Southern League Challenge Cup

Taunton Town 2, Truro City 2 (Taunton win 12-11 on penalties)

TAUNTON Town and Truro City equalled an English football record for the longest penalty shootout after a mammoth 34 spot kicks were needed to separate the two sides on Wednesday night.

Town eventually progressed 12-11, Jack Rice netting the winning kick, after the two sides had drawn 2-2 in normal time.

The Taunton line-up contained a mix of youth and experience, with three Team BTC youngsters - Noah Coppin, Luke Manley and Callum Watts - handed starts along with trialist Josiah Dunstan.

Coppin was instantly involved, setting up Rice for a shot which was blocked, before Andrew Neal hit the bar with a chip on 15 minutes.

Neal then did break the deadlock just after the half-hour, converting Watts' pass to give the hosts a lead which they held until half-time.

After a quiet start to the second half, the game burst into life with 19 minutes to play as Truro levelled the scores through Alex Battle.

The game was then completely turned on its head within four minutes as Austen Booth headed the Cornish side in front.

Town were not done, however, and Lewis Hall equalised by scoring straight from a corner in the 85th minute.

That was the end of the scoring but far from the end of the drama as the two sides began their marathon contest from the spot.

Neal missed Taunton's first kick - the first of 11 misses in all during the shootout - and both sides spurned chances to win the contest as it went on.

With the shootout level at 11-11, Taunton had two opportunities to win it after Truro misses but Hall and goalkeeper Lloyd Irish failed to find the net.

When Truro then missed their third straight effort, Rice made no mistake to eventually settle a remarkable tie.

The 34 penalties matched the previous record set by Oxford United and Chelsea Under-23s in the EFL Trophy in 2016.

Taunton Town: Lloyd Irish (c), Luke Manley, Lewis Hall, Josiah Dunstan (Nathan Byrne 83), Jamie Price (Jamie Short 45), Shane White, Harry Kite, Callum Watts, Jack Rice, Noah Coppin (Joe Charles 65), Andrew Neal