Match Report:
Taunton Town 1 (5-4 on penalties) (Lloyd James 73)
Bridgwater United 1 (Ben Griffith 27)
On Tuesday, ‘The Robins’ made their shortest trip of the season to their Step 2 neighbours, Taunton Town hoping to match their achievement in the previous season of reaching the semi-final of the Somerset FA Premier Cup.
Whilst the pitch at Wordsworth Drive showed some effects of the game there 3 days earlier, on a crisp, calm January evening conditions were excellent and certainly well suited to the visitors’ high tempo style witnessed in recent games.
Andy Llewellyn took the opportunity to rotate his squad with McKayle, Taylor, Griffith and Phillips starting with Wright, Koppa, King and Williams dropping to the bench.
From the outset, United were quickly on the front foot as they pressed their higher ranked hosts at every opportunity, with the energetic Griffith forcing an early corner which came to nothing. As expected, the Peacocks were quick to respond as the elusive Evander Grubb burst forward to create an early opportunity for Marcus Day and force a fine save from Isaac Finch.
As the half progressed it was clear that the visitors were far from over awed by the occasion as Taylor and Jack Thorne combined well with the former thwarted by a quality challenge from Dolman.
Within minutes, it was Griffiths again who cut in from the left only to see his goal bound effort blocked at full stretch by James. United were clearly enjoying this period of dominance. In their next attack an error from Dan Ball saw Griffith capitalise immediately and drive the ball past Dan Lavercombe to put his side ahead.
With their higher ranked opponents now looking more than a little rattled, it was McKayle causing further alarm as his header forced a save from the Peacocks’ custodian.
As the interval approached, the home side drove forward as the experienced Stearn, and then Evans, were denied by the increasingly busy Finch who ensured that The Robins efforts were rewarded with a slender lead at the break.
As the second period began, the Taunton management team were quick to make changes as Bristol City loanee, Zac Bell replaced Day, quickly followed by the withdrawal of Grubb and Stearn for Nat Jarvis and Zac Smith.
The impact of these changes in personnel, coupled with a change of shape, was immediate as the home sided pushed forward with greater urgency but without causing too many problems for the United defence.
In fact, with the hour mark approaching, another misplaced pass from Dan Ball created a fantastic opportunity for the speedy Thorne to double his side’s lead, only to see his strike go narrowly wide of the scrambling Lavercombe’s left hand post.
The Peacocks’ reaction to this let off was both immediate and persistent as they stepped up the tempo in their quest for parity. With 20 minutes remaining Chamberlain disposed Finch but smart work by Armstrong saw the danger cleared for a corner. This proved to be a pivotal moment as the influential James delivered a cross of high quality that drifted into the far top corner to draw the scores level.
Despite dominating the final stages of the game, the hosts were unable find a way through as the resolute United defence stood firm to create the opportunity to progress through the lottery of penalties, for the third time this season.
Sadly, despite successful attempts by George King, Adam Wright, Jack Thorne, and Jay Murray it was not to be as the Peacocks progressed to the semi-finals by the narrowest of margins.
This was another excellent performance by The Robins as they approach a critical period of the season.
Next up is a trip to 5th placed Buckland Athletic on Saturday followed by run of five consecutive home games v Barnstaple Town (Les Phillips Cup quarter final), Deal Town (Isuzu FA Vase 5th Round) then league games v Helston Athletic (Top), Barnstaple (6th) and Millbrook, all in February!
United: Finch, D Thorne, J Llewellyn, Armstrong (Capt), Phillips, (Koppa 37), Griffith, Taylor (King 78) J Thorne, T Llewellyn (Wright 54), Murray McKayle (Williams 54)
Taunton Town: Lavercombe, Ball, Chamberlain, James, Tabu-Minzamba, Stearn (Smith 54), Evans, Day (Bell 45), Dolman, Slough, Grubb (Jarvis 54).
Sub Unused: Jason Quick
Competition: Somerset FA Premier Cup Quarter Final
Attendance: 579
Venue: Wordsworth Drive, Taunton
Date: 30th January 2024
Report: Bob Buckingham
