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Mid-season report: Yeovil Town

Sports Mole looks back at the first half Yeovil Town's Championship season.

Yeovil Town gained promotion to the Championship at the end of last season by winning the League One playoff final.

It was always going to be a difficult time for the Glovers in the second tier of English football and, true to that, they find themselves second from bottom in the table with 17 points from 23 matches heading into the New Year.

Sports Mole now looks back on how Yeovil have fared in the first half of the Championship season.

August

Yeovil commenced their Championship campaign on a positive note as they got the better of Millwall 1-0 away from home, thanks to a late goal from Edward Upson.

It was two wins out of two in the new season when Yeovil edge past Southend United in the first round of the League Cup just three days later.

However, the fairytale began to end thereafter as Gary Johnson's side lose three games on the bounce. First Birmingham got the better of the Glovers 1-0 at Huish Park and then Burnley won 2-0 at home, before Derby County hammered them 3-0 on their own turf.

Yeovil could count themselves unlucky not to win the League Cup second-round tie against Birmingham at home as they were knocked out of the competition 3-2 on penalties.

However, a 1-0 home loss to Reading on the final day of the month saw Yeovil head into September fourth from bottom in the standings.

Yeovil's  Joe Edwards in action during the match against Burnley on August 17, 2013© Getty Images

September

The second month of the 2013-14 season brought no joy for Yeovil as they failed to win any one of their four league fixtures.

Sheffield Wednesday held Johnson's side to a 1-1 draw at home before Ipswich Town beat them at home.

Joe Grant gave Yeovil the lead at Portman Road before the half-time interval, but second-half goals from Daryl Murphy and Aaron Cresswell saw Ipswich stage a 2-1 comeback victory.

It was two defeats in a row for Yeovil four days later when Queens Park Rangers beat them 1-0 at Huish Park and then they played out a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium.

Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson wildly celebrates the opening day victory over Millwall in the Championship on August 3, 2013© Getty Images

October

Yeovil continued to struggle in the month of October, going down 2-1 to Leicester City at home first before being hammered 4-1 at Middlesbrough.

Things started to improve for the Glovers from the middle of the month as they earned a point from their home fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion and then stunned promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest at home.

Ed Upson scored twice in the first half to help his side move off the bottom of the Championship and into 22nd in the standings.

Yeovil's Ed Upson in action against Torquay during a friendly match on July 16, 2013© Getty Images

November

However, Johnson's side slumped back to their poor form in November, losing all four league matches that came their way.

Leeds United defeated them 2-0 at Elland Road, thanks to a second-half brace from Ross McCormack, and then Wigan Athletic edged past them 1-0 at Huish Park, Marc-Antoine Fortune with the only goal of the contest on 78 minutes.

Doncaster Rovers emulated Wigan and inflicted a 2-1 away defeat over Yeovil, who ended the month with a 3-0 home loss to Watford.

Byron Webster of Yeovil celebrates after opening the scoring during the Sky Bet Championship match between Watford and Yeovil Town at Vicarage Road on November 30, 2013© Getty Images

December

Things appeared to be on the up for Yeovil at the start of the final month of 2013, as John Lundstram's first-half goal saw off Blackpool, who had three players sent off in the match.

Successive draws with Charlton Athletic and Barnsley saw the Glovers move to the second from bottom from the Championship, but then came three defeats in a row for Johnson's team.

Blackburn Rovers won 1-0 at Yeovil before Christmas and on Boxing Day Bournemouth triumphed 3-0 at home. Then in the final match of the year, the Glovers were hammered 5-1 at Huddersfield Town to end 2013 just a place and a point above bottom-placed Barnsley.

John Lundstram of Yeovil Town scores the opening goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Yeovil Town and Blackpool at Huish Park on December 03, 2013© Getty Images

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Subhankar Mondal
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A generic shot of the outside of Huish Park, home of Yeovil Town, on July 19, 2013
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