Deunte Darrell and Sean Brangman both scored twice as Somerset Trojans clinched their tenth Friendship Trophy title yesterday at the National Sports Centre, dedicating their victory to former midfielder Jahi Simmons who died in October at just 24.

Hamilton Parish went into the match looking for their first major trophy after three straight Shield titles, but the team that worked so hard for their semi-final victory over holders Devonshire Cougars last Friday never showed up to play.

They allowed Trojans to run out comfortable winners after turning a narrow one-goal lead at the half into a 3-0 advantage early in the second half after two errors by goalkeeper Che Clarke.

And when Parish regrouped to pull a goal back soon after, Brangman struck again for the Trojans 12 minutes from the end to seal their win and make amends for their 3-0 loss to Cougars in the FA Cup. Now they are the new holders of one of the three titles that Cougars won last season.

“It wasn’t an easy game, we had to stay focused and we knew they could come back and score goals,” Trevin Ming, the Somerset captain, said.

“We knew about the [ten] victories and we also haven’t been defeated for a while, so we wanted to keep that up. Our main thing was not to concede, but unfortunately they did score that one goal. This is an incentive for us to carry on doing what we’re doing.

“It’s a long season, so everybody plays a part: from the bench to the coaches to the starting 11. We dedicate this win to Jahi Simmons; we wore the black armbands for him today and we’re going to dedicate the whole season to him, too.”

Darrell, more known for his cricketing exploits with Willow Cuts, produced a clinical piece of finishing to open the scoring for Somerset in the seventeenth minute when he met a cross from the right by Trae Harvey and drove his first time shot into the far bottom corner of Clarke’s goal.

Hamilton Parish fans came out in numbers to support their team in their second major final, waving flags before the start in expectation of a bigger celebration to follow.

But the performance on the field did not live up to expectations, as Somerset did most of the attacking in the first half. Ming, unmarked at the far post, met a Darrell free kick inside the box but put his header wide midway through the half. Somerset did put the ball in the net a second time minutes later, but the effort by Leo Simmons was ruled out for a foul by Simmons on a Parish defender.

Somerset could easily have been three goals up by half-time. Brangman went close with a header from 15 yards after spotting Clarke out of position. Seconds later at the other end, Shayne Hollis caught Shaquille Bean off his line but his effort from 30 yards dropped just over the bar.

Simmons then had a glaring miss in the final minute of the half when Darrell’s through-ball presented a scoring chance on a platter, but he shot straight at a relieved Clarke.

Two Clarke errors early in the second half virtually sealed the match to help put the Trojans up 3-0. Harvey supplied another cross from the right in the 52nd minute and, when Clarke let the ball slip out of his hands above his head, Brangman was waiting behind him at the far post to accept a belated Christmas gift.

Within seven minutes, Clarke’s jitters put paid for Parish. The second-choice goalkeeper, playing in place of Nigel Burgess, failed to hold a shot from Jaz Ratteray-Smith and Darrell was quick to pounce and drive the ball home from an acute angle.

Three goals down and seemingly without a prayer, Parish suddenly found the spark that had eluded them beforehand.

Hollis raced through before smashing a shot just wide in the 64th minute. Two minutes later, they pulled a goal back when Ian Coke scrambled the ball over the line, the assistant referee confirming it had done so despite the desperate efforts of Bean, the Somerset goalkeeper.

But there would be no dramatic fightback for Parish, as Somerset regained their three-goal advantage in the 78th minute when Brangman scored his second goal with a shot from outside the box that found the bottom corner despite a desperate dive from Clarke.

Darrell and Brangman went close with late chances to seal their hat-tricks, the latter after substitute Justin Donawa crossed from the right. Clarke again fumbled and Brangman headed the rebound wide.

“We didn’t get off to the best possible start and conceded some sloppy goals,” Kieshon Smith, the Parish coach, said. “I wish we had Nigel today. We can’t win big games like this without our No?1 goalkeeper, which gives us confidence.”

Smith admitted that he was disappointed for the fans who came out to support the team. “At least they know what we have and it is important for them to keep supporting us because we are just back up in the Premier Division and are still new to this [cup finals],” he said. “We showed we can get here and now we just have to move forward from here.

“You can’t win them all but we put ourselves in a position to win a major trophy and that is something we can take pride from. But three of the four goals were just not good enough from us.”

Smith is hoping to have Burgess back for Saturday night’s game when Parish travel west to meet the Trojans in a league encounter.