Taunton Town 4 Paulton Rovers 1

A depleted Paulton went out of the Southern League Challenge Cup

Quarter Final after a brave fight against a very experienced Taunton side.

Rovers went ahead on four minutes after Bristol City loanee, Barney Soady, fed Ed Butcher down the left and laid the ball to Lee Ibrahim, whose shot was deflected into the path of Dave O’Hare to slot the ball past Will Buse in the home goals.

The Peacocks responded as the lively Ross Stearn hit the post and then saw his shot turned for a corner by Paulton keeper, Aaron Sainsbury.

The hosts levelled on twenty-seven minutes as Ross Stanley crossed from the left and Dan Sullivan fired home.

Rovers pressed and O’Hare found Butcher who volleyed over the cross bar.

Taunton went ahead in the fourtieth minute as Stearn and Sullivan combined to cross for Ollie Chamberlain to scramble the ball home.

On the restart Butcher wriggled through the home defence only for his shot to be blocked.

It was 3-1 in the forty-eighth minute as Stearn played in Staley to beat Sainsbury.

Sainsbury then made a fine save from Stearn and stand in centre half Kyle Anderson pulled off a last ditch tackle to stop Sullivan. That pressure paid off when substitute, Acey Mead, shot home to get his side’s fourth.

That sparked constant Rovers pressure as Buse saved from O’Hare then sub, Jack Ball. Soady saw his free-kick lead to a scramble which was kicked off the line by Lloyd James, who, minutes later, was on hand to kick-off the line again, this time from Will Harvey.

From Ibrahim’s right wing corner O’Hare headed narrowly wide and Ball and then O’Hare witnessed yet another save by Buse.

It was Taunton’s night and the best of luck to them in the Semi-Final.

For Paulton it’s back to league action on Saturday at home to Plymouth Parkway, kick-off 3 p.m.

Tony Walsh