The Peacocks take a break from League action when they travel to old rivals Paulton Rovers in the 3rd Round of the Southern League Challenge Cup tomorrow evening (17th December), kick-off 7.30pm.
Town have already negotiated three rounds to reach this stage, overcoming Willand Rovers on penalties in the Preliminary Round after a 2-2 draw before beating Bideford 5-2 in North Devon and then edging past Truro City in the last round courtesy of that titanic 13-12 penalty shoot-out following another 2-2 result. Rovers have played one tie less but have made progress in emphatic style so far, both games being at home as they dismissed Salisbury 4-0 in their first outing before blitzing an albeit understrength Weston-super-Mare side 12-1 in the last round.
Rovers are also well-placed in the Southern Division One South table, lying in fourth spot with games in hand on the sides above, having harvested 29 points from their 14 games to date. Their last League match saw them defeat Bristol Manor Farm 4-2 but on Saturday they exited the Buildbase FA Trophy after losing 2-1 to Sholing in a replay. It therefore promises to be another testing game in North Somerset tomorrow evening.
Head of Football Rob Dray takes the opportunity to rotate the squad, meaning Josiah Dunstan, Callum Watts and Noah Coppin all come in, but Luke Manley is unavailable and Jack Rice has left the club to join Bideford.
On The Road – Paulton Rovers
Ground: The Athletic Ground, Winterfield Road, Paulton, Somerset BS39 7RF
Directions: From Wells take A39 towards Bristol. Turn right at traffic lights in Farrington Gurney and follow the A362 (signposted Radstock) for 2 miles. Continue straight over the first roundabout (by Tesco) and at the second roundabout turn left onto the B3355 (signposted Paulton). The ground is on the right hand side just past the La Campagna (Italian Restaurant).
Admission: Adults £9, Concessions £7, Under 18’s £2, Under 12’s Free
Most recent meetings: The sides last met during Town’s promotion-winning season two years ago. A wintry night at the Athletic Ground in February 2018 saw the Peacocks two down inside 12 minutes through a Dale Evans penalty and Omar Simpson strike but two second half goals from Keith Emmerson salvaged a point. Back in August 2017 Town had won the home encounter 3-0 thanks to a Les Afful penalty plus further goals from Ollie Chamberlain and Olly Mehew.