Ben Barrett (Page 4)

Ahead of this weekend’s National League encounter with Altrincham, BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah caught up with Yeovil Town defender Joe Gubbins to discuss the Glovers’ recent form.

​Following another high-scoring victory in midweek, Gubbins told BBC Somerset:

​”Of course, a lot of confidence. Another game where we scored a lot of goals. I think the team performance was pretty good as well… overall it’s another win and it’s another game in our unbeaten run.”

​Altrincham arrive at Huish Park having won five of their last six matches, with their only recent blemish coming against Boreham Wood. Gubbins acknowledged the tough test awaiting them:

​”Every game in this league is the old cliché, ain’t it? They’re all a tough game and we’ll have to make sure we’re at it, but in the last few weeks, I think we’ve been very good and hopefully we can continue that on Saturday.”

“We believe we’re a really good team and we believe we’re a top team and we believe we can beat anyone in this league when we’re at it.”

​Both sides must contend with testing weather conditions, with high winds forecasted for matchday with Storm Austen on the way. When asked about playing in the wind, Gubbins didn’t hold back his aversion:

​”Anything with wind, I hate it. Anything with wind, I hate it. It ruins everything. I’d rather it was pissing down with rain and was cold.”

​Not a fan, then Joe!?

​”You’ve got to play the conditions as well as the game and hopefully you can carry out your tactics as well… it’s the same for both teams, so it is what it is.”

​Off the pitch, team morale remains high as Yeovil fight to cement their place in the play-off spots. Gubbins praised the positive culture within the camp:

​”The camp’s great anyway. The boys are great, everyone’s in a really good place, everyone gets on really well. So, I mean, there’s no complaints at the moment.”

​That positive environment is being driven from the front by newly confirmed club captain Brett McGavin whom Gubbins singled out for high praise following his arrival in the summer:

​”In every way—off the pitch, on the pitch, the way he performs, the way he treats the boys, the way he treats the staff… He’s a top lad, he’s a top captain, he’s very well deserved.”

A positive result this weekend would keep the Glovers firmly on an upward trajectory against another play-off contender.

The winners of the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie between Yeovil Town and Leatherhead will face League Two side Chesterfield in the First Round Proper.

The Glovers meet the Isthmian League Premier Division outfit at Huish Park on Tuesday night having played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in the opening match in Surrey at the weekend.

For the winners, a trip to the Spireites away and a chance to meet up with Chesterfield assistant boss, Danny Webb, who had an 11-day stint as manager at Huish Park in September 2025 before quitting to return to his old job in Derbyshire due to “personal and family reasons.”

If it comes to it, the tie will be played on the weekend of 7th-8th November. But all our attentions are, of course, on getting through the replay…..

Right, let’s try this fourth qualifying round malarkey again shall we?

Harrison Blair will take charge of the replay against Leatherhead at Huish Park, after we presume a hastily arranged set of officials got a phone call on Sunday morning.

Mr Blair is no stranger to Glovers games, he’s done three in recent seasons.

He was in charge for the 3-2 away defeat to Boreham Wood last season, Kyle Ferguson saw red for two yellows and Jake Wannell found his name taken too.

He was also in the middle for the 1-1 draw with Eastleigh in December and the 1-0 away win at Solihull in September.

This season, he’s been in charge of 11 games, mostly in League Two, his current tally reads 34 yellows, two reds and one spot kick awarded.

Dean Treleaven and Sean Rothwell are his assistants, Phillip Eddie is on fourth official duties.

Yeovil Town FC (First Team) v Leatherhead FC (First Team)
FA Cup
Referee: Blair, Harrison
Assistant Referee: Treleaven, Dean
Assistant Referee: Rothwell, Sean
Fourth Official: Eddie, Phillip

​The FA Cup once again lived up to its reputation for unmatched drama as Yeovil Town played out a chaotic 3-3 draw.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman after the final whistle, Yeovil manager Billy Rowley offered a remarkably candid breakdown of a match that left supporters breathless.

When asked where to begin dissecting such an emotional rollercoaster, Rowley admitted, “Surprisingly, I’m… I’m absolutely fine, really… Maybe I shouldn’t be, because obviously you’re winning and you should be cruising and suddenly you’re not.”

“Such a boring cliche, but this is the FA Cup, isn’t it?… Some of Leatherad’s young lads, I thought they did well today. This is like the biggest game of their season, probably.”

​When pressed on whether his side deserved to win, Rowley pointed to the balance of play across the afternoon. “I think so, based on chances,” he said. However, he admitted that things became chaotic in the closing stages.

“I think the only thing that let us down was probably like the last 25 minutes. Ste Walker goes down, I think once the referee gives us one penalty, for some reason, he can’t give us a second, which we looked on the replay, it’s a… it’s a penalty.”

“You, you know, you might score that, 3-0, game over.”

Instead, bizarre defensive lapses let Leatherhead back into the tie. “A couple of really strange goals that I’m going to have to rewatch,” Rowley stated.

Describing the strange nature of the goals conceded—including an unfortunate own goalhe said, “The gods weren’t on our side from the defending point of view.”

Yeovil scored within 30 seconds of the second half getting underway and Stillman questioned how such control slipped away through defensive mishaps. Rowley agreed wholeheartedly: “Yeah, I think you’ve just answered my question for me. It’s defensive mishaps. We were in complete control, a couple of balls in our box, we score an own goal.”

Despite the frustration, Rowley maintained a pragmatic perspective on the result.

“You can’t just go for every game, win 6-0,” Rowley noted. “This is football. We’re winning the game, we didn’t take our chances, they take theirs, we’re drawing, and, and that’s it. That’s… that’s the game.”
​Looking ahead to the replay at home, the manager expressed appreciation for the travelling faithful who braved the elements on a slow, wet pitch. “I thought, Leatherhead did a great job today with the crowd, and I thought our support was excellent,” he said.
​As preparations turn to the upcoming replay, Rowley is confident his squad will be ready.

“[At] our place, we will obviously… I think we’ll be a lot more, rehearsed in… in how we want to play”

Glovers’ defender Archie Davies opened up about the emotional and physical rollercoaster that was the 3-3 draw with Leatherhead in the FA Cup.

​From the outset, Yeovil knew they were in for a robust physical test. According to Davies, their opponents defended resolutely in the opening period, effectively shutting down space and denying the Glovers any meaningful breathing room.

​”The first half, I think we sort of knew what we were in for,” Davies explained to BBC Somerset Mark Stillman. “They defended quite well to be fair to them. They didn’t really allow us a lot of space, a lot of chances.”

​However, a clever tactical adjustment at the break shifted the momentum.

“Going into half time we made a couple of tweaks just to see where we could really hurt them. And, we started really well. Get the goal nice and early. Should, you know, should be 2-0 after the penalty, but, these things happen. The majority of the second half [I] thought we really showed a lot of control and a bit more, you know, killer instinct.”

​Football, however, can change in the blink of an eye. What followed was a chaotic ten-minute spell that nearly undid all of Yeovil’s hard work. A flurry of scrappy goals turned the fixture on its head;
“I don’t think it’s complacency. I don’t think we really, are in any sort of position to take things for granted even being two-nil up. It’s the FA Cup, it’s a prestigious competition and, we want to go on a run. So, I don’t think really it’s anything like that. I just think we didn’t do the the basics well enough. We didn’t clear our lines well enough and I think, looking back on it, they’re all really, really sort of scrappy goals, which, you know, these teams are capable of. They’re not really going to carve you open pretty football. It’s the it’s the first and second contacts that that they’ll pride themselves on and they did it better than us.

​Davies was quick to dismiss any notion of complacency, emphasizing that a prestigious tournament like the FA Cup demands absolute respect regardless of the opposition’s league status.

​”I don’t think it’s complacency,” Davies noted. “I don’t think we really are in any sort of position to take things for granted, even being two-nil up… They’re all really, really sort of scrappy goals, which these teams are capable of. They did it better than us.”

​Trailing late in the game with elimination looming could easily sap the morale, but Yeovil’s refusal to surrender shone through. A crucial equaliser in the dying moments not only restored parity but completely altered the mood in the dressing room.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s a bit of relief. But at the same time we still, as soon as we scored the goal, we’re running straight back to the halfway line to try and get a winner. Yeah, a little bit of relief and, um, we’ll um, we’ll have a couple of days of, you know, recovery and back on the training pitch Monday and we’ll be ready to go Tuesday.”