TAUNTON Town boss Rob Dray admitted his team were "a long way" from their best in Saturday's 3-2 win over Harrow Borough but praised his players for grinding out another important win.

Town twice surrendered leads at the Cygnet Healthcare Stadium but Ryan Brett's goal - the fourth within a crazy seven-minute spell in the second half - ensured Town kept hold of their play-off place.

"We were far away from our best today, no doubt about it," Dray said.

"Fair play to them, they dug themselves out of a hole after we gave away two soft goals again.

"It was an error-strewn game, not great for either manager, but at this stage of the season in these conditions the win is all important.

"There's a different set of results every week. In most leagues, top 10 will beat bottom 10 - in this league, you just don't know.

"It's a very difficult league to get out of and if you are not on it every week you will be in trouble. We were not on it today but we did enough.

"Our game management, particularly in the last half hour of games, has to be better."

Dan Sullivan broke the deadlock early on, finding the bottom corner with a crisp first-time strike, and the same player then struck the outside of the post later in a first half shy of other clear-cut openings.

Harrow equalised through George Fenton's header on 64 minutes but Jamie Short's 20-yard thunderbolt - just moment after Matt Wright's curling effort had come back off the upright - restored Town's lead.

It was an advantage they held for just two minutes, as Okem Chime latched on to Ross Staley's loose backpass to equalise, but substitute Harry Kite then surged forward from midfield and set up Brett's precise finish on 71 minutes.

Dray refused to use the blustery conditions as an excuse for a below-par display - "it's the same for both teams and you have to deal with it" - and went on to praise home debutant Luke Spokes, as well as Kite and Short.

"I thought Spokesy did really well," Dray said.

"We took him off tactically and Harry [Kite] gave us some fresh legs and impetus - he was superb, so I'm really pleased with him.

"Jamie [Short] has been out the side for a period, come back in for the last five or six games and nailed a place down through energy, intensity and working hard.

"When you add in that little bit of quality, like the clean strike for his goal - when you're getting that from full-back/wing-back, it's a great bonus.

"I like players being able to play in two positions - with Jamie, one day he can be a wing-back and another day he'll be a central midfielder.

"You know you are going to get 100% from him, which is the most important thing."

Dray confirmed he will pick a strong team for Wednesday night's Somerset Premier Cup tie against Bath City, admitting "one or two need to play themselves back into form."

They may still be without top scorer Andrew Neal, however, as the striker continues to manage a knee injury.

"He's better again today but it's a slow process and we don't want to rush him," Dray said."

"We'd prefer to have him back for the last 10 games if it means missing a couple now.

"He's a tough kid who generally doesn't get injured. He's down because he doesn't like being out of it, he wants to be out there.

"We'll get a scan on him in the week. We don't think it's anything dramatic.

"He hasn't done anything catastrophic according to his physio, but it's just niggly and we want to know if he can play with it or not - without causing longer-term damage."