Yeovil Town are back in action this coming Sunday with an FA Cup tie against Carlisle United at Bloomfield Road, the home of Blackpool FC with a 2pm kick off.
A lot of differences to this fixture as opposed to a normal league game; firstly, the match takes place on Sunday 10th, not Saturday as normal – Blackpool have a home League fixture on Saturday and this pushes our fixture back 23 hours.
The kick-off is listed as 2pm, one hour earlier than normal.
The FA Cup third round tie was due to be played at Carlisle’s Brunton Park but due to severe flood damage a number of their home games have had to be moved to alternative venues.
With all that sorted, we can finally talk about the football.
Yeovil are coming into this game off the back of a vital league win over fellow strugglers York City. Last weekend’s basement battle was a huge improvement in performance and the three points secure Darren Way his first win in charge of the Glovers.
The single goal win came from a Matty Dolan penalty and the clean sheet was the second in a row for Artur Krysiak and his defence.
With the transfer window open again we could start seeing a new name or two on the Glovers’ team sheet.
Already this January loanees Josh Sheehan and Christian Maghoma return to Swansea and Tottenham respectively with West Brom’s Tahvon Campbell and Everton’s Liam Walsh come in to Huish Park.
This, twinned with the news of extensions for Captain Darren Ward and loan full back Connor Roberts means that the Darren Way era is starting to take shape.
The news that the current crop of loanees are all available for the cup tie is good for squad continuity and there could be even better news on the horizon.
For those who follow the Glovers players on social media you would have seen both Kevin Dawson and Simon Gillet taking part in both on field training as well as team bonding sessions with the club hoping they could be back on the pitch before the end of this month.
The idea of them playing this Sunday might be a little far-fetched, but a behind-closed-doors game against a Swansea XI in a couple of week might be the best chance they have of playing back in the green and white.
It has been over a year since either of them played for Yeovil – last season’s FA Cup tie vs Manchester United in early January.
There is still a little longer to wait for both Omar Sowunmi and Marc Laird but their progress is considered to be on schedule.
Opponents, Carlisle haven’t had chance to play on their own ground for nearly a month after devastating floods hit Cumbria.
They have borrowed homes of Blackburn, Preston and this weekend Blackpool.
It hasn’t affected the squad too much, an impressive 3-0 ‘home’ win over Notts County was backed up with an impressive performance in a 2-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle last weekend.
The U’s have been busy themselves extending deals for both Mark Ellis and Joe Thompson and both of these are in line to keep their place in the match squad against Yeovil.
Carlisle’s league position is a good one, they lie in 9th place just two points outside the play-off places.
They progressed to this stage with convincing wins over Welling and in a reversal of last week’s game – Plymouth.
Yeovil also negotiated past non-league opposition and then a League Two side with Maidstone and Stevenage exiting the cup at the hands of Yeovil.
Darren Way is hoping to use the FA Cup as a way of continuing the progress made under his stewardship and maintaining momentum going into a bust League schedule.
You can be there this Saturday with tickets available on the day for away fans, remember the game takes place a day later (Sunday 10th) than normal, kicks off an hour earlier than normal (2pm) and at an neutral venue (Blackpool FC)
Last time we met
Earlier this season, Yeovil and Carlisle had a five goal thriller at Brunton Park with the Cumbrians coming out on top in a 3-2 win.
Ryan Bird and Harry Cornick had given the Glovers a 2-0 lead inside ten minutes but three goals in return had the comeback complete
During the 2012/13 season the two sides played a couple of very exciting games that saw a 3-3 draw being played out at Brunton Park and a 3-1 Blues win down at Huish Park.
In the first game of that season, Mark Beck – now of Yeovil – scored twice in a 3-1 win for Carlisle. Reuben Reid got a consolation shortly before Joe Garner put the game beyond all doubt deep into the second half.
In the reverse fixture Yeovil were 3-1 up with 89 minutes on the clock but failed to seal the win.
Kevin Dawson, Paddy Madden and James Hayter had all scored in front of the 150 or so travelling fans, but Lee Miller and a Luke Ayling own goal meant the spoils were shared.
The Glovers haven’t record a win over the Cumbrians since 2011 when goals from Jon Obika and Dean Bowditch completed a double over their opponents after a 1-0 win (Obika again) secured a win at Huish Park.
Tickets
Tickets for travelling fans are able to purchase tickets on the day with Adults admitted at £15.
Prices drop for different concessions and all can be bought from Blackpool FC on Sunday.
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.
