Under 18s (Page 6)

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Yeovil Town Under-18s were forced to settle for a point having been pegged back by a late equaliser at Swindon Supermarine this weekend.

Striker Charlie Bateson made it two goals in as many matches with an early strike in what was described as “a controlled and positive performance” in the South West Counties Youth League fixture in Wiltshire.

However, a late equaliser from the home side means the young Glovers are in fifth place in the table (if you look at them in mid-September) after just two matches.

They face Bridgwater United at Alvington next Saturday 24th September with a 10.30am kick-off.

Their next opponents had an 11-0 home win over Ferndown-based BRS Coaching Under-18s, who look likely to be the division’s whipping boys having lost 7-1 in their previous match.

Yeovil Town Under-18s: Robert Hollard, Mason Hunter, Max Dyer, Jacob Shore (for Joshua Haskett, 75), Harrison Foster, Jake Graziano (for Joshua Sutton, 75), Sam Hodges, Jack Bareham (for Nathan Hart, 85), Charlie Bateson (for Aidan Skiverton, 55), Benjani Junior, Ethan O’Sullivan.

 

The teams representing the Yeovil Town Community Sports Trust got their Junior Premier League season underway on Saturday.

There were victories for the Under-11s and Under-12s against Bridgwater United and for the Under-14s and Under-15s against Exeter Regional Talent Centre (RTC) with plenty of goals on display, apparently.

The Trust don’t publicise scorelines because that’s not what it’s all about, but with four out of six age group sides winning sounds pretty good, right?

U11’s v Bridgwater United – Won
U12’s v Bridgwater United – Won
U13’s v Exeter RTC – Drew
U14’s v Exeter RTC – Won
U15’s v Exeter RTC – Won
U16’s v Exeter RTC – Lost

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

Yeovil Town‘s Under-18s have been drawn away at Bovey Tracey in the FA Youth Cup Second Qualifying Round.

The match will take place on Monday 26th September with a 7pm kick-off, unless both teams agree to change the time.

The Moorlanders, who play in the Devon Counties Under 18 South East Division, booked their place with a penalty shoot-out win over Plymouth Parkway in the competition’s first qualifying on Thursday night.

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Yeovil Town Under-18s came from behind three times to kick off their season with a 3-3 draw at home to Cirencester Town at Alvington on Saturday.

On the scoresheet for young Glovers’ were Benjani Junior, Charlie Bateson and Nathan Hart in an entertaining match in the South West Counties Youth League.

The result puts them third in  table – after one match, of course – with Bridgwater United making an impressive start to the new campaign with an 11-0 win over the division’s newcomers, BRS Coaching Academy of Ringwood.

They travel to Salisbury FC Under-18s next Saturday for a match played at the British Army’s Bulford Barracks camp.

The Under-18s had lost just one of their five pre-season friendlies with victories over their counterparts at Bristol Manor Farm and Tiverton Town and ending with a 5-2 win over Sherborne Town Reserves.

 

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Yeovil Town Under-18s get their South West Counties Youth League season underway with a home game against Cirencester Town Youth on Saturday 3rd September.

The fixture at the Alvington Playing Fields gets underway at 10.30am ahead of the first team’s home match with York City at Huish Park at 3pm.

Matt Percival. Picture courtesy of Yeovil College.

It is the first of four fixtures in September with trips to Salisbury City and Swindon Supermarine the following two weekends before ending September at home to Bridgwater United on September 24th.

On first inspection, the 11-team division looks similar to last season with the addition of BRS Coaching Youth Under-18s, based in Ringwood in the New Forest, who appear a new addition.

The pre-season campaign has seen the young Glovers lose 2-0 against Eastleigh before following that up with a 2-0 victory against Bristol Manor Farm and a 5-0 win over Tiverton Town on Thursday.

We will endeavour to keep you as up to speed with the fortunes of the Under-18s as we are able, but we’d encourage you to skip back to our chat with coach Matt Percival in June and follow his request to get down to Alvington and watch the youngsters.

You can hear Matt talking to us in Gloverscast #175 – Grilled by Dave – here.

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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.

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Two goals apiece from Benjani Junior and substitute Joshua John saw Yeovil Town Under-18s romp to a 7-0 win over Paulton Rovers in the South West Counties Youth League.

The young Glovers’ other scorers were Mason Hunter, Sam Hodges and substitute Rio Mapletoft at the Alvington Playing Fields on Saturday.

The result moves the Under-18s up to fifth place in the nine-team division with games in hand over every team in the division.

They host Bath City, who sit one place below them in the table, at Alvington on Saturday (10.30am kick-off).

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The Yeovil Town Under-18s team from its Elite Player Development Programme (EPDP) made it through to the quarter-finals of the British Colleges Knock-Out Cup.

The young Glovers beat Merthyr College from South Wales 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw salvaged by a late equaliser from Charlie Bateson.

The EPDP is run in partnership with Yeovil College.

The shoot-out success follows a 1-1 draw at Bridgwater United Under-18s in the South West Counties Youth League last weekend when Benjani Junior was on target.

They are back in action this weekend with a home match against Paulton Rovers at the Alvington Playing Fields on Saturday (10.30am kick-off).

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Glovers’ Ollie Haste
Pic From @yeovilcollege

Yeovil Town’s Under-18s have progressed through to the final 16 of the ECFA’s Knockout College Cup following a comprehensive 6-1 victory over Truro and Penwith College.

Two of the goals were scored by Ollie Haste (pictured) with two other scorers and an own goal getting on the score sheet as well.

The young Glovers will play Merthyr Tydfil College in the next round, matches will be played on or before February 9th, with a potential final at Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster just four wins away.

 

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Matt Percival has “taken the reins” as the new head coach for Yeovil Town Under-18s, according to the club

The Yeovil College student was previously assistant to Mark Challen, who left the job in December, and was reported to have taken the team for their 4-1 win over Wimborne Town in the South West Counties Youth League at the weekend.

The victory was the young Glovers’ first match in South West Counties Youth League for more than a month and the first under the new coach.

Matt Percival. Picture courtesy of Yeovil College.

Joshua John opened the scoring for the young Glovers after 12 minutes before Ollie Haste’s header doubled the advantage on 40 minutes.

Their opponents pulled a goal back just before the break, before goals from Sam Hodges and a second from John sealed the win.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Percival said: “We’re at the half way point of the season, having now won 5 and lost 4 in the league so it’s about looking to kick on to finish the season strongly.

“I thought at times today we looked really good and we’ve been working hard in training at different ways to break teams down depending on how they set-up and whether they’re pressing high or looking to drop off.“

Their next game sees the Under-18s travel to Truro & Penwith College in the College Cup tournament on Wednesday followed by a league fixture against Torquay United Under-18s on Saturday.

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Yeovil Town Under-18s are back in South West Counties Youth League action with a home fixture against Wimborne Town.

The match at the Alvington Playing Fields is the young Glovers’ first action since their 3-1 defeat at Bridgwater United in the Gary Else League Cup on December 11.

In that competition, Yeovil have been drawn to face Torquay United Under-18s at the semi-final stage with matches scheduled for March 6.