Friendly

Taunton Town 2, Exeter City 2

TAUNTON Town were denied a League Two scalp as Exeter City scored twice in the final eight minutes to salvage a share of the spoils in Thursday night's friendly.

The first half was one of few chances on a warm night.

Exeter carried most of their threat down the left, where Taunton-born Lee Martin was lively, but the Grecians' end product was lacking; a blocked Martin shot and scuffed effort from trialist Charlie Seaman was as close as they came.

Taunton kept possession well but also struggled for clear-cut openings as the half ended goalless.

The game sparked into life after the interval and Ollie Chamberlain gave Taunton the lead on 47 minutes with a fine volley into the bottom corner from outside the area.

Following a flurry of substitutions, Town doubled their lead on the hour when a cross found an unmarked Andrew Neal, who misjudged his header on goal but inadvertently set up Josh Grant to fire into the roof of the net from close range.

The Football League side eventually got into gear and began to threaten as the game entered the closing stages.

Former Taunton loanee Joel Randall had a header saved before the Grecians halved the deficit with eight minutes to play, Ben Seymour bundling the ball home after a free-kick wasn't dealt with by the home defence.

Just two minutes later, Randall seized on a loose pass by goalkeeper Lloyd Irish and raced past substitute Luke Manley, who brought down his man inside the box.

Irish made amends for his slackness in possession with a superb double save, diving to his left to keep out Seymour's spot kick and getting up sharply to stop the rebound from point-blank range.

That should have been enough to seal Taunton a notable scalp but they switched off from a corner in added time and Will Dean equalised with a free header from Jack Sparkes' delivery.

It was a reverse of last season's friendly between the two sides, which saw Taunton come from 2-0 to earn a draw.

Though they couldn't hold on for victory, Taunton tiring late on was understandable given the previous friendly against Yeovil had been just two days earlier - with both friendlies played on hot evenings.

Next up for the Peacocks is the Somerset Premier Cup final - re-arranged from the end of last season - against Weston-super-Mare at the home of the Seagulls on Tuesday, July 30.

Taunton Town: Lloyd Irish, Pierce Mitchell (Lewis Hall 53), Shane White, Ben Adelsbury, Ed Palmer (Luke Manley 66), Jamie Price, Ollie Chamberlain (Noah Coppin 76), Naby Diallo, Matt Wright (Jamie Short 53), Josh Grant, Andrew Neal (Jack Rice 68). Subs not used: Dan Sullivan, Owen Searle

Exeter City: Jonny Maxted, Charlie Seaman, Craig Woodman (Joel Randall 45), Robbie Cundy, Will Dean, Jordan Tillson, Matt Jay (Ben Chrisene 66), Jack Sparkes, Lee Martin (Harry Kite 58), Alex Fisher, Ben Seymour

Attendance: 683