September 2024 (Page 12)

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Yeovil Town have announced the signing of former Forest Green Rovers full-back Dom Bernard.

The Glovers head to AFC Fylde with a lighter-than-ideal number of defenders, with Jake Wannell suspended and Morgan Williams expected to be missing with concussion, and Bernard will help bolster the ranks.

Predominantly a right back, Bernard, 27, has EFL experience with Forest Green, representing the Vegans well over 100 times.

Having started his career at Birmingham City, the Gloucester-born player was captain of the Blues’ under-18s’ team before spending six months on loan at Aldershot Town in the 2018-19 season.

Upon returning to St Andrews in 2019, he was released from his contract and joined Forest Green Rovers – managed by a certain Mark Cooper – that summer. He spent five seasons at the New Lawn, including winning promotion to League One in the 2021-22.

He was released from the club in April after the club suffered back-to-back relegations back to non-League football.

The former Irish youth international heads straight into the squad for the trip to Fylde on Saturday.

Welcome to Somerset, Dom! 

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Yeovil Town have sent defender Jordan Thomas on a one-month loan to Salisbury.

The summer signing from Hampton and Richmond has only made appearances in three of the Glovers’ six National League Premier games this season.

The full-back heads back into the National League South and links up with his new team-mates ahead of their clash away at Farnborough on Saturday.

He becomes the second player to start the new campaign in Mark Cooper’s first-team squad to be sent out on loan following the departure of Dylan Morgan to Weston-super-Mare last weekend.

 

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It’s another away day for Yeovil Town as they travel to the Lancashire coast to face AFC Fylde on Saturday afternoon.

Form Guide…

AFC Fylde are not entering this weekend in great form with just one win so far this season, coming with a 3-2 victory at home to Solihull Moors on the opening day of the season. Their last outing was a 1-0 defeat at Wealdstone on August Bank Holiday Monday, meaning they have gone five games without a win. It hasn’t all been bad however with draws away at Oldham Athletic and at home to Maidenhead United in the same five-game run.

The Coasters made the headlines for the wrong reasons last weekend when their home match with Southend United was postponed due to the visitors’ train from the South East to the North West on Saturday morning being cancelled.

Yeovil have had a very up and down start to the season, with three wins and three defeats so far. The three wins have been against teams they would be expecting to get wins against – albeit victories over Braintree Town and Boston United have come away from home – whilst their defeats to Hartlepool United, Gateshead and Rochdale have come at the hands of sides expected to be closer to the promotion race than the relegation battle.  

The Glovers’ last game saw them win away 3-1 at Boston United, which will give the travelling faithful hope of another three points away from home this weekend.

Key Players…

Nick Haughton

Haughton plays in an attacking midfield role for Fylde and although the team’s results has not been great so far this season, it’s been a brilliant start for the former Salford City player. With five goals from five games, 29-year-old is joint top of the National League Premier scoring charts alongside Forest Green’s Christian Doidge and Aldershot Town’s James Henry. Haughton also has one assist to his name. 

Since joining Fylde in 2018, Haughton has scored 85 goals and get 36 assists. He has previously played for other Lancashire clubs including Fleetwood Town in the Football League and Chorley.

Brett McGavin

We have already looked at McGavin as important player, but in recent games he has proven why he might be our most important this season. With our strikers struggling to find scoring form so far, the midfielder has stepped with some important goals.

Last weekend against Boston United the 24-year-old picked up two goals, one of which was a brilliant free kick nestling in the top right corner. The competition between him and Haughton for being a dead ball specialist is one to keep an eye on at Mill Farm this weekend.

Outside of goals-coring McGavin has a more progressive roll than our other midfielders, which offers a different dynamic for Yeovil manager Mark Cooper as he doesn’t have to rely on his strikers as much with McGavin seeming to make late runs onto the edge of the box.

He is one to watch that is for sure.

Video courtesy of Dannholla_ on X.

That’s what he said…

AFC Fylde boss, Chris Beech, gave his thoughts to club media ahead of the game. He said: “They’re a very good team which have got great football league experiences in their playing ranks. Mark Cooper – I played with him at Hartlepool in midfield so I know Mark very well, and he’s done brilliant in regards to his longevity in football, his management career and he’s got his mojo back. He did a brilliant job at Yeovil last season, so I have no doubt he’ll be trying to emulate previous successes of that football club and other clubs he’s worked for and I’m really looking forward to seeing him.”

Glovers manager Mark Cooper was very complimentary about Saturday’s opponents. He said: ““They will be really organised, they will be ultra fit, a real process to what they do and they will have something up their sleeve. They have some good players, (midfielder Nick) Haughton is an exceptional player for the level who should be playing League football and they have one or two others.”

We’ve met before…

These two last met five years ago when they drew one and Yeovil won the other. In the first game the Glovers ran out 3-2 victors in a tight game at Huish Park in September 2019. The scorers that game were Rhys Murphy, Myles Hippolyte and Jimmy Smith for Yeovil with Kurt Willoughby getting a brace for Fylde.

The most recent of our meeting was a 2-2 draw in the same season, with a Gabriel Osho own goal and Dan Bradley finding the net for Fylde to put them 2-0 up at Mill Farm. Striker Courtney Duffus grabbed two late goals to see Darren Sarll’s Glovers head home with a point.

Don’t I know you…

AFC Fylde do posses an ex-Glover in their side (I know I’m in shock too) in the form of centre back Corey Whelan. The Chester native played for Yeovil on loan way back in the 2017/18 season, at which point he was captain of Liverpool at Under-23s’level. Making just 11 appearances for the Glovers, Whelan is not an instantly recognisable name.

Since his loan spell in Somerset, the centre-back has played in Major League Soccer in the United States for Phoenix Rising, before returning to the UK to have spells at Wigan Athletic and Carlisle United before making the move to Fylde in the summer.

Who’s been naughty then…

Jake Wannell has been a naughty boy. The centre-back was sent off in the final minutes against Boston last weekend, so will sit out this weekend’s trip to Fylde. With Wannell suspended and central defensive partner Morgan Williams expected to be missing with concussion, Finn Cousin-Dawson will surely make a start for Cooper.

Speaking about his defensive headache on Thursday, the manager said: ““If you had told me ten days ago we’d lose Morgan Williams, Jake Wannell, Alex Whittle, Raph Araoye, and Harvey Greenslade, I would have said ‘wow, we are in a bit of a pickle there.’ But I have faith in the boys we have got, and if we have to shuffle things about, we can, we have Michael Smith and Charlie Cooper who can play centre-half, Matt Worthington can play right-back, so there is plenty of flexibility in the squad.”

Jake Wannell sees red at Boston

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Yeovil Town striker Aaron Jarvis has said he is confident he will continue to score goals for the club.

The 26-year-old has scored just once in six National League Premier Division appearances since arriving from Torquay United in the summer.

He says he is continuing to work to fit in to the patient style of play which has become the Glovers’ hallmark under manager Mark Cooper, which sees his play as a lone frontman supported by three attacking players.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s trip to AFC Fylde, Jarvis said: “I know what the Gaffer wants from me and I have some good players around me to help me get the ball in the net and bring others in to play as well. I am looking to bring a lot more to the team than I have and hopefully notching a few goals in the coming games.

“All strikers want a quick start, but I am always going to give 100% and I am sure the fans have seen that in my performances. But it is a different style to the one I am used to and I have been speaking to the Gaffer about that this week, so I just have to adapt a few things and I am sure it will click soon.

“I am used to more crosses in to the box, but we play a more patient build-up, so it is especially different in my role. I just need to stay between the posts and take my chances when they come. I want to try and be involved as much as I can, but my role is to conserve my energy and put the ball in the net.

“I have got a lot of confidence in myself, I know I can put the ball in the net so I am just hoping for a few more chances to come my way and hopefully I can stick a few away.”

Aaron Jarvis has scored once in his six appearances this season. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Jarvis, who scored 15 league goals in his last season at National League level with Torquay in 2022/23, said he had not been surprised by anything he had seen since coming to Huish Park. In their opening six matches, Yeovil have picked up three wins and three defeats.

The striker said: “It was no surprise to us, most of the boys have been here before. A few games we felt like we could have got more results, but we know we have to snap out and we are looking forward to getting a few more points on the board in the next few games.

“We know the way we want to play, it is just a few little errors here and there that have cost us a few goals and points, but once those errors are stamped out and the frontmen start firing we will be looking good.”

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Manager Mark Cooper has said he is willing to wait for “a couple of bits of real quality” to become available in the transfer market as he looks to strengthen his Yeovil Town squad.

The Glovers’ boss will definitely be without suspended central defender Jake Wannell and injured forward Harvey Greenslade for this weekend’s trip to AFC Fylde, seems likely to be without Wannell’s defensive partner Morgan Williams who missed the last game with concussion.

He expects left-back Alex Whittle to be available to face one of his former clubs in Lancashire, but is waiting for on-loan Bristol City defender Raphael Araoye to have a scan on a dead leg picked up in the 3-1 win at Boston United last weekend.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the trip, Cooper said he had been looking at the transfer market this week but was said he did not want to bring in loan players for just one game.

He said: “If you had told me ten days ago we’d lose Morgan Williams, Jake Wannell, Alex Whittle, Raph Araoye, and Harvey Greenslade, I would have said ‘wow, we are in a bit of a pickle there.’ But I have faith in the boys we have got, and if we have to shuffle things about, we can, we have Michael Smith and Charlie Cooper who can play centre-half, Matt Worthington can play right-back, so there is plenty of flexibility in the squad.”

Jake Wannell will sit out the trip to AFC Fylde after his red card for two bookings at Boston United last weekend.

On his efforts in the transfer market, the boss added: “We are trying. I could probably have brought 100 players in on loan, but we will get Wannell back on Tuesday night (at home to Solihull Moors), we will probably get Raph (Araoye) back, so I do not want to go and bring the wrong person in for one game. If I do bring somebody in, they have to be the right type of person, the right character and the right fit for what we do.

“There are some players that are out of contract before the window shut, so they are still a free agent, and they are still exploring the Football League market because they can still sign for (League) clubs because they were out of contract before the window closed.

“So, we are waiting on a couple of those boys who we think we would get real value for money for and would really help and improve us, rather than going for quick loan fixes who have not played many games. We are prepared to wait in that market and hopefully in the next week there will be a couple of real bits of quality that come available.”

Whittle has missed the past two matches – the win at Boston and the 1-0 home defeat to Rochdale on August Bank Holiday Monday – but has trained this week. Cooper said: “We are confident Whitts will be there or thereabouts for Saturday. He’s had a good week’s training, I am sure knowing him he will put his hand up to play.”

Yeovil take on a Fylde side who did not play last weekend after Southend United were unable to fulfil the fixture after their train from the South East to the North West was cancelled last Saturday morning. Fylde have not won since the opening day of the season and suffered a 1-0 defeat at Wealdstone and a 0-0 draw at home to Maidenhead United in their Bank Holiday weekend schedule.

However, Cooper is expecting them to be a test, he said: “They will be really organised, they will be ultra fit, a real process to what they do and they will have something up their sleeve. They have some good players, (midfielder Nick) Haughton is an exceptional player for the level who should be playing League football and they have one or two others.

“So we will have to be really good at what we do. I have had a look at the weather forecast – the South is rain, the North is 23 degrees – so we are taking our buckets, spades and our money ready for the donkey rides, so we are looking forward to a Friday afternoon and a night in Blackpool and getting ready for the game on Saturday.”

The Glovers’ manager described his side’s opening six matches of the new season – which have yielded three wins and three defeats – as “solid, but frustrating“, adding that he was starting to see “a swagger” come back to the team’s play which served them well in National League South last season.

He said: “We could easily have conceded more (at Boston United) last weekend, but we managed to get blocks in at the right times. If we continue with our spirit and keep believing, I think we will be alright. We are happy with where we are, but we know we have an awful lot more to give.

“I am constantly trying to push the players in to a mentality that they deserve to be here. We are starting to get a bit of an arrogant swagger about us, which you have to have when you play the way we do on the pitch. I am starting to see that and the quicker we get that as a group, which we did last year, the better we will be.”

This week saw the departure of Jordan Maguire-Drew, who left the club after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.

Asked about the departure, Cooper said: “Jordan made it clear towards the end of last season that he wanted to move back towards the South East. His wife had got a job towards Crawley way, he didn’t want to be travelling and be in Yeovil. So it was purely about location.”

The day after his departure, Maguire-Drew signed for National League South bottom club W*ymouth. Perhaps he needs to download Google Maps to figure out where they are located.

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Yeovil Town fans can purchase tickets for our upcoming trip to Sutton United on Tuesday September 24th – 7:45 Kick Off.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Away fans are situated in the ‘Curva Terrace’, this is an uncovered terrace.

Again, much like many other sites this season, purchasing online does come with the need to register for an account and tickets will in the form of e-tickets, which must either be shown on a device at the ground or printed at home. 

Prices are as follows; [Note: all tickets increase £2 on Match Day]

Adults – £21
Concession (61+) – £15
Junior (14-18) – £7
Child (U14) – Free – but a ticket much still be acquired.
Carers – Free with a full paying adult.

A couple of notes from Sutton:

Access to the ground will be via the COLLINGWOOD ROAD entrance.

On age specific tickets; “It is always best to bring a form of ID with you to support the ticket type you have purchased (adult, concession, junior, Young Person)”

On Wheelchair access – “We have a wheelchair bay pitch side for those in wheelchairs. This space is limited (three away spaces) so in order to ensure you get a spot, email dave.farebrother@suttonunited.net. He will make sure you have access to accessible facilities. Other than that, tickets can be purchased as normal.”

On people wishing to sit for the game – “If you need to be accommodated for seating, you can purchase a seat in the home section. If you do this, we ask that you please not wear any of your club colour and please behave appropriately” 

If you feel like either of the bottom two apply to you, you can contact Dave Farebrother on the email above or call the Main Office: 020 8644 4440 – the generic ticket office email is tickets@suttonunited.net.

We’ll have a full Huish Hugh Ciderspace Away Travel Guide available closer to the time.

At time of writing, other AWAY TICKETS for Yeovil fans to purchase are:

OLDHAM AWAY – SATURDAY 21ST SEPTEMBER – CLICK HERE 

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We will have at least one Yeovil Town debut this Saturday with referee James Bancroft taking charge of his first ever Glovers game.

Bancroft has been, almost exclusively, seen in the north over the last couple years and has taken charge of plenty of games across Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Which means, he’s yet to get an appointment as a Yeovil Town official.

He has refereed Fylde thrice in his career, with our weekend opponents winning all three.

Including against Blyth Spartans in 2022 where he sent off Spartans’ Toby Lees in the dying moments.

He was also the man in the middle for the National League North Play-off final between Brackley and Boston last season, awarding Boston a (pretty blatant) penalty as they earned promotion.

Mr Bancroft will be assisted by Mark Ryder and Lewis Raper, with Rob Claussen adding up the injury time.

Toby Lees sees red for Blyth from referee James Bancroft.

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If you think back to those heady days between 2001 and 2006, there are plenty of legends to think about. One of those legends, who had a rather non-PG chant from the terrace was Colin Miles. On this episode of the Gloverspast, Dave and Ian welcome the “mentalist” himself to chat about his glorious years at Huish Park.