Match Report: Yeovil Town 1, Leyton Orient 2

NATIONWIDE LEAGUE DIVISION THREE

YEOVIL TOWN 1, LEYTON ORIENT 2

STEVE SOWDEN REPORTS FROM HUISH PARK

AS I crammed into Gary Johnson's office along with all the other Pressmen after Yeovil Town's depressing defeat on Saturday I thought, for a split second, that the Glovers' boss was going to say my usual catchphrase of the past year or so - Keep the Faith Bruvvers!

And 'keep the faith' fans must with Yeovil having now lost five out of their last six matches although that run does include the 2-0 defeat against Premiership outfit Liverpool in the FA Cup. But after so long when everything in the Huish Park garden has been coming up roses, there are signs that perhaps the pressure is beginning to show on Johnson and his young stars.

It was long after the final whistle before Johnson finally emerged from the beleaguered home dressing room to meet the awaiting Press brigade following the 2-1 defeat against Leyton Orient at Huish Park.

And when he finally began being interviewed you were left in no doubt that he had given his players a roasting for what, many would say, was their worst league performance for a long time.

After the success-strewn last couple of years, the sound of Yeovil fans booing their own Yeovil players had become something of a dim and distant memory. But there was a definite rumble of discontent among the Huish Park faithful at half-time following possibly the worst 45 minutes of football produced by the Glovers in a long while.

But Johnson said: "The fans are still not losing faith in us although there were a few little boos at the end and at half-time, but that is expected.

"I think they trust me and they trust the boys are good enough to turn it round and they trust us to work hard enough to turn it around."

Yeovil began with new £15,000 signing from Boston United, Simon Weatherstone, partnering Kevin Gall up front, while Gavin Williams returned from suspension and placed in an unfamiliar role on the left flank.

The Yeovil starting line-up included eight players who had been mainstays of the side that lifted the Nationwide Conference championship title less than a year ago. But on Saturday's performance they were barely recognisable as too many of them had bad days at the office.

The defence looked all over the place and Orient - who beat Yeovil 2-0 at Brisbane Road in August - took the lead in the 25th minute when Mark Peters headed in David Hunt's free kick. And then three minutes later Gary Alexander doubled the visitors lead when he fired home.

Yeovil's customary attacking flair seemed non-existent as Orient, who had obviously done their homework, hustled and harried their hosts all over the park. The Glovers were left to pepper the Orient keeper Glenn Morris with a few long-range efforts, but they never really threatened to get back into the game.

Even midfielder Darren Way, such a trusty player down the years, played well below his own high standards and one could suggest that he has not been the same since returning from injury in the 3-2 defeat at Swansea on December 28.

Skipper supreme Terry Skiverton, such a rock at the heart of Yeovil's defence, did not look at ease, while Williams was totally wasted out on the wing, and Gall was showing all the signs of a striker low on goals and low on confidence.

It would perhaps be unfair to single out individual players for criticism, but it perfectly highlights the performance that some of the players you have come to depend upon so much in the past were so out of sorts.

As for Weatherstone, he did not really demonstrate too much, but it would be unjust to judge him on one performance and especially when so many of his team-mates were below par.

The first-half was simply awful and no wonder the Yeovil faithful were holding argumentative debates during the interval about where it had gone wrong and what to do to put it right.

Johnson said: "I'd have made 11 substitutions at half-time if I'd been allowed."

Yeovil's performance in the second period was better - it could not have been any worse - but it was not until the final 25 minutes that they started to peg Orient back deep into their own half.

And that all came during a period when referee Mark Warren had to go off injured with a groin problem and there was a delay while replacement Mike Mullarkey took to the field.

The introduction of Nick Crittenden on the hour mark for the injured Lee Elam seemed to rejuvenate the Glovers and it was he who got Yeovil on the scoresheet when he slid in to steer home Weatherstone's cross in the 76th minute.

Despite Yeovil's pressure they could not force an equaliser and Gall was totally out of luck when his last ditch effort hit the post.

Johnson said: "We perked up in the last 25 minutes, not only because of our goal but all of a sudden people started getting on the ball and taking responsibility which not many of them did in the first-half.

"We've talked about that. The boys have got to learn to take on a bit of responsibility themselves because we're in a poor run of form at the minute and we have to turn it round quickly - otherwise we will find ourselves not competing for much."

Although supporters left Huish Park feeling very disappointed, there was more of an air of frustration in the cold early evening air. Yeovil need to attract new players and there will be a growing call from fans for the Huish Park boardroom members to give Johnson a large chunk of the cash windfall gained from the Liverpool hullabaloo to add to his armoury in the wheeling and dealing of the transfer market.

A striker, one who can get the ball in the back of the net, is needed by Johnson. Yeovil have now scored just five goals in the past five league games and that is just not good enough.

It was therefore ironic that Huish Park legend Warren Patmore was at the game on Saturday to pull out the winners in the half-time draw. How we could do with a Patmore-like player now. Patmore scored 141 goals for Yeovil between 1995-2001 and I am sure I heard someone say at half-time: "Get your boots on Warren!"