Yeovil Town (A) League 1 Tuesday 1/12/09.

[Asps]

Good stuff from PJD & Bath.

There was definitely no doubt it was Parkin's goal?

[Wyrley_saddler]

In my opinion that was our BEST performance of the season.

We didn't just play well as individuals but we played well as a team in what where very difficult conditions. A well deserved victory, we attacked in the first half and deserved to go 2-0 up. There goal was just sloppy defending.

Then came the 2nd, tables turned with the wind and rain now in our faces. We soaked up the pressure. Hughes was immense at the back as was Bradley in the middle. Then on come Nicholls with a few to go, quick break, scuffed shot goes to Parkin who seemed to have about 3 attempts to finally get it in, but it did finally go in.

Fantastic performance, my MOTM was Hughes closely followed by Bradley.

[Welsh_Saddler]

As has already been said, the conditions were not ideal for purist football tonight - a driving wind with constant rain blowing from one end to the other, constantly. Walsall won the toss and (quite rightly) elected to play with the wind and rain at their backs for the first half. Right from the start we were chasing for every ball, harrying every Yeovil player in the tackle, and in the first minute we had a couple of shots (long range) to test the effect of the wind. On four minutes we took the lead, lovely play down the right wing saw a perfect cross which was met by an unstoppable Byfield header. I think the cross came from Jones, who was a constant thorn in the Yeovil defence, showing real pace and determination. We carried on playing in this vein for another quarter of an hour, and it paid off in the 19th minute when another right wing move saw Deeney joining in to help near the corner flag. Deeney received the ball and crossed for Jones to score. 2-0 after 19 minutes - this surely couldn't be the same side that reportedly folded against Brentford, surely? They must have had a real going over from Messrs Hutchings and O'Connor in the meantime.

Play settled down a bit after that, and Yeovil came more into the game. Truth to tell, they are not a bad footballing side and they had their tactics for playing into the gale force wind just about right - for all the world it looked like route one hoofball, but they were using the wind to hold the ball up. A lofted ball played into the inside left or inside right channels started to cause all sorts of problems, and it was no real surprise when they did get a goal back. A bit of a scrambled affair, but they all count, as we were to find out later on. Half-time came with the score at 1-2 to Walsall, and although we (the travelling South Wales contingent) were pleased with the scoreline, we were also very aware of what the second half held in store - playing into this driving wind and rain (which showed no signs of abating). Memories of Clayton Ince's famous clearing kick which got caught by the wind, resulting in the ball going back over his own goal for a corner.... I said it was at Blackpool, others insisted it had been at Yeovil - anyone know for sure??

The second half started (predictably) with Yeovil trying to do just what we had done in the opening minutes of the first half. With the conditions in their favour they tried their utmost to take advantage of the weather. They were, however, up against a Walsall defence which played magnificently, clearing the lines time and time again. I really could not pick out a best player, they were all that good. Fair enough, some of the kicked clearances didn't find a Walsall shirt, but you have to make allowances, and Ince really didn't have a save to make. Like Yeovil, we tried "lumping it" into the wind, but it never really worked out and we reverted to keeping it on the deck, with some really good passing movements. Three substitutes were used as the second half progressed, and they were valuable if for no other reason than they provided fresh legs for the aggresive chasing game that we had adopted from the start. Byfield left the field to loud cheers from the travelling fans - he had taken a couple of knocks in the first half, and was clearing limping. Richards (who actually had a good game) went off shortly afterwards, and Parkin was brought on with about five minutes to go. By that time we had resorted to playing the ball into the corners to use up some time, and from one of those scrambles the ball was squirted into the middle, where first Nicholls and then Parkin used various means to try and (a) fall over the ball, or (b) kick it into the ground and bury it. Eventually Parkin ran out of options - he had tried his best to fail to score, but at the sixth or seventh time of asking he accidentally guided the ball into the net. Deep joy.

I can't really sum up individual players, as there wasn't a weak link in the whole team - truly. Even Clayton's kicking was good, and he managed to aim his dead-ball kicks so that a Walsall player could head it on. In the second half it was an achievement for him to get the ball anywhere near the half-way line. Deeney worked his socks off, as did Byfield, and Jones had the workrate (and the pace) to cause big problems to the Yeovil defence. Mattis put himself about in the usual fasion, and Hughes and Sansara will have flattened foreheads by now after their defensive clearing efforts.

The "Cornish" pasties, at £3, were not cheap, but they were large, heavy and hot - very satisfying, as was the Bovril - full marks to Yeovil's catering people. And full marks to Yeovil's ground administrators as well... the "Away End" is actually completely open, behind the goal on the receiving end of the weather, so they cordoned off a suitable area of the main stand, and we were able to watch the game in reasonable comfort (sitting) and covered from the elements.

Some other esults went our way, notably MK Dongs losing, and Huddersfield only drawing at home to Tranmere. So we are now 7th, one point off the play-offs. An interesting observation in the programme - they had a "form table" - i.e. a League table based on all clubs' most recent six games....... on that basis we are second to Leeds!!!

A big thank-you also to Chester Saddler (Neil) who provided the transport, and it was a pleasure to meet another UTS'er (andypandy), who I feel sure will eventually get over his partial affiliation to Brentford....... a great night out in all respects.

[Exile]

[bitter mode] why couldn't we do this at Brentford? [/bitter mode]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Great result, made better because I didn't see us getting 3 points from this one.

Well done the lads, and the management. Faith restored.

[Cully]

Good stuff from PJD & Bath.

There was definitely no doubt it was Parkin's goal?

..........and Welsh. Really enjoyed reading those this morning :D


Apparently, Asps has succeeded in raising other revenue streams to UTS running costs which exceed both his and Metfanwys contribution so far, so I'm surprised that our budding Stan Flashman is bothered about a measely fiver :wink:

[Asps]

Good stuff from PJD & Bath.

There was definitely no doubt it was Parkin's goal?

..........and Welsh. Really enjoyed reading those this morning :D


Apparently, Asps has succeeded in raising other revenue streams to UTS running costs which exceed both his and Metfanwys contribution so far, so I'm surprised that our budding Stan Flashman is bothered about a measely fiver :wink:

:lol:
Yes but that was a one off opportunity the Asps/Metfanny duel has a long way to go yet, unless of course play off game tickets become scarce and the other revenue stream can be resurrected.

[philthesaddler]

Good result, but Im not getting excited. We're just as capable of playing like we did against Brentford, and we wont strengthen in January, when have we ever strengthened in January?

Still, I stayed up for half an hour last night watching Sky Sports News as they kept promising to show goals from League 1, when they finally finished banging on about the Irish getting to the World Cup, they showed all but 3 of the games in League 1, and Walsall was in that threesome.

[KJC]

Cracking result!

Well done the lads!

[chestersaddler]

Well they say football is a funny old game, but I'm baffled. Talk about from the ridiculous to the sublime. How does the team go from Saturday (the less said about that the better) to this performance of grit and determination and no little skill, just three days later?

It wasn't pretty tonight, the weather put paid to that, but Walsall dealt far more effectively with the awful conditions than Yeovil did. As Bristol said, Hughes was superb, especially second half playing against the wind, when he tidied up time and time again, effectively snuffing out the Yeovil threat. Deeney and Byfield both put in a shift, defending from the front and when they were replaced by Nicholls and Parkin, they combined to set up the third goal (although Nicholls part in the goal was tripping over the ball when trying to shoot! :D) It was a battle in the middle of the park as you'd expect and Mattis and Bradley both got stuck in. The wide four all played their part, both in battling to win the ball, but also making themselves available for the ball when an outlet was needed. I could have a couple of minor niggles, but I won't bother as it seems petty after such a great performance. Also, Hutch got his substitutions spot on, both in terms of personnel and timing.

It seems harsh to pick out a man of the match as everyone in the team seemed to be busting a gut for the win, but my vote goes to Hughes for a real captains performance. I've not felt this proud to be a Saddler for a long time.

That more or less sums it up for me PJD. I did not go on Saturday and therefore find it hard to understand how this could be the same team that I read about on Sunday. Everyone played there part, but I would agree that the centrebacks, particularly Hughes were superb in the second half keeping Yeovil to a couple of half chances, which given the strong wind was a fantastic effort.

Great night - lovely to meet Welsh and SWS1. also met Andypandy who admits to being more of a lurker than a poster. My first visit to Yeovil -friendly club, great pastys and even a bowl of flowers in the gents!

UTS

[Duke]

Excellent result , I'd go as far as to say result of the season to date.

Bearing in mind the conditions and the dissapointment at Brentford.

A big well done lads .

[aaaae]

Memories of Clayton Ince's famous clearing kick which got caught by the wind, resulting in the ball going back over his own goal for a corner.... I said it was at Blackpool, others insisted it had been at Yeovil - anyone know for sure??

Twas definitely Yeovil.

Byfield left the field to loud cheers from the travelling fans - he had taken a couple of knocks in the first half, and was clearing limping. Richards (who actually had a good game) went off shortly afterwards

Sorry to be a pedant, but Richards went off first.

first Nicholls and then Parkin used various means to try and (a) fall over the ball, or (b) kick it into the ground and bury it. Eventually Parkin ran out of options - he had tried his best to fail to score, but at the sixth or seventh time of asking he accidentally guided the ball into the net. Deep joy.

Welsh, I absolutely love this description of the goal! Very funny and spot on.

The "Cornish" pasties, at £3, were not cheap, but they were large, heavy and hot - very satisfying, as was the Bovril - full marks to Yeovil's catering people.

The pasties were indeed huge! I really enjoyed the fact that Walsall and Yeovil fans shared the facilities (bogs and food) without an ounce of hostility. Sometimes its great to be a league one fan.

And full marks to Yeovil's ground administrators as well... the "Away End" is actually completely open, behind the goal on the receiving end of the weather, so they cordoned off a suitable area of the main stand, and we were able to watch the game in reasonable comfort (sitting) and covered from the elements.

I kept looking over to the terrace thinking, thank god I'm not standing over there!

[swiftyboy]

Good result, but Im not getting excited. We're just as capable of playing like we did against Brentford, and we wont strengthen in January, when have we ever strengthened in January?

Still, I stayed up for half an hour last night watching Sky Sports News as they kept promising to show goals from League 1, when they finally finished banging on about the Irish getting to the World Cup, they showed all but 3 of the games in League 1, and Walsall was in that threesome.

No change to the usual then Phil!

[saddlerJP]

Great Result last night. A proper smash and grab. We didn't have to much possession but dealt with everything yeovil threw at us. Hughes was a rock. Byfield and Deeney ran them selves into the ground. Parkin's goal was comical but hopfully will have done him the world of good. Bring on the saints!!

[aaaae]

Oh and that bloody drummer!! Tedious in the extreme...

[Duke]

Byfield praise for fans.

http://www.saddlers.co.uk/page/News/0,, ... 50,00.html

[Jorge14]

The comments remind me of what was said after the Doncaster game in the 'Dann and Fox' season. A real, hard-earned win can do more for a team than an absolute rout.

[thickkearns]

great game Hughes MOTM for me .. highlight of evening was before the kick off subs warming up with mick Kearns, O'Keefe sent one over the stand , so Mick kearns made him fetch the ball !!!! could you ever see that happening in prem ? No way !!!!

[longdogs]

Just watched the highlights on Saddlers Player. How much space did Yeovil give Byfield for the first goal???

[bleed_red_n_white]

I think Parkin did well for the goal to get it away before there defender got there, the conditions were terrible, Nicholls lay off was brilliant though :lol:

[philthesaddler]

Just seen the goals, the 3rd goal is hilarious. Nicholls has a comedy moment and the ball somehow ends up at Parkins feet, Parkin then slips, stumbles, a stumble which confuses the keeper, then Parkin knocks it in. :lol:

[aaaae]

Just seen the goals, the 3rd goal is hilarious. Nicholls has a comedy moment and the ball somehow ends up at Parkins feet, Parkin then slips, stumbles, a stumble which confuses the keeper, then Parkin knocks it in. :lol:

Welsh's description was spot on!!

[portlandbill]

First game this season, just couldn't be bothered. However I would just like to ask who the young bloke , playing up front was. He actually was a dead wringer for Troy Deeney, but it could not have been him. No one could have improved that much!
The game was very enjoyable, and I was impressed by Jones and Hughes, neither of whom I had seen play for us before.

[latviancheese]

Nicholls with a perfect miss kick :lol:

thought parkin did well to actually get the ball in the net after he'd slipped.