Yeovil Town throw away two-goal lead as Billy Rowley vows to “review, recover and keep getting better”

Yeovil Town’s unbeaten start to the new season came to an end in painful fashion as Southend United overturned a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Root’s Hall.

The Glovers appeared to be in control after an hour, but Southend responded with three goals in the closing stages. Darren Oldaker’s free-kick began the turnaround before Leon Chambers-Parillon equalised and substitute Promise Omochere completed the hosts’ comeback.

The defeat leaves Yeovil with 11 points from their opening six matches. The team now has a week to recover before AFC Fylde visit Huish Park next weekend.

Yeovil lead disappears after promising start

Yeovil took the lead through Archie Davies, who scored in the first half. The visitors then doubled their advantage through captain Luke McCormick, who finished a quick break for his sixth goal of the season.

Despite the two-goal cushion, Rowley admitted Yeovil had been fortunate to reach that position. Southend grew into the match after Oldaker reduced the deficit with 24 minutes remaining, and the home side ultimately finished strongly enough to claim all three points.

Rowley said the opening Southend goal followed a foul by Jordan Norville-Williams, who he nevertheless felt had played excellently. The manager said he would review the incident, while acknowledging Oldaker’s quality from set pieces.

He described the second goal as a defensive error after Yeovil regained possession high up the pitch but gave the ball away while attempting to dribble into pressure. Chambers-Parillon then scored at the other end.

For the winner, Rowley said Yeovil’s press left defender Joe Gubbins one-on-one in the penalty area. Omochere, he added, showed outstanding athleticism to take his chance.

“The first goal was a bit of a rash tackle from Jordan (Norville-Williams), who I thought was excellent today. I’ll have to watch back the foul, but maybe he doesn’t need to make it.”

Rowley accepted that Southend had been the better team and said Yeovil probably did not deserve to win. In his assessment, even a draw would have been fortunate.

Injuries and illness force changes

The match was Yeovil’s third in eight days, following two games in three days over the Bank Holiday weekend. The squad was also without loan defender Ben Radcliffe, who withdrew because of a hamstring problem.

Rowley said Radcliffe had experienced a niggle throughout the week and decided not to risk making it worse. The manager was also forced to replace Brett McGavin after the midfielder became ill.

McGavin had been sick during the warm-up and before coming out to prepare for the match. Rowley said the player later told him he had been sick five times since being taken off and believed he had food poisoning. Although McGavin was effective with the ball, the illness had affected his energy.

McCormick also had to leave the pitch after suffering calf problems and cramp. Rowley said the changes to both midfielders were enforced, leaving Yeovil without two influential players during Southend’s comeback.

Rowley calls for a response against AFC Fylde

The manager said the result was especially disappointing because Yeovil had expected to take at least a point after moving two goals ahead. However, he urged the squad to remain united rather than allowing one defeat to overshadow the team’s strong opening to the campaign.

“It’s a good chance for us to learn, to review, to improve, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

Rowley said Yeovil have a young group, with some players still adapting to the demands of this level. He added that communication during pressing situations can be difficult and that the team had needed to depend on senior players who were already exhausted.

He said there was plenty for the squad to learn and improve, while also putting the opening six matches into perspective. Two months earlier, during pre-season, he would have accepted being in the position Yeovil now occupy.

That perspective did not remove the disappointment of losing. Rowley said he hated defeat, but believed it should make the group more determined to avoid losing regularly.

“We’re going to have to turn up (to training on) Monday, review, recover and keep getting better.”

Yeovil’s next opportunity to respond comes at Huish Park against AFC Fylde next weekend, after a week that will give the squad time to recover from its demanding run of fixtures.