Late Simpson strike sends City to opening friendly defeat

City suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in their opening pre-season match at Taunton Town this evening, with Simpson’s 84th minute close range finish enough to secure a third successive win for the home side.

The first half was competitive but lacking in quality from both sides and it wasn’t until three minutes before the interval that either keeper was called into action. City won a free-kick 25 yards out but Mitch Beardmore’s low shot was turned around the post by keeper Walker.

City began the second half brightly but, despite several promising positions, they failed to trouble Walker again. Unsurprisingly, with an extra two games under their belts, the Peacocks began gain the upper hand as the second half progressed. A neat move on 65 minutes saw Simpson’s shot test Harvey Wiles-Richards for the first time. The hosts had optimistic penalty appeals waved away on 83 minutes when Neilson went to ground in the box. However, a minute later Zebroski’s perfectly weighted cross was steered past substitute keeper Massimo Sardo by Simpson to settle the game for the hosts.