Still hurting from back-to-back defeats, Yeovil Town travel to Aldershot Town for a Tuesday night fixture under the lights at The Recreation Ground.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
Two defeats in our last two National League matches have taken the shine off Yeovil Town’s start to the new season.
A narrow defeat away at an impressive Southend United side the weekend before last was one thing, but the Glovers were turned over 4-1 by new boys AFC Fylde on Saturday in undoubtedly our worst display this season.
Speaking to BBC Somerset after Saturday’s defeat, Rowley said the senior players were rallying the troops ahead of this one, and the Glovers will be hoping to turn form around and refer to this run as a ‘two-match blip’. Rowley, who had the players in on Sunday said: “We’ll train on Monday and then we’ll go and try and put the record straight on Tuesday.”
ALDERSHOT TOWN
Whilst the previous two games have seen Yeovil’s season hit a bump, our opponents, Aldershot Town, have picked up six points in their last two matches.
The Shots, now managed by one-time Yeovil loanee Scott Davies, are enjoying a good start to this season with four wins, two draws and just a single defeat in their opening seven matches.
They will be on a high after a late win at bottom club Solihull Moors at the weekend. Having gone behind to a penalty from former Glovers loanee Ben Wodskou in the first half, winger Broady Peart, who was linked with a move to Huish Park last season, levelled and then Moors’ keeper Max Metcalfe fumbled a corner in the second minute of stoppage time at the end of the game to gift the visitors the win.
That followed a 1-0 home win over FC Halifax Town the previous weekend and the most impressive win of the campaign so far came with 3-1 victory against second-placed Harrogate Town at The Recreation Ground.
KEY PLAYERS…
YEOVIL TOWN – JOE GUBBINS & ZAIN WESTBROOKE
After two defeats on the spin – and a particularly bad one at Huish Park – absence has made the heart grow fonder and the Glovers will surely be looking at the returns of Joe Gubbins and Zain Westbrooke. With Joy Mukena and Ben Radcliffe surely missing through injury, Gubbins place at the heart of defence will surely be cemented in the coming weeks, but who partners with him will be the main question.
As important as Gubbins will be, Westbrooke’s influence – or lack thereof – was probably felt the most in the Glovers midfield. As the elder statesman in the squad (if you can call him that at age 29) his experience and calmness is important with young players around him. Against AFC Fylde I think it’s fair to say Billy Rowley’s side lost the midfield battle and, especially in the second half, the visitors found themselves with time and space in dangerous areas. We’ve said it early, Westbrooke is the perfect foil to the Brett McGavin metronome in midfield. His return will hopefully provide that energy in the middle of the park to free up McGavin to dictate the game.
ALDERSHOT TOWN – TRISTAN ABRAHAMS
The man to watch is a former Yeovil loanee in Tristan Abrahams. The striker has found some form for the Shots this season and is their leading scorer with five goals, including a hat trick against Harrogate.
Abrahams has bounced around the National League since 2022 at Eastleigh, Welling United, Maidenhead, Aldershot (and a loan spell with Chelmsford) and is enjoying a new lease of life under Scott Davies.
Abrahams will be hoping to resurface the repressed Glovers memory of Yeovil’s 4-1 loss at Welling United in 2023, where he bagged an 11-minute hattrick.
THE GAFFER…
Blink and you might have missed Aldershot Town manager Scott Davies’ spell on loan at Huish Park. The then-Reading midfielder made just four appearances during a spell towards the end of the 2009-10 season, but nevertheless he is someone with some links to Yeovil.
Having finished his playing career at Slough Town, Davies took charge of the National League South side initially in caretaker control before being given the job permanently in 2023. He went on to make a name for himself before taking the job at Aldershot, a club he had a couple of spells at during his playing days, at the end of last season.
His assistant Mark Jones also has Yeovil connections having been part of the coaching team at Huish Park under Mark Cooper.
LAST TIME WE MET…
The last time Yeovil Town travelled to face Aldershot Town on a Tuesday night in September, the Glovers were at a far lower ebb than they are now.
Less than 24 hours after the news of Danny Webb’s departure as manager after just 11 days at the helm last season, Richard Dryden took the side to a club he had been on the coaching staff with since the previous season – and conjured a 4-1 win. Striker Tahvon Campbell netted twice with Junior Morias and Luke McCormick also on target.
The reverse fixture at Huish Park was a less memorable one for the Glovers on a Tuesday night in February. Billy Rowley’s side went behind to an early goal from Olly Scott before Fulham loanee Terrell Works equalised, but a second half strike from Shots’ striker Sean Patton saw the visitors take all three points.
DON’T I KNOW YOU?
Striker Tristan Abrahams is one who has enjoyed an impressive start to the season with four goals in his first six games, including a hat-trick in a 3-1 home win over Harrogate Town. Abrahams was part of the Yeovil side which exited the Football League in 2019 when he was on loan from Norwich City in a half-season spell which saw him score three goals in 15 appearances.
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown
Defender Michee Efete joined the Shots at the end of last season having been without a club since being released by Yeovil last January. The 29-year-old started the first five matches of this season but was not in the squad for the weekend’s win over Solihull Moors.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Niall Smith will be our referee, find out more about him Ben’s article here.