GoCrea8 Championship

Taunton Vale 2 Bristol University 4

TAUNTON Vale came up just short of toppling league leaders Bristol University on Saturday, after two late goals from the students sealed victory in a six-goal thriller.

Goals from Ian Haley and Max Beale had drawn Vale level at 2-2, with the latter's effort coming just minutes into the second half.

But Bristol University rallied and converted two short corners to retain top spot in the Championship.

The affair began with Vale under pressure from their own mistakes and unable to retain possession for what felt like an eternity.

Soaking up the pressure with some last ditch tackles was key to not conceding early, however this was not how Vale had planned to begin the game.

Coming off the bench, the streamlined South African terrier Ian Haley provided much relief for the home side, scoring a solo effort from close range.

Immediately after going ahead, a Vale error and confusion at the back led to a Bristol equaliser.

Vale minds remained confused as possession was squandered, allowing the students to upgrade their entries into the Vale quarter, producing multiple short corners.

With so many comers to defend, Vale put their bodies on the line - literally - and Bristol converted the following penalty flick to give them the 2-1 lead at half time.

In the second half, an early Vale short corner was cunningly converted by up and coming talent Max Beale, with an improvised overhead swat of his stick.

With the game level, Vale were still chasing the students as they fought back with a further two converted short corner routines to run out 4-2 winners.

With knowledge of their overall poor performance, Vale look to finish the season on a high with the last home fixture against Cardiff Uni on Saturday, March 5, push back 4.30pm.

In the meantime they travel to Cardiff this coming Saturday to play Cardiff Met A.

Taunton Vale II 1 Bristol Uni II 1

IT was an early start in a wet Bristol last Saturday and the Vale second XI struggled to find any continuity in their game.

Bristol Uni were creating the best opportunities and frustrating Vale by playing half court.

The students took a deserved lead midway through the first half and went into the break 1-0 up .

In response, Vale began playing better in the second half, but were kept out by some good goalkeeping.

However the Vale pressure began to pay-off as they created the better opportunities, and finally midfield dynamo Paul Hawkins converted a great chance to make it 1-1.

Further opportunities to get all three points were squandered by Vale, as the match finished level.

Taunton Vale C 6 Ashmoor 0

TAUNTON Vale C hosted Ashmoor B in what should have been a close contest.

Taunton knew that a win would bring them another step closer to clinching promotion and keep them in the race for the title.

The first 20 minutes of the game saw heavy pressure from Vale, with lots of chances being created - however, the back of the net was hard to find. Both Harry Stephenson and Joey Rose came close on several occasions prompting some good saves from the opposition keeper.

The first goal finally came from some fluid link up play down the right hand side finished off with an impressive reverse stick goal by young Dom Drew.

From here, Vale’s attacking prowess and interplay came together nicely.

Luca Maxwell linked up well with Tom Hawthorne to create chance after chance.

Drew took full advantage of his time in the ‘D’ finishing the game with a four-goal haul.

Rich Stock added to the tally with a couple, including an expert finish from a tight angle to seal the win.