Yeovil Town will be back in league action this weekend as they host fourth-from-bottom Braintree Town at Huish Park.
Form Guide…
It has been a tough week for the Glovers after they were beaten by local rivals W*ymouth on Tuesday night in the FA Trophy. Our focus will now solely be on the National League Premier having been knocked out of both cup competitions.
Even if Yeovil’s form in the cups hasn’t been great their league form has been more stable, they sit 10th in the table after 21 games. Over their last five games in the National League three have been losses and two have been wins although their last victory came in their last league outing, a 2-0 win away at Woking.
It has been a difficult start to life at this level for Braintree, who came up alongside us from National League South after winning a dramatic play-off final against Worthing. They currently lie 21st in the table, just the wrong side of the relegation places dotted line on goal difference and sacked manager Angelo Harrop a few weeks ago.
His replacement is well-known in Essex having been Harrop’s assistant at Cressing Road and has immediately put his mark on the team with the departure of big name strike Inih Effiong, sold to Woking less than 24 hours after Harrop’s departure. That exit could have as much to do with the shaky state of the finances at the club with chairman Lee Harding telling BBC Radio Essex the club were 50% over budget approaching the midway point of the season.
In their last five National League Premier fixtures, Braintree have won two, lost two, drawn one. With wins coming against Eastleigh and fellow strugglers AFC Fylde, but the defeats came second-from-bottom Boston United and Maidenhead United.
Pitt took charge of his first match last weekend when he saw his side exit the FA Trophy on penalties to Forest Green Rovers at Cressing Road, before winning 1-0 at home to Nottingham Forest’s kids in the world’s most pointless cup competition on Tuesday night.
On Friday, the club announced former Plymouth Argyle player Karl Duguid as Pitt’s assistant manager along with the appointment of an analyst and goalkeeping coach.
Key Players…
Yeovil – James Plant
The winger has been integral to Mark Cooper’s plans since coming in on loan from Port Vale. Out of his 10 league matches so far for the Glovers, Plant has started 90% of this games, whilst also bagging four goal contributions in that time.
The 20-year-old has consistently looked like the Somerset sides biggest threat when going forward, creating multiple chances including Brett McGavin‘s goal against Woking. Plant will be missed when his loan ends in January.
Braintree – Kyrell Lisbie
The winger has been Braintree’s bright spark in what has been a tough season so far. The 21-year-old has scored four times across 20 matches since joining from Cray Valley Paper Mills in the summer.
He has outscored big name summer signings like John Akinde and the now departed Effiong this season including a spectacular strike last weekend against Forest Green Rovers in the FA Trophy.
The 21-year-old will be looking to make his mark at Huish Park this weekend, although manager Steve Pitt has said he has told his wide players to improve on service to their frontmen.
Thats what he said…
Yeovil boss Mark Cooper spoke to media ahead of the upcoming fixture. He said: “We know they’re going to work really hard, they have got a new manager…they are going to try and impress him. The previous manager did a terrific job getting them promoted with us last year. They have chose now to go a different route and Steve [Pitt] will want to put his stamp on them.”
Newly-appointed Braintree manager Steve Pitt gave his thoughts ahead of Saturday following last weekend’s FA Trophy exit to Forest Green. He said: “We will train Thursday and Friday, prepare for Yeovil away. We will go there in a positive frame of mind to get a positive result.”
We’ve met before…
Having spent the last two seasons in the same division the two clubs have acquainted themselves with each other well. The head-to-head over that time has been played three, won three for Yeovil.
They last met in August of this year when the Glovers headed to Essex and returned with maximum points after 0-1 win. The sole goal coming from centre-back Morgan Williams.
Don’t I know you…
There are no ex-Glovers in the Braintree Town squad. Charlie Wakefield turned out for The Irons last season when getting promoted alongside Yeovil, but has since departed for pastures new.
Who’s been naughty then…
Jake Wannell, and Dom Bernard both return from suspension for Yeovil Town.
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The Gloverscast is a volunteer run website which costs money to maintain. If ever you feel like supporting with our running costs, which include our website hosting, Zoom subscription, The Daily Glove, we’d be extremely grateful for your donations.
