Yeovil Town played out their second consecutive 0-0 draw in the League, to claw their way off the bottom of League One on goal difference. In an evenly contested match at Home Park, the Glovers came the closest to grabbing all three points against Plymouth Argyle when Sam Williams saw his spot kick saved by home keeper David Button, whilst Andy Williams got the ball into the back of the net just before the break. But the second half fizzled out badly with neither side really threatening the goal.
The Glovers gave debuts to both new midfielders, although QPR signing Max Ehmer occupied a centre-back slot - Paul Wotton who has played there before landed in midfield. Only six were selected for the bench with reserve goalkeeper Richard Martin not being named, as Craig Alcock and Adam Virgo stayed out of the squad.
It was Yeovil who had the pick of the early chances, with a fierce long range drive from Paul Wotton showing what kind of a strike he has got on him, whistling narrowly past the Argyle goalpost. Then Paul Huntington had a header flicked over the bar by Argyle keeper David Button for a corner. Wotton also managed to hit the crossbar from another header - albeit a looping one that bounced on top of the goal frame.
The Glovers were doing well to keep League One's top scorer Bradley Wright-Phillips quiet, but Argyle's main danger man became Joe Mason, with Shaun MacDonald having his hands full trying to track him, and often seeing him squirm loose. Mason's beautifully weighted curling pass into the path of Rory Patterson set the latter clean through on goal, but a slightly weighty first touch allowed John Sullivan to come off his line and scramble to block the ball at Patterson's feet. Mason also saw a blocking tackle deny him a shot on goal, although the deflection on the ball saw it loop just over Sullivan's bar.
Just before the half hour mark, the Glovers got themselves a golden opportunity when a turn inside the box by Andy Williams saw him go down under a challenge from Curtis Nelson. If there was contact then it was minimal, but referee Brendan Malone pointed to the spot. Unfortunately striker Sam Williams is not having the best of times at present, and his weak penalty was easily parried by home keeper David Button and the Glovers couldn't scramble home the loose ball.
Right on half time, Andy Williams got the ball in the back of the net, latching onto a far post ball which he converted from close range. Unfortunately referee Brendan Malone had long since blown up for a foul when Yeovil won the header in the box, and by the time Williams hit the back of the net, most knew it wouldn't count.
The less said about the second half the better. In fact there wasn't a lot to say about it at all from an entertainment perspective. Argyle came out looking a far better side and Yeovil spent a fair chunk of the opening 20 minutes defending in numbers, but without keeper John Sullivan being tested too hard. It took a good 15-20 minutes for Yeovil to muster their first serious shot - a Dean Bowditch attempt that went just wide from 25 yards.
Yeovil introduced Jean-Paul Kalala for Andy Welsh and switched their formation to a 4-1-4-1 as Wotton protected the back four. But this wasn't a case of defences being on top - even with Argyle's frequent territorial superiority, the corner flag was in more danger of damage than John Sullivan's goal with Sully having few opportunities to keep his hands warm in the ever-freezing temperatures.
Overall if Yeovil were going to win the game, they should have scored their goal during the first half. As the game wore on there was little to justify either side gaining all three points, although the Glovers will be kicking themselves that they didn't convert the gift-horse penalty that they did get. Another point away from home is no disaster, but they will need to start converting some of these 0-0 draws into wins. The result moves Yeovil above Walsall on goal difference, and closes the gap on the safety line down to five points. But with Rochdale and Notts County winning their games, the bottom five clubs are now on their own, and Yeovil will need to get a minimum of three points from their next two home matches to ensure that gap continues to be whittled away.
Final Score: Plymouth Argyle 0 Yeovil Town 0.
Scorers: None.
Plymouth Argyle:
31. David Button
36. Stephane Zubar 35. Curtis Nelson 5. Reda Johnson 29. James Paterson 4. Carl Fletcher 11. Kari Arnason 15. Onismor Bhasera (76) 8. Rory Patterson 10. Bradley Wright-Phillips 16. Joe Mason
Substitutes:
1. Romain Larrieu (GK) 2. Karl Duguid 6. Chris Clark 18. Jack Stephens 19. Yannick Bolasie (76 mins for Onismor Bhasera) 21. Anton Peterlin 23. Krisztian Timar
Yeovil Town: (4-4-2)
1. John Sullivan
8. Luke Ayling 5. Paul Huntington 14. Max Ehmer 6. Nathan Smith
11. Andy Welsh (62) 20. Paul Wotton 25. Shaun MacDonald 10. Dean Bowditch
9. Sam Williams 7. Andrew Williams
Substitutes:
4. Stefan Stam 16. Edward Upson 17. Craig Calver 21. JP Kalala (62 mins for Andy Welsh) 23. Billy Gibson 31. Rhys Baggridge
Plymouth Bookings: James Paterson (17 mins, foul)
Yeovil Bookings: Luke Ayling (61 mins, foul), Sam Williams (68 mins, diving)
Referee: Brendan Malone
Attendance: 9,720 (including 692 Yeovil fans)
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