Maidenhead United

Lawson D’Ath challenged his Yeovil Town team-mates to “roll their sleeves up” as they fell deeper in to the relegation mire with a 2-0 defeat against Maidenhead United on Tuesday night.

The midfielder, who was replaced by Malachi Linton in the 72nd minute in Berkshire, admitted the performance was “not good enough” against one of their National League relegation rivals.

The Glovers travel to fellow strugglers York City on Saturday with just two goals on goal difference keeping them out of the division’s relegation places after Gateshead picked up a valuable 2-1 win to boost their fight to stay up.

D’Ath told BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins: “We know that is not good enough, it is just the basics and you only have to look at the (first) goal. If we had come in at 0-0 we would have had a better chance, but it’s not good enough.

Manager Mark Cooper pointed to the energy the players expended in Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat to leaders Notts County in his post-match interview, but D’Ath said they could not use that as an excuse for their performance.

He added: “We have Saturday-Tuesday weeks coming up, so it is not a good enough excuse. Yes, we are tried after a tough performance both physically and mentally against Notts County but we should have come and at least got a point here and moved on to the next game.

I still think we had chances early on in the second half, it was just a lack of quality and then we got done on the counter attack.”

Asked if his position as one of the squad’s more senior players added extra responsibility, he said: “No matter how old you are, who you are, where you have come from, we have to roll our sleeves up for this club and fight for every point.

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his players knew their performances in the 2-0 defeat at Maidenhead United were “unacceptable” and urged everyone to “stick together.”

A goal in each half in Berkshire saw the Glovers drop to within goal difference of the National League relegation places on Tuesday night and they travel to fellow strugglers York City on Saturday desperate for a result.

He told BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins that he would be looking to bring “a spark” up front with no win in their past four games.

The boss said: “I was worried about tonight after the energy we expended (in the 4-1 home defeat to Notts County) on Saturday. If I could I would have changed five or six players, but I could not really do that.

I don’t think we would’ve score if we had been there until tomorrow night, we were powder puff up top and the difference in the teams was their centre forwards were a handful.

I look at myself first and I did I get the selection and the tactics right? You’d have to say ‘no’, but tonight is about desire to keep the ball out of our net and make sure we get ‘nil’ against us and see what happens – but we didn’t and we were never going to score tonight.

He added: “Games are decided by good and bad decision making. On Saturday (against Notts County), we lost because of bad decision-making and again Maidenhead made more good decisions than we did.

We can cry about it or we can pat Maidenhead on the back and try somehow to get a couple of players in which gives us a little bit of spark at the top of the pitch.

You can defend all you want, but if you don’t have that spark at the top you are never going to win games.”

With the club still operating without a physiotherapist (and unused substitute Will Dawes giving treatment to his team-mates, Cooper admitted he does not have the staff to decide whether many of his squad were fit to take the field at the moment.

He said: “I am not using that as an excuse, I am just stating facts. The team we put out should have got a result, but there was not too many changes we could have made.”

Asked if he had the support of the club’s hierarchy he added: “I need to go and speak to Martyn (Starnes, Chief Executive Officer) and (director, Stuart Robins) who have been magnificent if they were not here, the club would have folded ages ago.

So fair play to those two they have kept it going, so I am going to speak to them now and see if we can do some magic before the weekend.

Cooper concluded: “We have to stick together. It’s difficult, they understand that tonight was not acceptable and they have to understand that and then we move on.

Tomorrow we rest and on Thursday we start again and come up with a play and, like I say, hopefully we can bring in one or two that can hopefully help us.”

Venue: York City
Tuesday 21st February, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Chilly night
Pitch: Green and brown in places

Attendance: 1,015

Scorers: Sam Barratt 40 (0-1), Reece Smith 66 (0-2)

Bookings: 

Yeovil Town: Ryan Law 55, Lawson D’Ath 66
Maidenhead United: Will de Havilland 38, Kane Ferdinand 90

Referee: Richie Watkins


Yeovil Town (5-3-2)

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Jamie Reckord, 46), Jordan Maguire-Drew (for Jordan Young, 64), Malachi Linton (for Lawson D’Ath, 72), Will Dawes (not used), Will Buse (not used).

Maidenhead United: Andrew, Asara, de Havilland, Nataniel-George (for Sparkes, 86), Massey, Odutayo, Barratt, Acquah (for McCoulsky, 83), Adams, Smith (for Leathers, 74). Substitute not used: Panayiotou.


Match Report

Only goal difference separates Yeovil Town from the National League relegation places after they went down to a 2-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Maidenhead United on Tuesday night.

Having bossed possession without doing much to threaten the hosts’ goal, the Glovers fell behind when forward Sam Barratt was gifted the freedom of the six yard box on 41 minutes to bundle home an opener.

Reece Smith added a second after a shambolic piece of defending from the visitors on 65 minutes and Yeovil offered very little to make any difference at the other end.

A win for Gateshead, who occupy the top of the division’s bottom four, pushed them level on points with us separated by just two goals on goal difference.

First half

The opening 15 minutes was an utterly forgettable affair with the only kind of entertainment coming from a penalty appeal from the home side when Emile Acquah went down under well-timed Josh Staunton tackle in the third minute.

There was some early pressure from Maidenhead with Ashley Nathaniel-George causing problems down the right, but as the half drew on it was Yeovil who began to get control of the play.

Jordan Young hammered one over the bar on 23 minutes and ten minutes later Alan Massey saw an effort turned over the bar at the other end, but the best chance of the game came from Young on 38 minutes.

A promising forward run from the forward was ended by a forceful tackle from Will de Havilland and the ex-Chippenham Town man’s effort from the free-kick which follows was turned aside by Alexis Andre Junior in the hosts’ goal.

But, as sure as eggs is eggs, the visitors took the lead just three minutes later. A corner in from the right found Sam BARRATT given the freedom of the six yard box by the Yeovil defence and he bundled the ball home.

Having controlled the possession – admittedly without doing much with it – the Glovers found themselves a goal behind. Utterly soft goal and one which drops us to within a place of the National League’s drop zone, at least temporarily.

If you parted with £9.50 for the stream, you’ve been robbed. If you have traveled and paid for a match ticket, get yourself a Crime Reference Number – where there’s blame, there’s a claim.

No idea how anyone can watch this five at the back formation and think “yeah, that’s doing the job”.

Half time:  Maidenhead United 1 Yeovil Town 0

 

Second half

Following his impact off the bench in the home defeat to league leaders Notts County last weekend, Yeovil boss Mark Cooper introduced Andrew Oluwabori at half-time.

There was a sharp intake of breath two minutes after the restart when Grant Smith went walkabout in the Yeovil penalty area and, luckily for him, there was no-one there in a black-and-white shirt to bang the ball home.

Within six minutes of the restart, Oluwabori was showing why he had been introduced with his cross clipping the top of the crossbar. Surely it took a deflection? Nothing given.

If ever you needed to know that this was a game between two of the division’s lowest scorers, it wouldn’t have taken you 63 minutes to figure out why. But, at that point Jordan Maguire-Drew was introduced in place of Young.

Within seconds, the hosts doubled their advantage. A great run from Idris Odutayo was followed by ropey clearance from on loan defender Ryan Law and the ball fell to Reece SMITH who volleyed in to the bottom corner. Absolutely shambolic defending from Yeovil.

Sensing blood, Maidenhead went in search of a third with the visitors’ rocking at the back. Kane Ferdinand almost found it on 71 minutes, only denied by a save from Smith and then with ten minutes remaining Barratt almost added his second when his effort was tipped wide.

Cooper fired an effort just past the post on 74 minutes to prove the away side had actually figured we changed ends at half-time and with five minutes to go Maguire-Drew’s effort was easily held by Andre Junior in the Magpies’ goal.

Substitute Malachi Linton blazed one over the bar in second half injury time, but the reality is that we could have stayed out there all night and not scored.

With Gateshead picking up a home win over Oldham Athletic we are now separated from the relegation places by just goal difference, albeit we have a game in hand over the team below us. Oh, by the way, it’s away at Wrexham in April – but I can’t imagine they’ll have much to play for by then. *face, palm*

If you didn’t believe we were in a relegation scrap before, believe it now.

Full time: Maidenhead United 2 Yeovil Town 0

It was another frustrating night in front of goal for Yeovil Town as they lived up to their billing as the division’s lowest goalscorers with an eighth blank of the season in the 0-0 draw with Maidenhead United at Huish Park last night.

But, as Ian concludes, there were some reasons to be cheerful about at least some parts of the performance, here’s how he saw it……

Confidence is key. The first half performance showed a real lack of confidence and belief. Mark Cooper’s team played safe, we’re reluctant to take risks and barely threatened the Maidenhead United goal. Midway through the second half things started to click though. There was energy, attacking intent and the Glovers looked more likely to get something from a game that often ends goalless. After the match Mark Cooper said it was all about rebuilding the Confidence in his players and I think the last 20 minutes was a good platform to build off.

Cooper’s signings look the part. We expected changes in the squad and Mark Cooper has wasted little time. Jamie Andrews has come straight into the midfield and put in a man of the match performance last night. Anthony Georgiou was forward thinking and once settled looks like he can make a good contribution and the lift that Andrew Oluwabori gave the team and crowd was the highlight. His dribbling and speed got supporters on their feet and Yeovil improved with him on the pitch.

Goals are still a problem. Despite a couple of positives (and boy do we need some of those) the lack of goals is a huge problem. There was no shots in target on the first half and just two all game. That comes from a lack of confidence but we’re crying out for a striker to put anything in the goal. After the match the manager revealed Louis Britton, a former Bristol City striker, hadn’t got international clearance yet but is incoming. He was optimistic he would add the goals we so desperately need, hopefully in time for Gateshead. We’re the lowest scorers in the league and if we don’t rectify that we’re in for a long hard slog.

It’s going to take time for things to click. Given our position in the league, it’s difficult to remain patient but we need to be patient again. There was criticism on social media of the performance but two weeks ago most of this team were at their lowest with anger directed at them and Chris Hargreaves. As confidence builds, hopefully the adjustments will click, the patterns of play will develop and results will turn. We kept a clean sheet, looked comfortable defensively for the majority of the game and the attacking intent got the supporters behind the team and we need to harness that.

It’s groundhog day off the pitch. As performances dwindled, the crowds have too. It was a grim night in Yeovil last night and you can forgive those for not deciding to venture out in those conditions, but the reality is 21st vs 16th in a match notorious for a lack of goals isn’t going to draw the punters in. Yet again we find ourselves in the midst of takeover saga that needs a speedy conclusion so that we don’t go through months of uncertainty for the second season in a row.

Mark Cooper has challenged his Yeovil Town players to tap in to “the power of Huish Park” after an improved second half performance in the goalless draw with Maidenhead United.

The Glovers’ boss was pleased with the reaction of the crowd of under 2,000 when he introduced substitute Andrew Oluwaborie after a hour, a move which sparked more positive forward play from the National League’s lowest scorers.

Mark Cooper speaking after the goalless draw with Maidenhead United.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, the boss said he saw enough from his side to believe they will “be alright” despite having picked up their ninth draw of the campaign and failed to add to their two wins so far this season.

He said: “If we had started like we would have won the game, but you can see the problems. There is a real lack of confidence and a fear which is not good but the second half was good.

I think once we get to grips with how I want to play, which is how we played in the second half, in terms of how we want to pass the ball and get our flair players on the ball one-v-one I think we’ll be alright.

He added: “You saw the power of Huish Park in the second half, that is not going to happen by us just turning up, I said to the boys they have to give (the fans) something.

In the second half, we gave them something and they got really behind the boys and they appreciated that and they enjoyed the second half. I think Andrew can be a crowd favourite.

If we can play like we did in the second half for 70 minutes, the fans will be right behind us.”

The boss threw on Oluwaborie, who joined just hours before kick-off on loan from Peterborough United, and Gime Toure in the second half, but the hosts managed just two shots on target in the entire 90 minutes.

They have managed just 13 goals in their 18 National League matches, making them the division’s lowest scorers by two clear goals.

Cooper revealed after the match he is hoping to get international clearance to bring former Bristol City youngster Louis Britton in, but added that confidence was the issue with the club’s other forwards.

He said: “You have to believe that ball is going to come and land on your head. You have to be an optimist when you’re a striker, you have to believe you are going to get on the end of it and not hope. At the minute we are hoping.

As a defender you have to be a pessimist and believe everything is going to go wrong and clear it, but in the other box we have to be optimistic and confident because we are hoping not expecting to score at the minute.

We gambled in the second half, but if we can get more control in the middle of the pitch with the ball and get those exciting wide players that we have got and get Louis Britton’s clearance, who scores goals for fun, we will be alright.

The boss concluded: “We have to take the positives which is (the point) we go away with and the second half (performance). I understand the first half where the players are down with a lack of confidence and a lack of belief, so you have to build that up.

We’ll take a point, it takes us out of the bottom four and we go on to (Gateshead at home) on Saturday.

Venue: Huish Park
Tuesday 8th November, 7.45pm kick-off

Conditions: Wet and windy
Pitch: Slippery

Attendance: 1,906

Scorers: None

Bookings:

Yeovil Town: Bevan 42, Reckord 64, Oluwaborie 90+4
Maidenhead United: Asare 45, Beckwith 67, Adams 90+3

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis


Yeovil Town (4-3-3):

Substitutes: Andrew Oluwabori (for Ewan Clark, 60), Gime Toure (for Georgiou, 84), Chiori Johnson, Ollie Hulbert, Malachi Linton.

Maidenhead United: Gyollai, Ferdinand, Asare, Massey, Nathaniel-George (for Clifton 90+3), Acquah, Arthur (for Keetch, 54), Smith (for McCoulsky, 87), Beckwith, Adams, Clerima. Substitutes (not used): Odutayo, Andre.

Match Report.

Yeovil Town’s ninth draw of the National League season was enough to move them out of the National League relegation zone in Mark Cooper’s first home game in charge.

But, more tellingly, it was also the eighth time this season that the Glovers have drawn a blank in front of goal and a failure to do much to force the Maidenhead United goalkeeper in to action was plain for all to see.

There was an improvement – if you set the bar at the last time out against Aldershot Town in Chris Hargreaves’ final match – especially when debutant Andrew Oluwaborie came on after an hour, but it still was not enough.

 

First half

On loan Leyton Orient winger Anthony Georgiou was handed a debut and fellow wideman Andrew Oluwaborie, signed just hours before kick-off from Peterborough United, was named on the bench as the Glovers set up with a three-man forward line in a bid to improve their record as the National League’s lowest scorers.

However, there was no place in the squad for Will Buse, Morgan Williams, Sam Perry, Lawson D’Ath, Charlie Wakefield or Jake Scrimshaw. Signs of changes being rung by Mark Cooper?

The first meaningful chance saw Kane Ferdinand take advantage of a Max Hunt error to test Grant Smith with an effort from the edge of the box and moments later another effort skidded off the slippery surface to force the keeper to awkwardly turn it wide.

But chances were at a premium in the opening 45 minutes. Jamie Andrews, starting his second match since joining on loan from West Bromwich Albion, was a bright spark on a damp night, he kept his head up and seemed a creative force in midfield.

As the half came towards an end, Owen Bevan was lucky to escape with just a yellow after a two-footed tackle on Ferdinand – call that one an ‘orange’ card with referee Robert Massey-Ellis perhaps given him credit

The best chance of the game so far fell to Emile Acquah as the game crept in to injury time. The striker’s effort shot took a ricochet off someone and forced Smith in to a fine stop to turn it over the bar.

We look better than we did last time out against Aldershot Town, but that isn’t saying much. Not much to warm you on a miserable evening.

Half time: Yeovil Town 0 Maidenhead United 0

Second half

To say the second half started in similar fashion to the end of the first would be an understatement. Ferdinand brought a stop out of Smith on 57 minutes but that was probably about as ‘exciting’ as it got….and I use exciting in the loosest possible sense of the word.

Perhaps recognising the risk of hypothermia setting in for those in the Thatcher’s Stand, Yeovil manager Mark Cooper introduced Andrew Oluwabori in place of Ewan Clark, who had a bright first half but again took some heavy knocks.

The change brought the impact it was seeking with Oluwabori added attacking impetus and sparking fellow debutant Georgiou into bombing forward.

A couple of dangerous balls in to the box from Georgiou were turned aside first by Josh Staunton and then from Max Hunt, but neither forced Daniel Gyollai in to a stop.

The keeper was called in to action on 71 minutes when Oluwabori found Alex Fisher who flicked the ball towards goal but was denied by Gyollai. A shot on target, folks!

Max Hunt put a header wide four minutes later, but that was honestly about as near as we came to mustering a meaningful shot on target.

The statistics speak for themselves – two shots on target and two shots off target in 90 minutes of football.

We’re out of the bottom four at the expense of Scunthorpe United who take on Wrexham on Wednesday night, but beyond that positives are hard to come by.

Full time: Yeovil Town 0 Maidenhead United 0

New signing Anthony Georgiou is handed an immediate debut as Yeovil Town go in search of three points against Maidenhead United at Huish Park tonight (7.45pm kick-off).

The Cypriot winger lines up in a three-man frontman led by Alex Fisher and supported by fellow loanee Ewan Clark with captain Josh Staunton, fellow loanee Jamie Andrews and Matt Worthington in midfield in a 4-3-3 formation.

Fellow new boy Andrew Oluwabori, who joined on loan from Peterborough United ahead of kick-off, is one of four forwards named on the bench with Ollie HulbertGime Toure and Malachi Linton.

 

 

Substitues: Chiori Johnson, Gime Toure, Ollie Hulbert, Malachi Linton, Andrew Oluwabori.

 

 

A point gained or two more dropped? Whatever your opinion, Yeovil Town’s draw at a Maidenhead United side with an impressive record on home turf fixes us even more firmly in to mid-table in the National League.

Here are Coatesie’s conclusions from the game in Berkshire from the away end….

For the first half Yeovil Town carried a threat going forward and, for the first time I can recall, it was not all built around Charlie Wakefield and Tom Knowles. It became obvious when both departed that we lost our attacking threat with the loss of Olufela Olomola and Lawson D’Ath. Neither player is obviously fully match fit as they both find their way back after a lack of regular football for different reasons. On the positive, we have two players capable of making a real difference going forward, but on the negative D’Ath tired after the break and was sensibly replaced and Fela took heavy challenge which he seemed to still be feeling after the game.

The more worrying thing was that despite our bench looking strong on paper none of our substitutions made much of an impression. Reuben Reid showed some good touches and looked like he got the winner (see next Conclusion), but otherwise did not carry the same scoring threat as Fela. Jordan Barnett didn’t have much of an impact, though on numerous occasions I had wished it had been him accelerating down the pitch from left-back instead of Morgan Williams. No real criticism of Morgan’s performance, but I just am still not convinced he is full-back.

Now I know referee’s are off the agenda (Rule 1 and all that) but what about assistant’s? Okay, I am biased but I saw little wrong with either goal that

Reuben Reid. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

was ruled out. In the first half, Luke Wilkinson did exactly what his manager had been calling for and got himself on the end of a great ball in to the box to head home, he jumped, but he was looked simply more committed than the Maidenhead player he was competing against. Even on a replay I don’t put it beyond ‘seen them given’. Then the injury time ‘winner’ from Reid, well, my angle behind the goal was not the best to judge, the linesman had his flag up early but the fact the ref checked with his assistant suggested even the man in the middle was unsure of the decision.

We saw the best and the worst of Grant Smith. The Yeovil keeper kept us in the game particularly in the second half when we couldn’t seem to keep Maidenhead away. He was involved in a one-on-one battle with the hosts’ Dan Sparkes with some brilliant saves, but sadly his error for the equaliser was even more telling. From the away end it was difficult to see exactly what happened, but it looked pretty inexplicable from what I could make of it.

Sadly, it was another performance which made me convinced we are every inch a mid-table side and unless we can magic up a fully fit D’Ath, get Fela firing or get Wakefield and Knowles back to their unplayable best, it hard to see how it is going to change. But let’s end on a positive, Charlie Lee is going to be an entertaining watch in the technical area. At the start, Darren Sarll shouted to supporters waiting to see which end we were shooting towards that his assistant was nailed on for a yellow card. Invading the pitch for the ‘winner’ from Reid. If there’s nothing to play for other than the pride this season, his antics could be worth a watch.

Alex Bradley in conversation with manager Darren Sarll.

Yeovil Town midfielder Alex Bradley spoke to the BBC after the Glovers’ 1-1 draw away at Maidenhead and he said it was disappointing not to get the win on his return to the side.

The former Finland youth international was making his first league start of the season and played 87 minutes before being replaced by Adi Yussuf.

“I really enjoyed being back playing with the lads, just disappointed we haven’t come away with all three points”

“I’ll play wherever I’m told to play, when the manager wants me to play… I feel fit, I feel really fit, the gaffer has got me doing extra running and extra training so yeah, I do feel fit and tonight I felt good out there”

The game saw no fewer than three goals ruled out for various reasons, two for the Glovers; and Bradley says there’s more to come from this side.

“We’ve got to want more, we’ve got to keep pushing as a team and as a squad, we can’t be satisfied with coming here tonight and going away with a point because these are the places we have to come and look to get all three points”

With Chesterfield on the horizon, Bradley is adamant the Glovers will be out for the win, with confidence remaining high.

“I think every game we have to go into with confidence, if you don’t you’ve already lost the game, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing – top of the league or bottom of the league – the objective has to be the same, to be going to game to try and win”

He also praised the return of Charlie Lee as assistant manager in his first league game in his new role, saying Lee is a “great bloke” and it’s “great to have him back”.

Bradley and Yeovil head to Derbyshire to face Chesterfield this Saturday at 17:20.

Do not be fooled by Maidenhead United’s lowly league position, they are a force to be reckoned with on home soil.

The 2-0 win over Boreham Wood in Saturday’s televised game was the latest over the National League’s promotion contenders.

Chesterfield, FC Halifax, Wrexham and Bromley are the other big guns who have come unstuck at York Road.

Their home form puts Maidenhead fifth in the National League form table over the past six matches, but in more positive news for 13th-placed Yeovil is that their opponents on Tuesday night had only won twice at home against teams in the bottom half. That includes beating Dover in the second game of the season.

It is their away form which is to blame for the Magpies’ league position, one place above the relegation zone, albeit nine points ahead of W*ymouth with games in hand.

In fact, their form over the last six puts them seventh in the division’s form table, ahead of Chesterfield, Wrexham and Notts County.

The win over Boreham Wood was the Magpies’ first in a fortnight after their match at Wealdstone was rained off the week before, with many of their part-time players having made significant journeys.

They now face a fairly brutal spell of two games a week as they look to catch up on a number of cancelled fixtures.

Josh Kelly will be one to watch for the home side. He scored his eighth of the season to open the scoring against Boreham Wood on BT Sport,

The tricky, speedy wide player was paired alongside for Torquay United man Nathan Blissett, who adds a more physical element to the Maidenhead attack.

 


FROM THE (ASSISTANT) MANAGER

Speaking after the 2-0 home win over Boreham Wood, assistant manager Ryan Peters said the Magpies needed to quickly focus on the visit of the Glovers.

He said: “It is going to be Saturday and then Tuesday for a good few weeks now, but once we get to Monday, this game is over for us and our attention shifts to the next one (against Yeovil).

”We have to keep picking up points to make sure we are as far away from those relegation places as possible, but if we carry on playing the way we did (against Boreham Wood).


TEAM NEWS

Striker Sam Barratt is the only injury absentee for Maidenhead.

The frontman, who has five goals in 14 appearances, had surgery which kept him out from November.

He started his first game in a 2-2 draw with Eastleigh a couple of weeks ago, playing 73 minutes, but missed out at the weekend with manager Alan Devonshire saying he is not quite fit.

The boss told the Maidenhead Advertiser: “Sam just keeps getting little niggles and when you’ve had a major operation it puts pressure on other parts of your body so we’re not going to take any chances with him.

Midfielder Kane Ferdinand, cousin of Les, Rio and Anton, returned after a six-week absence to appear as a late substitute at the weekend.

Luton Town loanee Sam Beckwith also played the full 90 minutes against Boreham Wood having missed the previous match through injury.


A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS

Shaun Donnellan came off the substitutes’ bench in the 2-0 win over Boreham Wood at the weekend.

Shaun Donnellan. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The defender had a one-year spell at Huish Park between January 2018 and January 2019 before being allowed to leave.

He arrived at Maidenhead in summer 2020 having had spells at Maidstone United and Woking and has been in and out of the Magpies’ side this season.

Donnellan’s uncle, Gary, played for Yeovil in the late 1980s.

Other players with connections with both clubs include….

  • Rohan Ince – Yeovil Town – loan (2012), Maidenhead United (2020-21)
  • Gabriel Osho – Maidenhead United – loan (2018), Yeovil Town – loan (2018-21)
  • Ryan Bird – Yeovil Town (2015-16), Maidenhead United (2018-19)
  • Seth Nana Twumasi – Yeovil Town (2013-15), Maidenhead United (2018-21)
  • Chris Dunn – Yeovil Town (2013-14), Maidenhead United (2019-21).