Somerset Premier Cup: Taunton beat Brislington at Bath

A first half goal from Archie Ferris gave Taunton the advantage at the break before finishes from Owen Brain and Evander Grubb after the break secured a comfortable victory.

Town could have found themselves on the back foot after 11 minutes though when Brislington’s Dean Griffiths got free on the left and sent a chipped effort onto the far post and back into the grateful arms of Adam Parkes. This was after Ryan Crouch had headed a decent chance wide for Town at the back stick from Brain’s corner as both sides found it difficult to get into the groove on a warm sticky evening, with numerous stoppages to play.

An uninspiring opening half hour eventually improved as Taunton began to find their rhythm, with Brain and Ferris both foiled. The breakthrough came four minutes into added time when Ferris stretched to direct his header at goal and despite keeper George Dorrington clawing the ball out it had already crossed the line and Town were ahead. Peacocks’ debutant and new skipper Tom Smith then forced Dorrington to palm away his strike as the first half concluded.

After Olly Sully’s header had been ruled out for offside, the Peacocks doubled their lead on 48 minutes, with Man of the Match Brain jinking down the left and taking a touch inside to drive a fine shot into the far corner from just inside the box. Ferris blazed another opening over before Taunton made it 3-0 after 66 minutes, Brain’s pass perfect for Grubb to slot precisely into Dorrington’s bottom right-hand corner.

Grubb’s left-footed shot struck the post and Dorrington got down low to smother Alfie Moulden’s strike as Town looked to add more while Brislington also came close in the latter stages, Jay Malpas drilling narrowly over the top before they also suffered a disallowed goal for offside. There were no further goals though as the Peacocks ended a run of seven years since lifting the Premier Cup.