Yeovil Town play host to West London side Brentford tomorrow afternoon at Huish Park, looking to break their run of nine matches without a win. They come up against a Bees side who have made a reasonable start to their first season back in League One after winning the League Two title last season.
They lie in joint 11th place in the table, having won two and drawn four of their eight league matches so far. However, their more recent form suggests that they are stuttering a touch, after that initial high, with no wins in their last five league games, and six without a win in all competitions. Their last away goal came on August 22nd - over a month ago.
Brentford's home record was good until last weekend - when it all went a bit pearshaped in a big way during the first half. Three first half goals from Bristol Rovers saw Bees boss Andy Scott fuming after the game and threatening changes after isolated errors gifted Rovers three points. Scott made two first half substitutions to arrest that woeful start to the game, with Sam Saunders and Marcus Bean being given their chance, and after a Charlie MacDonald strike ensured they 'won' the second half 1-0 to produce a final 1-3 home defeat, the temptation must be for Scott to stick Saunders and Bean in the starting line-up. Bean in particular will be favourite to return given that he was only on the bench due to some recent injury concerns.
Scott has made it clear that if he sees a repeat of last week's episode then he will definitely be seeking to make wholesale changes. Speaking to the Brentford Guardian he explained:
"Not concentrating, not doing your jobs, not wanting to be ruthless, not accepting how teams are going to play, thinking you are better than you are; all of those things were a factor (against Bristol Rovers). We’ve got to take the last 45 mins to Yeovil and forget the first 45 mins, but if it happens again I’m not going to tolerate it. That was not defending in any shape or form of the word and I’m not going to accept it."
Both of Yeovil Town's strikers have been on Brentford's books in the past. Gavin Tomlin played for the Bees during 2006, making 15 appearances for the Bees. More recently, Sam Williams was on loan at Griffin Park at the tail end of last season, making 11 appearances in what was his last bit of football before joining the Glovers. Dean Bowditch would have been a third Bees connection if it were not for his dislocated shoulder.
In addition to Bowditch, Aidan Downes (shoulder and knee) remains out long term, whilst Jonathan Obika remains in Egypt on England Under-20 duty. However, goalkeeper Alex McCarthy should return between the sticks after serving his one match ban last weekend. Glovers boss Terry Skiverton will need to consider whether to recall defender Stefan Stam, who missed the match at Southampton with a knee injury. New loan signing Shaun MacDonald should make his 'second debut' for the club - the dilemma will be whether he is used as a wide-right player, or whether Skiverton slots him into the centre.
For Brentford, Ben Strevens remains a long term absentee as he looks to recover from a broken leg sustained in pre-season. Full-back Ryan Dickson (knee) is also out, meaning that Bristol City loan centre-back James Wilson has been filling in at left-back for the Bees.
Obviously the two sides did not meet in the league last season, but they did line up in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, with a 2-2 draw at Griffin Park being settled by a penalty shoot-out. The Bees triumphed, with Aaron Brown's penalty kick last seen crossing the Chiswick Flyover and threatening jumbo jets trying to land in at Heathrow. Marc Bircham and Gavin Tomlin were Yeovil's scorers in normal time. The last meeting at Huish Park came back in January 2007, when a Leon Best goal was enough to see a 5,373 crowd go home happy with a 1-0 win. The Glovers did the double over Brentford that season, with the team on their way to a Wembley play-off final and the Bees on their way to relegation.
The game kicks off at 3.00p.m. on Saturday, with tickets for the match available on the day from the Huish Park Ticket Office, subject to the usual match-day tariffs. If you want to take advantage of the pre-match rates, visit or call the Ticket Office on 01935-847888 to order your ticket.
Link: Officials For Yeovil Town vs Brenford.
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25 September 2009 : 
