemed we may even hit the 200 mark. Singing began in earnest and didn't stop for pretty much the entirety of the game. Derby fans were extremely quiet, until the end, of course.

The game itself... well. You couldn't make this stuff up really, though this is Yeovil so nothing surprises me any more :) For the first 10/15 minutes we were chasing shadows and couldn't get hold of the ball. Derby were very "professional" as per Birmingham, making the very best of every foul and conning the ref into free kick after free kick. But once we matched their pace and managed to keep more possession, we really started to hold our own. The first goal however was entirely against the run of play, with a low Johnny Lundstram shot from a good 20 yards out beating the keeper. Just moments before that Derby had hit the post, and a rare slice from Stech not dealt with my Ayling almost gifted them another clear sight of goal. Our confidence was running high after that though and just 9 minutes later on 34 minutes, Ish Miller slotted home at the far post from what seemed to be an impossible angle with a really classy finish at the near post. 2-0 up in the first half and our heads were up, and all we really needed to do was keep it tight, and more of the same for the second half.

Of course, Derby weren't exactly going to sit back in the second half, they were going to come at us. For large parts of the second half they almost had 4 or 5 up front, pushing us back. But we let them - we sat so deep into our own half we were constantly inviting them to run at us and made it impossible for ourselves to break. Especially as we switched to only one up front. Any chance to break was closed down by Derby without even a whimper. We gave away far too many sloppy free kicks and just could not keep possession.

Their first goal came just after half time, and it seemed only inevitable before they equalised. It took until the 87th minute though, and we were seriously hanging on by this point. We were absolutely dead on our feet. I think the first 20 minutes where we were literally chasing everything and trying to match their pace completely shattered us. A free kick carelessly given away by Upson gifted them a chance in the dying seconds and they made it 3-2 in 90+5 minutes of added time. The fact there had only been 4 minutes of added time announced made it sting all the more -  the whistle should have been blown long before. Stech wasn't at fault for any of the goals in my opinion, we just weren't closing down and seeing the game out like we should have. But we are Yeovil - we don't see games out. 2-0 is always a dangerous scoreline for us and we seem to have resorted to the Skivo tactic of putting as many men behind the ball as possible to protect a lead.

It was a long old trip back to Aldershot pretty much in silence as I was far too gutted to listen to any music or try to forget the game. On the way out of the stadium several Derby fans stopped us and said they were gutted for us and felt sorry for us - easy to say once you've beaten us in the last bloody minute. My man of the match was Ayling as he was always hassling them, going forward and tracking back, and always trying to create something. Special mentions for Miller and Lundstram too, for the goals. Moore was poor today and I don't think he knows how to jump. He seems to get shorter whenever he tries. I would have preferred to see Miller with Hayter today -  Derby just had far too much class for us without.

Now we have Forest on Sunday, another trip back up to the Midlands. Seeing as we're a bit of a bogey team for Forest I like to think we'll get something out of it, but after Derby who knows. I think that will be a major psychological blow for the lads and could take some getting over.

Birmingham City 18/1/14

After the abysmal showing at Huddersfield, I wasn't sure why, but I felt pretty good about the Birmingham game. We'd beaten Leyton Orient in the cup 4-0 at home, and had lost to Burnley 2-1 in the league. Birmingham hadn't won at home in a good few games, so I was optimistic. A relatively "local" game for me, I didn't leave the house until 10am, and made it just before 12 o'clock. Easy enough to find, and all around St Andrews there was ample free on-street parking. We wandered down into the city centre and found The White Swan for a quick drink and a cheese and onion cob (roll , for you Southerners and bap for the Northerners!) before taking a leisurely stroll back to the ground. The stewards were very well organised, with load of them prepared for checking our bags and directing us to our turnstiles. We were actually given a ticket in spite of paying on the day which I'm always grateful for - I like to keep my tickets on a corkboard at home as a memento of the trip.

On entering the ground it was very clear it was an ex-Premier League ground. A large concourse area with big screen TV's and very swish food outlets. We were allowed to sit wherever we wanted with no bother from the stewards and stood for the whole game.

On to the game, and initially the starting line up made me groan. Kieffer Moore starting? The new left back starting who hadn't played a competitive game since September? We heard before the game that Hoskins had recently undergone surgery and was going to be out for a few weeks. It didn't fill me with confidence. But how wrong I was!

Early pressure and possession from Birmingham made it feel like more of the Huddersfield-same, but it soon became an end-to-end affair. On 12 minutes, Hayter slotted home his first of the day from a pretty much gifted chance, to send the Yeovil faithful into uproar. Quickly after, the Brum keeper had to make a brilliant double save to keep us out. Kieffer Moore could have done better, but he certainly atoned himself in the remainder of the game. He was drawing defenders away from Hayter to give him space to  move and create, and in the 19th minute Hayter drived it home again, sending us into complete elation!

The new left back - Bakayogo from Leicester - got injured towards half time, off the ball, with what looked like him turning awkwardly and his knee giving way. He was subbed off which was a real shame because up to that point, he looked solid and confident and certainly not like a player who hadn't had any game time since September. His replacement, McAllister, also went down with an injury when it looked like he had pulled his back, and fell to the ground again off the ball. He too had to be substituted, replaced by Lanzoni.

Even with two enforced changes however, we looked to be in control in spite of the possession stats (only 33% to Yeovil). We were playing some lovely passing football at times with class build up and several good shots on target. Birmingham, for all their nice approach play and skill, had no end product and poor finishing.  Just before half time, Moore was brought down for a definite penalty, which on the radio they said could even have been a red card but the referee bottled it. The referee had a poor game, yet again we never seem to get the rub of the green from officials. Birmingham were very "professional" -  making the most of every challenge and diving at every opportunity. And they have the audacity to call us the cheats after the cup game!? There were no real moments when I felt like they were certain to score, but that may have been down to buoyant confidence :) Stech however did make some class saves, and I would say he was a contender for man of the match.

But for a change it's difficult to pick a man of the match because everyone played so well and not because we're picking from a bad lot. Initially Grant was on the fringes but came into it especially into the second half. Hayter was class and I felt he worked very well with Moore. Ayling made some fantastic challenges at key moments to stem their forward charge. Webster cleared pretty much everything lofted up to him and again made some class last-ditch tackles. Edwards and Ralls worked hard - seriously I cannot single out a fault today. Perhaps I am still on cloud nine or perhaps its the several beers!!

I was unable to get tickets for Southampton in the cup so unless more are released, my next game is the night match against Derby on Tuesday the 28th, bring it on!

Huddersfield Away 29/12/13

Having missed Barnsley due to finances (bloody Christmas...) and Bournemouth due to family Christmas party obligations (and eating wayyyy too much food), my latest Yeovil away trip was to Huddersfield after the epic win at Watford.

I drove up to my dad's in Leicestershire and he drove the rest of the way. We made it to Huddersfield at around 1pm, and headed just around the corner from our free on street parking space to Ricky's pub. Turns out it's a strip club by night, but it was decent enough by day! After a swift pint of cider we headed around to the Galpharm John Smith's Stadium and paid on the gate (very old school). £23 quid for us and yet £26 quid for them. Worth it, as it turns out...

Selfie at the John Smith's stadium

We were woeful. Embarrassing. Abysmal. Whichever your adjective of choice. 

We scored first, arguably against the run of play, in the 14th minute with a decent finish from Miller at close range from a corner after a lot of pinging around in the box. And.... then it fell apart. 3-1 down before half time from a free header and tap ins. We conceded two in the second half, decent strikes from range the pair of them but I was barely watching at this point. 

The game was immaterial by the end as the calls for Gary Johnson's head from some fans and the fact Gary had been missing for large parts of the second half overshadowed discussion.

I recorded my thoughts on the long old poke home, apologies for sound quality and ranting but it was much easier than writing everything down!

Huddersfield Away Soundcloud Clip

My next game is Birmingham away on the 18th of January, let's hope I have better things to discuss!

Watford - 30/11/13

Having not made a game since Middlesbrough due to being on holiday for Leeds and unable to get the day off for Doncaster, I was really looking forward to the game at Middlesbrough. Recent results didn't fill me with much optimism, but the chance to see a ground I'd never been to against a side Yeovil had never played before was a good one.

I set off at 10:30 with this being a "home" game for me - barely an hour down the road on the M25 for me from Aldershot. The main thing I noticed coming in to Watford was that there wasn't a single road sign for Vicarage Road, I ended up on the road purely by chance as I drove around. A friend told me that due to a lack of parking, they didn't want to encourage people to drive to the stadium. I worked my way back from the ground finding some free street parking around a half mile away, and there were lots of signs for pedestrians for me to follow to find my way easily back.

Having initially got into football as a young teenager following Chelsea obsessively from my armchair, I was really excited at the prospect of playing against a Gianfranco Zola side. I wanted to get to the stadium really early to bolster my chances of meeting him. As it happens, the Watford players and management all arrive at the same time, by coach, around 1:20pm. I thought this was a nice touch - they all arrive together, and all leave together, which I think really shows unity. Having waited over an hour... I was extremely excited to be able to have my photo with Zola and found myself reverting to that young teenager again!

Me and Gianfranco Zola! I have never looked so pale...

We grabbed a (very lovely) bacon cheeseburger from a van next to the ground (we were pushed for time... don't judge!) and entered the ground. The ground... well. Ramshackle barely covers it for the most part! They only have 3 stands at the moment as one has been demolished to build a whole new one, and the building site does leave a little to be desired...

The rest of the stadium seemed a little run down but the stands themselves were fairly decent, especially the home ends.

I was feeling strangely optimistic come kick off - no idea why. Perhaps the new signings we'd made in midweek - two strikers and a midfielder. We've seriously been lacking strike power this season and had been crying out for new some blood in that regard so I was looking forward to getting a good look at them at Watford. More on them later.

The game itself... well let's start from the beginning. In the first five minutes, we seemed a little panicked at the back at Watford repeatedly ran at us. We managed to get into our stride quickly however, with a great last ditch tackle from Davis in the box and some great clearances from Duffy. Watford then had a shot at the near post which pinged around the box and finally hit Davis on the back (which he seemed to know little about) which was then hurridly collected by Dunn. While Watford had a lot of space in our half, lots of chances and a few decent shots on goal, there were no efforts where I genuinely thought "this is going in". We meanwhile were playing some lovely passing football on the deck, with a few chances here and there but no killer breakthrough. And then it came, in the one minute of added time, when Byron Webster rose like the cliched salmon to head in corner. Absolute elation from the amazing travelling Yeovil support. 945 of us were going absolutely mental as we were trying to remember how one actually celebrates a goal!

Going in to half time a goal ahead is always a dodgy position to be in, especially when you're Yeovil. In the past we've always come out a different side in the second half, and it's hard to really pinpoint why - sitting back, complacency? Who knows. But at Watford, that wasn't the case. we came out stronger, faster, better. For all their possession, corners and flair, Watford's finishing was absolutely woeful and the onslaught from Yeovil going forward was relentless. We soaked up the pressure with relative ease, with Byron Webster and Duffy absolutely class. We made it 2-0 on 53 minutes when -  shockingly -  A STRIKER SCORED!!!! Brand new signing Ishmael Miller, on loan from Forest, headed in from a few yards out. It was well taken as it looked like he was going to miss by a mile. Absolute mayhem in the away end as people fell from rows above onto the fans below them and down onto the terrace between the seats! How was this happening? We weren't only winning 2-0, but deservedly so, and we were playing really WELL. Watford threw everything at us, with corner after corner after corner. They had more possession, sure, but we were always going forward whenever we got hold of the ball and in my opinion, always looked dangerous. And right at the death, after the board went up for injury time, Joe Edwards slotted home a really decent finish to make it 3-0 and to cement what had been a brilliant performance, pretty much from start to finish.

Thew new players -  Morgan ran his socks off and while he didn't get on the end of anything, he looked lively. Miller really put himself about and bothered the Watford defence at all times and his finish was well taken, cooly and calmly. Great to see him get on the score sheet early and hopefully bolster his confidence. And Lundstram in midfield was absolutely class  - where he gets his energy from I don't know but he closed everything down and ensured everything was kept tight in midfield.

Overall performances were fantastic. There was the usual slicing from Ayling and the usual giving-the-ball-away from Upson but generally, we were class. And I don't just mean that as a Yeovil fan - we were objectively a million times better than we have been for months, we looked confident and assured. My man of the match was Lundstram -  I think he will be a serious asset for us during his loan.

I picked up a few cans of cider (sorry, purists!) on the way home and celebrated a wonderful day all round, and an epic victory for the Town! Onwards an upwards, with my next game at Barnsley. This is a real winnable game, with us now off the bottom of the Championship and Barnsley taking our place.

Enjoy your weekend Yeovil fans.... I know I will!