The former EFL juggernaut will travel to Woodside once again in February, with Adam Hinshelwood and his players visiting Huish Park at the end of September.
Competing as high as the Championship as recently as 2013, the Glovers are widely regarded as one of the biggest clubs in Non-League.
The Somerset-based club have enjoyed a strong start to the season under Billy Rowley, picking up 11 points from their opening six games.
History
Founded in 1890, Yeovil initially shared its ground with a local rugby club before reforming as Yeovil Casuals in 1895, playing at the Pen Mill Athletic Ground. The club adopted the name Yeovil Town in 1907, before merging with Petters United to become Yeovil and Petters United, before reverting back to the Town suffix 40 years later.
The club gained national recognition as ‘giant-killers’ during the 1948/49 FA Cup campaign, defeating First Division outfit Sunderland 2–1 in the fourth round in front of a record 17,000 home fans, before being on the receiving end of an 8–0 hammering by Manchester United. Between 1955 and 1973, Yeovil Town won the Southern Football League three times and were runners-up twice. Despite numerous applications for election into the Football League, they came closest in 1976, missing out by a few votes.
Yeovil have the record for the most attempts at election to the Football League, applying 28 times, each of which was unsuccessful; this total includes 14 consecutive attempts from 1947, which is also a record.
In 1979, Yeovil became founder members of the Alliance Premier League, the new national non-league division. However, in 1985, they were relegated to the Isthmian League, only to win the championship in 1988 and return to the Conference.
Gary Johnson led Yeovil to their first major trophy, the FA Trophy, with a 2–0 victory over Stevenage Borough in 2002, with that momentum propelling them into the Football League next year following an unbeaten season and winning the league by a record 17 point-margin.
They finished their inaugural season in League Two in eighth place and reached the third round of the FA Cup, losing 2–0 to Liverpool. It wasn’t long until that upwards trajectory was made steeper, with Yeovil claiming the League Two title with 83 points, and with it another promotion.
In the 2006/07 season, they finished inside the play-offs places, where they beat Nottingham Forest 5–4 on aggregate in the semi-final but lost 2–0 to Blackpool at Wembley in the final.
Six years later, that Wembley heartbreak was merely a distant memory as they defeated Brentford at the home of English football in the play-off final to reach the Championship for the first time in their history. Despite memorable victories in the second tier, Yeovil were relegated back to League One after just one season. They continued to struggle, facing another relegation to League Two, despite a lucrative FA Cup tie against Manchester United.
Yeovil’s 16-year stay in the EFL ended in the 2018/19 season, with the Glovers falling almost as quickly as they rose.
The 2019/20 National League season was then cut short due to the coronavirus outbreak, with Yeovil in fourth place.
In April 2023, Yeovil were relegated to the National League South, although they would secure an immediate return to the National League by winning the title at the end of the 2023/24 season, finishing only two places and 11 points above Worthing.
Following an 18th place finish in the first season back in the National League, the Glovers underwent another change of ownership in May 2025 when Prabhu Srinivasan and Inflection Holdings took control of the majority shareholding.
The Gaffer
Billy Rowley’s philosophy is beginning to translate and manifest itself on the pitch at Huish Park, with the 42-year-old in the early stages of his first full season in charge at Huish Park.
Following a highly successful five year spell at Walton & Hersham, including 18 months as Manager, the highly sought after tactician was lured to Yeovil to succeed Richard Dryden.
Rowley has largely built his career around youth development and progressive coaching, having worked with Chelsea’s Centre of Excellence prior to involvement with Fulham’s development setup and Millwall’s academy.
His experience isn’t just confined to Europe, having also spent several years coaching in the United States with Manhattan SC.
His first major senior management opportunity came with Walton & Hersham, where he progressed from assistant to manager. He helped establish an attacking, high-tempo style and was a key part of the backroom staff that earned three promotions in five years.
Then as Manager, Rowley led the Swans to a third place league finish and their first Surrey Senior Cup title in 52 years durng the 2024/25 season, with a penalty shootout defeat to Gloucester City in the play-off semi-final denying them a chance at promotion to the National League South.
In November 2025, Rowley was appointed Yeovil Town manager, guiding the Glovers to a 16th place finish last term.
Previous Meetings
When Worthing first reached the First Round of the FA Cup (1936-37) our opponents were Yeovil & Petters United, who changed their name to Yeovil Town in 1946. Worthing played Yeovil Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division from 1985 to 1987 and again in the 1995/96 season before being opponents in National League South in the 2023/24 season.
Our former manager Barry Lloyd managed Yeovil Town before joining us and former player Robbie Carroll has appeared for both clubs.
The most recent meeting between the two sides occurred in the 2023/24 season, with the Reds recording a 3-1 victory at Huish Park courtesy of a Ollie Pearce brace either side of Brad Dolaghan’s goal.
Stadium
Situated in Somerset, Huish Park became the third permanent home of Yeovil Town Football Club in 1990, replacing the Huish Ground.
It opened with a friendly against Newcastle United on 4 August 1990, ending in a 2–1 defeat in front of a crowd of 5,093.
The 1999/2000 season saw a proposal for the erection of a roof over the home terrace, with the work eventually taking place in early 2001, with the roof being completed for the match against Rushden & Diamonds, which drew a then-record crowd of 8,868.
Following Yeovil’s promotion to the Football League, crowds increased by 30% to an average of 6,197 in the 2003/04 season. On 25 April 2008, Yeovil’s match against Leeds United saw the record attendance at the ground of 9,527.
Huish Park witnessed Yeovil’s rise from non-league football into the Football League and their historic promotion to the Championship in 2013.
In May 2022, South Somerset District Council completed the purchase of Huish Park and its surrounding land for £2.8 million from Yeovil Town Football Club, with the football club becoming tenants of the Council through a leaseback arrangement.
The ground is made up of four stands with The Bamfords Main Stand the primary area for supporters. A cantilevered covered single tiered stand, it is all-seated, featuring executive boxes running across its back and bar areas, the dug outs and players’ tunnel, while also housing the ticket office and club shop.
Originally published by Worthing FC ↗