The SkyBet League One season kicks off this Saturday and Yeovil Town are hosting a Doncaster side, who, like them, dropped down from the Championship last season.
Huish Park will be the venue once again for football fans in Somerset and Gary Johnson has asked for as many of the Glovers faithful to pack the park and get the new season off to the best possible start.
Doncaster finished last season in 22nd place and only dropped down a division on goal difference, a last gasp goal from Birmingham City saved them and condemned Rovers to relegation with Barnsley and Saturday’s hosts, Yeovil.
Like most teams this summer both sides will give a raft of new faces their competitive debuts; for Yeovil an entire new defence will take their place with one of two new goalkeepers taking the number one spot.
Former Glovers Chris Weale and Nathan Smith are both in line for their second debuts in green and white with Jakub Sokolik and Aaron Martin fighting off Cardiff loanee Ben Nugent and Matt Lanzoni for the centre back pairing.
Elsewhere; AJ Leitch Smith, James Berrett and Brendan Moloney are also hoping to get their first run out as a Yeovil Town player.
Of course, it’s not all about the new players; Sam Hoskins and James Hayter have both scored pre-season hat tricks and impressive midfield performances from Kevin Dawson, Joe Edwards and Sam Foley have been complimented by Kieffer Moore’s return to form and confidence in the build up to the season.
There is just the one injury concern for the Glovers; Joel Grant will be missing as he recovers from a foot problem that has plagued him throughout pre-season.
Rovers, too have seen a number of players come and go throughout the close season.
Goalkeeper Ross Turnbull has left for Barnsley, Mark Duffy and David Cotterill both now play for Birmingham and James Husband, Chris Brown and Gabrial Tamas have all found new clubs in the Championship.
However, there has been an influx of new faces too.
Cedric Evina has joined from Charlton, Curtis Main is in from Middlebrough and Nathan Tyson has signed on following his exit from Blackpool.
Yeovil fans will recognise the new Donny ‘keeper too, Jed Steer has joined on loan from Aston Villa.
Steer spent a short period of time on loan at Huish Park when he was on the books at Norwich.
Doncaster’s pre-season has seen them take in a number of local sides to them in the Yorkshire area; their final game saw them lose 2-1 to Championship new boys Rotherham.
Yeovil signed off in emphatic style thrashing Dorchester 9-0 after wins against Plymouth and Truro.
With these two sides dropping down from the Championship they have some recent history against each other.
When the two met last season both sides notched up a win on home turf.
At the Keepmoat in November the Sky Sports cameras witnessed 10 man Doncaster score a late winner to secure a 2-1 win.
Byron Webster had initially cancelled out Dean Furman’s opener before Mark Duffy snatched all three points in the final few moments.
At Huish Park, Yeovil recorded a 1-0 win thanks to a James Hayter penalty.
Hayter, a legend in South Yorkshire, converted from the spot after an hour to cement a win that Yeovil had deserved.
Prior to last season, the two sides go back a long way, rivals in non-league during the 1990’s and the early 2000’s to meeting in the second tier last season.
Since the first football league meeting in 2003, Doncaster have only registered two wins against the Glovers, the one last season and a 1-0 win back in 2004.
At Huish Park the record is even better; the last five meetings in Somerset have all seen the Glovers triumph.
Football is back and you can be part of another season here at Huish Park.
The Football League is asking for a Wall of Colour at every club’s first home game so if you’re coming to Huish Park dig out the replica kit, find a green hat, don the face paint and do whatever you can to make Huish Park a green and white fortress.
Tickets for the opening fixture are, as ever, available right up until kick off.
You can come to Huish Park in person, call the ticket office on 01935 847888 or use the ticket purchase system here on YTFC.net
Just to make sure everyone has the best chance of making it to the big kick off on Saturday, Yeovil are offering tickets for Under 16s for FREE!
So, with the children off school why not bring them to Huish Park and watch the season start in style.
To secure your free Under 16s ticket, use any of the methods above but please allow time when collecting them at Huish Park as the club is expecting a large take up on the offer.
Strap yourselves in, another Football League season is about to crank into gear – keep up with all the goings on with all the official club’s social network pages on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube and you won’t miss a thing.
Famous Doncaster Rovers fans:
Car enthusiast Jeremy Clarkson, Magician extraordinaire Paul Daniels and Louis Tomlinson, one fifth of One Direction!
A foot in both camps:
James Hayter, Byron Webster, Adam Lockwood, Ryan Mason, Michael Woods, Michael McIndoe, Sam Johnstone, and Jed Steer.
Did you know?
Doncaster doesn’t just have an English football team, but an American football team.
The Doncaster Mustangs play in the British American Football League Premier North, but have lost their last seven fixtures conceding over 300 points in the process.
