North Village 3 Somerset Trojans 2

Ten-man North Village staged a dramatic late fightback to condemn Somerset Trojans to relegation and keep themselves in pole position in the title race.

With relegation rivals Young Men’s Social Club losing 3-2 away to Hamilton Parish, Trojans found themselves five minutes away from securing their Premier Division status after two goals in the space of a minute from Kymani McNeil and Rio Russell cancelled out Jaylen Harvey’s opener.

But as the game ticked into additional time, Village, who had Tarreko Wilson sent off in the 78th minute, fought back with Kyler Knights levelling before Harvey headed home a last-gasp winner, sealing Trojans’ fate and keeping his side a point clear of PHC ahead of a title showdown on Tuesday evening.

“Unfortunately we did it to ourselves,” said Trojans’ head coach Jensen Rogers on his side’s late capitulation.

“We put ourselves in the position to do what was needed and do our part and then we throw it away.

“Throughout the entire match, Village could not find a way to break us down and all three of their goals came from set pieces. It’s heartbreaking as we’ve fought back from behind and got to injury time still leading and then that happens.

“For a lot of them this is their first time playing at this level and those crucial moments of lapses in concentration are punished.

“There’s a lot of emotions we’re all feeling right now, but hopefully there are some harsh lessons learnt from this and this young group stay together, grow and bounce straight back.

“They’re a tight-knit group and will have each other’s back. They know they have shown that they’re good enough to play in this division against the best and so there is no reason why they can’t come back.”

Village broke the deadlock in the 12th minute when Harvey climbed highest to head home Daion Swan-Desilva’s pinpoint corner from the left-hand side.

The home side then spurned two further opportunities with Swan-DeSilva and Jai Bean both failing to truly test Trojans’ goalkeeper Yizharyah Williams before Trojans turned the game on its head with two goals in a minute.

The first came in the 40th minute when Jadan Ratteray-Smith robbed Liam Evans of possession in midfield before feeding Kenyi Shields into the area, who in turn slipped the ball to Kymani McNeil to emphatically finish into the bottom left corner.

With Village still reeling from the setback, Trojans struck again almost immediately as Jaire Shields burst into the right side of the area before picking out an unmarked Russell, who took a touch at the back post and slotted past Andrew Kempe.

Trojans went agonisingly close to extending their lead ten minutes after the restart when Mills’s driven low effort flew narrowly past Kempe’s left post.

Trojans were handed a further boost in the 78th minute when Village were reduced to ten men. Having taken a poor touch and been robbed of possession by Kymani McNeil, Wilson hauled the forward down as the bore down on goal, leaving referee Timothy Derry no choice but to brandish a red card.

Despite the numerical disadvantage it was Village who finished with a flourish, wrestling momentum back as they continued to pour forward.

As the clock ticked into additional time the prolonged period of pressure finally told as Knights levelled, bundling home from substitute Troy Tucker’s inswinging corner from the left.

Just as the match looked to be heading for a draw that neither side really wanted, Village snatched all three points.

Trojans were undone once more by an inability to defend a corner as Tucker’s delivery, again from the left, found Harvey to head home what could prove a vital winner.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations among the Village players and coaching staff, while in stark contrast Trojans’ players and staff were left to face the reality of relegation.

“That just speaks to the never-say-die character of this team,” said Village coach Kenny Thompson. “Trojans gave their all, showed a hell of a lot of spirit. We knew we were going to face a side fighting for their lives.

“They made it really difficult for us and while I’m obviously delighted with the result, I can only sympathise with them because they played extremely well.”

SCORERS

North Village: J Harvey 12, 90+4, K Knights 90+1

Somerset Trojans: Kymani McNeil 40, R Russell 41.

TEAMS

North Village (4-5-1): A Kempe 6 – L Steede 6 (sub: T Williams, 71min), K Knights 7, T Fray 6, J Harvey 8 – K Harrison 6, L Evans 6 (sub: T Tucker, 76), T Wilson 6, T Ming 7 (sub: J Smith-Deshields 71), D Swan DeSilva 8 – J Bean 6 (sub: D Wainwright, 84). Substitutes not used: D Bell, A Tankard-DeShields, S Spence. Sent off: Wilson.

Somerset Trojans (4-5-1): Y Williams 6 – T Cariah 6, C Durham 6, P Robinson 7, Kameron McNeil 7 – Kymani McNeil 8, Rio Russell 7 (sub: K Cann, 74), Jadan Ratteray-Smith 7, T Harris 6, J Shields 7 (sub: D Arruda, 62 6) – K Mills 7. Substitutes not used: J Powell, E Mendes, J Greaves, Jaz Ratteray-Smith. Booked: Shields, Arruda, Cariah.

Referee: T Derry (Trinidad)