Taunton Town continued their strong start to pre-season with a commanding victory over Bath City at the Cygnet Health Care Stadium.
In The Peacocks’ previous two matches, Manager Richard Luffman experimented with two different elevens in each half. However, with Enterprise South side Bath City visiting the Cygnet and two fixtures scheduled in midweek, including a trip to Willand on Friday night, the chance to play a consistent side was taken. With Simpson and Seymour both impressing across their relatively short spells at the club, the two were paired to lead the line together for the first time this summer.
Wearing the armband, Josh Owers intercepted a pass and found Brain, whose effort was deflected behind for a corner. From the resulting delivery, Ryan Lane’s cross was curled into the arms of Wiles-Richards, who nearly carried the ball over his own line but recovered just in time.
Bath then sent a dangerous ball across the face of goal. It only needed a touch, but no one was able to apply the finish, and any contact would almost certainly have resulted in a goal.
With Josh Gould departing the club following last Saturday’s win over Mousehole, James Walker had a chance to impress as the number one shirt remained vacant. The young goalkeeper was called into action on 42 minutes, pushing a 25 yard free kick around the far post as the Romans created their first real chance.
Just before half time, both Kane Simpson and Ben Seymour pressed the Bath City defence, creating space for Jayden Nielsen to cut inside onto his favoured left foot. His strike was well hit but drifted just inches wide of the far post.
There was little to separate the sides after the break, but based on energy and momentum, it was the Peacocks who looked more likely to take claim the bragging rights in the Macron derby. Nielsen, Aflie Moulden and Tom Purrington drove the team forward with intensity. On 65 minutes, a counterattack almost produced the breakthrough. Nielsen won back possession, skipped past two defenders and found Simpson in space. However, the striker could not get the ball out from under his feet and Wiles Richards made the save.
Full of confidence, Niall Thompson breezed past Jordan Alves and delivered a fantastic cross into the Bath City area. Nielsen arrived at pace but appeared to be pushed in the back just as he attempted to connect. To the disbelief of the home bench, nothing was given.
That didn’t matter as much to The Peacocks just 60 seconds later when the ball finally hit the back of the net. Simpson was the scorer, finishing with composure after a well weighted pass from substitute Chris Zebroski found him in space. The number nine calmly slotted the ball past substitute goalkeeper Massimo Sardo to give Taunton the lead.
Referee Carl Peters brought the highly entertaining friendly to a close. With plenty of positives to take from the performance, Taunton now turn their attention to another midweek trip to Southern League Division One South side Willand Rovers.