Ben Barrett (Page 2)

A third pre-season friendly is in the books, we’re off to newly promoted National League South side Farnham Town.

After being promoted via the play-offs they will play at Step Two of the National League set up.

The game at Memorial Ground will take place on Tuesday 28th July – kicking off at 7:45pm

Yeovil Town Under 19s had a positive first season in the National League U19 alliance system for the first time, finishing third in their league and seeing a number of players make the step into the first team set up at various stages.

The season had a managerial change, Matt Percival leaving in January to explore new opportunities. Jamie Phillip took over the reigns with former Glovers captain Josh Staunton joining the club as Under 19s Operations Lead. 

Finishing their 16 games in Division E, the young Glovers won eight, drew three and lost five; 59 scored with just 31 conceded.

Basingstoke have one game left in their campaign, so long as they don’t beat the Met Police by an eight goal margin or more, the Glovers are set to finish third in the table, 12 points off second and a whopping 16 points off Dorchester’s youth side who were almost perfect throughout their season.

Yeovil were one of the two teams to take points off the league leaders when drawing 0-0 back in October.

George Geraghty ended the season as the division’s second top scorer, his 21 goals just a couple shy of Eastleigh’s Ilya Ihnatenko who racked up 23.

Alec Thomas ended with 12, Ollie Hughes with eight.

Other notable milestones include a brilliant run to the Quarter-finals of the National League Alliance Cup, as well as a number of wins in the County Cup, however they did fall at the first hurdle in the FA Youth Cup.

The Francis Hillier Somerset Men’s Premier Cup gave a large number of Under 19s the chance to represent the Glovers in a first team atmosphere, in the end the Glovers lost 1-0 to Odd Down in the first round, but Blake Watts did break a record becoming the youngest captain of a Yeovil Town Men’s first team fixture.

Watts confirmed this week his time with the Glovers has come to an end after being associated with the club since Under 10s.

Three young Glovers made first team appearances in either the league or FA Trophy too, following in the footsteps of Corey Koerner who was the only academy graduate the season before.

Ollie Hughes, Liam Nardiello and Jaydon Biss all got plenty of time within the group including debuts for all of them at various times.

Hughes and Biss were named in match day squads more than dozen times each, with Nardiello included a couple of times too.

Hughes’ debut against Tamworth on March 3rd made him the fifth youngest Yeovil Town player to represent the Glovers in a league game.

The winger also got international representation with England Colleges receiving his cap just before Christmas.

As for Jaydon Biss, he made two appearances, once against Telford in the FA Trophy before making his league debut alongside Nardiello in the April fixture vs Eastleigh.

News will filter through over the coming days of players who have departed and those who will be with the group again next season.

Good luck to all those departing and here’s to another season of seeing the connection between the Under 19s and first team flourish.

THE GLOVERSCAST WOULD LOVE TO COVER MORE OF THE UNDER 19’S JOURNEY NEXT SEASON.
IF YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO HELP WITH IMAGES, MATCH DETAILS OR ANYTHING, PLEASE CONTACT BEN@GLOVERSCAST.CO.UK

Yeovil Town Under 19s captain Blake Watts has confirmed he is leaving the club.

The Youth team skipper played his last game in the midweek clash with the Met Police Under 19s.

Watts broke a Yeovil Town record when becoming the youngest player to captain the Men’s first team in the Francis Hillier Somerset Men’s Premier Cup earlier this season.

Posting on LinkedIn he said;

“After 9 unforgettable years, the time has come for me to say goodbye to Yeovil Town F.C. After a 6-5 win on Wednesday my time at the club has come to an end.

​From joining as a young player in U10s to captaining teams all the way through to the U19s, this club has played a huge part in my development both on and off the pitch.

​Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to experience so many special moments such as: trophies, memorable cup runs, incredible teammates and friendships and being written into the clubs history as well.

​A huge thank you to all the coaches, staff, teammates, supporters, and everyone connected with the club who has supported me throughout this journey. The memories made here will stay with me forever.

​Although this chapter comes to an end, I’m excited for what’s next and looking forward to the new opportunities ahead.
​Thank you for everything 💚”

Watts’ departure suggests that decisions have started to be made regarding those who are in the Under 19s set up and what their future might look like.

All the best to Blake in his future.

One for the calendars!

Yeovil Town have a pre-season match with National League North side Merthyr Town on Tuesday July 14th. With a 7:30pm kick off scheduled.

Merthyr have strong links to YTFC with Gavin Williams playing for and managing the Welsh side in the past and of course Yeovil bringing in… and sending back… Lewis Twamley from the club in the more recent past.

No sooner has one season finished, the next one starts getting put together.

Yeovil Town will head to Melksham Town of the Southern Premier League South on Saturday 11th of July – 3pm Kick Off.

A regular part of the pre-season schedule in recent years, including a 5-1 win in the summer of 2024.

No ticket news just yet, but get the calendars out, it’s time to start planning the 2026/27 campaign!

Yeovil Town have announced their released and retained list following the conclusion of the 2025/26 campaign.

A number of players are departing Huish Park including National League South Champion Alex Whittle, as well as other regular first teamers Aaron Jarvis, Harvey Greenslade and Finn Cousin-Dawson.

Kyle Fergsuson also departs after one full season as a permanent member of the squad whilst Josh Sims also leaves the club, the former Southampton winger scored the Glovers’ first goal of the season and notched up 35 league appearances.

Brett McGavin has been confirmed as staying for another two years whilst Matt Gould will continue in his dual role next season too

The midfielder ended the season as captain in the absence of Jake Wannell and Luke McCormick.

Both Wannell and McCormick remain contracted to the Glovers for next season as do Joy Mukena, Dan Ellison, Ryan Jones and James Daly.

The option attached to the contract of Jonathon Page has not been taken up and as such he will also be heading to pastures new.

Jacob Maddox, Charlie Cooper and Tahvon Campbell will leave after spending the latter part of the season out on loan.

Speaking of loanees, Jed Ward, Dak Mafico, Troy Perrett, Will Merry, Delano McCoy-Splatt, Terrell Works, Josh Tobin and Millar Matthews-Lewis officially see their temporary spells come to an end and we wish them well in their careers.

Two new deals in as mamy minutes at Huish Park.

Matt Gould, has penned a new deal with Yeovil to continue his dual role as player and Goalkeeper coach.

Gould has made two competitive first team appearances, one in the SMPC and the other coming on in the final minutes of the final game of the season against Solihull.

Yeovil Town midfielder Brett McGavin has signed a new two-year deal at Huish Park.

McGavin’s contract was initially going to come to an end this summer, but Billy Rowley has sought to extend the deal for the next two campaigns.

McGavin won the Glovie for Player of the Year in the 2024/25 season and finished this current campaign as captain with both Jake Wannell and Luke McCormick missing through injury.

The former Torquay man is closing in on 100 league appearances in Green and White and will surely cross that threshold soon enough.

Congratulations on the new deal, here’s to a few more worldies!