Yeovil Town kick off the August Bank Holiday double header on Saturday with a trip to Essex to face Braintree Town.
Form…
Yeovil Town
Three games into the season and teams are starting to see where they are in terms of quality against other teams in the league. For Yeovil it has been a mixed start to the National League Premier Division season, which is shown in the form as they have drawn, lost and won their opening three fixtures.
Last time out the Glovers faced newly-promoted Brackley Town beating the Saints 2-1 at Huish Park on Wednesday night. Goals from Josh Sims and Ben Wodskou secured the first three points of the season for the team. A late goal from Brackley’s Tyler Lyttle gave the Glovers a scare but they got to the final whistle.
Braintree Town
The Iron start to the season hasn’t been to dissimilar to that of Yeovil’s. The Essex club have won one game and lost two and they sit just below the Glovers in the table.
Having started the campaign with an impressive 3-0 win at home to FC Halifax Town, followed by another win at the Rare Breeds Meat Company Stadium over Leicester City’s kids in the National League Cup, they have lost their last two matches.
A defeat at Hartlepool United last weekend was followed by a 2-1 loss at Boreham Wood in midweek. Probably more worryingly than the results is the fact they have had a player sent off in both fixtures. In their last game, it was former Glovers’ loanee Frankie Terry who was shown red, ruling him out from facing his former team-mates at the weekend.
The game will be big for both sides as each team could use it as a platform to kick on for the season.
Key Players…
Yeovil Town – Josh Sims
Sims has had an odd start to life in Somerset. Joining around this time last year on free, the former Southampton man was seen as a big coup for the Glovers, however his performances last term led many to believe he would be leaving over the summer having seemingly fallen out of Yeovil boss Mark Cooper’s plans towards the end of the campaign.
However, this season has seen a rejuvenated Sims. He has starting all three games and playing two full 90 minutes and one 81 minutes so far. Against Brackley, the 28-year-old found the net for Yeovil’s first goal of the season and bagging a sack of spuds in the process.
If Sims can maintain this form he could be just what Yeovil need to improve on last year’s position.
Braintree Town – John Akinde
The forward is very much a nomadic character in the lower echelons of English football, playing for no more than 17 clubs in his 19 year career. Playing the majority of his career as a centre forward Akinde has bagged 182 goals and set up 70 goals for his team mates.
Although he hasn’t found the net yet this season, the 36-year-old did captain his side last time out and will looking to break his duck this season. He scored ten for The Iron in the National League last season – including the opening goal at Huish Park back in December.
The Gaffer….
Steve Pitt is the man faced with out witting Mark Cooper on Saturday as he takes charge of his second match against Yeovil. Pitt’s only previous game against the Glovers, he lost 3-1 at Huish Park.
In his career the 64-year-old hasn’t left Essex with a spells as manager of Clacton and then Leighton before moving into the role of Director of Football at Heybridge Swift in 2016. Then in 2020, he joined Chelmsford in the same role before leaving Billericay’s Director of Football a year later.
He moved on again after just a year in that role to become Angelo Harrop‘s number two at Braintree, where he enjoyed early success with Harrop. After the young manager’s sacking in November last year, Pitt took over in the December for his first managerial role in 14 years and he did it with some success finishing 17th, one place about Yeovil and three points adrift of the relegation places.
Two of those wins came against eventual champions Barnet and promotion-chasing York City, so let’s put some respect on those.
Last Time We Met…
These two sides last faced each other just before Christmas last year. The game finished 3-1 to the Glovers, with goals from Aaron Jarvis, on loan defender Ed James, and a late strike from Brett McGavin.
When the two sides last met in Essex, it finished 0-1 to Yeovil with Morgan Williams bagging the only goal.
Don’t I Know You?
Just the one this week for ex-Glovers to look out for, in the shape of centre-back Frankie Terry – but you’ll need to look in the stands for him.
Frankie Terry – The Colchester United defender spent time on loan at Huish Park last season, making 10 appearances for the club. Terry is also the son of former Glovers midfielder, Paul. As mentioned above, he’ll be unavailable through suspension following his red card at Boreham Wood on Wednesday.
Man In The Middle…
The man in charge of the officials is Peter Wright who last took charge of a Yeovil game six years ago. Read here more information on the officials.