Although Warren Patmore had a golden opportunity to rescue a point from this game late on, no-one would claim that it would be deserved. Hednesford were the better side throughout, as the poor form continues. Only Stevenage and Welling are below Yeovil in the form table at the moment (see www.confguide.com).
A few team changes were forced: Steve Stott's injury saw him replaced in midfield by Rob Cousins, while Adrian Foster's knee problem saw Jason Eaton get a start.
Within a minute Yeovil could have been in the lead, but Tony Pounder wasn't able to get in a shot when well-placed at the far post. The strength of the wind (blowing from across the pitch and from behind Yeovil) made it essential that the ball was played along the ground as much as possible, but this was not done. Crosses were pinged in over the top of everyone and too frequently going straight into the arms of the goalkeeper, or into touch.
The first decent effort of the day came from Neil David for the home side, Tony Pennock tipping his shot away for a corner. Within seconds, Neil Davis missed a golden opportunity with a near-post header.
Hednesford finished the half well on-top, and Sean O'Connor, on as sub for the injured Paul Szewczyk, looked particularly sharp; a few good blocks by Tony Pennock kept it goal-less.
The second half was much as the first one finished, with the home side continually looking more threatening. It was only very late on that Yeovil really started to put passing moves together, and created some chances. David Piper and Ben Smith combined well to make an opening for Jason Eaton, who volleyed wide. But the best oportunity came in injury time, a fine Matt Hayfield cross was headed over from ten yards by an unmarked Warren Patmore. By itself it was a shocking miss, but these things happen from time-to-time, and didn't warrant the abuse given by one fan to Wazza after the game; if the rest of the team had performed, Patmore would have had more chances and the one miss wouldn't have seemed so important.
The decider from Neil Davis was a nice finish. Hednesford broke quickly, and Terry Skiverton managed to get in a block. However, the ball was given back to Davis, who hit the ball past Pennock from near the edge of the area.
This was, unfortunately, an all-round poor performance. The usual scapegoat of some fans wasn't playing today. It seems to me that the blame should be laid elsewhere: those whose decisions led to the loss of Colin Lippiatt, those who sign players that the manager doesn't want, and those that create doubt all round by going back on their word regarding player contracts etc. It's time for the board to admit they've fouled up, and to tell us what they're going to do about it. The ball is in your court, Mr Fry.
