AFC Stoneham will be looking for a “giant killing’ as they take on notorious FA Cup slayers Yeovil Town in the Second qualifying round of the cup.
The Glovers will be looking to make it three wins from the last three in all competitions. The Somerset side have been in impressive goalscoring form recently scoring seven goals across the past three fixtures, with goals coming from all areas of the pitch. The game will also mark the earliest Town have entered the FA Cup since 1997 when they played Witney Town in the First qualifying round.
AFC Stoneham come into the game in superb form, having started the season winning all four of their games so far in the Velocity Wessex Football League, sitting fourth due to teams above having played more games. The game is also monumentus for South Coast side as it is the furthest they have gotten in the FA Cup in their history.
Yeovil Team News
Yeovil boss Mark Cooper is not taking the game lightly even if his team are considered favourites. He said: “It’s a ‘no-win’ for us and it’s a ‘win-win’ for Stoneham because everyone expects us to win. For us, it’s about paying total respect to Stoneham.
“It’s about them, it’s their day but we have a job to do and our only job is to make sure we try and get in the next round.”
The 54-year-old also talked about his desire to take the club on a long cup run. He said: “ I’d love to be in charge of Yeovil to take them on a really good cup run…it breeds confidence, you win games and most importantly you can earn a lot of money.”
Cooper won’t be changing the lineup to much though as “we’re trying to win a game” and so the “strongest team will be played.” The former Darlington manager wouldn’t go into detail on whether new signing Michael Smith would make his Huish Park debut only stating “he was ready.”
Forward Jordan Young was keen to reiterate Mark Cooper’s message of it being a “tough game”. The ex-Chippenham Town man also explained that the squad was looking forward to the cup. He said: “ It’s an exciting week, FA Cup week. I think it’s a massive competition…This week we’ve been really looking forward to having an exciting cup game.
Cooper will have a full squad to pick from with the exception of Jamie Sendles-White, who misses out.
AFC Stoneham News
Mark Stupple, AFC Stenham Chairman, was very upbeat about his side and the trip to Huish Park. He said:” It means everything to a small club like us, we put a post up saying how nine years ago we were playing County League football and Yeovil were in the Championship. Thats the magic of the FA Cup.
“It will be the biggest game of our players’ career and as a club we have to make sure it’s a day they never forget.”
In terms of attendances this season The Purples get “80 fans on a good day” but Stupple hopes they will have a good showing Saturday. He said: ” We have two coaches, some fans coming by train and others driving so maybe 200-250, which for us is massive.
We will be hoping he can add another to his tally on Saturday! #UpThePurps ?⚽️? https://t.co/Hnbvkqnq5U
— AFC Stoneham (@afc_stoneham) September 14, 2023
The key man for Stoneham will be Portuguese forward Duarte Martins who has scored five goals already this season. Another player Town will have to watch is Martins’ strike partner Liam Callaghan who’s netted four goal so far in the league.