Somerset Trojans 2 Hamilton Parish 1

Somerset Trojans secured their first victory in the Premier Division this season when beating Hamilton Parish for the second time in three days on Saturday night.

After coming out on top 1-0 in the Dudley Eve Trophy semi-final between the two sides on Wednesday, Trojans again won by a narrow margin with a mistake by Parish goalkeeper Nigel Burgess proving crucial.

Trojans head coach Scott Morton recognised the importance of the win.

He said: “It was important that we built on the last victory over these opponents to create some consistency. We need to concede fewer goals as that will help us win more games.”

Both sides started the match with attacking intent but Trojans had the first real opening of note. D’Andre Wainwright held off Zuhri Burgess with good strength and found Justin Corday in space on the left side. Corday drove a low cross towards Wainwright, who had continued his run to the back post but the striker could not get a strong connection on his finish.

Parish would punish Trojans’ lack of clinical edge minutes later after a strong pattern of play through midfield.

Jordan Outerbridge played in Macquille Walker, who finished past Jade Morrissey at the second attempt after the goalkeeper made a good reflex save from his initial effort.

Just before half-time Parish should have doubled their lead. Walker held off Coolidge Durham and weighted his through pass for Kion Knights perfectly, but Morrissey made two additional stops before the Trojans defence cleared their lines.

Trojans adjusted their game plan, which coincided with Justin Corday being replaced by Enrique Mendes. The tactical switch, which saw them revert to a 4-3-1-2 formation, made an important difference to their fightback just before the hour.

The Trojans midfield passed through the lines to great effect for the equaliser when Makai Joell found captain Jeze Butterfield in a pocket of space in the attacking third. The skipper, in turn, saw Mendes on the edge of the box. The substitute enticed defender Quincy Glasford into a poor challenge in the penalty area and referee Anthony Francis pointed to the spot. Wainwright stepped up, and coolly dispatched the spot-kick into the far corner, sending goalkeeper Nigel Burgess the wrong way.

Minutes later, the hosts took the lead through another decent move, which Mendes started from a deeper playmaking position. He played a simple forward pass for Simeon Burrows, who played a beautiful one-two with Butterfield before whipping his cross in the direction of Wainwright. Goalkeeper Burgess appeared to have it covered, but he could not grasp it cleanly, and it slipped through his gloves and over the goal-line.

The home side were caught between two minds in their approach to the final half-hour, but largely allowed Parish to keep the ball around midfield and in their defence. They did create a few clear-cut openings for the equaliser in the final stages, notably when Shayne Hollis played a beautiful ball for Knights to finish but he smashed his effort over the bar.

Morrissey made his best contribution of the night moments later, making saves from Hollis and Shakeem Albouy before the final effort by Quinn Outerbridge on the edge of the area flew wide of his near post.

Trojans could have closed out the victory just before the end of normal time. Ming started the attack with a strong tackle before Joell found Burrows, who squared for Wainwright but he struck wide from about 20 yards out.

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans 2

Wainwright 57 pen, Burgess 61 OG

Hamilton Parish 1

Walker 14

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-2-3-1): J Morrissey 7 – D Ming 7, Jaz Ratteray-Smith 6, C Durham 5, Jaiden Ratteray-Smith 6 – M Joell 6 (sub: J Shields, 87min), K Joyiens 5 (sub: D Swan, 83) – J Butterfield 6, J Corday 6 (sub: E Mendes, 46 7), S Burrows 6 – D Wainwright 7. Substitutes not used: K McNeil, M Aden, Z Saltus-Seymour. Booked: Butterfield, Mendes, Ming.

Hamilton Parish (4-2-3-1): N Burgess 5 – K Wade 6, Q Outerbridge 5, J Bean 5, Q Glasford 4 (sub: C Castle, 59 5) – Z Burgess 5, J Outerbridge 6 – S Albuoy 6, S Hollis 6, K Knights 6 – M Walker 5. Substitutes not used: J Steede, S McKittrick, S Burgess, E Furbert, K Richardson. Booked: J Outerbridge.

Referee: A Francis