Yeovil Town were held by Weymouth once again after an entertaining derby day clash at Huish Park.
Yeovil Town were held by Weymouth once again after an entertaining derby day clash at Huish Park.
After a poor first half where the visitors opened the scoring through Sean Shields, the Glovers came out in the second half with a point to prove.
Adi Yussuf forced an own goal with less than ten minutes played in the second half, but Darren Sarll’s side lacked that final killer touch when chasing a winner.
There were just two changes to the side that beat Woking last weekend, both of which were enforced. With Tom Knowles and Mark Little suspended, Jack Robinson and Yussuf returned to the fold.
Starting fast has been a feature of Yeovil’s game this season, but their start was quite the opposite, with Weymouth taking the lead with four minutes on the clock. Sonny Blu Lo-Everton was caught napping, with the visitors pouncing on his loose pass and finding Shields at the back post to take the lead.
In truth, Weymouth looked the more likely to score the second goal of the game, as it took until the 21st minute For Yeovil to fashion their first opening. Lo-Everton, eager to atone for his earlier error, found Charlie Wakefield in acres of space who shot from the edge of the box and forced a corner.
Wakefield was Town’s sole route to goal in the first half, but the ball in behind for him did not come often enough, and when it did, it was almost always wayward.
At the break, it was clear Yeovil had much to improve. Sarll looked to his bench for an impact as Reuben Reid replaced Lo-Everton.
It took just three minutes for Reid to make himself a handful, meeting Jordan Barnett’s dangerous corner but saw his header hit the roof of the net.
However, with 52 minutes on the clock, Yeovil found the leveller their start to the second half deserved. Barnett, who had pushed further forward following the interval, dropped the ball back for Yussuf who saw his effort take a heavy deflection off Tyler Corner to level the game.
The goal rejuvenated the Glovers, and with a noise Thatcher’s Stand willing them on, they looked the far more likely side to score. Yet, chances came and went for Town and the next best opening actually fell Weymouth’s way, with Grant Smith forced into a save from earlier goal scorer Shield’s as he found himself unmarked six yards from goal.
Straight back down the other end, the threatening Wakefield burst in behind and put the ball just wide of Fitzsimmon’s goal.
As the game grew on, Sarll looked to his bench once again, which saw the welcome return of Lawson D’Ath from a long injury lay-off. He looked sharp, beating Weymouth players on several occasions and offered a creative edge that was previously lacking.
However, clear-cut chances still didn’t fall, forcing Town into efforts from distance, most notably from Morgan Williams who forced a save from Fitzsimmons.
In the dying moments, Weymouth were reduced to ten as Omar Mussa received his second yellow card of the game. There was only a matter of seconds remaining following this, yet Town found time for one more chance. Following pinball in the box, the ball fell to Yussuf who couldn’t quite get a clean connection on his effort to condemn Yeovil to another 1-1 draw with the fierce rivals.
Yeovil Town: Smith; Robinson, Wilkinson, Barclay, Williams; Gorman, Worthington (D’Ath), Barnett (Bradley); Lo-Everton (Reid), Wakefield, Yussuf
Bookings: Worthington, Wilkinson, Robinson
Subs not used: Evans, Stephens
