Taunton Town travel to Surrey on Saturday afternoon to kick off their August Bank Holiday double-header, with their first test coming against Walton & Hersham. They will then return to Somerset to host Tiverton Town in a thrilling derby fixture on Monday afternoon.
Last Saturday, the Peacocks were denied the chance to go two points clear at the top of the table and maintain their 100% start to the season, as Basingstoke struck a late sucker punch in added time to snatch a share of the spoils. The goal came in rather fortuitous fashion for ‘Stoke, who were awarded a free-kick after Owen Brain was adjudged to have kicked a blue and yellow shirt in the back of the heels despite there appearing to be no contact. However, the Peacocks switched off at the wrong moment, and a lovely flicked pass from former Premier League forward Charlie Austin set up James Clark to wrong-foot Frankie Phillips with excellent composure.
Walton & Hersham began the new campaign in blistering fashion, putting six past Plymouth Parkway on the opening day. However, that high was quickly dampened by a 1-0 defeat away at Hanwell Town the following Tuesday. Billy Rowley’s side looked to be heading for a heavy loss in their next outing away at Dorchester, trailing 3-0 in the 90th minute, but three miraculous goals in added time rescued a dramatic point. They returned up the M3 with a more than respectable draw, considering how the match had unfolded in regular time.
Richard Luffman’s Thoughts:
“It’s a big weekend for us, two games in three days. We’ve started well points wise but we’ll need to be better this weekend to stay unbeaten. Walton are a top side and Tiverton is a derby game so both will prove to be stern tests.
“We’ve been patient in trying to find a solution to losing Ryan Lane but with a few others moving on as they saw opportunities as limited we’ve acted by bringing in some real quality to our squad.”
Luffers at full-time after Basingstoke draw. Photo by Debbie Gould.
Tickets:
Tickets for our match away to Walton & Hersham can be purchased online or at the turnstiles.
We will provide live updates across our social media channels throughout each game, along with post match interviews. You can also listen live to Rich & Jon’s commentary from 10 minutes before kick off: Peacocks Radio.
