Gulls still gunning for the Glovers

On November 14, Yeovil Town were top of the National League South with 39 points from their first 17 games, well clear of their nearest rivals and a whopping 12 points ahead of Torquay United writes Dave Thomas.
They had just cruised to a 3-1 win at Plainmoor, followed by a 4-2 victory over Farnborough at Huish Park.
There seemed no good reason why the Glovers weren’t about to disappear over the horizon, leaving the rest – including an inconsistent, injury-hit Torquay - scrabbling around for the Play-Off ‘crumbs’.
Well, we always thought that this NL South could be a bit unpredictable, but just over a month later we know it is. As they nipped up the M5 to Taunton Town on Tuesday night, the Gulls – still wracked by injuries, of course - were up to second on a run of 15 points out of 18, plus two FA Trophy wins, one of them against Yeovil.
The Glovers have suddenly stuttered, taking six points out of 12.
And United kicked off at Wordsworth Drive this midweek knowing that a fifth successive win would cut the gap to Yeovil to just four points, admittedly having played a game more. And there’s still half the season to go.
It’s still well nigh impossible to predict results with any confidence. Only last Saturday a Dartford team that had whacked Torquay 3-0 recently was thumped 4-0 by Tonbridge Angels, in-form Bath City couldn’t beat struggling Dover (0-0) and a wobbling Worthing routed second-placed Maidstone 5-1.
The Stones, who have beaten Torquay twice in league and FA Cup at Plainmoor, did have a man sent off. But they have also lost their 20-goal leading scorer Levi Amantchi to NL Premier promotion chasers Bromley, who took advantage of a six-month release clause in his contract.
How will Maidstone cope without their 6ft 4in tall centre-forward?
Yeovil were also held 0-0 by Hampton & Richmond at Huish Park at the weekend, and the Glovers are showing signs of nerves.
Manager Mark Cooper doesn’t seem 100% happy with his squad. Experienced utility player (and captain) Josh Staunton left last week, and Cooper has just signed defender Jay Foulston from Taunton on loan to the end of the season.
So, can Yeovil be caught? Are Torquay the team to do it? And are we in for a rollicking ding-dong Westcountry duel over the second half of the season? Before we get ahead of ourselves, it’s worth stressing a couple of important factors.
First, Yeovil’s home record reads W9 D3 L0, and it’s hard to see them losing too many times in front of their own fans between now and the end of April.
A couple of confidence boosting wins in the next few weeks – they play Taunton twice over Christmas – would surely do them a power of good.
And then there’s that horrible injury list at Plainmoor. Manager Gary Johnson was without eight players for Saturday’s 3-1 home win over Hemel Hempstead Town, including both his leading scorers (Aaron Jarvis and Brad Ash) and his three most experienced midfield players (Asa Hall, Kevin Dawson and Tom Lapslie).
They will all be back at various stages, and Johnson stresses how much stronger United will be when they are.
The Gulls’ boss has a proven record of improving teams and individual players over the course of a season, and the signs are that he’s doing it again now. But can the extraordinarily young team, especially in attack, keep the points coming before the older reinforcements arrive to help them?
Finding out is going to be interesting. But at least they’ve given themselves a chance when none seemed to exist not long ago.