WESTLEY’S BOW ENDS IN DEFEAT
YEOVIL needed help from visiting defender Dan Butler to defeat basement boys Newport and rack up a third successive home win much to the delight of manager Darren Way.
After surviving early pressure from the visitors, the Glovers took control of the game but found County goalkeeper Joe Day in impressive form.
And the winning goal came in unusual circumstances as Tom Eaves mis-kicked his shot from Ryan Hedges’ cross but saw the ball deflect in off Butler.
Yeovil sub Francois Zoko wasted two late chances to extend the lead but Newport, in their first game under new manager Graham Westley, failed to seriously threaten the home goal.
Yeovil manager Way said: “I’m delighted with the win and very pleased for the players. They deserved the win for the hard work they put in.
“The win means that for the first time in the last three years at this football club we can be positive about our situation and our position in the table and carry some momentum forward.
“We had to make sure that we at least matched Newport’s work-rate because I knew that the new manager would get a reaction from the players.
“It’s never an easy game when a new manager takes over a team, no matter what their league position, and their level of commitment and the way they approached the game was good. But our players showed their commitment too.”
Westley took charge of County for the first time after adopting a watching brief for the previous weekend’s draw with Colchester.
And he said: “I thought it was a tight game and we certainly didn’t look like a bottom of the table side out there.
“We were undone by a defensive error. When you are at the bottom you tend to be there for a reason but we’ve got a lot of good players.
“They may be making slight errors at the moment but with a bit of coaching I think we can become a very good League Two side.
“The appetite of the players was obvious and they showed a good understanding of the work we’ve done this week.” Newport made a bright start with Butler forcing a good early save from Artur Krysiak as they looked to impress Westley. But Yeovil gradually assumed control and County keeper Day reacted well to deny both Hedges and Nathan Smith. Town’s winner came with ten minutes left as Smith and Hedges combined to set up Eaves, with his shot helped into his own net by the unfortunate Butler. Zoko should have made it 2-0 in the final minute but mis-controlled the ball when clean through.