Skip to content

Grasping at Greatness: Two Struggling Sides Dreaming of Wembley

By George Sanders

Two inconsistent sides will play each other in the EFL Trophy, as League Two side Yeovil Town host League One side Fleetwood Town FC.

The hosts who have had to cover their playing surface ahead of the game to prevent the cold weather from damaging the pitch, beat fellow League Two side Forest Green Rovers 2-0 to advance to this stage of the competition.

Meanwhile their visitors from Lancashire won 3-2 against League One’s rock-bottom side Bury to earn themselves this match-up.

Yeovil finished at the top of Southern Group D to advance at the start of the Checkatrade Trophy on eight points. The Somerset outfit come in to the game after winning two games in a row in the league, following a three game winless run. This has solidified them in 18th place in the League Two, in which they are now seven points clear of the bottom two in the league.

Yeovil manager Darren Way enthused over the challenge Fleetwood will bring when discussing the fixture on the Glover’s official club website, and stated: “It’s a great opportunity to get to Wembley and I’ll never turn that down as a manager.”

Similarly to their opponents, Fleetwood also finished at the top of their group at the beginning of the competition. They triumphed in Northern Group A clenching nine points in the process.

What may concern Cod Army supporters is their current form. Uwe Rosler’s side were tipped by many as promotion contenders ahead of the 2017/18 campaign, however unnervingly they have lost their last four league games. This has resulted in them slumping to 17th place in the League One table. Cod Army supporter Ben Knapman was less-so excited ahead of the fixture, but remarked that: “Even though I’m not fond of the competition itself, it’s a very good chance for us to get to Wembley!”

In the Checkatrade Trophy Yeovil are undefeated at home this season and their key threat on goal will be Striker Francois Zoko. He is their current leading top scorer with a tally of nine goals in all competitions so far this season.

Meanwhile in the away camp, it is likely that Uwe Rosler will utilise 22 year-old Ashley Hunter who is one of their joint top scorers so far after scoring six goals and scored in the last meeting between the two clubs in April 2015 which saw Fleetwood crush the Glovers 4-0.

 

What do you think?