WELLINGTON were beaten 4-0 away by a near full-strength Taunton Town side in the second round of the Somerset Premier Cup.

The hosts, who play two divisions above the Tangerines, fielded most of the team who won 4-0 at Hanwell Town in London last weekend.

But, having taken an early lead, they only sealed their place in the third round with three goals in the final 17 minutes. Taunton made a fast start and went close within two minutes as a dangerous cross was headed narrowly wide.

Wellington keeper Jack McAndrews was quickly into the action, producing a fine save moments later, before Taunton skipper Ben Seymour opened the scoring on five minutes, finishing from close range despite strong appeals for offside.

It was a tough opening spell for the visitors, who were then dealt a double blow when first skipper Glen Wright and then Nathan Byrne were forced off injured inside half-an-hour.

But Wellington refused to roll over, showing plenty of heart to weather the storm and even carve out chances of their own. Douglas Camilo saw a shot blocked while, from a corner, substitute Tom Stone’s goalbound header was cleared. Just before the break, another Wellington effort was deflected and saved by the keeper’s legs.

After the interval, Taunton stepped up a gear and McAndrews continued his fine form with a string of saves to keep the tie alive. Even as Taunton introduced fresh legs on the hour mark, Wellington’s resilience stood firm and, with 20 minutes to go, they still trailed by just a single goal.Eventually, the pressure told. After 73 minutes, Josh Owers found space to lift the ball over McAndrews to make it 2–0 and, two minutes later, new signing Seidou Sanogo headed home the third.

And Taunton added a late fourth as Jack Rice drove home in the 89th minute.