Post-Match Report: U19 vs Eastleigh (A)

Yeovil Town Under 19s were beaten 6-1 on the road against Eastleigh in the Alliance National League, in what proved to be a challenging afternoon despite signs of improvement in performance.

Disrupted Preparation and Squad Changes

A delayed arrival due to transport issues disrupted preparations ahead of kick-off, but the squad remained in positive spirits. The Glovers were without several familiar faces:

• Blake Watts travelled but missed out through injury
• Jaydon Biss and Ollie Hughes were called up to the First Team squad for the trip to Gateshead
• Harry Rooke, Archie Appleby and Charlie Watson were also unavailable due to injury
• Ryan Collins missed out following an injury sustained on Wednesday

Opportunities arose for others, with Riley Doherty stepping in between the posts and Seb Woods returning from long-term injury. Schoolboy Charlie McBain was granted day release and impressed despite being significantly younger than much of the opposition.

A makeshift defence saw Archie Bryce and Kyron Sims fill central roles, with players adapting to unfamiliar positions across the back line.

First Half

Yeovil fell behind early after conceding a free kick on the edge of the box, which was expertly dispatched into the top corner by the Eastleigh attacker.

Despite the early setback, the Glovers responded with a well-worked move through the thirds, with James Horrocks delivering a dangerous cross that narrowly evaded Liam Nardiello in front of goal.

The contest remained relatively even for a period, but Eastleigh capitalised on balls played over the top, exploiting gaps in the defensive line. A series of quick goals followed, including one created down Yeovil’s right side, leaving the visitors trailing 4-0 at the break.

Second Half

The second half brought further challenges as Liam Nardiello was shown a second yellow card and dismissed following a late challenge.

Despite being reduced to ten men, Yeovil showed resilience and began to move the ball with greater confidence, finding success in behind the Eastleigh defence.

Their efforts were rewarded when George Geraghty reacted quickest after his initial chance was saved, finishing from a tight angle to make it 5-1.

A tactical adjustment to limit Eastleigh’s deep-lying midfielders caused the hosts some problems, but Yeovil were unable to convert further opportunities. Eastleigh eventually added a sixth goal late on to seal a 6-1 victory.

Manager’s Thoughts

Speaking after the game, Jamie Phillip remained positive despite the scoreline:

“I don’t want the boys to be disheartened as the performance was much better than Wednesday’s, even though the scoreline doesn’t reflect that. The boys have a lot of games this month for both ourselves and their clubs which has been a challenge to manage, it’s a horrible part of the season for us, we just have to keep going.”

”I wasn’t happy on Wednesday due to the lack of effort from the lads which was clearly back up from the data and footage. We allowed players to run through us without making the tackles, didn’t attempt to stop any of their shots and not brave enough when driving forwards ourselves. Today was a completely different picture. We knew we were going to face difficulty defensively today but didn’t want to reshape the team and take away our qualities when building and going forwards & I was happy with the chances we created today”.

He also highlighted the broader success of the programme:

“Our main results are all off the pitch. We’ve had three first team debuts this season and five or six players training with the first team over the last couple of weeks, which is what the programme is all about.”

Off-screen, Phillip also praised Alec Thomas, noting his standout performance and athleticism. He mentioned how much effort he puts into his first 3 yard movements and demonstrates all the required behaviours individually.

What’s Next?

The U19s now have a short break before returning to training next Tuesday, as they prepare for their next Alliance National League fixture against Weston-super-Mare on Wednesday.

Kick off 12:00 at Alvington.