Taunton Town cranked up the pressure on league leaders Weymouth with a 3-2 victory over Hendon at Silver Jubilee Park (20 Apr).
Rocky Neal got Town off to a great start in the 6th minute after Shane White put him through on goal. The hosts drew level 20 minutes later following a fine solo effort from Shaquille Hippolyte-Patrick but Neal had other ideas and within 60 seconds had restored Taunton’s lead, and that is how it remained until the interval.
In a closely fought second half the Peacocks had to wait until the final minute to get their third. Rocky Neal calmly stepped up to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot to make it 3-1. Hendon weren’t going down without a flight and in the last few seconds of the match Ogo Obi curled a shot into the bottom corner from outside the area.
As the final whistle blew and 3 points secured, Town discovered that Weymouth had rescued a late point at home to Chesham United meaning the gap at the top of the table is now just 3 points with 2 games remaining.
Following the match, Head of Football Rob Dray said, “A superb performance today. The conditions were tough but our fitness was fantastic and technically we were very good as we have been over the past few weeks. It’s an important 3 points and we will keep going and focus on the next game.”