Somerset derby
Somerset_Flag
Somerset Flag
LocationSomerset Somerset (England)
Teams
First meetingYeovil Town 4–2 Bath City
(23 November 1901)
Latest meetingYeovil Town 2–0 Bath City
(6 January 2024)
StadiumsTwerton Park (Bath City)
Huish Park (Yeovil Town)
Statistics
Meetings total274
Most winsYeovil
All-time recordRecord attendance: 11,700 (Yeovil Town vs Bath City, 7 December 1957)
All-time seriesYeovil: 122
Drawn: 57
Bath City: 95
Largest victoryYeovil Town 9–0 Bath City (26 December 1946[1])

The Somerset derby is a local derby in football in the United Kingdom between Yeovil Town and Bath City and sometimes Taunton Town and Weston-super-Mare, named after the county of Somerset. Though both are currently in non-League football, the two clubs are the most successful in Somerset, the two hold the record for the most Somerset Cup wins (25 each). The two clubs have played each other 274 times, making it one of the most contested derbies in English football.

History

Bath City v Yeovil Town in 2022 at Huish Park

The two clubs met for the first time in 1902, in which Yeovil won the game 2–0.[2][3][4] The rivalry stems from location and league position, with Yeovil and Bath having played in the top tier of non-League football for the majority of their history.[5] Tensions between Bath and Yeovil were said to be strongest in the 1960s and 1990s, with the two clubs playing each other over 272 times in all competitions.[6] From the 1910s to the late 1990s Bath and Yeovil consistently occupied the same league.[7]

The first game for which the grandstand at Twerton Park officially opened was an FA Cup-tie on November 12, 1932. Yeovil, at the time, were said to be much “much reviled” in Bath over the years. 5,345 watched Yeovil beat Bath 4–2. The paper reported that the crowd were ‘strangely silent’, with Bath City fans stating “Losing to Yeovil always hurt”.[8]

However, Since the turn of the century, Yeovil and Bath moved in opposite directions across the English football pyramid, with the two clubs being as many as five divisions apart from one another during the 2013–14 season. Having been promoted to the EFL Championship in 2013, Yeovil played second-tier football for the first time in their history during the 2013–14 season, at the same time, Bath were struggling in the sixth tier. Whilst the club were having one of the best periods in their history, Bath City were having one their worst, thus, local animosity between Bath and Yeovil dissipated. Albeit, Yeovil Town's decline since 2014 means that as of the 2022–23 season Bath City currently sit just one tier below.[9]

All time results

Meeting Season Date Competition Home team Score Away team Stadium Attendance
274 2023–246 January 2024National League SouthYeovil2–0Bath Huish Park5,032
2736 December 2023National League SouthBath0–1Yeovil Twerton Park3,639
272 2021–224 May 2022Somerset CupYeovil3–0Bath Huish Park1,016
271 2006–071 April 2008Somerset CupYeovil0–2Bath Huish Park376
270 2002–0329 October 2002FA CupYeovil3–1Bath Huish Park4,393
26927 October 2002FA CupBath1–1Yeovil Twerton Park3,470
268 2000–0113 January 2001FA TrophyYeovil2–1Bath Huish Park3,507
267 1995–9623 January 1996FA TrophyYeovil2–3Bath Huish Park2,700
26621 January 1996FA TrophyBath1–1Yeovil Twerton Park2,225
265 1994–9517 April 1995ConferenceBath3–0Yeovil Twerton Park1,184
2646 September 1994ConferenceYeovil1–2Bath Huish Park2,351
263 1993–9415 March 1994Somerset CupBath1–0Yeovil Twerton Park322
26225 January 1994FA TrophyBath4–0Yeovil Twerton Park1,148
26122 January 1994FA TrophyYeovil3–3Bath Huish Park2,611
2603 January 1994ConferenceBath3–0Yeovil Twerton Park1,518
25927 December 1993ConferenceBath0–3Yeovil Twerton Park3,371
2582 November 1993Conference CupBath0–1Yeovil Twerton Park584
257 1992–9312 April 1993ConferenceBath0–0Yeovil Twerton Park1,331
25628 December 1993ConferenceYeovil2–1Bath Huish Park6,488
25517 November 1993Conference CupYeovil1–0Bath Huish Park2,090
25420 October 1993Conference CupBath0–0Yeovil Twerton Park520
2531 January 1993ConferenceYeovil1–1Bath Huish Park3,340
25226 December 1993ConferenceBath3–1Yeovil Twerton Park1,504
251 1990–911 January 1991ConferenceYeovil3–2Bath Huish Park3,335
25126 December January 1990ConferenceBath2–1Yeovil Twerton Park1,479
250 1987–884 November 1987Somerset CupYeovil2–1Bath Huish Park1,124
24920 October 1987Somerset CupBath2–2Yeovil Twerton Park450
248 1986–8726 April 1987Somerset CupBath1–2Yeovil Twerton Park638
24715 April 1987Somerset CupBath1–1Yeovil Twerton Park577
246 25 February 1987Somerset CupYeovil1–1Bath Huish Park1,051
24525 October 1986FA CupBath2–1Yeovil Twerton Park2,201
244 1985–8629 April 1986Somerset CupYeovil0–2Bath Huish Park1,320
2432 April 1986Somerset CupBath1–0Yeovil Twerton Park779
242 1984–8523 April 1985Alliance Premier LeagueBath1–0Yeovil Twerton Park808

Statistics

Chart showing the progress of Yeovil Town FC in League and Non-League football from 1988 to present.[10]
Chart showing the progress of Bath City FC in non-League football from 1921 to present.[11]

Honours

As of 26 February 2023
Bath City Competition Yeovil Town
League
0League Two
(Level 4)		1
0National League
(Level 5)		1
2Southern League3
2Southern League (west) 3
Cups
0FA Trophy1
1Southern League Cup3
25Somerset Cup25
30Total37

References

  1. ↑ "YTFC vs Bath City Historic Results". Gloverscast. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Old Rivals Clash". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. 16 October 1948. p. 10.
  3. ↑ "Yeovil to meet old rivals Bath". Somerset County Gazette. 17 October 2002. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Rivals have a lot of cup history between them". Retrieved 21 February 2023 – via PressReader.
  5. ↑ "Bath City loose to old rivals". British Newspaper Archive. 13 November 1939. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Angulo, Chris (14 October 2021). "Throwback Thursday No. 5 – Old Rivals Meet In Windy FA Cup Tie". Gloverscast. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  7. ↑ "Bath City miss a penalty". British Newspaper Archive. Bath Chronicle. p. 14. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  8. ↑ Tanner, Mark (7 May 2015). "75 years at Twerton Park – Part 3". M Tanner Sports. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Yeovil relegated to National League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Yeovil Town (1955/56)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  11. ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Bath City (1955/56)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
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