The Glovers suffered their second defeat at the hands of League One opposition, this time against Exeter City.

It took just four minutes before a familiar face had the ball in the back of the net, but they were not in a Yeovil shirt. Sonny Cox broke between the defence while remaining onside before tucking the ball past Ollie Wright to give the Grecians an early lead.

Charlie Cooper tried his best to get the Glovers back on level terms immediately, and that’s meant in the most literal sense. Following the kick-off, the ball was rolled back to Cooper, who struck his effort from inside the Yeovil half, but it was wide of the post.

The first half was mainly dominated by Exeter as the Glovers struggled to get the ball down and play as fluently as they did against Bristol Rovers just days earlier.

At 10 minutes, Josh Magennis rose highest following a cross from Reece Cole, but his headed effort went over the crossbar. Shortly after, there were two chances in very quick succession as Jack Fitzwater saw his effort blocked before the rebound fell to Ilmari Niskanen, who saw the same fate from his effort as the Glovers’ defence held firm.

Ollie Wright then had to make a couple of saves within minutes of each other. The first came from an acrobatic attempt courtesy of Josh Magennis as it fell nicely for him from the left. Then on 22 minutes, Sonny Cox strode forward again and struck the ball, but his effort lacked power as Wright comfortably collected the ball.

It was Ilmari Niskanen who really should have put the Grecians 2-0 up with 29 minutes on the clock. A delicious ball fell to the back post where Niskanen was waiting to surely put the ball into the back of the half-empty net, but instead, his effort flew over the crossbar.

With the scorching temperatures everyone at Huish Park was able to enjoy, the players had a chance 30 minutes in to take on some fluids. This gave both managers a chance to speak to their troops before sending them back out for the last 15 minutes of the half.

The only major chance following the stoppage came through the link-up play of Josh Magennis and Reece Cole. A partnership that had caused the Glovers issues throughout the first half with their energetic pressing. Magennis found Cole, who was able to get a curling effort away from the edge of the area, but it was well saved by Ollie Wright, who had to get down low to make the save.

Just two changes at half-time from the Glovers as opposed to the normal onslaught of changes. Morgan Williams and Jordan Stevens entered the field of play to replace Jake Wannell and Michael Smith.

The second half started fairly slowly, with Exeter themselves starting to cycle through the changes, adding some youth to the field.

On 56 minutes, the first chance fell the way of the Grecians. Sonny Cox continued to be a nuisance at the top of the pitch as he did in a Yeovil shirt. This time he drove towards goal from the left before getting a curling shot away, but it was well saved by Ollie Wright, who got down to make a fingertip save.

The resulting corner saw the visitors go even closer to doubling their lead as it was met by Jack McMillan, who crashed his headed effort against the crossbar before the ball was cleared away.

Then the changes rolled through for Mark Cooper’s men as he still kept an eye on the minutes each player was getting. Among the changes was the introduction of Corey Koerner, who continues his run of appearing in each pre-season friendly, and a new trialist.

Just moments after the changes were made, Exeter had a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot.

Up stepped Santino Ohanaka, who was fouled for the penalty. Ohanaka did not mess around as he thundered his spot kick into the top right corner, giving Matt Gould, who had come on moments earlier, very little chance of denying him.

This goal, along with a few more changes from the Grecians, sparked something within the Glovers as they looked to gain some momentum. On 76 minutes, the Glovers had their first real opportunity through Dylan Morgan. A Brett McGavin corner from the left was cleared but only as far as Morgan, who hit his volley first time towards goal, but it was no problem for Joe Whitworth.

The deficit was halved just one minute later as a rare defensive error from Exeter allowed Frank Nouble the gift of his first goal in pre-season right in front of the Thatchers Terrace.

The celebrations were short-lived, unfortunately, as on 79 minutes Exeter had restored their two-goal lead. Kieran Wilson broke with the ball and only had Matt Gould to beat, which he did with such composure as he found the bottom corner to make it 3-1.

The game had come to life within five minutes, and the drama wasn’t over yet. On 82 minutes, the Glovers had their own spot kick as Dylan Morgan was tripped inside the area. Morgan took responsibility for the penalty but saw his effort denied as Joe Whitworth guessed the right way and held onto the shot.

The final change for Mark Cooper came on 85 minutes as goalscorer Frank Nouble was replaced by another under-18s player, Krystian Woods.

Following the final change, just one more chance of real note came through Dylan Morgan. Morgan was well warmed up in the closing stages as he used his pace to cause havoc down the left before cutting inside and slamming his curling effort off the top of the crossbar.

The two additional minutes came and went fairly quickly as the Glovers suffered a second defeat of the week but had completed two very good tests to see where they are and where they need to improve.