Old enemies Yeovil Town and Weymouth lock horns for a place in the First Round of the FA Cup

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Yeovil welcome bitter rivals, Weymouth, to Huish Park with a place in the FA Cup First Round on the line.

The National League derby is the standout tie of the Fourth Qualifying Round, as the Glovers and the Terras go head-to-head in the competition for the first time in 34 years.

With Yeovil winless in their previous five matches and Weymouth winless in their last seven fixtures, the FA Cup will come as a welcome relief, from a tough start to the campaign, for both clubs.

A victory for either team would not only book a spot in the draw for the First Round of the FA Cup but also give one set of fans bragging rights in one of the most fiercely contested derbies in the South.

History of the Rivalry

Just 30 miles separate the two National League sides but several divisions have separated the two clubs for the past two decades.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the rivalry began to brew and Weymouth were the side in the ascendency with the financial backing to outperform their Somerset rivals.

However with the turn of the century, the Glovers’ fortunes dramatically changed as they entered the realms of the Football League in 2003 and maintained their place in the EFL for 16 years.

Yeovil ventured as high as the Championship during that spell, while simultaneously Weymouth had dropped to the seventh tier of English football.

It took just seven years for the two clubs to be reunited in the same division after the Glovers suffered consecutive relegations between 2013 and 2015 and the Terras achieved two consecutive promotions between 2017 and 2019.

Last season saw the two clubs face each other in the league for the first time in 32 years and Yeovil came out comfortable winners on both occasions.

The Glovers were victorious 3-1 at Huish Park the last time the two teams faced off and Weymouth manager Brian Stock understands that the Terras’ fans will be expecting far better this time around.

“We let ourselves down last year, there’s no two ways about it.

“We didn’t fight, we got outmuscled, out-bullied and it wasn’t a pleasant watch for myself. I’m sure the supporters would agree.

“ I’d be surprised if it isn’t blood and guts with a local derby, one thing we need to make sure of is that we rise to that occasion. Although we want a fire in the belly, we need to remain calm in our heads.

“If we can manage that then hopefully we’ll remain composed when it comes to our decision making on and off the ball.”

The Magic of Cup: Tournament History

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As both sides embark on trying to make it into the First Round of the FA Cup they will no doubt draw on their past history in the tournament as motivation.

The Glovers are statistically the competitions’ biggest giant-killers with the most victories as a Non-League club over Football League sides.

Yeovil are yet to fail in reaching the First Round proper of the competition this century and a victory over their bitter rivals would make it 20 consecutive years.

In contrast, Weymouth will be aiming to reach the First Round proper for the first time in 14 years.

The most successful campaign the Terras have had in the FA Cup came in the 1961-1962 season. It was the first and only time the Terras have had the excitement of being in the hat for the Fifth Round draw.

However, they never got to play in the Fifth Round as they lost 2-0 to Preston on the same day which marked the end of their tournament.

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