The Peacocks returned to winning ways in the Evo-Stik League with a 3-0 win over Frome Town at the Viridor Stadium this afternoon (6th October). Despite the scoreline Town were not at their best and the visitors may feel the margin of victory was flattering, especially after making the more positive start, with Ryan Bath missing a decent chance.
It was the Peacocks though who took the lead on 23 minutes when Marcus Mapstone handled a Craig Veal cross and Andrew Neal duly despatched the penalty. Frome had a few chances to restore parity, most notably when Bath hit the bar from Dan Demkiv’s cross but it was the hosts who led at the break.
James Carey foiled Veal when play resumed but couldn’t prevent Taunton from doubling their advantage on 65 minutes, Ryan Brett’s corner being met by Ben Adelsbury whose header was nodded in by Ollie Chamberlain via the crossbar. For all their tidy build-up Frome struggled to create anything clear-cut and it was Taunton who nearly added a third when Neal prodded wide after being played through by Veal. The home side saw Brett sent off two minutes from time for a late challenge but this came too late to affect anything and the Peacocks put a gloss on the scoreline two minutes into stoppage time when Neal raced onto a ball over the top to steer past Carey and confirm a victory which lifts his side back up to second in the table.
Town now focus on their Emirates FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifying tie on Wednesday evening against St Albans City who beat Corinthian Casuals 3-0 in their 2nd Round replay.
Reaction | acting manager Rob Dray commented: “Three points is what the papers will say in the morning as we found a way of winning today even when not at our most fluent. It’s even better when a set piece the boys practiced on Tuesday actually worked! A clean sheet was also pleasing so on we go. However, there is plenty to digest and improve on. Looking forward to Wednesday, St Albans will be an incredibly tough test but nobody likes playing Taunton away on a Wednesday night in the FA Cup do they?”