11th September 2020

Yeovil Town will make the trip along the A303 to the Cygnet Health Care Stadium to face Taunton Town.

This will be the second consecutive year with a pre-season meeting between the two clubs. Last year’s clash saw Rhys Murphy score twice in a 2-0 win over The Peacocks.

After a 2-2 draw with Weston-super-Mare on Tuesday evening, Darren Sarll will be looking to build more match fitness in the Glovers second game in four days.

Kick-off time

The game will now kick-off at 7:30pm, 30 minutes later than originally reported.

Darren Sarll’s thoughts

Since the players returned for pre-season, two have really stood out to Sarll which he singled out in his weekly press conference.

Recent addition Jack Clarke, on loan from Aston Villa received significant praise from the gaffer: “I think Jack Clarke has been wonderful. I really enjoy watching him play, in the same way I used to enjoy watching (James) Tilley play.

“I think he’s been really stand out. For the last 30 minutes against Weston, I played him left side of a back three, when I told him he looked at me strangely but two minutes later he’s winning a header over a 6-foot 2 centre forward and heading it over the midfield.

“I thought it was really wonderful, it was a testament to him. All little things like that, they’re all little tests from the manager, you’ll always push and pull people to see how they react, and I think Jack has been first class.”

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That wasn’t all for the praise from the gaffer, with midfielder Matt Worthington also receiving positive comments; “Worthington looks like he’s going to be a very strong player for us this season.

“His body shape is changing; he’s becoming stronger and more mature. His aggression levels are higher than I’ve ever seen. From taking over a flicky midfield player who passed it backwards and sideways more than he did forwards, he’s now really driving into the box and winning the ball back high up the pitch.

“He’s becoming a really big part of our plans this season and I’m really pleased with that.”

Squad news

In his press conference, Sarll also confirmed some injury news within the Yeovil squad.

“Lawson (D’Ath) has a bit of tightness in his groin so we’ll be cautious with him, the same way we were with Lee Collins against Weston.

“The only other one is actually Collins who has some bruising on his ribs so we’re once again being careful with him.”

A foot in the opposition camp

Rob Dray’s Southern League Premier outfit were locked into a play-off race when their season was abandoned due to COVID-19.

This summer has seen the significant departure of star striker Rocky Neale to promotion rivals Truro City.

Incomings for the Peacocks include the experienced Jake Mawford and forward Owen Howe from Sailsbury City.