7th August 2015

Yeovil Town kick off their Sky Bet League Two campaign away at local rivals Exeter City on Saturday with a 3pm kick off.

The game falls just two days short of the five-year anniversary of former Glover and Grecian, Adam Stansfield’s passing.

This occasion will be marked by both sets of supporters with a minutes applause in both the 7th and 9th minutes to honour his shirt numbers at the respective clubs. Furthermore the two supporters teams will play each other on Saturday morning to raise money for the Adam Stansfield Foundation.

On the pitch, Paul Sturrock has moulded a squad ready to take on League Two, no fewer than 17 players have departed with 15 more coming in through the ever revolving door at Huish Park.

One constant will be in the goalkeeping department, Artur Krysiak and Chris Weale will fight it out throughout the season for the starting spot.

Other familiar faces will also be returning to Somerset for a second stint; Stephen Arthurworrey has rejoined on loan from Fulham, Matty Dolan – a Wembley 2013 hero – has signed a permanent contract and Captain Ryan Dickson is back in green and white following a loan spell a few years ago.

Sturrock is pretty new to the club unlike his compatriot in the opposite dug out, Paul Tisdale.

 

The flat cap wearing gaffer is now the longest serving football league manager currently in a job having been employed in the top job back in June 2006.

Like Sturrock, Tisdale has been busy over the summer; five have left including Liam Sercombe and Graham Cummins who have joined Oxford and St Johnstone respectively.

Unlike Yeovil, Exeter do have a new man between the sticks after Bobby Olejnik signed from Torquay United.

Other additions like Lee Holmes from Preston and Will Hoskins from Oxford have given hope of a promising season down in Devon.

 

It’s pretty tough to talk about each team’s form going into the first game of the season but Yeovil have got a win over Championship Bristol City under their belts during pre-season as well as positive results at Torquay and Truro.

Exeter on the other hand have played a few more friendlies, including two in Scotland but have only won against local sides back home, a 2-1 victory over Weston Super Mare and a 3-1 win over Bodmin.

Pre-season results shouldn’t be taken as the most concrete of form guides, but those are the facts.

Both sides have reported players with knocks and niggles throughout pre-season, but with sides not risking players and keeping their physio rooms locked from prying eyes it is tough to know who is in and who is out, but Kevin Dawson has yet to feature this pre-season and Simon Gillett is still a while away from pulling on a Yeovil shirt once more.

Last time we met

The two teams have met countless times over recent years in all forms of competition, however, not competitively have they played since the 2011/12 season.

The two games that season came either side of new year and resulted in two score draws, 1-1 at St James’ Park and 2-2 back in Somerset.

 

Andy Williams was on target for the Glovers in Exeter while it was the midfield due of Ed Upson and Dom Blizzard who netted down in Devon.

Interestingly, in goal for the Grecians on both those occasions was none other than Artur Krysiak.

Since that meeting, the sides have played two friendly games, once in 2012 which saw yet another draw and once in 2013 which Yeovil win 2-1.

Tickets

At the time of writing, (Tuesday 4th), there are still tickets available for purchase either on the phone or in person at Huish Park, the advice however is not to delay as numbers are dwindling fast as the Glovers faithful show their excellent support right from the off this season.

Call the ticket office NOW if you want the latest information on availability on 01935 847888.

Commentary and Social Media

Commentary for all of Yeovil Town’s matches can be heard through the online club service Glovers Player, you can sign up for this by clicking HERE!

BBC Radio will also have full match commentary of the Green and White’s matches, stay tuned to your local station for all the details.

Stay tuned to all things Yeovil Town through the club’s social media outlets.

YTFC can be found on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and even SNAPCHAT just search for @YTFC or click on the links provided. Use the Hashtag #YTFC across all platforms to make sure you connect with other Glovers fans the world over.

As with last season, check out the club’s official YouTube Channel HERE for news, interviews from the post-match press conference and highlights and goals 24 hours after the game.

Betting

The Football League’s primary sponsors have priced the game up with Exeter available at 11/8, Yeovil at 19/10 and the draw available at 11/5. Sky Bet have a whole host of markets available for the match and here at YTFC.net we like the look of Yeovil To Win By Exactly One Goal available at 7/2. Click HERE to log in or sign up today.

Yeovil Town and Sky Bet Promote Responsible Gambling for over 18s only. Prices correct at time of writing and subject to change. www.gambleaware.co.uk.