NEWPORT County AFC romped to victory in sunny Somerset last night, dispatching Taunton Town 6-0 in their latest pre-season friendly.

After a goal off the bench against Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany at the weekend, Aaron O’Connor marked his first start with a 39-minute hat-trick.

Christian Jolley also nodded home before the break, Andy Sandell scored from the spot late on and Danny Crow added the sixth at the death.

Justin Edinburgh’s men, lining up in an ultra-attacking 4-3-3 formation with Robbie Willmott just behind O’Connor, Jolley and new signing Chris Zebroski, were too fit, too quick and too good for their hosts.

The Peacocks, who play in the Southern League Division One South & West, are four levels below the Exiles in the football pyramid and the gap showed from the very start.

O’Connor took just 14 seconds to open the scoring, sweeping home Jolley’s cross from the right.

Last season’s top scorer doubled the lead after 17 minutes when he got a glancing header to Willmott’s free-kick.

Jamie Short rattled Jamie Stephens’ post for Taunton soon afterwards but otherwise it was one-way traffic.

Jolley headed home Mike Flynn’s cross to make it 3-0 on 31 minutes and then set up O’Connor to complete his hat-trick on 39 minutes with a simple finish beneath helpless home goalkeeper Lee Matthews.

Edinburgh sent on new signings Harry Worley and Adam Chapman for the second half in place of Byron Anthony and Lee Minshull and O’Connor got a well-deserved rest as Crow took his place.

Stephens pulled off a fantastic save to deny Jamie Price just after the break as the Exiles took their foot off the gas and the hosts enjoyed more of the ball.

Andrew Hughes replaced Tony James after an hour and triallists Ryan Doble and Jamie Edge came on for Zebroski and Flynn respectively but had little time to press their claims for a permanent move to Rodney Parade.

In a late burst of activity Sandell scored from the spot with ten minutes remaining after Jolley had been brought down by Matthews in the Taunton goal before seeing a second penalty saved.

Crow then made it 6-0 on 86 minutes to wrap up the scoring after being put through on goal by Chapman.

Taunton: Matthews, Price, Tasker, Irish, Mammola, Norrish, Short, Robertson, Young, Morris, Pepperell

Subs: Kingston, Sims, Marsh, Scadden, Halstead

County: Stephens, Pipe, Sandell, James, Anthony, Flynn, Minshull, Willmott, O’Connor, Zebroski, Jolley

Subs: Worley, Hughes, Doble, Edge, Chapman, Redman, Holmes