Steve Jupp, BA11's Club Historian, gets us in the mood for a marquee clash against the county's dominant outfit.
Frome Town's pre season preparations ramp-up massively on Saturday when Badgers Hill stages a mouth-watering Somerset derby against National League Yeovil Town.
Most of Danny Greaves' squad got the opportunity to blow away summer cobwebs in last week's 1-0 win at Devizes and they will face a stiff test from opposition five levels higher than the Wiltshire outfit in the Non-League pyramid.
Remarkably, as recently as ten years ago, the Glovers were a Championship side, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Leicester, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Leeds, but four relegations since those heady days saw them compete in National League South last term.
And compete they certainly did, winning the title by a comfortable eleven point margin to secure promotion at the first time of asking and they opened their own pre-season programme with a 5-1 success at Melksham on Tuesday.
They last came to Frome four years ago, also a pre season friendly, an all-ticket affair which was the last fixture at Badgers Hill to sell-out. Confused? At the time, we were still suffering the straight jacket of Covid-restrictions, coming out of lockdown but, sadly, heading for another and matches then at Step Four grounds were restricted to a crowd limit of 400.
The game itself was a full-on, feisty affair, one of the most competitive 'friendlies' witnessed in a long while, with a Kane Simpson thunderbolt giving Frome the lead before late replies from Albie Skandi and Carl Dickinson clinched it 2-1 for the Glovers.
Supporters may also recall a Somerset Premier Cup quarter-final here at the Hill back in 2008, watched by over 600, when Frome could consider themselves a little unlucky in going down by the same score, Jamie Cheeseman being red-carded for handling and Sam Duggan's spectacular stoppage-time volley a mere consolation.
The Robins' most recent victory over Yeovil was very last century, that stupendous 2-1 FA Cup triumph in 1977 which cost manager Stan Harland his job. In a line-up that included legends such as Ronnie Dicks, John Meggat and Colin Dredge, Mark Edwards scored on debut while the veteran Ray Mabbut (then into his 40s), grabbed an historic winner. That was a First Qualifying Round tie for which the Glovers had to overcome Alton Town in the Preliminary Round. How football has changed, even at our level.
Don't miss the chance to secure your admission to our pre-season friendlies at home, starting with this week's match against county rivals Yeovil Town at the link below! Season Tickets can also be found on the Fanbase app and website!
Good stuff Juppy- I also recall us beating Yeovil Town over two legs in the Somerset Professional Cup Final in 1967 - some 57 years ago would you believe. when I was at both games as a young whipper snapper! I think Doug Hayward was the manager back then.
We beat them 2-1 at T'he Hill' ( Gunning & Margery (pen) .and then, against all the odds we went to the old Huish / sloping pitch and Barrie Simmons scored with a deflected free kick just minutes from time to give us a 1-1 draw and the cup.
Kim Book was brilliant that night and that performance eventually took him into league football and that FA Cup tie for Northam…