Football
Red card woe for beaten Robins

Evesham United 2 Taunton Town 4

Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South & West

THE RED mist descended on the Jubilee Stadium on Saturday as, for the second time this season, Evesham United finished a league fixture with nine men.

The match was indicative of the Robins' frustrating season as in the early stages they looked on course to claim a much-needed victory but by the end had been beaten by a struggling side.

Midfielder Simon Fitter and striker Carl Brown both received their marching orders either side of half time which enabled Taunton to comfortably claim their first away win of the season.

There was no sign of the carnage to come when Marcus Palmer fired United into a sixth minute lead with an unstoppable finish past Christian Watt.

However, the game turned on its head when Taunton replied with three goals to race into a commanding lead just past the half hour mark.

Craig Herrod pulled the Peacocks level by firing into the bottom corner after the United defence had failed to clear their lines, then two goals in seven minutes swung the momentum firmly Town's way.

Firstly Evesham skipper Matt Sysum tangled with James Blake inside the area and Simon Ingram easily scored from the spot and Herrod then ran through unchallenged to beat home keeper Tom Cross and put the visitors 3-1 up.

Palmer pulled a goal back with his 12th of the season to keep Evesham within touching distance but a moment of madness from Fitter saw him red-carded before half time, leaving Paul West's side with a mountain to climb in the second half.

Within two minutes of the restart Cross could only push Herrod's drive into the path of Blake who netted Taunton's fourth and the game then slipped further away from Evesham in the 55th minute when Brown received a second yellow card to reduce the Robins to nine men.

Evesham battled valiantly until the end but the visitors were able to comfortably keep them at bay courtesy of their two-man advantage.

The 13th placed Robins visit fourth placed Tiverton Town tomorrow.

Regional sport »