Hungerford Town were left stunned and more than a little exasperated after conceding a ninth‑minute stoppage‑time equaliser at Taunton, denying them what would have been a richly deserved victory over Taunton Town.

The Crusaders arrived unchanged from the side that toppled league leaders Walton & Hersham a week earlier, and their confidence showed. Joe Shepherd—who seemed to cover every blade of grass—set the tone early with a crucial block to deny Kalvin Kalala inside five minutes, before Hungerford began to impose themselves on the contest.

Their first real opening came when Jerry Gyebi rose to meet a Josh Marcon cross, only to see his header drift narrowly over. Moments later, the visitors had the lead. George Smith’s long throws were causing chaos in the Taunton box, and another booming delivery after 17 minutes was flicked on by Shepherd and found its way into the net, much to the discomfort of home keeper Finch.

Marcon forced Finch into another save from a free‑kick soon after, but Taunton responded with a spell of pressure of their own. Ben Seymour looked certain to equalise on 25 minutes, only for Matt Berry‑Hargreaves to produce a superb goal‑line block.

Controversy then crept in. Shepherd appeared to be struck in the face inside the Taunton penalty area, yet no decision was forthcoming despite the midfielder requiring treatment. Minutes later, Kyle Tooze forced Finch into a fingertip stop—only for the officials to award a goal kick, one of several decisions that left both benches visibly frustrated.

Taunton, trailing at the break, could hardly have scripted a better restart. Straight from kick‑off, Berry‑Hargreaves’ attempted clearance was charged down, and Seymour pounced, squeezing a shot past Luke Cairney in a moment Hungerford will want to forget.

But the Crusaders regrouped quickly. Thomas Conteh danced through the Taunton defence with some dazzling footwork only to blaze over from a glorious position five minutes into the half. At the other end, Remarni Medford‑Smith’s calm defending prevented Taunton from snatching a second.

Hungerford regained control as the half wore on, and with fifteen minutes remaining they restored their lead. Substitute Cam Squires delivered a low ball across the box, Andrio Brandão cleverly flicked it on, and Louis McGrory met it with a thunderous first‑time strike into the top‑right corner.

Five minutes later, the visitors were left baffled again by the officials. Conteh pushed the ball past Finch on the edge of the area and appeared to be hauled back by the goalkeeper. A free‑kick was awarded, but only a yellow card shown—despite the striker seemingly needing only to roll the ball into an empty net.

As the clock hit ninety, Hungerford were met with the surprise of eight minutes added time—despite minimal stoppages and only three substitution windows. Still, they nearly sealed it when Conteh’s cross found Brandão, whose shot was blocked at the last moment.

Then came the gut punch. Deep into the ninth minute of stoppage time, Dylan Jones surged down the right and whipped in a low cross for Alfie Moulden to finish, sparking jubilation among the home fans and disbelief among the visitors.

For Hungerford, it was an agonising end to a performance full of grit, quality, and no small measure of controversy. They will feel they deserved far more than a solitary point.

Team : Cairney, McGrory (Leahy), Medford-Smith, Duffus, Berry-Hargreaves, Gyebi, Smith, Shepherd, Macron (Squires), Tooze (Brandao), Conteh (Chaplin)
Sub Unused : Luke

Star Man : Ty Duffus