May 2025 (Page 5)

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Striker Aaron Jarvis has said the injured hamstring which has kept him out for three-and-a-half months is “feeling good” and he is hoping to feature in the final match of Yeovil Town’s season at Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday.

The frontman had eight goals to his name when he suffered a reoccurrence of  a hamstring injury which he suffered earlier in his career during the 1-1 draw at Ebbsfleet United in mid-January.

Speaking about that moment to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Friday, he said: “I knew straight away because this is the third time I have done it. I knew what I was about to go through rehab-wise, so mentally I was prepared for it.

“I just started chipping in with a few more goals and I felt confident, we had 20 games left and I was trying to think what figure of goals I wanted to end on and then that same night the hamstring said ‘no thanks’.”

Aaron Jarvis. Pic:ture courtesy of Gary Brown

The 27-year-old appeared as a 67th minute substitute in last Saturday’s final home match of the season, a 2-1 home defeat to Sutton United, and admitted it was a “bitter sweet” moment to return to fitness with just two matches of the National League Premier Division season remaining.

He said: “It is a bit bitter sweet because there is only one game left and I did not think I would be back on the pitch this season, but I am glad I am and hopefully we can go out on a high on Monday.

“I have had this same injury before and have re-torn it just before the summer break, so (deciding to play before the end of the season) was a big ‘risk or reward’ situation, but I feel good and I am happy to be out there and help the boys.

“I have been in full training for a few weeks now, so it is just a case of building it up when we can on the pitch. Match fitness is completely different to training, I can do as much as I can in training and extras but you cannot replicate match fitness.”

On Monday’s game, he added: “We want to end the season on a high. Unfortunately we could win the last home game last Saturday, but we can use that as motivation to finish the season on a high at Aldershot. From a personal point of view, if I am selected to get some minutes, hopefully I can progress my fitness. As a team we want to play well and end the season with three points.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCJZxe–K8

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said he believes he must add “six or seven players” to his squad for them to compete for promotion next season.

The Glovers’ bosses pointed to his side’s lack of goals this season as a major factor in their mid-table finish as they prepare for their final game of the National League Premier Division season at Aldershot Town on Bank Holiday Monday.

They are the division’s fourth-lowest scorers this season with only bottom club Ebbsfleet United (38), Braintree Town (49) and, somewhat ironically, play-off hopefuls FC Halifax Town (48) having scored fewer. Relegated AFC Fylde have also scored 50 this season.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah on Friday, Cooper said: “If you really dust it down we have not scored enough goals when we have needed to and that is something we need to put right in the summer. We have to try and find a way of scoring more goals as a team, we have not scored enough goals from set pieces this year, we have not had enough people chipping in with goals.

“There is a key group of players there that are good enough to compete at this level, as we should at the start and midway through the season when we were up and around the play-offs. If we can keep that tight and add some quality, we can be really optimistic about next season.”

The boss pointed to the uncertainty which remains at Huish Park as we pass the one-month mark since interim chairman Stuart Robins told fans getting new investment was his “highest priority“ following the decision of owner Martin Hellier to step down as chairman.

Cooper said: “I can’t give any definitives at the minute, we are in limbo to see what happens, it could be a good summer, it could be a really long summer. We need to add 6-7 players, like you probably do most seasons. Ideally I would like those to be real quality players that could help us score more goals.

“I can’t do anything at the minute, we have players that are out of contract that we would like to re-engage and there are players we have been monitoring that we would like to bring to the club but until things get sorted, we can’t look too far ahead.”

Brett McGavin could return to the Yeovil Town squad for the final day trip to Aldershot Town. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

The manager revealed midfielder Brett McGavin will return to the squad for the Bank Holiday Monday visit to Aldershot Town. The 25-year-old has not featured since picking up an injury in the 1-0 home defeat to York City on 15th April, but has been involved in training this week.

Cooper said: “Brett will not be properly fit because he has not trained for a long time, but we putting him in to give him a little bit of incentive to go away with in the summer.”

Defender Michael Smith remains a doubt with a hamstring injury which has dogged him this season.

Monday’s opponents have the small matter of an FA Trophy final against Spennymoor United at Wembley the following Sunday with a support expected to be pushing 20,000 travelling from Hampshire to support them.

The Shots sit two places and two points behind Yeovil in 16th place going in to the match and are without a win in their last five matches. However, Cooper has dispelled any thoughts that the opposition will have one eye on the final at The Recreation Ground.

He said: “I think they will be full strength and trying to get a bit of form going in to the final and they will want to get this sorted on Monday. I do not buy in to talk about that they will rest players, people told me that about Sutton United (before the 2-1 home defeat at Huish Park last time out) because they had (the National League Cup) final the following Tuesday and none of that happened. It is about on the day, you have to be up for it because otherwise you will get beaten.

“Their budget will be a budget in the bottom half of the league. I know the restraints that Tommy (Widdrington, the Aldershot manager) will be working under, because they will not have one of the big budgets. I think over the last two years, finishing eighth last season and then reaching the Trophy final this year, they have done unbelievably well. They have had two great seasons.”

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It’s that time of the year again. 

The end of the season means it’s time to hand out the gongs. 

We want your vote for Player of the Season, Young Player of the Season and Goal of the season.

Voting ends on Friday 9th May – Winners will be announced on Monday 12th May.

A reminder of the previous winners.

Player of the Season
20/21 – Tom Knowles
21/22 – Morgan Williams
22/23 – Josh Staunton
23/24 – Jake Wannell

Young Player of the Season
20/21 – Tom Knowles
21/22 – Morgan Williams
22/23 – Owen Bevan
23/24 – Sonny Blu Lo Everton

—- VOTING IS NOW CLOSED —–

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Football, National League, Vanatama

As another season draws to a close, Yeovil Town have booked their place in the 2025/26 National League. While we know what level we’ll be playing at next season, we don’t necessarily know who we’ll be playing next season. The playoffs are back, and I’ve got the rundown on who’s involved and how it works, as well as bringing results in the usual roundup format! You can read last year’s format here to warm up if you’d like to remember that champion feeling!

Participants

Final PositionNational League NorthNational League South
1st (Champions)Brackley TownTruro City
2ndScunthorpe UnitedTorquay United
3rdKidderminster HarriersEastbourne Borough
4thChesterWorthing
5thChorleyBoreham Wood
6thKing's Lynn TownDorking Wanderers
7thBuxtonMaidstone United

Unlike last year, the National League is running out of sync from the North and South, so I’m having to split this up for now. Once the playoff spots have been confirmed for all 7 teams, the National League will join these roundups! From the National League North, it’s Brackley Town who make the leap into the unknown, at least for them it’s the unknown, having never reached the 5th tier of English football in their history. The Saints, employing the likes of former Glover Scott Pollock, won 5-0 on a dramatic final day, finishing on 92 points and ending their run of seven consecutive playoff finishes.

For the second season running, Scunthorpe United fell just short, ending the season in 2nd place; they are joined by a Kidderminster Harriers side looking to bounce back up to the National League at the first opportunity. These two teams are receiving ‘byes’, this will be explained a little later on! The remaining sides battling for the second promotion spot include Chester, a side that led the table for a portion of the season before drifting off towards the end of the campaign and Chorley, who register their second consecutive playoff appearance. King’s Lynn Town improved massively on their 18th place finish from last season to qualify, while in their first season as a full time club, Buxton squeezed into the final spot on the final day.

How the National League North sides got to their final spots.

Into the National League South, and in the most enthralling title race that I’ve ever seen, it was Truro City who defied the odds to win the division, having been homeless, relegation-threatened and the team that Yeovil defeated to win the title just 12 months earlier – they, like Brackley, will compete at the highest level in the club’s history, and become the first Cornish side to compete in the fifth tier – congratulations to them!

Looking at the “also-rans”, Torquay United and Eastbourne Borough both had dramatic upturns in success, finishing 18th and 19th respectively last season; they both receive byes to the semi-finals. Making their return to the playoffs is Worthing, who despite being raided by National League sides, have continued their great recruitment and growth. Both of last season’s relegated NL sides, Boreham Wood and Dorking Wanderers reached the post-season, and Maidstone United have the final spot secured, returning to the playoffs for the second season on the bounce.

How the National League South sides got to their final spots.

How does it work?

These aren’t your standard EFL playoffs, where 2nd plays 6th home and away, 4th plays 5th home away, and then the winners go to Wembley and have a one-off game to win promotion.

2nd and 3rd will receive a ‘bye’ to the semi-finals, leaving 4th to host 7th, and 5th to host 6th. These are one-off, 90 minute games, that go to extra-time and then penalties if the two contenders can’t be separated.

In the semi-finals, 2nd will host the winner of 4th vs 7th, and 3rd will host the winner of 5th vs 6th. In the National League, the two winners will go to Wembley to duke it out, but in the National League North and South, the highest remaining team will host the final (if 3rd and 4th make the final, 3rd will host the game).

Results

In the quarter finals, we have the following fixtures:

National League North
Chester vs Buxton
Chorley vs King’s Lynn Town

National League South
Worthing vs Maidstone United
Boreham Wood vs Dorking Wanderers

There were two fixtures on Tuesday night, one from the North, and one from the South; we begin in the north, where Chorley booked their spot in the semi-final with a 1-0 win over King’s Lynn Town. Mark Ellis scored an 84th minute goal in a cracker of a fixture to separate the two sides, as King’s Lynn were knocked out and will be preparing for a fourth season in the NLN. Chorley meanwhile, will travel to Scunthorpe United on Saturday.

The clash in the south was quite the affair; Boreham Wood came from two goals down to win a dramatic 4-3 thriller over Dorking Wanderers. The hosts took the lead courtesy of Erico Sousa within the first 15 minutes, and headed into half-time with their lead intact. That changed shortly after the break, as TWO Femi Ilesanmi own goals, and a Jason Prior goal gave Dorking a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes of normal time to go.

By this point, the Wanderers were also down to 10 men, Jimmy Muitt received his marching orders for a second yellow card, and the Wood took advantage of this. Abdul Abdulmalik scored in the 83rd minute, Cameron Coxe scored six minutes later, before Femi Ilesanmi made amends for his own goals with a 96th minute hit to condemn Dorking to a second season of NLS football; Boreham Wood face Torquay United on Saturday.

The two Wednesday night fixtures saw goals aplenty as well, we’ll begin in the north as Chester defeated Buxton in extra time to progress to the semi finals. The hosts took the lead inside two minutes thanks to Iwan Murray, but Buxton pulled one back 15 minutes later with a Tom Elliott goal; both sides went into half-time, then full-time level pegging. Harrison Burke was the difference maker though, his 108th minute goal booked their spot in the semi finals against Kidderminster Harriers, and left Buxton in despair.

In the south, Worthing were knocked out by Maidstone United in a night to forget for the hosts – two Ben Brookes penalties, one in the first half, and one just before the end of the game means the Stones are visiting Eastbourne Borough for their semi final battle, while Worthing will have to wait another season to achieve their promotion ambitions.

Final Scores

National League North
Chorley 1-0 King’s Lynn Town
Chester 2-1 Buxton (AET)

National League South
Boreham Wood 4-3 Dorking Wanderers
Worthing 0-2 Maidstone United

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Ref, Referee, Match Official

45 down, one to go.

Yeovil Town head to Aldershot Town on Monday for the final game of the season, and the referee for the occasion is Mr Niall Smith.

Smith has been the man in the middle just 13 times across the National League divisions this season, but has also been regularly holding subs boards up in the EFL too.

He’s dished out 55 yellows and just one red card this season, he’s also been fairly lenient on the spot kicks too, awarding just three – two of which came in the same game.

Yeovil have already had the pleasure of his company once last season, he marshalled the 1-0 away win over Taunton Town in the National League South, a single Frank Nouble goal the difference.

Jordan Young, Jake Wannell and Michael Smith all had their names taken, but he doesn’t even get a mention in our match report – which is usually, a good thing.

Niall Smith has Steven Plane flying down one side (geddit?) with Adam Wilson down the other. Charles Martland is the fourth official.

Niall Smith (left) leads out the teams as Taunton face Yeovil

Aldershot Town (First Team) v Yeovil Town FC (First Team)
National League – Premier    
Referee: Smith, Niall
Assistant Referee: Plane, Steven
Assistant Referee: Wilson, Adam
Fourth Official: Martland, Charles