It’s a quick turnaround for National League clubs as Bank Holiday Monday football comes to Huish Park with the visit of Tamworth.
FORM…
YEOVIL TOWN
The Glovers have had a brilliant start to the season. Eight points from four games, seven goals scored and only three conceded. If we’re being honest, none of the fan base expected this start, surely? And out of the 24 teams in the National League, only three remain unbeaten, and Yeovil are one of them.
The early-season worries of conceding late on have eased slightly, even if Friday night was touch and go, but the team is showing real progression. That is the most refreshing thing about watching this Yeovil side. Not since probably Darren Sarll’s first season at the club have I been this excited about the journey that could be ahead.
However, we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves. It is only four games into the new campaign and there is still a lot that can happen, but the early signs are encouraging. Our2-1 away win at Barrow on Friday night showed us everything about this team in just 90 minutes. They dug deep, showed quality in the final third and, defensively, we are solid, even if there are some areas for improvement. It also showed that our midfield is more than just three guys with great hair.
All jokes aside, Brett McGavin, Luke McCormick and Zain Westbrooke (a new member added to the boyband) add control, stability and a foundation from which to play forwards, something that has been missing for years now.
TAMWORTH
If you thought the end of our match at Barrow on Friday night was dramatic, Tamworth went one better as they picked up their first win of the season at home to newly-promoted Worthing.
The Lambs scored twice in stoppage time at the end of the game including a winner in the eighth minute of time added on when their opponents were down to nine men and having led twice. It was a textbook Tamworth never-say-die performance and when midfielder Nathan Tshikuna levelled with a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time they pressed for the winner which came through Morgan Roberts, a summer signing from Brackley Town.
Boss Andy Peaks admitted the first win was important. He said: “It’s massive, we needed something today having lost the last two games and now you look at our league position, we have four points from four games and it is a lot healthier. Yeovil away is always a tough fixture, it has not always been the best place to go for us, it’s a big pitch and they actually have a good team this year, so that could be really hard. But to get this first win gives everyone a lift.”
Roberts’ winner is not even the latest goal Tamworth have scored this season, on the opening day midfielder Ben Milnes converted a penalty in the 12th minute of stoppage time to earn a 3-3 draw at Boreham Wood. Since then, they lost at home to AFC Fylde and were beaten 4-1 at FC Halifax Town before the late win over Worthing.
Off-the-pitch, our opponents today have had takeover with Abdullah Ashraf, a 24-year-old businessman from the US, targeting EFL football and promising to buy their stadium (sound familiar, Glovers?) in the summer. The new owner has backed manager Peaks bringing in a flurry of new faces including experienced defender Tom Parkes, midfielder Tshikuna from Wealdstone, and three players from Brackley in full-backs Tyler Lyttle and Riccardo Calder as well as Roberts.
KEY PLAYERS…
YEOVIL TOWN – RYAN JONES
The whole team could be in here at the moment, and to be honest, I was stuck between Jones and Josh Barker after his spectacular night in Cumbria (sorry, Dave). But the 24-year-old Jones has been amazing over these first four games.
In the opening two fixtures, the former Aldershot Town man showed his quality in the forward areas, providing two assists in those two games. We knew when signing him from the Hampshire side that he had that bit of quality, and we saw it when he first joined.
In the two games since Carlisle, the winger may not have got on the scoresheet, but he has provided an outlet on the right that has caused opposition left-backs real trouble. Even on Friday night, when he was subbed off after 47 minutes, which felt a bit harsh, he had played to a good standard.
The cause for concern for Rowley would have been that he wasn’t providing the same outlet he had been in the opening games, so he wanted to switch things up. Besides that really minor blip, Jones could become the team’s main playmaker out on that right flank.
TAMWORTH – KIERAN DONNELLY
I know it’s easy to go with the top scorer in the side as the key player, but the 25-year-old really is a difference-maker up top. Now, I am happy with Yeovil’s options at striker, but after looking at Donnelly’s stats, I’m surprised we weren’t looking at him this off-season. The Lambs signed the frontman from Boston United, where he didn’t get much of a look in and was loaned out to Kidderminster Harriers. And it’s his form at Kiddy that really piques my interest.
Donnelly scored eight goals in 15 appearances for the Midlands side at the back end of last season, helping push them to promotion from the National League North, with one of his contributions coming in the play-off final against South Shields. That incredible form has carried on into the new campaign with his new side, where he has already bagged himself three goals.
If there is anything you could discredit the striker for, it’s that he hasn’t found the net in the last two games. But, to caveat that, he did score twice on the opening day in a 3-3 draw against a quality Boreham Wood side. The Glovers’ backline need to be on high alert to deal with the Lambs’ talisman.
THE GAFFER…
Andy Peaks is a bit of a stalwart when it comes to being a club’s manager, having only ever managed two clubs in his 13-year career. That is no slight on the former defender and shows that he is very good at what he does. It was at his former club, Rushden & Diamonds, where the 55-year-old established himself, first as a player and then as a manager.
During his playing days in the semi-professional ranks, Peaks spent six years at the Midlands club before moving around multiple clubs in the area for another 10 years before retiring in 2008. After spells at AFC Long Buckby, Daventry Town and Rushden & Diamonds as an assistant manager, it was at Nene Park where he got his breakthrough and was offered the top job in 2013. Over the next 10 years, Peaks solidified the Diamonds’ position and never looked like leaving.
It was then in 2022 that the then 51-year-old decided to step out of his comfort zone and become the manager of Tamworth, where he has now been for five years. His record against the Glovers doesn’t read the best, having faced us four times, winning once, drawing once and losing twice.
LAST TIME WE MET…
The last time the two sides met was in a rescheduled fixture at Huish Park in March. That day, the Glovers strolled to a 2-0 win, with goals either side of half-time.
Ryan Jones got the first on 40 minutes after a scintillating run from the winger took him past his man before he coolly finished past the keeper. Declan Skura was also on the scoresheet that night, with another brilliant goal to boot.
Brett McGavin, as always, produced a free-kick of the highest quality, which was tipped onto the bar by Jasbir Singh. The ball fell to the edge of the area, where Skura was waiting to strike it on the half-volley past the unfortunate Singh.
DON’T I KNOW YOU?
Tom Parkes is probably a player better known as an opponent for Yeovil Town in recent years. The towering centre-half joined Tamworth from Hartlepool United having had a career including four years at Bristol Rovers, but had a very brief loan spell at Huish Park whilst a Leicester City player in the 2010-11 season, making just two appearances.
In one of his more recent appearances against the Glovers, Parkes used all his experience to tumble inside the box and win a penalty for Hartlepool in December 2024.
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE…
Matthew Scholes is our match official for this game, to find out more about the man in black check out Ben’s article – here.