Dandy Town began to zero in on their ambitions of a second successive Premier Division title yesterday with a tough, comeback victory over the hapless Somerset Eagles.

The Hornets' 3-2 triumph at St. John's Road further cemented their place atop the league but the three valuable points they seized could easily have been shared or indeed gone to the visitors.

Eagles - whose unhealthy flirtation with relegation has become customary in recent seasons - proved worthy opposition for the title holders and, in pleasant contrast to several of their outings this year, exhibited maximum effort and competitiveness for the full 90 minutes instead of wilting halfway through the match or excelling in patchy spurts.

However, the Beautiful Game is also often a very unkind game and, for all their grit and soccer savvy, Marc Bean's men returned to the West End with nothing to show and pondering how to ‘Houdini' their way out of the dreaded drop with just five games remaining as they languish at the foot of standings.

While Town made more of the early running via the usual conduits - Khano and Carlos Smith, Seyoum Tuzo and Jared Peniston - it was the gutsy Eagles who struck first and what a top-class goal it was!

The mercurial Rodre (Piper) Wilson, in one of his better performances, picked up an innocuous-looking pass on the edge of the centre circle, in Town's half, and thrilled football purists with an unfathomable left-foot missile that rocketed past outstretched goalkeeper Daniel Johnson to his right.

That 23rd-minute beauty put the game on a knife edge, at once inspiring the invigorated Eagles and incensing Town who had only themselves to blame for not scoring first.

Khano went close with a header from a Peniston corner that Ian Raynor - oddly between the uprights for Eagles rather than in the outfield - tipped to safety and then Tuzo cracked a diagonal shot past the left lost.

Shortly before the break, Wilson sent shivers through the host camp as he danced past two defenders and, shifting the ball onto his favoured left boot, lined up for a 20-yard blast but totally miskicked the ball.

The high-octane duel resumed with even greater intensity affording either custodian little or no breathing room as they were bombarded by shot after shot.

After myriad frustrations, Town enjoyed a double dose of fortune with two goals in equal time to leave shell-shocked Eagles wondering how a 1-0 advantage was swiftly transformed into a 2-1 deficit.

Town drew level in the 55th minute when Raynor parried a close-range shot from Khano straight into Tuzo's path and the latter made no mistake with the rebound.

Before Eagles could blink, Carlos had Somerset's net rippling again as he was released up the right flank with a long ball which the veteran marksman coolly drilled past Raynor.

Khano looked to have increased Town's lead to 3-1 shortly afterwards but Desmond Burgess cleared the former's goal-bound, toe-poke off the line.

The introduction of Town's substitute forwards Lashun Dill and Lloyd Holder - whose cheeky backheel nearly beat Raynor from point-blank range - injected more pace into the now-rampant hosts' attack while their team-mates Kingsley Mundy and David Lawler were steely in defence.

Regaining their composure, Eagles soared with hope again when Johnson was called for a foul in an 80th-minute goalmouth scramble. Wilson took care of matters from the spot to bring his team back to 2-2, giving them all to play for in the closing moments.

Four minutes later Holder celebrated the Hornets' third goal with a quick, right-foot volley from midway in Eagles' half that squirted past Raynor along the turf.

While that would be the afternoon's final success, Somerset's aspirations and determination were not exhausted until the final whistle and they truly looked a potent force capable of equalising at any time.

Dandy Town: D.Johnson, K.Mundy, D.Lawler, M.Lowe, D.Zuill, E.Signor, L.Furbert, S.Tuzo (L.Dill 59 mins), J.Peniston (L.Holder, 59 mins), K.Smith (O.Steede, 77 mins), C.Smith.

Somerset Eagles: I.Raynor, M.Butterfield, D.Burgess, E.Greenwood, J.Tucker, M.Dill, S.Simmons, A.Lambert (K.Richardson, 75 mins), L.Crofton, R.Wilson, D.Dowling.

Yellow cards: C.Smith (Dandy Town); S.Simmons (Somerset Eagles).

Men of the Match: K.Mundy (Dandy Town); R.Wilson/D.Burgess (Somerset Eagles).

Referee: L.Raynor.

l Saturday night's league clash between Somerset Trojans and North Village at Somerset was postponed due to the inclement weather.