Get the lowdown on the U’s next opponents: Yeovil Town.

The Opposition

Yeovil Town are a side who have spent much of their recent history in disarray, having dropped all the way from the Championship to the National League South in the space of just ten years.

However, the Glovers will be looking up, with a title-winning campaign seeing them bounce straight back to the fifth tier at the first time of asking and doing in style too with a whopping 95 points.

Yeovil have subsequently enjoyed a steady return to life in the National League, and have largely competed to sit 15th in the table as it stands. The Glovers are one of the lowest scorers in the entire division, outscoring only bottom placed AFC Fylde and Ebbsfleet United, but have made up for it with a strong backline, with which they have conceded the eighth least amount of goals in the league. The arrival of Aidan Stone from Notts County has allowed them to maintain the work done by former loanee Oliver Wright, who had played 29 times during the first half of the season before being recalled by Southampton, in front of a backline that has frequently changed throughout the campaign. The likes of the long-serving Morgan Williams, Jake Wannell, Alex Whittle and Michael Smith, along with Finn Cousin-Dawson and Dominic Bernard have all played more than 20 games, and shielded by key men Brett McGavin and Charlie Cooper in the centre of the park, has allowed the Glovers the required defensive stability to improve on their previous campaign in the fifth tier.

This has also been able to counteract their woes in the final third, with goals largely coming from midfield. McGavin and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton both rank high in the Glovers’ goalscoring charts alongside Aaron Jarvis and Ciaran McGuckin, while the mid-season departure of Frank Nouble proved to be a huge blow for Mark Cooper, and subsequently saw the likes of Jacob Maddox, Jahmari Clarke, Ryan McLean, Kyrell Wilson and Harvey Greenslade all brought in in an attempt to improve firepower.

Nonetheless though, safety was secured on the weekend due to results elsewhere, despite the Somerset-based outfit losing to Eastleigh themselves, and they will now be looking to end the campaign on a positive note.

Recent Form

Eastleigh 1-0 Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town 1-1 Forest Green Rovers

Yeovil Town 2-1 Oldham Athletic

Altrincham 2-1 Yeovil Town

Yeovil Town 1-0 AFC Fylde

Solihull Moors 0-3 Yeovil Town

The Manager

Mark Cooper

Mark Cooper is a vastly experienced manager in lower league football, having taking charge of ten different clubs throughout his career.

The former midfielder began his coaching career at Tamworth where he spent three years, before finding success at Kettering Town with whom he won the Conference North in 2007/08. A brief stint at Peterborough United preceded a move back up north to Darlington, where he won the 2010/11 FA Trophy, before a return to Kettering after a single season in the North-East. He would take over at AFC Telford United, Swindon Town and Notts County, winning League One Manager of the Month for November with the Robins, before a successful stint at Forest Green Rovers saw him guide the club to promotion the EFL for the first time in their history in his first season, beating Tranmere Rovers in the National League play-off final.

Following a five-year stint at the New Lawn, Cooper spent a season at Barrow, and later returned to the South-West in October 2022, suffering relegation with Yeovil in his first season before taking them back into the fifth tier the following season, with victory over fellow South-West-based outfit Truro City sealing their promotion.

They have since gone from strength to strength upon their return to the fifth tier, booking their place in the division for another year with two games to spare.

One to Watch

Brett McGavin

Highly rated midfielder Brett McGavin arrived at Huish Park following a successful stint at Torquay United, having established himself as one of the Gulls’ key players during his two years at Plainmoor.

Having started his career in the Ipswich Town academy, he signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2019, and following short loan spells at Bury Town and Concord Rangers, made his debut for the club in an EFL Trophy group stage match against Colchester United at the end of the year. He would make four appearances for the Tractor Boys during the following season, and later gained experience on loan at Ayr United and King’s Lynn Town, making his debut for the latter against the Glovers.

McGavin would be released from Portman Road in 2022 and opted to sign a three-year contract with Torquay. He would enjoy a positive spell with the Gulls, making 75 appearances in total before making the move to Huish Park in the summer, where he is currently the Glovers’ joint-top scorer with seven goals from midfield.

Last Time We Met

Sutton were held to a goalless draw at the hands of newly promoted National League South champions Yeovil Town.

The Glovers went closest to an opener in the first half, with Chinwike Okoli getting called into action to produce a crucial last-ditch challenge to deny Aaron Jarvis, but it was otherwise the U’s who enjoyed the better of things over the course of the half. Lewis Simper was the star man for sure and went close himself with a dipping free kick that required Ollie Wright to tip it over the crossbar, while late chances for Will Davies and Simper were unable to give Steve Morison’s side the lead before the interval.

This set Sutton on their way to a more dominant second half performance, with Wright doing incredibly well on multiple occasions to prevent the hosts from breaking the deadlock. Charlie Waller went closest to scoring when he forced Wright into a strong save midway through the half, while Josh Coley tested the Yeovil goalkeeper with a superb effort from 30-yards that needed to be tipped behind, and despite their late push, proved enough for the visitors to hold Sutton to a point.

Head-to-Head

Sutton United 0-0 Yeovil Town (24/09/2024)

Sutton United 2-1 Yeovil Town (09/03/2021)

Yeovil Town 1-2 Sutton United 27/10/2020)

Sutton United 3-2 Yeovil Town (28/12/2019)

Yeovil Town 1-0 Sutton United (03/09/2019)

Played for Both

Rhys Browne

Experienced winger Rhys Browne has established himself as one of the most dangerous forwards in all of non-league, having turned out for a whole host of fifth tier clubs including both Sutton and Yeovil.

After being spotted playing for local team Interwood, Browne joined the Norwich City academy where he spent two years, and was part of the squad that won the 2012/13 FA Youth Cup with 4–2 aggregate victory over Chelsea, as well as the Norfolk Senior Cup that same season with a 2–0 win over Wroxham. Despite this, Browne never made a senior appearance at Carrow Road and subsequently joined Charlton Athletic, spending time out on loan at VCD Athletic during his sole campaign at The Valley.

Having been released by the Addicks, Browne dropped into non-league following a successful trial at Aldershot Town, earning a contract with the Shots and going on to score seven goals in 41 appearances in North Hampshire.

The Antigua and Barbuda international later made the move to newly promoted Grimsby Town, playing a handful of times before moving on loan at Macclesfield Town, where he scored four goals in six games during the Silkmen’s FA Trophy run, including one in the Final at Wembley Stadium in which they lost to York City.

Nonetheless, Browne impressed during his brief stint in Cheshire, and departed Grimsby ahead of the following season for Yeovil Town. He appeared 63 times for the Glovers and was largely a regular figure across his two seasons at Huish Park, but was released following their relegation from the Football League.

Spells at Port Vale and Wealdstone then followed, returning to non-league permanently with his move to the latter, before signing for Sutton midway through the 2020/21 campaign. He appeared 14 times for the U’s and was a part of the side that secured promotion to League Two under Matt Gray, but his stay at Gander Green Lane would prove to be brief as he was released at the end of the campaign.

A return to Wealdstone was then followed by stints at Woking and Barnet, where he currently resides, and has racked up almost 200 appearances in the National League, while he will likely earn his first promotion since Sutton with the Bees currently leading the way at the top of the table, and need a point to return to the fourth tier.

Photo Credit: Yeovil Town Football Club