Shepton Mallet were left empty-handed after taking an early lead against in-form Sidmouth Town — who turned the game on its head with a late winner in Saturday's 2–1 defeat at the Playing Fields.

Conrad Peck went close early on, smashing into the side-netting after five minutes. Minutes later, Zack Williams lifted Sidmouth's first effort over. On 15 minutes, Peck's close-range shot was scrubbed out for handball, but the ref pointed to the spot — and Cam Allen made no mistake, smashing home to make it 1–0.

Will Hunter, stepping in between the sticks after Owen Crawford's Southern League move, pulled off a smart save from Isaac Furness soon after. But Sidmouth were level just five minutes later — Nathan Cooper finishing off a slick four-man move.

Ed Butcher and Giles Basson both had a crack before the break, while Ben Snell and Joel Sisson kept Sidmouth honest at the other end.

After the restart, Matt Morris dragged wide and JJ Littlewood forced a stop from Elliot Driver. With 15 to go, Littlewood surged down the right and squared for Peck, but Driver dashed off his line to deny him.

Then came the sucker punch: sub Liam Carey pounced from 12 yards within a minute of coming on to seal it for the visitors. Littlewood went agonisingly close late on — but Sidmouth's defence saw it out.

Joel Sisson took the sponsors' man of the match. Attendance: 127.

Shepton's next fixtures: away at Paulton Rovers on Tuesday 7 October (KO 7.30pm), then home to St Blazey on Saturday 11 October (3.00pm). Reserves return Saturday 18 October at home to Bishop Sutton Reserves (KO 3.00pm).

They're also into the next round of the Somerset FA Senior Cup after thumping Welton Rovers Reserves 5–0 — with a Jacob Lyons hat-trick and goals from Ryan Pledger and Jude Evans.

Under-18s host Keynsham Town on Tuesday 7 October (KO 7.30pm) at the Playing Fields.

More local stories:

• Crime drops in Shepton Mallet — but violence still tops the list
• Shepton Mallet councillor voices fears over housing plan to buy new homes for homeless families

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