Recap
Report
It wasn’t the homecoming the Peacocks wanted after a long weather-enforced exile from Wordsworth Drive as a stoppage time winner saw the points return to Wiltshire. After Ollie Chamberlain had cancelled out Chippenham’s first half opener it appeared as though both sides would be settling for a point apiece but crucially Town were caught out at the death and paid the price to keep them perched one place above the trapdoor.
The Taunton team featured three changes from the weekend disappointment at Eastbourne, with Callum Dolman, Louie Slough and Ross Stearn all coming in while Seb Bolton and Marcus Day dropped to the bench and Lloyd James was missing due to injury. Playing their first home game in 43 long days, the hosts made up for lost time with a positive enough start on a heavy pitch. Zac Smith’s free kick took a deflection off a Bluebird player to find the arms of keeper Will Henry before Dolman fed Chamberlain down the right and his inviting cross was fractionally ahead of Stearn who tried to improvise with a back heel but couldn’t direct on target.
Having beaten Yeovil and Worthing in their last two games, it didn’t take long for Chippenham to come into it, a shot from Ed Williams being deflected for a corner and then Williams squaring to Craig Fasanmade whose tame effort was gathered by Lloyd Irish, having to appear between the sticks again in place of the injured Dan Lavercombe. A Chamberlain break raised home hopes, Cameron Evans picking up the ball to see his cross deflect to Henry while the visitors’ Tom Owen-Evans steered a centre across the face of goal with no-one there to apply a touch.
Neither side were setting pulses racing in front of goal until the 26th minute when Chippenham took the lead, former Peacock midfielder Luke Spokes receiving Dan Ellison’s pass on the right edge of the box to cut in and drill a strike past the dive of Irish who got hands to it but couldn’t prevent it finding the net. Fasanmade then planted a header wide before the Peacocks responded with four successive corners in rapid succession, all of which came to nothing, while Zac Bell’s long throw saw Slough flick on, Nick Grimes’ drive into the box ricochet clear to Chamberlain who saw his effort fly over the bar.
Slough’s downward header from a Grimes cross failed to test Henry and when Stearn was flattened, Smith assumed the set piece duties in the absence of James but sent the free kick straight out, concluding a half which failed to develop for Town from those early minutes of promise. However the second half began with a bang for the hosts who were level seven minutes in. After being played in by Stearn, Chamberlain had already seen a low shot held by Henry, but the Bluebirds keeper remained static moments later when a Taunton corner was cleared as far as Chamberlain 18 yards out and his strike almost seemed in slow motion as it snaked through a throng of players to pick out the bottom corner.
Day replaced Slough just before the hour before Chippenham sharpened the knives up front, Town skipper Grimes executing a fine challenge to foil Fasanmade before Irish showed he had lost none of his natural goalkeeping ability by making a superb diving save to turn Fasanmade’s shot around the post. Smith had to retire due to a knock which fingers crossed is nothing too concerning and Rabby Tabu Minzamba took over for Town who were struggling to create anything clearcut. A neat turn from Nat Jarvis in the box gave him an opening but his effort lacked punch and was dealt with accordingly while Day’s cross was palmed away by Henry at his near post for a corner which led to Dolman trying his luck with a shot from distance but again without really troubling the Bluebirds’ keeper.
Substitute Bolton, who had replaced Stearn five minutes earlier delivered a header on target which Henry held comfortably but the final minutes swung in Chippenham’s favour. The Peacocks had Irish to thank three minutes from time when a rebound off a defender put Fasanmade in the clear but the Town veteran advanced quickly to get down and block the attempt to seemingly ensure a point, but it all went wrong two minutes into added time. An Irish goal kick quickly found its way back and when the Town defence hesitated, Tom Mehew seized the chance to burst forward into the box down the left and put the ball across for Chippenham sub Pele Kouisseone to sidefoot into the far corner.
A kick in the teeth for the Peacocks who in their favour have seven of their 11 remaining games at home but an improvement on this showing will be required to confirm safety starting with the visit of promotion-chasing Chelmsford in two days’ time.
Line-Ups
Taunton: Lloyd Irish, Zac Bell, Nick Grimes (captain), Dan Ball, Ollie Chamberlain, Nat Jarvis, Ross Stearn (Seb Bolton 78), Zac Smith (Rabby Tabu Minzamba 67), Cameron Evans, Callum Dolman, Louie Slough (Marcus Day 58). Unused subs: Jaden Brown, Evander Grubb
Chippenham: Will Henry, Craig Fasanmade, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Luke Haines (captain), Tyreke Johnson (Alex Bray 86), Tom Owen-Evans (Nat Williams 76), Tom Mehew, Luke Spokes, Dan Ellison, Ed Williams (Pele Kouisseone 90), Will King. Unused subs: Jem Hewlett, Mal Nicholls
Officials
Referee: Gary Parsons (Lymington)
Referee’s Assistant 1: Ryan Cornelius (Plymouth)
Referee’s Assistant 2: Aidan Madden (Plymouth)
Attendance
669
Reaction
“I think we’ve got to look at ourselves and we can do better in so many other ways…..”watch Rob Dray’s match reaction on Peacocks TV HERE
Highlights
Match highlights can be seen on Peacocks TV HERE
Photos
Match photos from Club Photographers Debbie Gould can be viewed HERE and Darren Harris HERE
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance MOM
Lloyd Irish was named Taunton Town Man Of The Match, photo to follow
Many Thanks To Our Match Sponsors
Many Thanks To Our Match Mascots
Middlezoy Mustangs Under 13s