PEACOCKS OF THE WALK
Town stay top of the tree after sharing six with title rivals
THE TOP two sides in the table served up a festive treat for a crowd of 1,461 at the Viridor Stadium.
Leaders Taunton made the better start and after Ben Adelsbury had headed wide of the far post, they took the lead after just three minutes when Andrew Neal received the ball on the left side of the box and his shot deflected past Lloyd Thomas into the far corner.
This signalled a burst of three more goals inside the first 20 minutes, with Weymouth drawing level on 12 minutes when Abdulai Baggie fed Callum Buckley and his cross proved an easy tap-in for Yemi Odubade.
The visitors then took the lead after 19 minutes through Ben Thomson, who latched onto a clearance to round Mike Davies and fire into an empty net.
The Peacocks were behind for only two minutes, Matt Buse steering a header into the corner from Pierce Mitchell’s cross to conclude a dramatic first quarter.
Neal’s header dropped onto the roof of the net but it was Weymouth who came closest to regaining the lead, Town keeper Davies tipping Thomson’s header wide and then palming away a crossshot from Josh Wakefield.
Back came Taunton before the break, with Adelsbury having a free-kick saved and Mitchell sending a left-footer just over.
The second half was only seven minutes old when Taunton went ahead again,
Neal notching his brace with a close-range finish after Dan Sullivan’s corner had been flicked on.
But the Terras showed why they are the main challengers to Taunton’s occupancy of top spot with a swift response.
After Jordan Ngalo had seen his drive skim the top of the crossbar, the game was evened up just before the hour when Odubade easily converted a penalty awarded for a foul by Shane White on Thomson.
From then on, the visitors looked the most likely winners as they pushed forward and seemed to be first to every loose ball.
Odubade rifled a strike wide of the far post and Davies gathered Ngalo’s shot at the second attempt while Wakefield fired past the post.
Taunton keeper Davies then denied Buckley twice, turning a shot wide before tipping a free-kick over.
The Peacocks maintained their seven-point cushion over their opponents. STAR MAN: Andrew Neal (Taunton) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★