Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley expressed a mixture of frustration and pride following his team’s 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe United in the opening game of the National League season. The Glovers took the lead early in the second half thanks to a composed finish from Mason Obeng at the back post. Despite this advantage, Scunthorpe pressed hard and managed to level the score in the final minute of normal time through substitute Luke Brennan.
Rowley acknowledged the team’s solid performance but admitted disappointment at not securing a victory. “It’s a classic case of coming to Scunthorpe away and when you’re eating your breakfast this morning, you’d have taken a point,” he said. “But after being a part of the game, I’m a little frustrated we didn’t win it.”
The Yeovil boss also felt that his side created enough chances to take all three points and believed they were unlucky with some offside decisions. “We had a couple of big chances, including two offsides which, based on freeze frames I was shown, shouldn’t have been given,” Rowley remarked. “I think Luke McCormick goes on to score one of those to make it 2-0.”
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The match marked several competitive debuts for Yeovil, particularly in defence, where Rowley was full of praise for his players' composure. “It was a key focus for us this week,” he explained. “Scunthorpe are excellent at putting the ball behind your defence and running off you; we handled all that really well.”
Goalkeeper Jos Barker stood out with an important first-half save denying Pat Jones on his league debut. Rowley commended Barker’s performance: “I’m really happy with all the lads, especially Jos. He’s come from two leagues below, made a debut in front of 6,000 people, and hasn’t put a foot wrong.”
Obeng’s goal was also singled out by the manager as a highlight. “It was an unbelievable goal,” Rowley said. “The strike from Mason might well be the goal of the week in this league.”
There was some concern when Ryan Jones had to leave the field in the second half, but Rowley confirmed it was no cause for alarm. “He’s fine, it was just cramp really,” he revealed. “He did a lot of backtracking, defending set plays, and bursts of energy.”
Despite the late disappointment, Rowley was full of praise for the Yeovil supporters who travelled north. “The support was incredible; I was smiling throughout the whole warm-up,” he said. “I can’t thank them enough, I know the boys loved it as well-it made the warm-up and the whole day really special.”
Yeovil Town now look forward to their first home game of the season at Huish Park, where they will face another promotion contender, Carlisle United, in what promises to be an exciting fixture.