Latest Yeovil Town News (Page 413)

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Yeovil Town played their first pre-seaosn friendly of the season at Stratford Town on Saturday afternoon naming four trialists among the substitutes.

The game was won with a Tom Knowles strike from the edge of the box, but the game of ‘Guess The Trialist’ is a staple of any pre-season warm up.

Our roving Gloverscast reporter David Coates attended the game in Warwickshire and took pictures of the hopefuls which – with a little bit of help from social media and a good degree of guesswork, we think are as follows:

Deshane Dalling

A forward player who came on for Reuben Reid at half-time at Knight’s Lane and looked to have some pace and trickery about him.

Based on 45 minutes, he looks Josh Neufville-ish rather than Josh Neufville-esque, but definitely something there.

The 22-year-old has played for non-League Staines Town and then at youth level for both Huddersfield Town and QPR where he made one first-team appearance, as an 80th minute substitute in a 5-1 FA Cup win over Swansea City in January 2020.

He started last season on loan at League of Ireland Premier Division side Cork City and made two appearances for Wealdstone in the National League  last season.

 

 

Harlain Mbayo

A 71st minute substitute replacing Max Hunt alongside another trialist in the second half against Stratford.

This one we are pretty sure about, mostly because we checked with some fans at his former club Aberdeen and the player himself then liked the reply we got from them.

The 23-year-old was in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he moved to Belgium at an early age and played for Anderlecht from the age of eight initially as a striker before being converted to a central defender.

His family then moved to England when Harlain was aged 15 and he joined the academy at QPR.

An interview with Aberdeen’s website in 2018 suggests he had some time with Oxford United and then non-League Bedford Town before he joined the Scottish Premier League side in 2015.

His record shows him as having spent 2015 until 2018 at Aberdeen without making a first-team appearance, before a seven-game spell at Scottish League Two side Albion Rovers in 2018.

He then appears to have made the (not insignificant) move from Scotland to Southern League Premier Division side Truro City in Cornwall and then back to Aidrie where he signed in July 2020.


Richard Afrane-Kesey

Richard Afrane-Kesey warms up at Stratford Town.

Came on in the 68th minute in place on goal-scorer Tom Knowles and took up a position down the left wing for the final 22 minutes of the pre-season friendly.

Looked to want to take players on when he got the ball but, as with all of these players, a bit harsh to judge him on a brief appearance in the opening game of pre-season.

There’s not a huge amount of information about him online except to say he began his career in the youth set-up at Charlton Athletic and in October 2020 had a loan spell at Isthmian League Premier Division side Margate.

 


Colin Daniel…..maybe

This is the one we are the least confident about, but social media appears to have identified the central defender playing the full second half as Colin Daniel.

The player came on in place of Luke Wilkinson at the break and looked relatively assured against the Step 4 opponents.

There is a definite similarity between the player who turned out in the number 15 shirt for the Glovers and Daniel who played 23 times in League One for Burton Albion last season, see pictured below, albeit with his final appearance coming in January.

The 33-year-old was released by the Brewers at the end of last season and would certainly bring some good experience with him having won the National League (or the Conference Premier as it was known then) with Mansfield Town in 2013  and got promoted out of League Two with Blackpool in 2017.

The picture, top, is the player who lined up for Yeovil at Stratford and, below, is Colin Daniel when he signed for Burton from Peterborough United in January 2019.

This one has divided opinion at Gloverscast HQ, so we’ll leave you to make your own minds up.

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Here at the Gloverscast, the three amigos, led by Ian Perkins have been working hard to provide Yeovil Town fans with a one-stop shop for all things YTFC.

A podcast twice a week(ish), a website full of stats, analysis and interviews as well as going through the process of saving as much of the Ciderspace archive from the incomparable Badger as we can.

We do it for free, because we love it and because you tell us that you don’t mind it either – or you’re all just being really polite – either way, thank you.

Last year, Ian pretty much single handedly got the Gloverscast nominated for an FCA, “Football Content Award” – we did not win, nor were we expecting to, but the last year has seen the Gloverscast grow exponentially.

So, we’d like to ask for your support, firstly in getting nominated again.

There are plenty of ways you can vote, via Social Media, or using the form on the FCA Website.

All the details can be found HERE 

If you’d rather send a vote in with a tweet, simply copy the text below into Twitter and post your status.

“I am voting for @Gloverscast in @The_FCAs for #BestInNonLeague Podcast”

There’s no need to sign up, they take nothing more than an (optional) name and email address, and do you know what, we’d really appreciate it, we’re proud of what the Gloverscast has become and what it has in store for us.

So, yeah, thanks, legends.

 

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Former Yeovil Town heroes Mickey Spencer and Neil Coates have remembered the club’s supporters they played in front of during one of the club’s most troubled times.

The pair were playing for the club when they moved from their old Huish ground to Huish Park in 1990 and ran in to financial difficulties which almost sent the club over.

But, as we heard from supporters Tim Lancaster and Will Ranner on the podcast a few weeks ago, the troubles drove the fans to raise funds which helped keep the club afloat.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Gloverscast, Mickey says: “What came out of that period was the fantastic team we had off the pitch as well as on it, the supporters were just incredible in terms of what they did for the club.

“That made it worthwhile, even though we did not go up that season, I really felt this was Yeovil at its best.”

He added: “The Yeovil away supporters were the best by a country mile, they would turn up at Gateshead and everywhere we would just thinking ‘damn, those guys love us.’ They were phenomenal.”

Neil Coates goes in for a tackle on his Yeovil Town debut at Tooting & Mitcham – he’d make a few more in his time!
Picture courtesy of Tim Lancaster.

Neil echoed: “The supporters were unbelievable, they turned away games in to home games, we had so many following us all over the country. Playing away was even more special than at home.”

Talking about the club’s old stadium at Huish, which became world famous for a slope of eight feet from side to side, the pair the benefit of playing there.

Mickey recalled: “Any ball kicked to the top of the slope, all the away players thought it was going to run out and you knew it wouldn’t. The defenders would look at me and think I was a bit keen chasing after it, but I knew it was not going out and I often found myself ten yards onside. That slope got us a goal a game, I reckon.”

Neil added: “Actually playing on it was quite difficult, I think I have scored a couple of crosses which went straight in there. Nine to ten feet from corner to corner is a lot when you are running and I remember the mud as well, it really did cut up at times.”

For those of you who heard Mickey talk about that tackle on Gunners’ legend, Lee Dixon, in the FA Cup third round tie in January 1993, here it is….

…..probably lucky VAR was not a thing back then, Mick!

 

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Yeovil Town are set to unveil their new kit for the forthcoming season next week according the club’s official website.

The ‘finishing touches’ are being added  before the launch, in what will be a momentous day for kit enthusiasts across South Somerset.

On Saturday the Glovers will be attempting to ‘Achieve By Unit’ in a template Hummel kit at Stratford.

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New Glovers’ signing midfielder Dale Gorman has said he is looking forward to playing for boss Darren Sarll again.

The Northern Irishman, who joined on undisclosed terms from NIFL Premiership side Glentoran, played under the manager at youth team level at Stevenage in 2015 and then again under him in the first-team three years later.

Speaking to the club’s YouTube channel, the 25-year-old said: “I have played under the gaffer for a number of years now, I know what he is like and he knows what I am like and I am delighted to be back playing under him again.

“I was about 16 when I first signed for Stevenage when I first came across him, so I have known him a long time and to get back working with him is something I looking forward to.”

Having been released by Stevenage following the departure of Sarll at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, Gorman joined Leyton Orient and played 22 times as they won the National League.

Asked about his ambitions at Huish Park, he added: “Our ambitions have to be promotion, when you look at the size of the club and we will give it a good go this year to get back where we know we should be.

“I have experience of winning this league and I know what it takes to win matches in this league, so hopefully I can bring that with me.”

See what supporters of Gorman’s old club Glentoran had to say about his departure – here.

 

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Midfielder Dale Gorman has become the latest summer signing for Yeovil Town – almost a month after he was first linked with a move to Huish Park.

The Northern Irishman, who played under Glovers’ boss Darren Sarll during a three-year spell at Stevenage, has joined on undisclosed terms  from NIFL Premiership side Glentoran.

A move has been expected ever since reports in Belfast Telegraph at the start of the month.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the 25-year-old said: “I’m delighted to get everything sealed and finalised; I’m just looking forward to the season starting now.

“Our ambition has to be promotion; you look at the size of the football club and not many would expect us to be here.

“We’ll give it a good go this year to try and get back where we should be.”

Talking about the former Leyton Orient and Newport County fans on social media, Glentoran fans gave mixed reviews of the player.

@UnofficialGlens said: “He’d the top assists in our team last season, but he generally didn’t start for us.

“Most of these were against the bottom sides in the League. 

“He loves a long ball over the top and has a decent delivery from set pieces.”
But, another Glens’ supporter described him as “a set-piece specialist who never scored from a set piece.”

No idea who Stena Embla (?)  or Gary Windass are, but here are a few other thoughts from Glentoran fans.

https://twitter.com/michaelg309/status/1418273935691501574?s=21

https://twitter.com/j1905g/status/1418259454097772550?s=21

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Sam Foley, a member of Yeovil Town‘s play-off winning side of 2013, is back in English football having joined Tranmere Rovers.

The 34-year-old spent last season north of the border at Scottish Premier League side Motherwell but was released at the end of the season after making just four appearances having signed from St Mirren in January.

Speaking to the Tranmere website, Foley said: “Tranmere is a massive football club, and it is a privilege to play for the club.

“Obviously, the manager (former Dundee United boss Mickey Mellon) is a big pull and I know him from my time in Scotland and I was impressed with how his team played last season.”

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The first competitive goal ever scored at Huish Park was turned home by the foot of striker Mickey Spencer – with a broken foot.

The former Glovers’ favourite has spoken to the Gloverscast about his memories of scoring the opener in a 2-0 win over Colchester United on the opening day of the 1990/91 season.

He said: “The build-up to the first game was incredible with a lot of excitement around the place, but a lot of people were not aware I had broken my foot in a pre-season game at Farnborough.

Mickey Spencer in action in the 0-0 draw with Hereford United in the FA Cup second round at Huish Park in 1992.
Picture courtesy of Tim Lancaster

“So the day of the game I turned up at the on crutches and I had to sleep with my foot elevated to get all the swelling out of it.

“Because (then-Yeovil manager) Brian Hall was such a great tactician he said to me ‘if you don’t start, the crowd are not going to be behind us’, so he said just start and if your foot swells up we can take you off.

“A guy called Duncan Russell, who was the physio at the time, loaded me up on painkillers, and we played the first half and I had to stick my foot in a ice pack at half-time.

“I remember the goal really clearly, Peter Conning pulled the ball back to me and on my broken left foot I had to strike it and I remember striking it really cleanly.

“All the guys have run towards me and I am saying ‘watch my foot, watch my foot’!”

Mickey was joined by former Yeovil full-back Neil Coates, whose winning goal in an FA Cup replay at Hereford United in December 1992 earned a money-spinning third round tie against Arsenal.

The bumper crowd for that tie with the Gunners at Huish Park together with big crowds in the games running up to the tie are widely regarded as having saved the club from going out of business.

Make sure you don’t miss Friday’s edition of the Gloverscast to hear Mickey and Neil talk about their time at Yeovil Town.

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Former Yeovil Town loan striker Olufela Olomola has signed for League Two new boys Hartlepool United after a successful trial.

The 23-year-old, who was released by Scunthorpe United at the end of last season, played in a 1-0 friendly defeat against Spennymoor United on Tuesday night alongside another former Glovers’ loanee, goalkeeper Adam Smith.

Olomola also scored four times in a 9-1 victory over Northern Premier League Division One West side Runcorn Linnets last weekend.

Pools’ boss Dave Challinor said: “Fela has come in and earned a deal.

“He’s looked sharp in training, took his goals well, granted against lower opposition but has looked a threat.

“We now have to work with him to get out of him what we need over the coming weeks.

“Undoubtedly with the delivery and quality we have in wide areas we will create chances and if he keeps putting himself in the right positions he’ll get opportunities to score.”