JAMIE Short picked a good day to deliver two assists for the Peacocks.

Taunton had announced the night before that Pierce Mitchell had left the club by mutual consent, and Saturday saw Short set up both goals in the 2-1 victory over Hayes & Yeading United.

Short came back to the Peacocks in the summer, nominally as an attacking midfielder, but with Mitchell – who has held the right wing-back slot for the last three seasons – missing games due to injury, work and holidays, Short has made the position his.

Or, as boss Rob Dray put it: “Shorty’s come in and set it alight – that’s how it works with me, if you play well you keep the shirt.”

Mitchell goes in search of more regular playing time, departing with Dray and the club’s best wishes, leaving Short, Lewis Hall and Shane White to battle it out for the wing-back roles.

Short and White were crucial in Saturday’s win, as the former ended the day with two assists and White with the man of the match award.

There was some tidy combination play from the hosts, particularly in the first half, with midfielders Ryan Brett and Ollie Chamberlain linking up well with the three-man attack.

Often those moves ended with a through ball for Short or White to chase, getting in behind the visitors’ defence and whipping a cross into the middle.

As a tactic it was pretty effective, causing Hayes & Yeading all kinds of problems, and if the beat-the-full-back-and-cross-it-in-low strategy is good enough for Pep’s Man City, then I’d be happy to see plenty more of it down at the Cygnet.

As for Southern League Fantasy Football points-getter Short, Dray believes there is still more to come from him.

He said on Saturday: “In the opposition half I thought Jamie was very, very good.

“Defensively, I was left questioning him a couple of times, but that’s what he gives you.

“He’s not a natural defender, and there’s a couple of little things we’ve got to get into him.

“But he always gives 100 per cent, he’s brave and his attitude is always nailed-on.”