Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 3)

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has admitted his side has clicked quicker than he expected as they go in to this weekend’s trip to FC Halifax Town in the National League play-off places.

Ahead of the start of the season, the Glovers’ boss had been predicting his side to hit their stride as the year drew to a close but, with 15 games played they sit fourth in the division having scored 50 goals in all competitions.

They bounced back from last weekend’s 2-1 home defeat to Altrincham with a win by the same scoreline at Hornchurch in midweek and Rowley said supporters will still need to have patience with the side at some points.

Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Josh Perkins on Thursday, the boss said: “It’s probably quicker quicker than I thought, but equally I think we are going to see a couple of steps back here and there.

“We’ve still got such a young group, a lot of boys who have come from a league or two below, so when we don’t perform to our maximum it’s about staying level-headed, realising we are not the finished product, going again, training hard and trying to improve all the time.”

He added: “Results have been good, players are playing well and they are full of confidence and there are some really good relationships in the camp as well. Many of these lads did not even know each other’s names four months ago, now they are hanging around with each other outside of football, building great relationships. It’s really nice to see.”

Jordan Norville-Williams came off after 39 minutes at Hornchurch on Tuesday night.

Defender Jordan Norville-Williams will be missing from the squad which travels to Halifax on Saturday after he limped off with a hamstring injury in the first half at Hornchurch. He joins defender Joy Mukena and summer signing Joe Haigh, who is yet to make an appearance for the Glovers having undergone surgery, in the Huish Park treatment room.

Rowley said Norville-Williams would be going for a scan on the injury, adding: “The initial feeling from the physio is that it is not too serious. Best case scenario is probably ten days to two weeks, worst case is maybe three for four weeks.”

However, the boss has been boosted by the arrival of Bristol City loanee Seb Naylor who impressed on his debut at Hornchurch. The 21-year-old has joined on loan until the start of January and is an obvious replacement for Norville-Williams.

Rowley said: “We didn’t have another left-back in the building, we decided to loan one last week for that reason and then Jordan gets injured, so it’s kind of a blessing we did that. Seb fitted in seamlessly and I said after the game at Hornchurch on Tuesday, he’s had a great grounding at Manchester City and now Bristol City.

“He’s played in a really possession-based team his whole life, understandings the positional concepts and has a great understanding of football. So he will fit seamlessly in to this group and offer us a lot of different qualities to what Jordan does, but an equal amount of ability in that team.”

Yeovil make the long trip to West Yorkshire to take on Halifax in a 12.30pm kick-off – one of just two in the division with broadcasters DAZN also choosing to send Harrogate Town to Forest Green Rovers for a lunchtime start. The Shaymen went down to a 3-2 home defeat to Barrow in midweek having led 2-0 with an hour played and Rowley is expecting a different test to the one his side faced at Hornchurch.

He said: “I remember the last time we were up that way, we were sitting around all day in the hotel until 7pm waiting for kick-off, this is at the other end of the spectrum, we’re up early and we will go down there and try and get another result.

“But are a top team and they have proved that in the last couple of years in this division. Stylistically it is going to be very different to what we faced on Tuesday. We are going to have to be the best version of ourselves to go up there and get anything from the game.“

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Yeovil Town head to the Shay Stadium this Saturday Lunchtime to face Halifax Town.

Ben Toner is our referee for the game.

This is Toner’s first National League match of the season, not least because he’s been too busy with the big boys in the EFL, five League One and five League Two games under his belt so far.

Those ten games have seen a total of 49 (!) yellow cards shown, four reds and two penalties given.

That includes a total of 11 cards, 10 of which were Yellow when he looked after Barnet vs York in midweek.

A vastly experienced official, Transfermarkt suggests this will match number 458 of his career in the middle. Five of those have been Halifax games, five of them have been Yeovil games.

Of the handful of games he’s taken charge of for the Glovers, the most recent was way back in 2019, a 1-0 home defeat to Crawley, where he booked Daniel Ojo, Sessi D’almeida, Tom James and Gary Warren.

We’ve only one one of those five games, ironically also against Crawley, that game was back in 2015!

The most memorable (or should that be least memorable) was a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Carlisle United in November 2017, it was cold, wet and Bevis Mugabi got sent off, grim.

Ben will be assisted by Tyler Dutton and Mark Bates, Adam Nichol is the fourth official.

FC Halifax Town (First Team) v Yeovil Town FC (First Team)        Live on DAZN
National League – Premier
Referee: Toner, Ben
Assistant Referee: Dutton, Tyler
Assistant Referee: Bates, Mark
Fourth Official: Nichol, Adam

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Yeovil Town will now be AWAY at Wells City in the Francis Hillier Somerset Men’s Premier Cup.

The tie, which has been confirmed for Tuesday 10th November, was originally scheduled to be a home tie but has now been switched to the Wells AFC Athletic Ground.

The game is scheduled for a 7:30pm kick off.

The Glovers booked their place in the second round after a very strong first team put seven past Radstock. Wells received a bye in the first round.

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Yeovil Town bounced back from the disappointment of a home defeat at the weekend with a battling 2-1 win at Hornchurch on Tuesday night. Abby Carter was one of the 267 travelling fans straining their eyes in the away end and here are her conclusions.

It’s always nice to visit a new athletics track

I cannot remember the last time I went to a ground where neither team had “an end”. We turned out well, but it felt like football at an athletics track with VERY bright lights. We’ve been to a lot of athletic tracks over the years, we’ve also been on a lot of “new” away days, Bridge Avenue might not be the best we will visit this season. What I will say is, they’ve certainly know how to make that ground and more importantly surface work for them. The fact we were only the third team to score a goal there in this season, only the second to win there and we doubled the amount of goals they conceded at home in their previous six matches in just six minutes shows what an important three points this was.

The ‘view’ from the away end
The first half took a long time to get started even longer to finish
Two home substitutions in the first 22 mins, three injuries and nine minutes of time added on, that is a lot of start-stop (then start again). After Saturday’s home defeat to Altrincham it felt like the squad needed a shake up and six changes to the starting XI certainly did that, but between the changes and the stoppages we didn’t really get going. Despite this, first half possession felt strong and going in at the break we were the dominant of the two. We also got a little insight into what’s to come with Seb Naylor and there’s likely to be 267 excited travelling fans this morning – plus plenty who watched in on the DAZN stream.
Text book impact subs

Hornchurch were all over us at the start of the second half and by that point we had already seen it was going to take something special to get through their defence – but boy did Billy time his substitutions to perfection. You will struggle to find a stronger bench than that this season and yet again, last night was proof that when we ask this team for a response, they do not let us down. The arrivals of first Ryan Jones, Mason Obeng and Slavi Spasov and then James Daly changed the game and bought out the best in the lads left on the pitch. I’ve said it countless times, but this team understand what it is to deliver, grind out a result and the subs made all the difference just when we needed them. As the away end serenaded at the final whistle: “Daly, Yeovil can’t play without you“.

“….and it’s breaking my heart, when you don’t start…..DALY….!!”
Stick with Jos Barker 
If there’s any Yeovil player with a point to prove last night, it’s our determined and hungry keeper. Jos has been dividing opinions of late, there’s been some “important” mistakes over the last 15 games, but this wasn’t one of them. Was it a 7/7 performance? No, but did he make important saves and command his area, absolutely, as he has all season. A goalkeeper I am not, but if I was, I wouldn’t want to follow in Jed Ward and at 22, with the step up he’s made, his future in green and white looks bright to me and we’ve got to stick with him. In his first few months, Jos ranks third out of 35 goalkeepers in our division for goals prevented this season for a reason.
Those goal-scoring Glovers  
50 goals in all competitions, beating previous season goal tallies weekly, golden boot chats, countless names on the score sheet, pinging them in from all over the park, scoring in every game this season, who is this Yeovil town team!? Well, let me tell you, it’s a Yeovil Town team that is a third of the way through the season and sits in fourth in the table. I’m trying not to get too excited given the Christmas lights are still in the loft, but the smell of it, is getting stronger. Can you smell it?

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Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley hailed an “excellent performance all round” after his side secured a crucial 2-1 away victory against Hornchurch on Tuesday evening. Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman following the match, Rowley reflected on a challenging fixture;
​The evening began with logistical hurdles for the Glovers, who endured a lengthy journey to the stadium. “I thought it was an excellent performance all round, we sat on the coach for up to, probably over three hours on the way here, hit a bit of traffic, got here a little bit late,” Rowley explained. “Prep wasn’t incredible, but it was decent enough”.

The manager also noted the unique conditions of the pitch, describing the surface as “quite slippery” and tricky to adapt to. Despite these early obstacles, Rowley was deeply satisfied with how his side handled the challenge, especially given Hornchurch’s formidable home record. “Obviously a loss Saturday… Hornchurch’s home record, Daryl’s done a great job here. They’re really difficult to beat,” Rowley noted. “But I felt like our use of the ball, our timing of some of our movements… [we] adapted”.  

​Yeovil’s impressive depth was on full display as Rowley made six changes to his starting lineup. Rowley noted that the tight turnaround following Saturday’s match meant fresh legs were vital. “I felt it was a good chance for the lads that deserved to play, really,” Rowley said. “When you’ve hit back-to-back league six-nils, it’s hard to drop players… and I think boys that perform so well week in, week out, they deserve to keep their shirt”.

“Full credit to the lads. I thought Zain’s finish was top-class. [We’ve] started to play him slightly higher on the pitch and he adds that real quality and touch and nous and guile around the box. So, happy for him to score. And then JD, sort of, perfect sub-performance really. Played him slightly deeper, running in behind and, yeah, he latched onto the ball incredibly well and it was, it was a world-class finish, really.”

​The match featured standout displays from newcomers, including Bristol City loanee Seb Naylor, who earned glowing praise from his manager on his debut. “Seb is an unbelievable footballer. Really, really top footballer,” Rowley said. “For a young lad, I’m pretty sure this is his first loan. He’s had an incredible grounding at Manchester City… his positional understanding is first class”. adding that Naylor’s maturity and footballing IQ are so advanced that “he could probably be a coach at 21”.

​While Yeovil controlled large portions of the game a late goal from the hosts created a tense finish.

“I felt like the boys dealt with that adversity really well in the last 10-15 minutes,” he stated.

​The only major negative of the evening was an injury to Jordan Norville-Williams, who was forced off. Rowley provided a reassuring update on the defender: “He’s got a slight hamstring injury. It’s not too serious. It’ll probably be a couple of weeks max”.

​With the victory pushing Yeovil’s goal tally to 50 across all competitions for the season, Rowley emphasised that the milestone is a testament to the squad’s relentless daily work ethic. “We’re trying to create training sessions and ideas to score goals, and it’s credit to them to train so well every day,” he said.

​Rowley also made a point of thanking the traveling Yeovil faithful, who turned out in large numbers to support the team on a demanding midweek trip. “Unbelievable. I could stand out there and listen to them sing for ages, really,” Rowley smiled. “Love seeing so many familiar faces. I appreciate the distance they travel… first class. Absolutely love them”.  

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Following Yeovil Town’s hard-fought 2-1 victory away at Hornchurch, midfielder Zain Westbrooke caught up with BBC Somerset’s Mark Stillman.
​After a disappointing result on Saturday, the Glovers knew they faced a stern test against a physical Hornchurch side on a Tuesday night.
However, Westbrooke felt the team handled the challenge maturely. “I think it was a really good performance, a good way to bounce back from Saturday,” Westbrooke said. “I think we knew it was never going to be easy coming here… they’re a physical team. They put it on you a lot and I think we dealt with that really well.”
​Westbrooke marked his return to the starting line-up, having recently recovered from injury, with a well-taken goal. Describing his strike, which followed a deep cross from Joe Gubbins, he noted: “[I] Don’t really remember too much. I think the cross came in from Gubbo, like a deep cross and it just landed at me and luckily I took my time and picked the spot… and yeah, it was a good goal for me, brings me some confidence moving forward.”
​The timing of the goal proved vital, coming just after manager Billy Rowley made a triple substitution, Westbrooke praised the immense strength in depth within the squad this season, pointing out how the substitutes consistently alter games. “We know that we’ve got a really strong bench to come on and impact the game,” Westbrooke said. “Today the starters did really well, moving the ball, working Hornchurch and making them run, tiring them out and then subs came on and to a man, everyone was outstanding.”

​Westbrooke is Yeovil’s 12th different goal scorer and for a side with 50 goals across all competitions this campaign, Westbrooke emphasised that the attacking responsibility is shared across the entire pitch. “We’re always going to create chances, I think we’ve shown that in majority of the games,” he explained. “I think all of us need to sort of take that on our shoulders, that we need to score from all areas of the pitch if we’re going to do something positive this season.”
​Reflecting on his move to the club over the summer, the midfielder highlighted the positive atmosphere behind the scenes at Huish Park. “It’s been really good, working with the staff, working with this group of players,” Westbrooke shared. “There’s a lot of belief in the building, a lot of positivity. You know, we’ve got off to a good start, but we know nothing’s done yet. We need to keep pushing and we know that there’s a lot more in that dressing room.”
​Finally, Westbrooke acknowledged the loud backing from the traveling supporters who made the trip to cheer on the team, concluding: “Really big travelling support coming to watch us… and we need to repay those fans. They show up in their numbers and we need to give them performance and I feel like we did that tonight.”

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Late goals from Zain Westbrooke and substitute James Daly saw Yeovil Town grab an important win at Hornchurch on Tuesday night.

The Glovers were struggling to find their way through a resolute defence when manager Billy Rowley brought Ryan Jones, Slavi Spasov and Mason Obeng on in a triple change just after the hour which swung the initiative in the Glovers’ favour.

Westbrooke turned home from a scramble inside the box on 72 minutes before Daly, on as a substitute just 90 seconds before, smashed home a second with 12 minutes of normal time remaining.

The hosts’ Charlie Pegrum pulled a goal back with a minute remaining but Yeovil saw the game out for the win which moved them in to fourth place in the National League table with 15 games played.

First half

Yeovil made six changes from Saturday’s home defeat to Altrincham with on loan Bristol City defender Seb Naylor and striker Owen Dean with defender Joe Gubbins, midfielder Zane Westbrooke, winger Charlie Lennon and striker Ste Walker all starting. Naylor lined up on the left side of our usual formation whilst Dean was out the right wing with Lennon on the left.

Hornchurch suffered a blow after just seven minutes when defender Ryan Inniss suffered a knock and had to be replaced.

On 14 minutes, it was Naylor who found Lennon down the left and almost picked out Dean arriving in the area only for the Urchins’ defence to scrambling to clear. Six minutes later Johl Powell fizzed a ball in to the box with Dean lurking at the back post, but a defender was there to clear the danger.


There was some defensive work to do with the giant frame of Ryan Loft causing issues when the home side got the ball forward, but there was nothing much to trouble Jos Barker in the Yeovil goal.

At the other end, Hornchurch keeper Arthur Nasta pulled off an outstanding save to keep out a goal bound effort from the outside of the boot of Brett McGavin after good work from first Lennon and then Powell to set him up for the shooting opportunity. That is about as near to a proper shot on target as we have mustered for all our possession.

Jordan Norville-Williams was replaced by Hayden Muller with 39 minutes gone 

With the game ticking in to nine minutes of stoppage time, Barker was called in to action to deny Charlie Pegrum with his legs.

Half-time: Hornchurch 0 Yeovil Town 0

Second half

The home side had a huge opportunity to open the scoring with five minutes of the second half played when Pegrum, who had been causing problems down the left side in the first half, weaved into the box and laid it off to substitute Jack Sandat who blazed it over.

Hornchurch had brought on wingers Myles Weston and ex-Glovers’ loanee Angelo Balanta and both made an instant impact causing issues down both flanks. Loft flashed a close range header just past the post before first Dean and then Powell spurned good openings to break the deadlock.

On 62 minutes, Billy Rowley made a triple substitution  with Ryan Jones, Slavi Spasov and Mason Obeng replacing Walker, Lennon and Dean. Something was needed to unlock the hosts’ defence.

That something came with 71 minutes played when the Glovers took the lead. After the latest foray forward looking to pick the lock of a Hornchurch side which had only conceded two goals at home all season, the ball found its way to Joe Gubbins on the left and his ball in was not dealt with before landing to Zain WESTBROOKE who controlled it beautifully before smashing home his first goal in green-and-white.

Yeovil celebrate Zain Westbrooke’s opening goal.

McGavin pulled a free-kick just wide soon after before Urchins’ substitute Harry Hearn came within inches of pulling level moments later.

James DALY came off the bench with 12 minutes remaining and within seconds of his arrival he doubled the advantage. A long ball forward from Gubbins picked the winger out on the left of the box, he let it bounce twice before smashing home a half volley from an acute angle. That is some finish and the substitute jumps in to the arms of boss Billy Rowley in celebration.

The changes have added intensity to Yeovil’s game and swung it in our favour, but it needed a fine block from Jos Barker to deny Pegrum who was picked out at the back post by a deep ball in to the box. From the resulting corner, the visiting keeper had to make another fine stop at his far post.

Muller flicked a header just why and then Daly had a great chance to put the game out of sight when he tore down the left and Nasta did well to tip his effort wide. That was almost a carbon copy of the second goal but the Somerset-born keeper did well to get his gloves to it.

With a minute to go, Hornchurch pulled one back when Weston’s ball in from the right picked out Charlie PEGRUM in the middle of the box where he fired a ball straight through Barker.

But it was Yeovil who held on for the win and become just the second team to win at Hornchurch so far this season.

Full time: Hornchurch 1 Yeovil Town 2

Match Details

Venue: Hornchurch Stadium
Date: Tuesday, 27th October, 2026, 7.45pm

Competition: Enterprise National League Premier Division

Scorers: Zain Westbrooke 72 (1-0), James Daly 78 (2-0), Charlie Pegrum 89 (2-1)

Conditions: Cold but dry
Pitch: Players losing their footing all over the show.

Attendance: 1,143 (267 away supporters)

Bookings:
Yeovil Town: Jack Kingdon 25, Ryan Jones 87, James Daly 90+1

Hornchurch: Tom Wraight 33

Referee: Harry Wager

Yeovil Town


Substitutes: Hayden Muller (for Jordan Norville-Williams, 39), Mason Obeng (for Charlie Lennon, 64), Ryan Jones (for Owen Dean, 64), Slavi Spasov (for Ste Walker, 64), James Daly (for Johl Powell, 77), Loick Ayina (not used), Archie Davies (not used).

Hornchurch: Arthur Nasta, Frankie Edwards, Ryan Inniss (for Tom Dallison, 7), Jack Baldwin (for Jack Sandat, 23), Will Greenidge, Charlie Pegrum, Miles Bracking, Alfie Massey (for Myles Weston, 46), Tom Wraight, Ryan Loft (for Henry Hearn, 70), Josh Walker (for Angelo Balanta, 46).

Substitutes (not used): Rhys Byrne, Nathan Ferguson.

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Yeovil Town boss Billy Rowley has made six changes to his starting XI for tonight’s trip to Hornchurch (7.45pm kick-off).

There are first starts for on loan Bristol City defender Seb Naylor and striker Owen Dean with defender Joe Gubbins, midfielder Zane Westbrooke, winger Charlie Lennon and striker Ste Walker all starting.

Archie Davies, Hayden Muller, James Daly, Ryan Jones and Slavi Spasov, who all started the 2-1 home defeat to Altrincham on Saturday, are all named on the bench. Defender Ben Radcliffe misses out through suspension after his late red card in the last match.

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Having gone down to a defeat in the rain at home to Altrincham at the weekend, Yeovil Town are looking to bounce straight back when they visit Hornchurch for the first time on Tuesday night.

FORM…

YEOVIL TOWN

Despite defeat in their last outing at home to Altrincham on Saturday, it has been a sensational start to the new season for Billy Rowley’s men who still sit in the National League play-off places going in to this one.

The Glovers last loss was only their third in 13 league matches but did expose some defensive fragilities which they will need to solidify if they are to get anything from their trip to Essex.

They will be without the services of loan defender Ben Radcliffe. The Crawley Town player is suspended for three matches after his late red card at the weekend.

HORNCHURCH

The home form table for Hornchurch looks very different to the away form table. The National League Premier Division new boys sit third in the home table having won five of their six matches, but away from home they have lost six of their eight matches.

The latest defeat on the road came at Hartlepool United on Saturday when they went down 2-1 with former Yeovil loanee Angelo Balanta on target. But seven days earlier they were 2-0 winners over Eastleigh back on home soil.

After promotion via the National League South title last season, they strengthened with experience through the likes of defenders Ryan Inniss and Joe Kizzi, winger Myles Weston, midfielder Nathan Ferguson and striker Josh Walker.

KEY PLAYERS…

YEOVIL TOWN – JOHL POWELL

As introductions to a new division go, there can be few better than Johl Powell’s arrival in the National League Premier Division this season.

The forward has made the step up two tiers of the football pyramid look easy and goes in to Tuesday’s game with eight league goals in his last six appearances – make that nine in nine if you include the FA Cup.

He has proven himself an instinctive finisher who refuses to give up on a chance when he has got a scent of goal and ford in to this match as a player on top of his game.

HORNCHURCH – RYAN INNISS

At the heart of Hornchurch’s impressive start to life in the National League Premier Division is the colossal frame of former Yeovil loan defender Ryan Inniss.

The 31-year-old arrived in Essex in the summer having been released by Forest Green Rovers where he had been a regular fixture in the backline.

Inniss has been an ever-present for the Urchins this season and will bring experience and organisation alongside his defensive qualities and threat at the other end of the pitch in the Yeovil box.

If the Glovers are going to succeed in this one, getting past the one-man wall of Inniss is something they will have to achieve.

Ryan Inniss during his loan spell at Yeovil Town in 2014. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

THE GAFFER…

Daryl McMahon is not just manager at Hornchurch, he is part of the club’s ownership group.

Following promotion via the National League South play-offs (beating Yeovil Town Old Boys Torquay United) last season, the Irishman was awarded a new three-year contract at the club which saw him become a part-owner.

Announcing the deal back in June, Urchins’ chairman Alex Sharp said McMahon would help to “build a sustainable pathway to deliver EFL football for Hornchurch within the next five years.”

Hornchurch manager Daryl McMahon.

As a player, McMahon won promotion from League Two with Leyton Orient in 2006 and the FA Trophy with Stevenage a year later and finished his playing career at the same time he started his coaching one at Ebbsfleet United in 2015.

He got Ebbsfleet promoted from National League South in 2017 before jumping up for an ill-fated spell in the EFL at Macclesfield Town which lasted just half-a-season with the club deep in the financial mire. Within 24 hours of leaving Macclesfield, McMahon was appointed Dagenham & Redbridge manager where he stayed until February 2023.

He arrived at Hornchurch, then in the Isthmian League Premier Division, in January 2024 and guided them to promotion before following that with a play-off win in last season’s National League South final.

WE’VE MET BEFORE

We haven’t! Tuesday night’s game at the Hornchurch Stadium will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides.

DON’T I KNOW YOU?

Two former Yeovil loanees are among those they will face on their first visit to Hornchurch. Defender Ryan Inniss and attacker Angelo Balanta both had spells at Huish Park.

Inniss had a six-game loan with the Glovers in the 2014-15 season whilst he was on the books at Crystal Palace, whilst Balanta was part of the squad which reached the League One play-offs with the Glovers in 2013. The Colombian made seven appearances whilst on loan from QPR during that campaign.

It is not the first time either have faced their former employer with Balanta having previously faced us for Dagenham & Redbridge and Inniss whilst at Forest Green Rovers. In fact, the centre half scored an injury time winner against the Glovers on New Year’s Day 2025.

Angelo Balanta in his loan spell at Yeovil Town in 2013. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…

Harry Wager is no stranger to refereeing Yeovil Town matches. He was the man in the middle for one of our most infamous matches last season,

To find out which one, read Ben’s article – here.