TAUNTON Town head of football Rob Dray hailed the character of his side after they recorded their first league win of the season at the third attempt.

Town defeated Chesham United 3-2 on Saturday to end their visitors' winning start thanks to a brace from skipper Matt Wright and a winner from debutant Harry Kite, on loan from Exeter City.

Dray said: "It was thoroughly deserved, I thought we were a lot better than them today.

"They have won two from two but we were outstanding in a lot of respects.

"We are still giving away sloppy goals and we probably should have put the game away earlier, but we dug in and showed character.

"There have been one or two critics this week, which I think is a bit undeserved if I'm being honest.

"These are good players and I'm really pleased for the young lads who came in today."

Taunton fell behind early for the third match in succession, Eoin Casey heading home from close range after a free-kick wasn't dealt with, but this time were level within a minute as Wright headed home a corner.

The skipper finished off a fine team move to put Town 2-1 up at the interval and, though Jamie Price's own goal levelled things up, Kite bundled home a corner to seal the victory.

On the performance of the debutants, Dray said: "Zac (Smith) was outstanding and Harry Kite was superb.

"Zac has been playing for Bristol City Under-23s and Harry has come in from Exeter.

"He was at Dorchester last year and did really well. He has experience at this level and you could see that today.

"They give us that little bit of impetus - we had a few injuries and Chambo (Ollie Chamberlain) was suspended today, so we needed something in the engine room to keep us ticking over."

The Peacocks were indebted to two fine saves from Lloyd Irish at the death, as he tipped over a Jefferson Louis effort before keeping out a shot from his opposite number Ben Goode, pushed up for a late corner, from point blank range.

"That's Lloyd for you," Dray said.

"I don't think he had a lot to do in the game but then he's pulled out a couple of world class saves.

"That's Lloydy, he's the best keeper in the league for me.

"It was also good to get Wrighty (Matt Wright) a couple of goals. He needed it.

"I thought he was really good today. I'm always his biggest critic but today he was a leader, which is what we needed.

"Nobody expected the two losses but I said to them 'if you work hard enough and do the basics, you make your own luck'. We did that today.

"Let's hope this is a catalyst for us to go on a bit of a run now.

"It is a very open league and it will be all season. There's no Staines, there's no Weymouth, a lot of teams will beat each other.

"The league will settle down after 10 games - nothing is won now.

"We won't get too high over this win - we probably got a bit lower than we should have done over the last two games.

"You've got to hold your nerve. I know they are good players. It was about keeping calm and in control - we got those lads in yesterday to give us a little boost - and doing the things which have got us here.

"The credit goes to the lads today. We will keep our heads down and go again on Saturday."

Player ratings

Lloyd Irish - 7

Distribution was mixed but won Town the points with two quality saves at the death.

Jamie Short - 7

Lively in attack down the right.

Lewis Hall - 7

Used the ball well and set up Wright's second with a perfect low cross.

Ben Adelsbury - 6

Solid if unspectacular display from the centre-half.

Ed Palmer - 7

The best of Town's back three with the ball and made several key interceptions.

Jamie Price - 5

Paid for diving in on several occasions and scored the unfortunate own goal in the second half.

Shane White - 6

Did the gritty work in the engine room and continues to never let Town down wherever he plays.

Harry Kite - 7

Battled hard and kept possession well, showing signs of his Exeter City upbringing.

Matt Wright - 8

Town's talisman was back to his best, leading the line well and scoring those two vital goals.

Zac Smith - 7

Showed some neat touches in midfield and tracked back diligently.

Andrew Neal - 6

An unusually quiet afternoon for the striker, who never gives less than his all.

Substitutes: Bradley Webb (for Hall, 70); Ryan Brett (for Adelsbury, 72); Dan Sullivan (for Neal, 76)