Managerless Yeovil Town will travel up to West Yorkshire on Saturday to face FC Halifax Town, who sit one place below them in the league table
FORM…
Yeovil Town
It’s the first game for Yeovil in two-and-a-half seasons without Mark Cooper at the helm. Cooper’s sacking is directly linked to their form in the calendar which has seen them pick up just six wins. The poor run of form at the end of last season carried into the first five games of the current campaign and the new Glovers hierarchy disposed of him on Tuesday.
It comes after one win to begin the season and a real Jekyll and Hyde performance against Gateshead at Huish Parkon Monday. The Glovers stormed into a 3-0 going into the half-time against Gateshead, thanks to goals from Josh Sims, Junior Morias and Harvey Greenslade.
But, the performance in the second half was every bit as bad as the first 45 minutes had been good. Gateshead got a foothold in the game as early as the 46th minute and an injury time winner sealed a dramatic comeback to win 4-3 and seal Cooper’s fate.
The club’s ownership is now actively looking for a new manager with coach Richard Dryden given responsibility for first team affairs starting with the trip to Halifax.
FC Halifax Town
The Shaymen are also in a little bit of a rut at the moment, with the exact same form as their opponents on Saturday, one win, three losses and a draw.
Last time out for the Yorkshire side saw them get respectable 1-1 draw away to Scunthorpe United. The first half of that match was a cagey affair with no team taking their chances. A red card for Scunthorpe however just before half-time did little to change the complexion of the game. It was seven minutes into the second 45 when Halifax conceded to go 1-0 down, however they responded three minutes later with a goal from David Kawa.
The have not scored more than a goal in a game this season, so if Yeovil can replicate their first-half performance against Gateshead, it could be difficult for the Halifax to respond.
KEY PLAYERS…
Yeovil Town – Harvey Greenslade
After Saturday’s dismal display, it is hard to pick anyone as the man to watch for the Glovers. But if one player does deserve to keep his place in the side, it is striker Harvey Greenslade.
Another player who has a turbulent start to life at Huish Park. Joining from Bristol Rovers in the summer of 2024, the 21-year-old only played a bit part for Cooper to begin the season. A loan spell at Weston-Super-Mare over the festive period looked to spell the end of Greenslade’s time at Yeovil. Before rejoining his parent club for the remainder of the campaign, again only playing a bit part role.
However, the season has look to have rejuvenated the strikers form, with him playing 203 minutes across the opening five fixtures, already a quarter of the minutes he amassed last term. A strong performance and a goal last time out will hopefully see Greenslade push on for this season where he can help lead the line for the Glovers.
Halifax Town – David Kawa
A summer signing from National League South side, striker David Kawa has already shown he is able to cut it at a higher level with two goals and an assist in his first five matches at Premier Division level.
Not only is a goal involvement every 162 minutes impressive, it’s the fact two of the contributions has led to his team getting crucial points. It also means he has been a part of 75% of his teams goals so far this term.
THE GAFFER…
Although he may only be 40 years old,new Halifax boss Adam Lakeland has a lot of experience in management. He began his coaching career at Blackburn Rovers Women before gaining back-to-back promotions , where he stayed until 2011. It was as first-team coach of Curzon Ashton where Lakeland first made his foray into the men’s side of the game, gaining back-to-back promotions with them.
In 2016, he moved in to frontline management at to Northwich Victoria igetting them to the Northern Premier League One Division North play-off final, after being in charge for only six months and, following a break from the game, he achieved another play-off finish at Farsley Celtic before getting them promoted to National League North in 2019.
His job prior to joining Halifax was at King’s Lynn who he guided to the National League North play-offs last season before being appointed at The Shay following the departure of long-serving boss Chris Millington at the end of last season.
LAST TIME WE MET…
The Shay has not been a happy hunting ground for Yeovil in recent years. In our last visit there in March, an early goal from winger Angelo Capello was enough to give the home side three points on a beach of a surface. In fact, you have to go back to September 2019 to find out last win there with a brace from Gold Omotayo sealing the three points.
The surface at The Shay has been replaced by a semi-plastic surface over the summer, so hopefully a less dreadful surface will herald better luck for the Glovers.
DON’T I KNOW YOU…
There are no former Glovers representing The Shaymen this season.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Saturday’s fixture will see Richard Aspinall take charge of his first Yeovil game. For more information on the match officials, read Ben’s article here.