Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley expressed high praise for his players following their hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tamworth, which marked the Glovers' second win during the Bank Holiday weekend.
The match began positively for Yeovil as Luke McCormick put them ahead after just 15 minutes. Tamworth responded through Jake Hutchison to level the score, but in the second half, Mason Obeng and Ryan Jones found the net to give Yeovil a two-goal cushion. Despite a late goal from Kieren Donnelly that added tension to the closing stages at Huish Park, the Glovers held on for the win.
Coming off a late-night return from Barrow at around 5am on Saturday following a dramatic victory, Yeovil showed great resilience to perform so strongly again just two days later. “I’ve said a few times leading into this game, it’s very rare on this Bank Holiday weekend a team wins two of these games,” Rowley commented. “We’re one of two teams to do it.”
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Rowley acknowledged the challenges his team faced, given the limited preparation time due to their recent fixture schedule. “We got in at five in the morning from Barrow, and we hadn’t had much prep on the game,” he said. “To come out three days after that and get another win, I think it’s really important for us.”
While satisfied with the result, the manager felt there was room for improvement, particularly in easing the pressure during the game. “I’m not over the moon with the performance,” he admitted. “That’s for us and the players to review and keep trying to improve.”
Rowley emphasised the team’s ambition to become more possession-oriented and take calculated risks in ball retention. “We want to be a team who has loads of the ball, we want to be possession based,” he explained. “There’s times when you just have to risk the ball. It’s just something else for us to look at and keep improving on.”
Among the highlights was another notable contribution from captain Luke McCormick, who scored his fourth goal of the season and narrowly missed a penalty late in the match when the ball struck the post. “Bretty (Brett McGavin) slipped in Macca (Luke McCormick), great vision,” Rowley noted. “Bretty is capable of absolute magic when he’s on the ball, then Macca in the right place to continue his scoring streak.”
The Glovers’ goals from Obeng and Jones, both benefiting from deflections, demonstrated the squad’s attacking threat. “That’s what Jonesy (Ryan Jones) brings to us,” said Rowley. “He’s one of my favourites to watch and I’m sure he is for a lot of supporters. When he gets the ball facing the opposition goal, he’s capable of carrying the ball 30 yards. He’s a really exciting lad to watch.”
After making seven changes to his starting lineup following Friday night’s game at Barrow, Rowley expressed confidence in the depth of his squad. “I think all the boys who are in this squad deserve to play,” he said. “They’re training really well, forming some great bonds and I was really happy we were able to make changes and have a strong team on the pitch.”
Tamworth believed they had snatched a late equaliser through Hayden Hollis, only for the goal to be disallowed for offside after a lengthy review. “I’ll have to credit the officials in these moments,” said Rowley. “It’s a big decision that’s gone our way and I felt there were quite a few that didn’t today.”
The manager also saluted the Yeovil supporters, whose vocal backing played a vital role in the thrilling encounter. “The supporters here are unbelievable,” Rowley said. “I had goosebumps at the end when they were singing in the Thatchers End.”
Looking ahead, Yeovil Town will travel to Southend United this Saturday for a lunchtime kickoff, aiming to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.