Recap
Report
A thoroughly miserable afternoon weatherwise was replicated on the Tiger Turf Stadium pitch as the Peacocks sunk to defeat to further heighten their relegation concerns. A lacklustre Town were fortunate to only be trailing by a single goal at the break but then had opportunities to secure something from the game in the second half. However their capability in front of goal yet again let them down and Truro, playing a ‘home’ game nearly 200 miles away from the Cornish city they represent, added a second for good measure to leave the Peacocks staring at a miserly haul of six points from their last 13 league outings.
With captain Nick Grimes suspended for a game after his dismissal at Dartford, the Taunton team had to be shuffled with Louie Slough slotting in on the left side. A cold, wet afternoon marked Town’s first visit to Gloucester’s home patch since the rebuilt ground had been reoccupied in 2020 and things couldn’t have got off to a worse start. After Town had broken away from Truro’s opening corner of a half they dominated, Ollie Chamberlain found Rabby Tabu Minzamba whose strike was pushed wide by City keeper James Hamon. That was as good as it got for the Peacocks in the first period as within six minutes they were behind. A free kick was conceded in a central position and when Tyler Harvey’s effort was palmed away by Town custodian Dan Lavercombe, the ball fell nicely for Tom Harrison to fire home into the unguarded net.
This early advantage gave City the impetus to go on and control the half, with the only mystery being how they failed to add more to their tally. That was in no small part due to Lavercombe who was kept busy during the first quarter, saving from Andrew Neal and holding a Ben Adelsbury header on his line before seeing a shot from Connor Riley-Lowe blocked after another former Peacock Dan Sullivan had created the opening.
The Town keeper then did well to tip a Dan Rooney shot onto his post and turned Harvey’s effort wide as City threatened to remove their negative goal difference inside 45 minutes, the surge at the Town goal continuing up to the whistle with Neal rifling into the side netting after getting clear and then both Sullivan and Harvey having shots at goal blocked. In contrast the only other occasion that Taunton had any kind of a sniff was a Cameron Evans’ cross being met by Slough’s diving header which was directly at Hamon.
The Peacocks made a double switch for the second half, with Ross Stearn and Marcus Day replacing Minzamba and Zac Bell, and at last there was some kind of potency via the right-hand flank where Day got involved from the off. From the kick-off Chamberlain strode forward to find Day out wide and from his cross to the near post Adelsbury was forced to take drastic action to hack clear. A poor pass from a City defender was then intercepted by Stearn whose strike from 20 odd yards stung the palms of Hamon who parried and gathered before Town were denied an equaliser by some abject finishing. Day, whose performance provided the only positive in the second half, whipped in a lovely cross from the right to reach Zac Smith free at the far post. With the sizeable travelling support poised to celebrate their side’s first goal from open play in five games, Smith somehow failed to hit the target from six yards, his mishit squirming across goal to land at the feet of Stearn on the opposite post and he followed suit by lashing the ball across the face and out. No words.
The White Tigers made their visitors pay by adding a second goal after 62 minutes. A spell of pressure led to a trio of corners, the second of which saw Lavercombe save from an Ed Palmer header with Sullivan unable to force the ball over the line. However the third flag kick paid off with Palmer glancing a Will Dean corner into Lavercombe’s right-hand corner.
New recruit Seb Bolton replaced Nat Jarvis with just over twenty minutes to go before moments later Town were given a lifeline back into the game. Smith was tripped by James Melhado as he drove into the box and no hesitation from referee Ellsmore in pointing to the spot. Stearn’s penalty though was poor, Hamon saving with relative ease as the ball was cleared and with it went any hopes the Peacocks might have had. The final stages of the game passed by with little more to say. Neal dragged a shot wide for City while two corners for Taunton ended with Chamberlain slicing an effort onto the terraces. For Truro, their first win in seven league games propelled them up to the relative comfort of 18th spot. For the Peacocks though it’s now 13 matches without a win. Grim times.
Line-Ups
Taunton: Dan Lavercombe, Zac Bell (Marcus Day 45), Dan Ball, Ollie Chamberlain, Lloyd James (captain), Nat Jarvis(Seb Bolton 69), Rabby Tabu Minzamba (Ross Stearn 45), Zac Smith, Cameron Evans, Callum Dolman, Louie Slough. Inused subs: Jaden Brown, Evander Grubb
Truro: James Hamon, James Melhado, Connor Riley-Lowe, Ben Adelsbury, Ed Palmer, Will Dean, Tyler Harvey, Dan Sullivan (Ryan Kavanagh 65), Dan Rooney (Ryan Brett 71), Andrew Neal (Ollie Bray 74), Tom Harrison. Unused subs: Sam Sanders, Ryan Law
Officials
Referee: Tom Ellsmore (Woking)
Referee’s Assistant 1: Jack Bromham (Glastonbury)
Referee’s Assistant 2: Paul Barber (Bournemouth)
Attendance
196
Reaction
” You cannot miss a penalty, you cannot miss these open goals, you can’t do it……” watch Rob Dray’s match reaction on Peacocks TV HERE
Highlights
Match highlights can be seen courtesy of Truro City FC HERE
Photos
Match photos from Club Photographers Darren Harris can be viewed HERE and Debbie Gould HERE
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance MOM
Zac Smith was named Taunton Town Man Of The Match, photo to follow