Benjani Junior

The wet weather had an impact again this weekend with games involving Yeovil Town loanees at Welton Rovers and Shepton Mallet falling foul of the weather.

Therefore, we begin at Dorchester Town where Ollie Haste is the lone loanee following the departure of Benjani Junior – and the central defender was a goal-scoring hero.

And, no, it wasn’t a header from a corner, it was a curling shot in to the far corner of the net to put the Magpies 2-0 up in the 18th minute of a 4-1 home win over Basingstoke Town in the Southern League Premier Division South.

Ollie Haste celebrates putting Dorchester Town 2-0 up in their 4-1 home win over Basingstoke Town.
Picture courtesy of Phillip Standfield.

Going a tier down – that’s two below National League South, if you were wondering – Benjani Junior played the full 90 minutes for Melksham Town in a 3-2 defeat against Cribbs Causeway.

Now we go up to National League South and Taunton Town where Malachi Linton made his first league start since returning from injury.

The striker played the first 56 minutes of a 1-0 defeat at Hemel Hempstead Town (where have we heard that scoreline before?!) with the goal coming late in the second half.

Finally, Will Buse put in a performance which was the most significant for the Yeovil first team, keeping a clean sheet in a 3-0 home win for Bath City over Aveley, enabling the Glovers to open up a six-point lead at the top of National League South.

There were starting places for Under-18s striker Josh Haskett and midfielder Jack Bareham in Gillingham Town’s 1-0 home win over Hengrove Athletic with Harrison Foster and Harry Lock both named on the substitutes’ bench for the Western League Division One fixture.

The Gills started well and went 1-0 up in the first before going down to ten men. Haskett was named the sponsors’ Man of the Match.

So, alongside the Welton contingent, Charlie Bateson at Shepton, there was no Aidan Skiverton in the Sherborne Town line-up and at Tiverton Town there is a new loan keeper in Plymouth Argyle youngster Zak Baker. So, we assume Lewis Williams has left and, with no appearance on the bench despite the lack of a back-up keeper for the first team……well, you finish that sentence.

A brace from captain Jake Graziano was enough to earn Yeovil Town Under-18s a 3-2 win at BRS Coaching Youth in the South West Counties Youth League at the weekend.

The midfielder was joined on the scoresheet in Bournemouth by striker Benjani Junior with both players back in the line-up for the Underr-18s with Sherborne Town, where both have been on loan for the past few weeks, without a fixture this weekend.

That keeps the young Glovers in second place, five points behind leaders Bridgwater United having played one game fewer.

In the Junior Premier League, the club’s Under-12s picked up a win over South Somerset Regional Talent Centre but the Under-13s went down to defeat against Taunton Town.

At a time where there’s not much football on, only one of the Glovers loanees got some game time on Saturday.

Ollie Haste got 90 minutes for Truro.

They lost 1-0 to Dorchester Town with a first half goal the difference between the two sides.

All other loanees saw their games postponed due to the weather.

Toby Stephens and Ollie Hulbert were scheduled to be part of the Plymouth Parkway squad away at Barnet in the FA Trophy (note… Stephens has played in the Trophy already, but Hulbert’s participation wasn’t guaranteed – but we guess he can now become available as his parent club are out.)

Benjani Jr hasn’t yet kicked a ball for Sherborne, whilst Will Dawes return to Stratford town has been stalled by the weather.

Most sides have games midweek as the fixtures begin to pile up.

Benjani Junior in action for Yeovil Town Under-18s.
Picture courtesy of @ytfcacademy.

Yeovil Town’s Under 18s striker Benjani Jnr has signed his first professional contract with the club.

Having been something of a goal machine for the young Glovers last season and in the early part of this season he has signed on to become the team’s third professional player in three years to come from within.

He follows in the footsteps of Toby Stephens and Ollie Haste who have made the step up to the first team squad.

Benjani has already represented the first team in the successful 2021-22 Somerset Premier Cup campaign but will be hoping to make a mark in the upcoming months across all first team fixtures.

Benjani is the son of former Portsmouth and Man City striker Benjani Mwaruwari.

A huge congratulations to all involved!

 

 

 

Under-18s’ goal machine Benjani Junior is a player the club is looking to challenge for a place in the first-team squad next season, according to head coach Matt Percival.

The striker was one of a number of youngsters who was involved as part of the first-team squad in last season’s Somerset Premier Cup campaign and has been prolific for the Under-18s in the Somerset County Youth League (SWCYL).

Benjani Junior warming up during the Somerset Premier Cup tie with Cheddar.
Picture courtesy of YTFC.

He arrived at Huish Park last year following his release from the academy at Portsmouth where his father, Benjani Senior, is a club legend for his form which saw him make a £7.6m move from Fratton Park to Manchester City in 2008

Speaking to the latest edition of the Gloverscast, the coach said the striker’s father, now assistant manager for the Zimbabwe national team, had attended a number of the young Glovers’ matches.

Matt said: “His father has been to a couple of games, but he works for the Zimbabwe FA so he is out in Africa quite a lot.

When he has been to matches he is really supportive and he was a big part of us getting Benji and getting him involved with the programme.

He is an absolute machine when he plays for us, I think he scored about 25 goals in about 30 games, so he’s one that will have pressure put him to try and get in to the first team next year.

Whether it’s the Somerset Premier Cup or the National League, he’s someone we are looking to kick on.

Benjani is one of nine players from the Under-18s who featured in the SPC campaign along with  Ollie Haste, Korey Andrews, Fin Ridout, Jake Graziano, Mason Hunter, Sam Hodges, Callum Deemer.

They are all graduates of the Elite Player Development Programme (EPDP) which is run in partnership with Yeovil College and play in English Colleges FA (ECFA) South West League (South) in midweek fixtures on the 3G pitch at Huish Park, and represent the club in the SWCYL on Saturdays with games played at the first team’s training pitch at Alvington.

Matt told us that he hopes the arrival of former youth academy coaches Chris Hargreaves and Chris Todd in the club’s first team management set-up would further opportunities for his youngsters.

He said that he is hoping to model the Huish Park set-up on that established by Todd at Torquay United, who won the SWCYL league and cup double last season.

Matt added: “I try and base our model of where we are going on what Chris Todd did at Torquay because their academy closed five or six years ago.

Where they are now is where I aspire to be. I am sure we will get there, it will take a bit of time, but I am sure we will get there.”

You can hear our chat with Matt in full on the latest podcast, available – here.

Yeovil Town Under-18s moved up to third place in the South West Counties Youth League after a 4-0 win at Paulton Rovers.

Benjani Junior, Pedro Borges, Jake Graziano and Ollie Haste were on target for the young Glovers.

Benjani Junior and Finlay Skiverton were both on target as Yeovil Town Under-18s picked up a 2-1 win over South West Counties Youth League leaders Mangotsfield United on Saturday.

The pair put the Glovers 2-0 up at the Alvington Playing Fields before the visitors scored a late consolation goal.

The victory means the young Glovers have won four and lost two of their opening six matches.