Goals Galore as Reds Hang On
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Uxbridge 5-4 Taunton Town | Southern League Premier South
Saturday, August 22, 2026 | Attendance: 395
Older readers may well remember the show Police Squad! — the comedy starring Leslie Nielsen. One of the running jokes each week was that the announced episode title didn’t actually match the name of the episode put on screen, and in many ways, yesterday’s match against Taunton followed in a similar vein. On the face of it, a 5-4 win with a penalty and late goals sounds like a real thriller; in reality, Uxbridge were in control for large parts of this match, and only some uncharacteristically sloppy defending gave the scoreline a closer finish at full time. There was a familiar look to the line-up, with the only change from the Gosport match being Josh Boorn replacing Luis Le Paih on the bench.
Uxbridge signaled their intent right from the first whistle, with Francis Amartey forcing an early save from Freddie Godden in the Taunton goal after a driving run to the byline. The Reds didn't have to wait long for the breakthrough, though. In the fifth minute, a ball over the top forced Godden out of his box. It was probably a decision he regretted, as his clearance was smashed onto his own defender and George Moore, who had closed him down. The ball dropped perfectly for Moore to calmly stroke it into an empty net.
However, the lead lasted just three minutes as Taunton responded. A low cross found Scott Robinson, who scuffed his shot via a slight deflection on the turn; Dino Kaiser was unable to keep it out, and the ball spun into the net to level the scores at 1-1.
Uxbridge kept up the pressure, though, and created plenty of opportunities. McCoy and Amartey were proving a real threat on the flanks. On nine minutes, McCoy did well to create space on the left, and he cut in with a low shot that rippled the side netting. Amartey had a better chance on 15 minutes as he broke through the Taunton defence as they stood off him. He got into the box, but as he was about to pull the trigger, the defence got back to block his shot. Minutes later, Amartey was again at the heart of things, this time shooting narrowly over from a tight angle after again doing superbly on the right-hand side.
Taunton were not offering a great deal going forward, with player of the match Ciaran Martin in particular having a fine game at left-back and dealing with anything the visitors produced. The Reds were still creating chances; just after the half-hour, Toby Nnadozie stung Godden’s palms with a fierce shot that the Taunton shot-stopper did well to parry away.
As half-time approached, there was some drama to be had. Firstly, the visitors got into the box and Alfie Moulden went down with loud appeals for a spot kick, which were waved away by the referee. Immediately, Uxbridge broke clear and forced a corner. From this McCoy found space for a shot which was blocked. However, he got to the loose ball first and was then brought down; this time, the referee did point to the spot. Captain Sam Deadfield stepped up, only to see Godden save the kick with his legs. The ball went straight up, and with Deadfield challenging as it dropped, it fell kindly for the onrushing Troy Perez-Duah to stab the ball home, and Uxbridge found themselves ahead at the break.
HT 2-1
Uxbridge began to assert dominance as the second half started, and in the 56th minute, they may well have thought it was job done. Another fine piece of work by Amartey led to a cross to the back post. McCoy recycled it to Toby Nnadozie, whose low shot bamboozled Godden—doing a fine impression of England's Scott Carson at Wembley in 2008—and the ball spun through his hands and into the net.
Taunton, to their credit, refused to lie down and pulled one back in the 64th minute. A low cross caused a scramble in the Uxbridge box, and despite a couple of last-ditch blocks from the Reds' rearguard, the ball was eventually put in by Robinson for his second to make it 3-2.
After a brief midfield altercation threatened to boil over, Dino Kaiser was forced into a brilliant tipping save to protect the lead. That save proved vital as Uxbridge seemingly put the game out of reach. In the 75th minute, Deadfield dinked a beautiful ball over the defence to McCoy, who somehow stayed onside and smashed it home for 4-2. As the match then drifted towards the end, Uxbridge added a fifth with a route-one ball down the middle that saw Moore outmuscle his defender and lash it home 1-on-1 to make it 5-2.
With the game entering injury time, what looked like a comfortable victory turned into a nerve-shredding finale. In the 91st minute, Taunton struck back with a sharp turn and shot into the far post from Moulden. Soon after, Kaiser was forced into another smart save before Taunton grabbed a fourth via a looping header in the 95th minute from Jamie Richards to make it 5-4.
Time, however, ran out for the visitors. The final whistle blew right after, bringing a dramatic conclusion and a closer scoreline than the match itself would suggest.
FT 5-4
Uxbridge: Kaiser, Brown, Martin, Burchell, Massey, Nnadozie (Boorn), Perez-Duah (Prior-Tack), Deadfield, Amartey (Stallard), Moore (Duffy), McCoy (Coomes)
