Yeovil Town return to league action this weekend in a top end of the table clash, as they face Aveley at Huish Park.
High flying Town have been in good form, going unbeaten in the month of September after a somewhat difficult start to the season. The Glovers will be looking to take their winning streak to six in all competitions, with a win over the visitors.
The Millers, promoted from the Isthmian League Premier Division in last May’s play-offs, have enjoyed a great start to life in the National League North. Since winning promotion, they won six of their first eight matches including beating Gary Johnson’s Torquay United on home soil (Gloverscast rules prevent us from saying what kind of surface Aveley play on – but rubber crumb may be more prevalent than soil!) and winning 1-0 away at Maidstone United.
Of the three teams relegated out of the National League Premier, only the Glovers remain – can the new boys make it 3/3 on Saturady?
Yeovil Town FC News
Boss Mark Cooper is expecting a tough game against a team who he suspects will be up for it after making the FA Cup fourth qualifying round with a 2-1 win at local rivals Hornchurch in a midweek third qualifying round replay on Tuesday night.
He said: “They’ve had great start… we’re expecting a tough game, they’ll try to play on the front foot.
“They had a good win in extra time midweek to get through [in the FA Cup] and play Barnet in the next round.”
However the Glovers’ boss wants his side to “keep the home run going” and to give the home faithful “another performance to cheer about.”
Cooper doesn’t feel the extra minutes played in midweek will mean much. He said: “They would have been training anyway. I think when they turn up here, see the stadium, the pitch and the crowd, it will give them a lift.”
Striker Frank Nouble spoke about the teams desire to keep their current purple patch going. He said: “We are on a run of five games in row we have won. We want to keep that going.
“It’s just another game for us to showcase what we can do. But keep winning is the most important thing for us.”
The Glovers have no players suspended with Matt Worthington expected to return and striker Jake Hyde available after missing the FA Cup win over Didcot Town last weekend.
Cooper was not giving anything away in his pre-match presser on Thursday, but said his squad have “some bumps and bruises.”
He was without defender Jamie Sendles-White and midfielder Jordan Stevens through injury against Didcot and revealed after the match that Michael Smith and Charlie Cooper had been injury doubts.
Aveley FC
The man to watch for The Millers is midfielder Siju Odelusi who has scored five goals in the league from midfield this season. Former Southend United striker Matt Rush is another player to keep a close eye on. Rush has been in good form recently scoring the winner in midweek win at Hornchurch
There are no suspensions for the visitors, but club Media Manager Joe Stackable told us that captain Harry Gibbs took “a few knocks” in the first match against his former side, Hornchurch, seven days ago. Whether that makes him a doubt for the match at Huish Park or not remains to be seen.
He said: “We’ve had pretty much the same team since the start of the season with a few changes here and there, but it doesn’t matter if you start or do not feature, you are a part of the club.
“For us the game starts on the coach, there’s going to be a lot of games of Monopoly being played, Uno and whatever!”
If you are looking for a bit of hope going in to this game, after their 1-0 win at Maidstone at the start of September, Aveley have lost 2-0 at Slough Town and draw 1-1 at home to Braintree Town in their last two National League South matches.
Around those they had two games to see off King’s Lynn Town in the FA Cup second qualifying round, before dispatching Hornchurch on Tuesday night after drawing the first match 2-2 last weekend.
You can hear our chat with Joe on our new Saturday morning feature ‘In the opposition camp’ which you can find wherever you get your podcasts.