Comedy of errors

WELL DONE: Chris Taylor (left) congratulates Deane Smalley (second right) after the striker had put Athletic ahead

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Yeovil 2, Athletic 2 

ATHLETIC’S game at Yeovil will stick long in the memory for two of the most comical goals you will witness in Coca-Cola League One this season.

First there was a bizarre mix up between Reuben Hazell and goalkeeper Greg Fleming which gifted the Glovers their second goal at Huish Park.

But that was matched by the spectacular own goal scored by former Athletic defender Terrell Forbes which ultimately earned the Boundary Park side a point.

The defending was slapstick at times, but it helped to add spice to a lively encounter in Somerset.

But from the perspective of both managers it was without question a horror show in terms of errors.

It was packed with incident with plenty to discuss over a pint of cider on Saturday night or for the 350 visiting fans on the 250-mile journey home.

The match was a mirror image of so many games this season when Athletic have struggled against sides in the bottom half of the table.

For some reason only top teams bring out the best in John Sheridan’s men.

It is a frustrating failing and Athletic could well live to regret the points they keep allowing to slip away against the so-called lesser lights.

They really should be challenging for a top-two automatic promotion spot rather than simply looking to finish in the top six.

While many were blaming the pitch — it resembled a ploughed field — Athletic manager Sheridan, to his credit, did not use that as an excuse for a poor performance.

It was amazing how the surface, which appeared in pristine condition at kick off, cut up and became strewn with divots.

Fleming and Chris Taylor returned after suspension with Sheridan employing the 4-3-1-2 system which worked so well against Northampton. Taylor slotted into a three-man midfield.

Deane Smalley had a chance to make an early breakthrough but Canadian ’keeper Josh Wagenaar dashed from his line to save bravely at his feet.

But it was Smalley who broke the deadlock in the 12th minute. He was released by a magnificent through ball from Kevin Maher before slotting the ball low past Wagenaar.

The joy was short-lived, however, as Yeovil were soon on level terms when striker Gavin Tomlin headed home a superbly-flighted free-kick from Andy Welsh. Fleming got to the ball, but could only help it into the roof of the net.

Sheridan switched to his usual 4-4-2 when it became obvious that the formation was not working.

But it failed to lift Athletic from their malaise as they fell behind in the 33rd minute after a terrible communications mix up between Hazell and Fleming.

Hazell pushed the pass back beyond Fleming as the ’keeper rushed from his line and Tomlin was left to almost walk the ball into the empty net.

attempted

That was surpassed by Athletic’s equaliser which followed a huge wind-assisted clearance from Fleming.

Forbes attempted to head the ball back to Wagenaar, who had advanced from his line, but the ball looped over his head into the net to restore parity with six minutes of the lively opening period still remaining.

The second half saw Taylor and Smalley swop flanks then, after Dean Windass was substituted, Smalley moved back up front as Andy Liddell was introduced on the right wing.

After the thrills and spills of the first half, the second period was a disappointment, though Athletic had a glorious chance to snatch victory with eight minutes left.

Taylor opened up the defence after a weaving run down the left flank. His low cross was cleared only as far as Smalley, who crashed a ferocious drive from 10 yards against the underside of the crossbar.

It was a bad miss and Sheridan was clearly annoyed. A chance to claim all three points had been wasted.

Who knows what might have happened if the opportunity had fallen to Lee Hughes.

Yeovil were there for the taking _ Sheridan

JOHN SHERIDAN labelled it as "possibly the worse performance of the season“ after Athletic were held to an eventful 2-2 draw at Yeovil Town.

Athletic had to settle for a share of the spoils despite leading through Deane Smalley’s early goal. Sheridan saw it as an opportunity missed in their bid for promotion from Coca-Cola League One.

He said: "I don’t want to sound too down and negative as we are up to fourth in the table.
"But with no disrespect to Yeovil, I thought the game was there for the taking. If we want to get out of this division, we have to come to places like Yeovil and win.

"When you compared this display to how we played at Leicester, we looked like two completely different sides.

"If we can beat Bristol Rovers at home tomorrow, though, and collect four points from the two games it won’t look too bad.“ Sheridan added he took no positives from the game other than the point.

He continued: "Even though we took the lead with a good goal by Deane Smalley, I don’t think we ever got going. We looked lethargic.

"It was probably the worst we have played this season and, given our performance, I have to be happy with a point and yet we could have won it at the end.

"Smalley should have scored and if he had done everybody would have come away happy with a 3-2 win.

"He tried to hit the leather off the ball and I told him he has to learn to stroke the ball in the net. It was a great opportunity to get a valuable three points.

"May be you can blame the pitch, but we didn’t control the ball or play well. I thought it was a shocking game and I was not happy with our performance because we can do a lot better than we did.

"There were a couple of poor goals and comical things going on, which mirrored the game. I thought both sides were sloppy.“ Sheridan kicked off with the same system he employed against Northampton, with Dean Windass operating behind Smalley and Lee Hughes. Chris Taylor came into the three-man midfield, with Neal Eardley missing out.

Sheridan said Eardley was unlucky to lose his place in the starting XI. Sheridan added that he switched back to 4-4-2 and made a number of other tactical changes to try to kick start his team.

New Yeovil manager Terry Skiverton believes Athletic will maintain their push for promotion. Skiverton said: "I don’t think Oldham were at their best, but they could have won it at the end when they hit the crossbar.

"Even if it was not a good game of football and they had the character to grind out a result.“