by Dan Howell
Yeovil Town suffered an agonising late defeat at Forest Green Rovers, despite an early goal from Kofi Shaw. The hosts equalised through a Kyle McAllister penalty before snatching victory in injury time with Ryan Inniss’ close range strike.
Mark Cooper made a single change to his starting line up, bringing in former Forest Green defender Dom Bernard as Yeovil sought to begin the new year on a positive note.
The match started with a familiar face causing trouble. Former Glover Tom Knowles cut in from the left and forced a strong save from Ollie Wright. Shortly after, Kyle McAllister tried to capitalise on a long pass but struggled to bring the ball under control.
Yeovil soon began to assert themselves. Sean McGurk, lively throughout, set up Shaw, who fired over the bar from a narrow angle. In the 24th minute, McGurk led another attack, but Forest Green’s defence blocked the danger before a shot could be taken. Moments later, a long ball from Knowles found McAllister, but his effort dragged wide.
McGurk continued to impress, combining well with Josh Sims down the left. After a neat exchange, McGurk unleashed a shot that Jed Ward tipped over the bar.
The breakthrough came in the 38th minute. Matt Worthington’s delivery found Sims, who teed up Shaw. The teenager turned sharply and curled a low shot into the far corner to give Yeovil a deserved lead.
Forest Green responded almost immediately, with Jamie Robson firing just wide after a throw-in was partially cleared. The final chance of the half fell to Yeovil, but a Brett McGavin free-kick caused chaos in the box, and efforts from McGurk and Shaw were eventually blocked and cleared.
Forest Green started the second half with greater urgency. Knowles intercepted a forward pass from Morgan Williams but sent his shot from distance wide of the target. Yeovil had a chance to extend their lead when Worthington’s low cross found Aaron Jarvis, but under pressure from Inniss, his effort was easily collected by Ward.
Shaw was booked for a high foot on the halfway line before narrowly missing the chance to double his tally, curling a shot wide after being set up by McGurk.
The hosts made attacking changes, bringing on Joe Quigley and Harry Cardwell, and began to apply sustained pressure. In the 64th minute, Wright produced a brilliant save from a corner, followed by a series of desperate blocks in the six-yard box to preserve Yeovil’s lead.
However, the pressure eventually told. In the 74th minute, a cleared ball fell to Robson on the edge of the area, and the referee awarded a penalty when he went down under pressure. To make matters worse, Shaw received a second yellow card and was sent off. McAllister calmly converted the penalty, as he struck it beyond Wright’s outstretched hand to equalise.
Now reduced to ten men, Yeovil introduced Finn Cousin-Dawson for McGurk in an effort to strengthen their defence. Wright continued to perform heroics, tipping efforts from Robson around the post in the 81st and 88th minutes.
Despite Wright’s best efforts, Forest Green found the winner in the 94th minute. The keeper made a brilliant initial save from a Cardwell header, but the rebound fell to Inniss, who prodded the ball into the net.
With little time remaining, Yeovil were unable to muster a response and fell to their first defeat of the year. The loss saw the Glovers drop to 11th in the table, four points adrift of the play-off positions.
