With back-to-back wins their last two games, Yeovil Town travel to Sutton United on Tuesday night with their hosts desperate for points to pull out of the National League Premier Division’s relegation places.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
Richard Dryden’s start to life as Yeovil’s permanent interim manager (can you have one of those?) until the end of the season has been pretty much perfect.
Saturday’s 1-0 win in their last game at home to Altrincham follows a 4-1 win at Aldershot Town the previous Wednesday night means the Glovers have maximum points since the shock exit of former boss Danny Webb from the Huish Park hot seat.
But, with two all-action performances in the last two outings has put a strain on the small squad with Dryden seemingly ruling out the chance of bringing in new faces before the midweek fixture.
Sutton United
There is no point trying to sugar coat it, it has been a terrible start to the new National League season for Sutton United.
The Us have just seven points to show from their opening 12 matches, making them the joint lowest points scorers in the division with bottom club Morecambe, who have played three games fewer, and newly-promoted Truro City.
A run of seven defeats in eight games, punctuated by a ridiculously good 2-1 home win over Carlisle United, cost Steve Morison his job on September 18th with first team coach Jon Meeney taking charge whilst the club look to appoint a permanent manager.
Sutton have picked up a point in their last two matches with a 1-1 draw at home to Boston United on Saturday their latest one on the board. That came courtesy of an equaliser from substitute David Ogbonna in the third minute of second half stoppage time.
KEY PLAYERS…
Yeovil Town – Andrew Oluwabori
It is the second game in a row we have picked the on loan Exeter City player as the key man for Yeovil, but it is hard to look past Oluwabori after his past two matches.
He was a constant menace going forward for the defences of Aldershot Town and then Altrincham in his last two outings with only tiredness for a player who had very few first-team minutes for his parent club before arriving at Huish Park causing his substitution in both games.
If he has enough in the tank to go again for the third game in under a week, Oluwabori will be one to watch.
Sutton United – Lewis Simper
The former Glovers’ loanee has been a rare bright spark in what has been a dark cloud of a start to the season for Sutton.
The midfielder made just one substitute appearance during an injury-plagued spell at Huish Park in 2021, but has shown his class since arriving at Gander Green Lane in the summer of 2024.
He has been an ever-present presence in the Sutton midfielder, scoring three times in his 12 appearances this season, and will be vital with the hosts are to get anything from this game.
THE GAFFER…
First-team coach Jon Meeney will take charge of Sutton for the fifth time if no permanent appointment is made to replace the departed Steve Morison before kick-off on Tuesday night.
Meeney only arrived at Gander Green Lane at the start of last season having previously been number two at Horsham, he has previous coaching experience in Brighton & Hove Albion’s academy and in the non-League game with Worthing and Eastbourne Borough.
Having quickly become an integral part of Morison’s coaching set up, he was handed a new contract in the summer and chosen to take the helm when the manager departed.
LAST TIME WE MET…
Although we never knew it at the time, the 2-1 home defeat to Sutton United back in April turned out to be a turning point for Yeovil Town.
It was the game that now-owner Prabhu Srinivasan was in the Thatcher’s End and apparently fell in love with the Glovers enough to eventually take over.
On the pitch it was forgettable day for the Glovers who took the lead through loanee Ciaran McGuckin before goals from Siju Odelusi and former player Lewis Simper in the second half gave the visitors three points.
The last time the two sides met in Surrey it was an equally forgettable goalless draw.
DON’T I KNOW YOU…
Lewis Simper, remember him? He did not have much of a career as a Yeovil Town player, making just one substitute appearance during a loan spell from Cambridge United back in 2021.
His lack of game time led to him being recalled by his parent club having first suffering COVID 19 and then suffering an injury.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
David Rock is the man in the middle on Tuesday night and it’s fair to say he loves a booking – read more here.