Yeovil Town had to settle for a point away from home after a 1-1 draw with Aldershot Town at the Recreation Ground on Tuesday night.
The Glovers led through Slavi Spasov’s early goal, but their task became considerably harder when Loick Ayina was sent off before half-time. Yeovil played for more than an hour with 10 men before Michee Efete scored Aldershot’s equaliser in the second half.
Spasov gives Yeovil the lead
Yeovil started brightly, with James Daly restored to the starting line-up and quickly making an impact on the left. He won an early corner, which Ryan Jones delivered into a dangerous area, although Joe Gubbins could not add to his goal tally.
The visitors’ pressure was rewarded after 12 minutes. Gubbins, Jones and Zain Westbrooke combined to create space in the penalty area before the ball was slid across to Spasov, who finished from close range to put Yeovil 1-0 ahead.
The match then became increasingly physical, with both teams conceding free-kicks. Hayden Muller was booked for a tackle before Ayina’s dismissal became the major incident of the first half.
Ayina failed to control a clearance and, while trying to win the ball back, made a high challenge on an Aldershot player. He was shown a red card in the 29th minute, forcing Yeovil to reorganise. Muller moved back into the defence, while goalkeeper Jos Barker helped the visitors protect their advantage by claiming several crosses and clearing the danger.
Yeovil went into the interval ahead, despite having been reduced to 10 players.
Aldershot find a way back
Aldershot began the second half aggressively. Basil Tuma looked set to break through on goal, but Archie Davies produced a last-ditch tackle to stop the attack.
Yeovil continued to threaten on the counter-attack. Brett McGavin came close to doubling the lead in the second half when his shot went underneath Jonathan Macauley and appeared to be heading over the line. The Aldershot goalkeeper recovered quickly and clawed the ball back.
That save proved important. Within 60 seconds, Aldershot levelled when a deep cross was headed back across goal and scrambled into the net. Michee Efete made his presence felt at the back post as the home side made it 1-1 in the 66th minute.
Yeovil made a change shortly after the hour, with Luke McCormick replacing Spasov. Conor Lawless was later booked for a foul on McCormick, while Westbrooke and Muller also went into the referee’s notebook during a match that featured a series of challenges and stoppages.
Late frustration for the Glovers
McCormick thought he had restored Yeovil’s lead late on after Daly chased down a loose ball near the edge of the pitch and squared it to him. However, the goal was ruled out after the referee judged that Daly had committed a foul.
Jones was replaced by Mason Obeng in the 84th minute after an evening in which he had caused problems for the Aldershot defence. Yeovil then had to withstand the home side’s late pressure and held on for a share of the points.
The result left both teams with a point from a match in which Yeovil had taken an early lead but spent most of the contest with a numerical disadvantage. The match was played at 7.45pm on Tuesday 15 September in the National League Premier Division, in fine conditions, with Niall Smith as referee.
Yeovil’s bookings were recorded against Muller and Westbrooke, while Ayina was sent off. Aldershot’s cautions went to Dom Odusanya, Michael Stickland and Lawless.