Match Preview: Woking vs Yeovil Town

It’s that time of the year again, when games come thick and fast, and Saturday sees Yeovil Town go to Woking in the league.

Form Guide…

After a good month or so for the Glovers during October/November, results have taken a turn for the worse.

Over the last five games Mark Cooper’s men have won two and lost threes. Those three losses have been over the last three games however. It must be said all three losses have been against Barnet, York City and Halifax, all very good teams in their own right. Last time out, they were beaten 1-2 at home to Barnet.

It’s been a tough season for Woking, who currently lie 18th in the league. Over their last five league games The Cards have had one win, two draws and two losses. The one victory was against second bottom Boston United. They have also been beaten by two team that the Glovers have been beaten by in Barnet and FC Halifax.

Key Players…

Yeovil – Michael Smith

What’s there to say about the experience full back that hasn’t already been said. The Northern Ireland international has come back from injury at a perfect time for Yeovil, with their defensive suspensions.

Having a player with the know how and quality of Smith will prove vital going into the upcoming fixtures.  He will be a player Cooper will be looking to rely on that’s for sure.

Woking – Dale Gorman

A name that is well-known to Glovers’ fans, Gorman joined the Surrey side from Barnet in the summer and has made an impact. The centre midfielder  has picked up five assists so far this season for a struggling team.

The Northern Irishman has already been named captain in his short time at The Cards, which shows his impact as a leader within the squad.

However, he’s become a bit of a pantomime villain (quelle surprise, I know!) of late and had a bit of a bust-up with fans in a 2-0 defeat at Barnet last weekend. He appeared as a second half substitute against Southend United on Tuesday night and it’s fair to say there was a bit of an ‘atmosphere’ when he arrived.

Still loves a booking, he got sent off for two in the opening day and is the proud owner of ten yellows this season. He’s got one goal as well which (even more surprisingly to anyone who saw him in a Yeovil shirt) was a beautiful free-kick to get a consolation goal back in a 3-2 defeat at Tamworth last month.

That’s what he said…

The Cards manager, Michael Doyle spoke to club media about the his teams upcoming home fixture. He said: “Another home game against Yeovil. They come up last year, they’ve had a good start to the season, so it will be a good test for us, but we’re at home so we got to take the game to them.”

Yeovil boss Mark Cooper spoke to the BBC after the midweek game about the quick turnaround. He said: “We’ve only got two days, so the players will be off tomorrow in Friday then play on Saturday…we won’tYeoviuse that as excuse though.

We will have to freshen up, make sure we have a enough good legs in the team to play at Woking on Saturday.”

We’ve met before…

Out of the 11 games these two teams have played against each other Yeovil have six wins to Woking’s three, with just the two draws. However, the last time the two met the Glovers lost 0-1 in March 2023. The last time they played at Kingfield Stadium, in November 2022  the Somerset side lost again 1-0.

Don’t I Know You…

Has there been a pair of clubs which have swapped players as much as Woking and Yeovil Town down the years? Warren Patmore, Jamie Pitman, Steve Thompson, Kevan Brown, Charlie Wakefield, Luke Wilkinson….errr….there’s probably more….

In fact, there definitely are because there’s a few in today’s match, albeit they have come via other clubs

The previously mentioned Dale Gorman being one and his midfield partner Jamie Andrews also had spell in the South West.

The 22-year-old was on loan at Yeovil from West Bromwich Albion for a short period between November 2022 and January 2nd 2023. During that time he played a total of eight games.

Gorman played a total of 42 appearances during his year long spell in Somerset, scoring five goals.

Less likely to be playing is Dan Moss, the all-action full-back who endeared himself to Glovers’ fans during a loan spell from Millwall in the 2021/22 season. He played 23 times in green-and-white before returning to The Den, and was then picked up by his former boss at Yeovil, Darren Sarll, when he quit Huish Park for the Kingfield – yes, it happens with managers as well. Moss was not in the Cards’ squad for their midweek goalless draw (/snooze fest) with Southend United, so may not feature today.

Midfielder Rohan Ince is another player with Somerset connections. He arrived at Huish Park back in 2012 when he was getting his career started in Chelsea’s academy and made two appearances. Since then he’s gone on to represent Brighton & Hove Albion, Cheltenham Town and Maidenhead United with loans at Swindon Town and Fulham. He arrived at the Kingfield in 2021 but fell out of favour in the latter part of Sarll’s time in charge. He is a long-term injury victim this season and therefore will not feature against us.

Who’s been naughty then…

Yeovil will be without defenders Dom Bernard and Jake Wannell.