Absolute shambles!

NOWHERE TO HIDE: Athletic striker Pawel Abbott can’t bear to look after Yeovil stretch their lead at Huish Park on Saturday.

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Yeovil 3, Athletic 0

Latics get what they deserve after shocking display

REMEMBER being a child as the summer holidays approached?

All that sun made it hard to concentrate in school.

Trees were to waiting to be climbed, water guns were begging to be used and long afternoons playing jumpers-for-goalposts in the park awaited. It must have driven teachers round the bend.

Athletic were similarly distracted at Yeovil.

After securing safety last week, the most charitable thing you can say about this abysmal performance in Somerset is that the players’ minds were elsewhere — perhaps focused on a sun lounger next to the Mediterranean, or maybe working over the prospect of a new contract for next season.

The former is no doubt only a couple of weeks away for many, but few men enhanced their prospects of the latter.

One team at Huish Park looked hungry and vitalised for three points, while the other was shambolic and failed to force a single telling save from the opposition goalkeeper.

No prizes for telling which was which.

This was as bad a performance as Athletic have put in all season and represented the 23rd time in total that the team has failed to score a goal in a match this term.

After a promising sequence of results in April — 12 points from seven games was enough to stay safe in Coca-Cola League One — Dave Penney’s side badly regressed.

The 4-5-1 formation which showed up so well at Huddersfield Town despite defeat at the Galpharm Stadium, failed to function here so badly that it was jettisoned after only 27 minutes.

Alex Marrow was the casualty, Chris Taylor coming on as his replacement as a traditional 4-4-2 was adopted. Things didn’t get any better from a side barely capable of completing a 10-yard pass.

Penney’s initial line-up was a surprise, with on-loan midfielder Jim Goodwin getting a start despite only having played 45 minutes of reserve-team football in almost three months due to injury.

He looked understandably rusty and was replaced in a like-for-like substitution for Jon Worthington with 25 minutes of the game left, at which point Athletic were a goal down and heading nowhere fast with barely a whimper.

When Kirk Millar came on with 14 minutes left, Danny Whitaker — such a pivotal, creative player in recent weeks — was reduced to playing as a makeshift right-back behind the young winger.

That didn’t work either, particularly given the room with which Yeovil left-winger Andy Welsh — the home sponsors’ man-of-the-match — was constantly able to operate in.

The former Stockport County player had a field day on an afternoon in which he was given a decent helping hand along the way to resembling a combination of Garrincha, Best and Robben.

And he created the final goal for Gavin Williams, his second of the game, in the final minute to round off as comprehensive a victory as you will ever see.

Both sides started this game with one striker and a midfield battle for supremacy ensued.

The mini-war was ended after 17 minutes when Gavin Tomlin, unmarked in the area, nodded a free-kick past goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan.

The goal eased the nerves of the home fans, who knew that their side only needed a point to be all-but certain of safety from relegation.

Flahavan was forced into action again soon after to tip over Dean Bowditch’s well-struck shot, before Athletic had their best chance of the half — if you could call it that.

Lewis Guy made a burst on the left and on cutting inside into the area, his touch was far too heavy and enabled centre-back Steven Caulker to clear.

Dale Stephens warmed Alex McCarthy’s hands with a 30-yard free-kick that didn’t have him in too much trouble as Athletic continued to splutter.

But all the action was at the other end and Bowditch miscued his attempt off a Welsh cross near the penalty spot.

Marrow was taken off but the pattern of heavy pressure from a keen home side remained the same.

Hasney Aljofree — making his debut this season at centre-back, his first professional appearance since 2008 — then fired a free-kick a couple of yards over the top as the half drew to a close.

The thought was that things could only get better for Athletic, but instead they got worse.

Bowditch was sent streaking in on goal after beating the offside trap after 51 minutes, Flahavan getting down well to rush out and block.

And the same pair were in action barely 60 seconds later, Flahavan palming away after Welsh had strolled through to supply the former Ipswich striker.

When the second goal came it was as much of a surprise as Ricky Martin’s recent announcement.

Welsh’s corner was flicked out as far as Williams on the edge of the area, who fizzed a 20-yard shot back into a group of players with Stephens getting the unlucky deflection to divert it past Flahavan.

Taylor got involved in a silly spat with Williams with two minutes to go and got a yellow card, and the substitute was lucky not to see red when flicking a boot out at Craig Alcock two minutes later, summing up the visitors’ frustrations.

Then came the final goal, that man Welsh — now bedecked in pipe and slippers — puffing on a cigar before squaring for Williams to turn in a left-footed shot from close range. A bad day at the office? Doesn’t even start to cover it.




Penney: We didn’t want to win enough



DAVE Penney questioned the desire and work ethic of his players following a dismal 3-0 defeat at Yeovil.



Athletic, disjointed and sloppy throughout, were comprehensively beaten by a Yeovil side who needed just a point to make sure of their own safety in League One.

Following a good run in April which brought about three wins and three draws from seven matches, Penney was clearly annoyed by what he saw in front of him at Huish Park.

“Not a lot went right for us,” said the Athletic manager, following a headed goal from Gavin Tomlin in the first half and two more in the second from Gavin Williams.

“On the first goal we didn’t mark the man we were designated to and it left us chasing the game.

“It was a poor day and I wouldn’t blame the defence for the goals, that is for sure.

“Reuben (Hazell) was injured with a slight hip problem so we left him at home.

“But we had enough players here to get something out of the game.

“We started the brighter and then switched off to concede from a free-kick with their first real effort on goal.

“That was disappointing. We had a reaction in April to draw three and win three, plus we should have got something at Huddersfield. And then this was poor.

“You should have a bit of pride, whether it is five-a-side or a game like this which we wanted to win.

“We didn’t want to win enough.

“You can’t blame Hasney (Aljofree), or Darryl (Flahavan) or Sean (Gregan). They were excellent but people in and around them didn’t do their jobs and left them exposed.”

Penney expressed his disappointment at putting on such a sub-standard show in front of the travelling fans who had made the arduous trip to Somerset, and explained the tactical reasons behind the 27th-minute withdrawal of Alex Marrow in favour of Chris Taylor.

“We had a four-hour drive and it is a long way to come,” he added.

“The fans turned out in their numbers in fancy dress and it is a long way back for them too and we wanted to put on a better performance.

“We changed it (with Marrow coming off) to go back to 4-4-2. We weren’t getting the ball down and weren’t passing it, and didn’t have a real threat in attack so we wanted to get Lewis Guy up there with Pav (Abbott).

“That didn’t quite work out either.

“We were poor, it is as simple as that. Nobody kept their shape.

“We were ill-disciplined and didn’t have the desire that we had in the seven games previous that got us results.”




Latics’ next game: Saturday Charlton (H), Coca-Cola League One