The Peacocks complete their pre-season programme when they entertain Bristol City Under 23’s at the Cygnet Health Care Stadium tomorrow evening (10th August), ko 7.45pm.
Preparations for the Southern League season which begins on Saturday with an away fixture at Wimborne Town have been disrupted by several of the Peacocks’ squad contracting Covid, resulting in friendlies with Chippenham Town and Frome Town having to be cancelled in the past ten days. Tomorrow will therefore be the last opportunity for Town to increase match practice and fine tune things before the weekend, with their City opponents certain to provide a stringent test. The Peacocks will no doubt remember their friendly with the Robins’ U23 side before the start of last season when City cantered to a 3-0 win.
The City side have won three of their four pre-season games, defeating Paulton Rovers 3-0 and both Hungerford Town and Yate Town by a 1-0 margin while their only reverse came with a 3-2 loss at Weston-super-Mare. Taunton meanwhile have won three of their five warm-up matches, with both defeats coming against higher league opposition in the form of Exeter City and Yeovil Town. A win at the Cygnet tomorrow would therefore provide an ideal boost ahead of the trip to Dorset on Saturday.
Dan McBeam and Jack Goodall return to the squad after isolating due to Covid. Head of Football Rob Dray commented:” We have a couple back tomorrow to add bodies which is welcome. It’s always a good game against City and after a difficult pre-season we are glad to have this game booked in to get valuable minutes in the legs before Wimborne on Saturday.”
Admission to tomorrow’s game is by advance ticket sales only, with none on sale at the gate. They can be purchased via our Eventbrite site HERE while entry to the game is free for Taunton Town Season Ticket holders.
It will also be a busy night off the pitch. Local racehorse trainer Alex Dunn and her husband Tom will be at the stadium to help promote the new partnership with us and the formation of the new racing club Taunton Town Peacocks. Tomorrow will also see several trophies presented for the terminated 2019-20 season as well as the Stand Draw taking place at half time with a lucky name being pulled out of the hat to have their business sponsor the main stand for the new season. Any company still wanting to enter should ring chairman Kevin Sturmey on 07778 434055 or email admin@tauntontown.com as soon as possible.
And finally we are delighted to welcome Hollie Palmer as our special guest who will lead the teams out before kick-off and also pull out the winning entry for the Stand Draw. Hollie, a lifelong Bristol City fan, was diagnosed with blood cancer last year but thankfully has now been given the all- clear after treatment. We are pleased to be able to help increase awareness of blood cancer and raise funds for the charity Blood Cancer UK. To read more about Hollie’s story please visit the Blood Cancer UK Facebook page HERE. We have also set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds where donating a minimum of £2 will enter you into a raffle to win great prizes – to donate please click HERE