Yeovil Town are back at Huish Park on Saturday afternoon as they take on FC Halifax Town in their penultimate home game of the National League Premier Division season.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
With three games to go in the league, the Glovers are now mathematically safe from relegation. With that horrible thought now under control for another year, we may see a Yeovil side let loose a bit. After the last couple of weeks, the side has been up and down form wise and that was no different in their last game on Easter Monday.
That game saw them travel to the south coast to face Eastleigh short on bodies after a gruelling fixture schedule. Off the back of a hard-fought win against now-relegated Truro City on Good Friday, the Glovers went down to a 2-1 defeat as Eastleigh striker Aaron Blair scored a goal in each half before forgotten man, defender Dan Ellison, pulled a late consolation goal back for Yeovil.
That game saw all three Under-19s players, defender Jaydon Biss, midfielder Ollie Hughes and striker Liam Nardiello, all coming off the bench in the second half underlining the selection headache facing boss Billy Rowley.
FC Halifax Town
The Shayman have also been in form that resembles a roller-coaster. Over their last five fixtures, the Yorkshiremen have won twice, lost twice and drawn once. They arrive in Somerset five points outside the play-off places with Southend United, who occupy the spot above the dotted line, also having two games in hand.
Last time out, The Shaymen played out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Tamworth at The Shay. That match saw them miss a penalty in second half stoppage time having made a comeback from going 1-0 down in the first minute.
KEY PLAYERS…
YEOVIL TOWN – DAKARAI MAFICO
On loan Cardiff City midfielder Mafico started life at Yeovil with a bang, putting in superb performance after superb performance and showing the Huish Park faithful what the quality is like in the league above. He then settled in a bit more and those good performances felt normal and were maybe taken for granted.
The youngster then picked up an injury and has been out for a couple of games, and it has shown in the games he has missed. Rowley revealed the 19-year-old will be available to face Halifax and our midfield hasn’t felt as strong without him in it, as the 19-year-old knits everything together. As well as combining defence with attack, he does the hard work as well, covering the pitch and putting tackles when needed. With him back in the squad on Saturday hopefully we will get to see more of the Cardiff youngster before he returns to Welsh capital.
FC HALIFAX TOWN – WILL HARRIS
There is a number of reason why teams put themselves in play-off contention whether it be from a solid backline to great manager. But the most common reason for pushing high up the league is having someone who knows where the goal is. One of those players is Will Harris.
Now, Harris may not be one of the household strikers in the league like Yprk City’s Ollie Pearce‘s or Rochdale’s Emmanuel Dieseruvwe, who lead the division’s scoring charts. But the 25-year-old has definitely put himself in that bracket after the season he is having. He sits behind the aforementioned Pearce and Dieseruvwe, as well as Boreham Wood’s Matt Rush in fourth on the National League top scorer table, with 21 goals.
The Glovers have struggled against top striker so far this campaign and Saturday afternoon may be no different unfortunately.
THE GAFFER…
Adam Lakeland will be in the opposing dug-out at Huish Park as he winds down his first at the helm in Yorkshire. The 41-year-old has certainly earned his striped working up through leagues. Lakeland’s first managerial job in senior men’s football was at Northwich Victoria, where he managed for a season. After a year out, he would move onto Farsley Athletic, finishing his four year stint there in 2021.
He would return to Curzon Ashton, where he was once an assistant manager, and take the main job at the Tameside Stadium for two years. He would then leave for Kings Lynn, where again he lasted two years before moving onto FC Halifax Town.
LAST TIME WE MET…
The Glovers will be hoping to put some bad memories behind them having not beaten The Shaymen since 2022. That record was continued last time out when the two played out a thrilling 3-2 win for the Yorkshiremen.
On that day in late August, Owen Bray would open the scoring in first half stoppage time. Yeovil would fight their way back in the second half, with Junior Morias converting a penalty on the 52nd minute, and then took the lead through Harvey Greenslade six minutes later. Bray would get his brace only a few moments later, before Will Harris won the game for the home side ten minutes from time.
The last game at Huish Park was less eventful, with Florent Hoti bagging the only goal in a 1-0 win for Halifax.
DON’T I KNOW YOU…
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Rob Massey-Ellis will be the man with the whistle on Saturday, for more on him and his team read Ben’s article here.