Evo-Stik South West

Taunton Town 4, Salisbury 1

A BLISTERING first-half display set Taunton Town on the way to a comfortable victory over fellow promotion chasers Salisbury at the Viridor Stadium.

In front of a bumper crowd of 630, goals from Dan Sullivan and Matt Buse (2) in the first period were added to by Matt Wright after the break, with Owen Howe netting Salisbury's consolation from the spot.

The opening exchanges gave little sign of what was to come, with few chances created and the visitors looking comfortable in possession.

That all changed on 11 minutes, as the lively Ollie Chamberlain played in Dan Sullivan and the frontman made no mistake, dispatching confidently past Charlie Searle to hand the hosts an early lead.

Just six minutes later the lead was doubled, with Sullivan this time turning provider as he played in Matt Buse and the midfielder poked under the goalkeeper.

Buoyed by their fine start, Taunton continued to look dangerous in attack and came close again when skipper Matt Wright cut inside but fired his shot well wide.

Salisbury, on the other hand, were resorting to long balls towards isolated frontman Owen Howe, with the former Tiverton man ineffectual and starved of service in the first period.

The hosts went three up just after the half hour mark, with Buse adding his second of the afternoon by firing home left-footed from Wright's pass, though goalkeeper Searle really should have done better.

Wayward long shots were the visitors' only efforts of note as the half drew to a close with Taunton in a commanding position.

The Peacocks tightened their grip on the game straight after the restart, as captain Matt Wright rose highest in the area to nod home Shane White's corner and put his side four goals to the good.

It could and perhaps should have been five shortly afterwards but Sullivan spurned a one-on-one which was almost a replica of the opportunity he converted in the first half, and Salisbury began to exert some overdue pressure.

The visitors got on the scoreboard when Howe converted from the spot after McGrath hauled down Stuart Green in the area, but Steve Claridge's men otherwise posed little threat as Taunton closed out the victory with ease.

Ross Staley nearly added the icing on the cake in added time but saw his shot flash inches wide, with Matt Buse handed the man of the match award for his two first-half goals and battling display in midfield.

In truth, however, a case could have been made for any number of Peacocks players on a day which saw numbers one to 11 perform their tasks admirably.

Next up for the hosts is the visit of Cinderford Town on Tuesday evening (7.45pm).

Taunton Town: Lloyd Irish, Pierce Mitchell, Ben Palmer, Shane White, Chris McGrath, Ben Adelsbury, Ollie Chamberlain (Ross Staley), Ryan Brett, Matt Wright, Dan Sullivan (Omar Simpson), Matt Buse.