It’s FA Cup week! Yeovil Town will travel to face Isthmian League side Leatherhead FC in the Fourth Qualifying Round on Saturday afternoon.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
It’s been quite the fortnight for the Glovers. A 6–0 win followed by another 6–0 win (against Wealdstone) is something not many teams achieve. In fact, the last team to do it in the top five tiers of English football was Chelsea back in 2010. So, we’re in pretty good stead when it comes to winning the FA Cup this season…
It feels weird saying the same positive things week in, week out, but Yeovil are playing quality football. The team looks structured and organised, the midfielders and wingers are executing their roles perfectly, and the defence has kept four clean sheets in a row.
I also think it’s a testament to the squad and the management that the one thing that could’ve made us collapse this season (a falling-out between captain and manager) has, if anything,
LEATHERHEAD
Leatherhead’s season has been very stop-start, with the side going on runs of winning a couple of games before their momentum is stalled by a defeat. In fact, their best run this campaign has been a six-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, which was ended in the Surrey Cup by our new friends at Farnham Town.
The Tanners suffered a defeat last time out as they faced Cheshunt in the league. The game seemed fairly drab for the first hour, but that all changed when Cheshunt broke the deadlock through Tommy Wood. Leatherhead showed fight to get back into the game and finally equalised when Charlie Kennett found the net 15 minutes later. Unfortunately for the Surrey side, it wasn’t to be, as they conceded in added time to come away empty-handed.
KEY PLAYERS…
YEOVIL TOWN – JOHL POWELL
The midfielder has been relentless since he was given his chance in the first team. With Luke McCormick out of the squad, the 26-year-old has become part of a midfield tandem with Brett McGavin that has proved indispensable.
Powell’s output to date has been nothing short of incredible, with a goal every 79 minutes. It’s that attacking intent and desire to get into the box that have caused so many teams problems. With defenders now having to worry about the former Walton & Hersham man, it has allowed McGavin more freedom to do his thing, which, as we saw at the weekend, was score.
The Glovers have a very classy midfielder on their hands, and he has made the step up to the National League look easy. If he can stay confident and keep up his current form, who knows how far he can take the team?
Picture courtesy of Jayden Tate/Tate’s Photography
LEATHERHEAD – SONNY WHEELER
Now, this may seem an odd choice, considering The Tanners have kept just five clean sheets in 15 games in all competitions, but Wheeler has been somewhat of a machine in the FA competitions this term.
Of those five clean sheets, three have come in the FA Cup, and they’re made all the more impressive by penalty saves in some of those fixtures. In the last round against Haworth, the 28-year-old saved a spot-kick to keep Leatherhead in the game at 0–0. In the FA Trophy, Wheeler also saved a penalty in a shootout against Ramsgate.
With the Glovers coming off back-to-back 6–0 victories, it could be interesting to see how Wheeler performs. If he can replicate the performances he put in during the previous rounds, it will be a big boost for The Tanners and could prove detrimental to Yeovil.
THE GAFFER…
Ian Selley is the man in the home dugout, and the Leatherhead boss has some history in the FA Cup.
As a player, the 52-year-old was on the books at Arsenal, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup. After leaving Highbury, though, Selley’s playing career was blighted by injury. He joined Fulham after Arsenal but only played a handful of times during his three years there before moving down the road to Wimbledon.
His time with the Crazy Gang was again ruined by injury, and the former midfielder then found himself kicking around the lower leagues of the English pyramid. He even spent a season playing for our friends down in Dorchester in 2009/10 before officially hanging up his boots in 2023, 20 years after his career started.
Selley started his management career in 2020, splitting his time between playing for Westfield (Surrey) and managing Sandhurst Town. He then had spells at Chertsey, Hartley Wintney and Westfield before joining Leatherhead in 2024.
There is only one recorded meeting between the two sides, and you have to go all the way back to 1979 for that fixture.
An FA Trophy third-round game on a February afternoon saw the Glovers win 1–0 at Huish Park. A goal from David Platt (no, not the one in Corrie) was enough to secure a place in the fourth round for Yeovil.
DON’T I KNOW YOU?
The tanners have no former Glovers in their squad to face Yeovil on Saturday.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
James Durkin is our match official for this one and you can find out more about him Ben’s article – here.