Non-League Natter – Weymouth vs Yeovil Town: Bitter rivals face each other in the league for the first time in 32 years

Weymouth and Yeovil Town are two of non-league’s royalty who between the 1950s-80s, and well before then, have enjoyed many a battle with each other which has established a fierce rivalry that still exists. 

Both sides have had smaller rivalries in previous years. For Weymouth it’s been with Dorchester Town and Poole Town. Meanwhile, having having enjoyed 16 years in the Football League between 2003-2019, Yeovil grew new rivalries with the likes of Bristol City, Bristol Rovers and Exeter. Yet, for Weymouth and Yeovil their primary rivalry is always with each other – no matter how many leagues apart they have been in recent years.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, with both clubs aiming to get into the Football League and out of the Non-League ‘trap door’, it was Weymouth who often saw more success than their Somerset neighbours. At the time, the Terras had money behind them signing top non-league players – while Yeovil with less financial pull would sign more local players and try to develop them. The mid-1980’s saw a revitalised Yeovil Town more than capable of competing with their Dorset neighbours. 

For the fans of both teams this is more than a local derby. It’s a chance for Weymouth to inflict even more misery on Yeovil, whereas for the Glovers it is a chance to prove that they are still seen as the bigger club by some following recent ventures into the Football League – including being a Championship side in 2013.

During that time Weymouth were in the Southern League Premier, a gap of five tiers in the football pyramid. While Yeovil were playing teams such as Nottingham Forest, Leicester City and Burnley in the Championship during 2013-14, Weymouth were competing with Bedford Town, Bideford and Burnham. As a result no fan could have imagined having this derby so soon following that campaign.

However, Yeovil slipped down the Football League and suffered a subsequent relegation back into the National League due to years of mismanagement. In contrast, things for Weymouth had only been going up and finally they now find themselves in the same league as Yeovil for the first time since the 1988-89 season. 

Both sides haven’t started this season how they would’ve had hoped as they sit in the lower depths of the league. Yeovil Town currently sit 19th, while Weymouth are languishing in the relegation in 21st – five points from safety.

The Glovers had hoped to be challenging for promotion this season but found themselves winless after 10 games. However, they have won three of their last four in the league – with only a 6-1 defeat on Boxing Day by Torquay United damaging the positive recent run of form. 

They followed this with a fantastic 3-0 home win against Aldershot Town before coming from behind in the final few minutes to shock Torquay United 2-1 at home just two days later on January 2, 2021. They’re going into this match with real positivity.

Weymouth though are winless in their last eight league games with their last victory coming away from home at Stockport County on October 31. However, they have drawn two of their last three games with a 4-3 defeat by Torquay United sandwiched between two draws against Eastleigh.

The history of this derby is an interesting one and makes Tuesday night’s game at the Bob Lucas Stadium a fascinating fixture. Personally as a Yeovil fan I’ve always been aware of the rivalry and the hatred between the teams and I’ve always been intrigued as to why we have such a rivalry with Weymouth when we haven’t played them in just over 30 years. However, TIBS News have managed to obtain views of supporters from both sides stating the rivalry from the 1970s and 80s.

Michael West a long standing Yeovil Town fan recalled his memories of the battles with Weymouth and had this to say: ‘The first Yeovil vs Weymouth match I remember would be around the mid 70’s at The Rec, Weymouth’s old pitch. For some reason away matches always seemed to be midweek. And for some reason always created an atmospheric occasion, the sea mist always seemed to be rolling in at their place.

‘The matches were always played in a very hostile climate. In fact, I remember being about 11 or 12 and going to Weymouth with my parents. 

‘We got there early and my Dad decided he wanted to go for a pint in their clubhouse. Scarves and all, my Dad was the most placid non-violent man going. Yet, he gave a Weymouth fan a right mouthful for some reason!

‘In fact, nearly all the matches I remember were at Weymouth. This was because at our home games Weymouth would bring a max 300 away fans meaning not much of an atmosphere was generated. With Yeovil always taking 1,500-plus to them and always taking their end, it was a much better experience. 

‘There are so many memories. I remember probably the last time we played them. The Weymouth ‘crew’ congregated in the corner of the away end, led by this lad who was giving it large to Yeovil fans. Of course, behind the safety of the police.

‘To escape the police escort, and as we wanted to stay in Weymouth for a few beers after the match, quite a few of us left 10 minutes before the end. Later on that night we found that idiot sparked out outside a pub near the station!

‘A few years later, we played them in a pre-season match one evening. At that time, I was living in Bournemouth. I decided to take my new girlfriend at the time to the match, and we went by train. 

‘We got into Weymouth at about 2.30pm and even at that time Yeovil were all over their pubs – Weymouth nowhere to be seen! We ended up near an estate pub near their ground, and I was explaining to my girlfriend that not all fans were hooligans, when a Yeovil fan decided to spark out the barman.’

It’s clear to see that this rivalry has been a long standing one despite the divisional gaps in recent times. Tuesday night’s highly-anticipated fixture has both sets of fans very much up for the occasion despite sadly not being allowed in due to Covid-19.

It would’ve been a great atmosphere had fans been allowed in stadiums but with modern-day technology, those who wish to see the game will be able to watch from the comfort of their own homes with either a cup of tea or a crate of beer. It will be a different kind of environment for most fans but then at least supporters can still watch this clash of two non-league titans. 

I also spoke to Andrew Brown, a Weymouth supporter of over 40 years, who has recounted his tales of their previous encounters against the Glovers.

‘What does it mean for an old school Weymouth fan to be playing Yeovil Town again who are commonly known as Green Slime down in these parts? Why, when we are 28 miles apart is this ‘the’ local derby? It’s fair to say that playing Dorchester and Poole was never quite the same even though they are fellow Dorset teams. Great fun of course but it didn’t have that extra spice. 

‘For outsiders this makes no sense at all, but that’s history. In the last 30 years even I’ll admit that Yeovil have been the bigger side flying up through the leagues, up to the Championship and back down again, while we languished in the lower leagues against other Somerset luminaries like Frome, Taunton, Weston Super Mare and Clevedon.

‘Even when we resurfaced back in the Conference in the mid-noughties Yeovil were doing well in the league and the Bank Holiday match usually consisted of Exeter or Torquay. 

‘At one point there were as many as five divisions between us and I never thought I’d see us in the same league again, but that’s football and the old rivalries still remain and songs still get sung about them. 

‘It’s only 20 months since we packed out trains to go to Frome in our Southern League promotion run-in while Yeovil were still in League Two. However, even as a 52-year-old – and having supported Weymouth for 42 years since I was 10 in 1978 – it’s not that often that Weymouth and Yeovil have played each other in the league.

‘This is because Yeovil struggled at the bottom end of the new Alliance Premier for a few years and got relegated in 1984-85 to the Isthmian League. 

‘We met again in 1988-89 when Yeovil got back up but then we got relegated at the end of that season, not to be seen again at the highest level for another 17 years. Little did we know that it would be another 32 years until we would meet again in a league match!

‘My memories as a teenager standing in the Gasworks End were that you soon learned to hate Yeovil with a passion. Older fans who were brought up in the 60s and 70s told tales of Terras against Slime exploits which sounded like fun. 

‘We all wanted some of that. In the early 80s I didn’t get to derby days every year as you’d sometimes have to go away with the family on Christmas visits. Ironically my dad was a Yeovil fan having been brought up in Somerset. I was born in Somerset too… but that’s another story.  Thankfully we moved to the seaside sun of Weymouth when I was a wee lad so my football education was down at The Rec. The old classic song ”my old man said be Yeovil fan, I said b*******…”, is true for me. He still ribs me now and has done for years with our differing fortunes. 

‘I recall one of my earliest derby days in the first season of the new Alliance League was a 3-0 home win for the Terras on January 1, 1980. I was hooked!

‘Home matches usually at Christmas and New Year were the best crowds of the season and the Gasworks End was packed. The away end was full of visitors from deepest darkest Somerset and some of whom I later knew in my college days. It took some guts for a Yeovil fan to walk around Weymouth College with that green shirt on in the mid 80s but we all gave respect for that. 

‘One of my first away memories was Boxing Day 1984. As a 16-year-old school kid I started to go to away matches with my mates at that time and we would travel on one of the away coaches that day. 

‘In those days we were met by the Somerset Police at the Rest & Welcome Pub on the A37. We enjoyed a Coca-Cola here and then were escorted by the police to the Huish so that the baying home fans couldn’t get at us. 

‘For some god forsaken reason me and my mates decided to sit in the stand. Still don’t know why we did, but we witnessed an unspectacular 0-0 draw. We should have won, but it sure was fun being a lad of 16 belting out Terras’ songs in that large Huish stand. Yeovil subsequently got relegated that season and Weymouth lauded it locally as the bigger team, along with a new ground in 1987 and pushing hard to get promotion to the Football League. Alas, it never happened and the downward spiral began but we did meet in passing during the 1988-89 season. 

‘The Boxing Day derby of 1988 is one of my favourite memories. Down at the bottom of the GM Vauxhall Conference, a group of us bundled in the back of a mate’s Sherpa van for the 28 miles up the road. We met at the Rest and Welcome pub again along with the away coaches as it was most probably a bit obvious that we were Terras away day boys. 

‘So the police escorted us into town and this time to stand in the crumbling Huish away end. 

‘We were 2-0 down at half-time but what a second-half we enjoyed. The Terras amazingly pulled it back with two goals from Pete Conning, who played for both teams in his career, and a goal from Pete Turrell. 

‘We won 3-2 and we celebrated wildly on the segregation fence at the north corner between home and away fans.

‘I recall the police ‘joking’ with us that courts aren’t open on bank holidays so we might have a few days in the Yeovil nick unless we calm down. We went home happy and full of cider and songs. That ended up being our only away win of the season as we got relegated with only 31 points. 

‘Oh and Yeovil beat us 2-0 back at the Wessex Stadium on New Year’s Day. They got their revenge but we still had fun. There’s only been two competitive matches since with an FA Trophy tie and replay in 1999, which Yeovil won!’

The tales I have gathered from both fans clearly shows that there is still and always will be a hatred between the two sides, This isn’t a temporary or a short-term rivalry, but one that will remain in the years to come for newer generations to experience. 

A fantastic rivalry that has been off the cards for years is now about to be reignited and refuelled.

Tuesday night’s encounter between the two sides is likely to be a fiery fixture with hopefully a few goals and no doubt a few cards being shown. 

Yeovil will be looking to show the home side that they are still the ‘bigger club’, while Weymouth will be looking to show the side from Somerset how far they have come in recent seasons and get one over their bitter rivals. 

By Ryan Lancaster

With thanks to Andrew Brown and Michael West for their inputs.