Yeovil Town returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over Dover Athletic at the Crabble.
Goals in either half from Ben Barclay and Dale Gorman was enough to secure three points on the road for Town.
The Glovers’ victory result confirmed Dover’s somewhat inevitable fate as they were relegated to the National League South.
Darren Sarll made four changes to the Yeovil Town’s side which fell to a defeat at Grimsby. Ted Cann made his second debut for the club, with Grant Smith left out due to a groin injury. Morgan Williams began at left-back and Mark Little started on the right-hand side. Josh Staunton began in central defence alongside Ben Barclay.
Jordan Barnett returned to the Glovers’ midfield alongside Matt Worthington and Dale Gorman. Charlie Wakefield and Tom Knowles flanked Adi Yussuf in attack.
It was two of Sarll’s changes that combined for Yeovil’s first chance in the fourth minute, Yussuf excellently found Knowles on the right flank, he then cut inside but scuffed his strike from the edge of the box.
Knowles, who looked a threat throughout, saw his long-throw met by Staunton at the near post but he failed to beat the Adam Parkes with his header.
With 19 minutes on the clock, Yeovil would strike ahead. Barnett’s deep delivery was met by Stockport loanee Barclay who took the ball in his stride and produced a deft finish to place the ball into the top right corner.
Dover did look to bounce back and despite number of balls into the box, did very little to test Cann on his second Yeovil debut.
In the closing stages of the half, the Glovers finished on the front foot. A phenomenal 90-yard pass from Cann released Knowles on the right flank, but he saw his effort blocked from an acute angle.
The second half saw the hosts begin on the front foot, looking for a route back into the game, but in truth never really threatened the Town goal.
Ten minutes into the half, Yeovil doubled their lead and knocked the stuffing out the Whites. A thunderous free-kick from Gorman flew into the top right corner, leaving Parkes in the Dover net with no chance.
Moments after the second goal, Barnett tried a speculative effort to find a third, but Parkes’ blushes were spared as the ball flew harmlessly over.
With 67 minutes on the clock, Yeovil almost added a third. After the ball bounced up kindly in the box, Wakefield and Knowles both fired on goal, but heroic blocks from the Dover defenders denied the Glovers forwards.
Straight up the other end, Dover thought they’d pulled a goal back, but thankfully for Town, the linesman had his flag raised for offside.
As the game grew old, it gave Sarll the opportunity to reintroduce Josh Neufville to the Yeovil supporters after he signed for his second loan spell on Friday.
Credit to Dover, they kept pushing for a route back into the game until the final whistle, but Yeovil held firm for a second victory of 2022.
Cann; Williams, Barclay, Staunton; Little; Gorman, Barnett, Worthington; Knowles (Olomola), Wakefield (Neufville), Yussuf (Reid)
Bookings: Worthington
Subs not used: Bradley, D’Ath.
