Civil Service shut out Vale

The first derby game of the season saw Taunton CS have to work hard over a Vale side who had lost to Minehead on the first day of the season. Fielding the same starting eleven as the previous week Taunton were not able to start the game with the dominance that they had shown in previous weeks. Although Vale offered very little in terms of attacking threat and creating chances Taunton CS made hard work of creating their own. The lack of final delivery and accurate passing equated in limited goal scoring opportunities. However through out the first half Taunton were able to provide enough pressure to ensure that a resulting short corner was put away by Simon Jones to ensure that Taunton CS finished the half with a 1 – 0 lead.

The second half saw a much improved performance from the visitors. Having ably dealt 10 minutes of pressure from Vale, CS were able to exert some rhythm and dominance on the game. The passing game improved as CS started to ship the ball around the pitch with more confidence and accuracy. CS extended their lead midway through the second half as Ben Witt threaded the ball through to Mark Sawyer who deftly took the ball around the Vale keeper to score his fourth goal of the season. The victory was subsequently assured ten minutes before the end of the game with a magnificent strike from Toron Everett. The CS defence and keeper can also look back at a job well done and no opportunity was given to allow Vale to get on the scoreboard as Mike Whitman kept his first clean sheet of the season.

Although Taunton CS will be satisfied with a further three points and a win over the arch enemy they will feel that the performance was not up to the standard of the previous two weeks and they will be hoping to re capture that level of intensity when they travel to Chard next week to take on a side that has also won their opening three games.

Despite this it was a job well done and an opportunity for Taunton CS to show their grit and determination to grind out victories. Credit must also be given to Jason Harris who was voted man of the match for his performance and left back.