March 2022

March 2022
During the month of March, Yeovil Town F.C played 3 League matches and 1 FA Cup fixture.

They ended the month 11th in the League.

Premier League: MD28
"We are a little disappointed that our little run had come to an end, but I guess falling to the league leaders at their home isn't the worse way to go! We were in the game and always looked like we could score, but their quality came through and they had us under control.

The good news is that we play them again next weekend in the FA Cup! Again. Huish Park. Can never rule us out of getting a result, though we are far from being full strength. It's going to be a very mixed side!

We recalled L. Price (#18) and I. Lewis (#10) to help ease the strain. Lewis is a week or so away from being fit, so C. Duffus will continue to lead the line like today. We also promoted young Irish kid Mark O'Conor (#29) from the academy. We've been keen to aid his development for some time as he's performing tremendously in our development squad. Still only 18, he'll get some chances from now until the end of the season. It's really make or break for these kids. This is the level they need to be at. Impress right now and they'll have a future. But failing to do so may mean being loaned out. We like fairytales here, but they have to make it happen.

And although he is out injured, S. Mounie picked up a worthy POTM in the league for February! He has been an exceptional player for us. Although we may not see much more of him for the remainder of the season, we have his goals to thank for our current position. We just need about 5 more wins and then we can feel safe. Right now only 6 points separate 11th from 18th. There's a lot of teams between us, so I don't think we risk falling down the table. But we have to be careful, especially with these injuries."

FA Cup: Quarter-finals
"I think there is only so much agony a team can inflict on us in one season. Thankfully, that's the last we'll see of United this season!

I believed that we always needed to score 2 to win this. Towards the end, I was prepared for a replay but when you have a player like Pogba able to execute a finish like that from the bench, it's impossible to rule out a late goal from them. "But it was a good performance really. Honestly, I am so not worried about this team at the moment. We're out of the FA Cup, but we have a lot to celebrate already and it's just a matter of time before we confirm Premier League survival. We just need to get there as soon as we can."

Premier League: MD29
Burnley Post-match Interview

"I can only apologise to the fans today.

That was not good enough and I feel humiliated. Perhaps gloating about our victory at their place backfired. They're in a relegation scrap and we just set up prepared for the football to just flow in our favour. But I stressed that we now have to work twice as hard because we are missing so many players. But certain players really underperformed tonight and downed tools early on.

I'm just sorry it had to be this one. All I can hope is that Burnley stays up so we can get revenge next season. This can't be our last meeting for however long it might be. And with Paulinho being the 2nd highest goal scorer in the league, they at least have a player they can depend on to get them out of trouble.

The only good news I have from this is that we think Lasse Sorensen is ready for training and he'll be back next month. That's it. I am sorry."

Premier League: MD30
"I am pleased with today, but I still think the Burnley result is a shadow that has been following us all week. But we've learned our lessons and today was a huge improvement.

Lasse Sorensen stressed that he ready for today and I took a chance on him. I think the goal was simply to repay my belief and it was great to see how much it meant to him. And as great as he and Benkovic were, today was all about Derik Osei Yaw. A well-taken penalty and 3 assists almost guarantee his title of most assists for the league, which is a huge testament to his ability! We believed he would rise to such heights and we're incredibly pleased for him.

A great clash against Leicester in a few days will allow us to squeeze ourselves into the top ten and reduce the risk of falling into the relegation scrap. We can't take that for granted after the Burnley result."

YeoLaTengo Monthly Review
It feels like we've gone from the best month the club has experienced to one of the worst. Well, it's far from the worst. But it's still a tough pill to swallow after the pure bliss of February!

Losing to Manchester United is understandable. They're the best team in the country right now and while we put up a good fight, sometimes that's just not enough. But then we came to Burnley... With a long history between us, it felt as though we had conquered our curse by defeating them twice in such a short space period of time in the first half of the season. But with the wounds still open, fans angry and battling to escape the relegation zone, we got slapped on the jaw with a sledgehammer.

The importance of that clash is so strong that for many fans, they will be more upset about that defeat than Premier League survival, beating them twice and winning a trophy!

The kids have been OK since their return. Price hit a brace against Burnley but was pretty average in the match itself. Lewis has struggled to create much for himself but he has allowed the players around him to flourish. M. O'Conor earned some minutes from the bench but he was far from being up to speed. But you can't really blame him. But with Sorensen and Kelly coming back, our midfield crisis is eased and we should be balanced enough to get through to the end of the season now!

YeoLaTengo Player of the Month
This month was all about our Croatian wizard Lovre Benkovic! He returned to fitness last month, hit the ground running and had just as an impactful month in March! His brace against Cardiff with 2 identical chips past a falling keeper is well worth rewatching and his assists against Manchester United contributed to our valiant effort in the battle against them. Hopefully, he can continue his form until the end of the season!

League Table Preview
A snapshot of Yeovil Town in the Premier League, with the teams in close proximity.