After a dramatic affair in the last round against Weymouth, Yeovil Town will be hoping for a more straightforward clash when they meet Yate Town on Saturday afternoon (3pm).

Yate, who play in the Southern Premier Division (two below the National League), will provide a tough test in this first round clash, having already beaten National League opposition in the last round.

The Glovers, who come off the back of their first clear midweek in over a month, will be rejuvenated after picking up four points from Woking and Solihull Moors in their last two National League fixtures.

Darren Sarll’s thoughts

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll insisted there was no room for complacency from his side who come into the tie as heavy favourites. Speaking in his weekly press conference, he said;

“They (Yate) are obviously in a rich vein of form, you can’t deny momentum at whatever level and they’ve got qualities.

“It will be very important that we share our qualities with everybody there on Saturday. We need to ensure we’re robust, professional, very committed and get the job done.”

Team news

Yeovil Town are likely to be boosted by the return of one of Luke Wilkinson or Morgan Williams who have recovered from long-term injury lay-offs. This coincides nicely with the suspension of Max Hunt who received his marching orders last weekend against Solihull Moors for a last man challenge.

In his press conference, Sarll confirmed the positive news that forward Reuben Reid is ahead of schedule in his recovery, and will potentially be seen in a Yeovil Town shirt by the end of the month.

Mitch Rose and Mark Little remain unavailable due to their injuries.

A foot in the opposition camp

Coming off the back of a 5-2 victory over Sailsbury, the Yate Town squad will be full of confidence when they face Yeovil Town on Saturday. The star of the show against Sailsbury was Dave Sims-Burgess who netted twice for Paul Michael’s side. Speaking after the game, Michael said his side have a “free hit” against the Glovers in the tie.

Route to the tie

Yate Town, who started their journey in the first qualifying round have had to win four fixtures to reach this stage. Their first victory came just down the road from Yeovil, at the Avenue Stadium with a 1-3 victory over Dorchester.

It was plain sailing from there for the Bluebells, with back-to-back clean sheets, in victories over Gosport Borough and Redhill.

In the last round, Yate met the National League’s bottom side Dover Athletic, and after a 1-1 draw at the Crabble and a postponed replay due to floodlight failure, Saturday’s hosts upset the odds, beating the Whites 1-0 at Lodge Road to setup a meeting with Yeovil Town.

Tickets

This fixture is SOLD OUT and will be played in front of a capacity crowd of 1,600. There will be no ticket sales made on the day and this fixture will not be streamed. For those in attendance, the turnstiles open at 12.30pm. Yeovil Town supporters must enter through the Iron Acton end.