Two months after he tormented Somerset on their own ground with his cricket bat, Cup Match MVP Clay Smith almost got the Trojans' league soccer season off to a miserable start in this Coca-Cola First Division opener yesterday.

There was just a minute remaining when the St. George's substitute stepped up and bent a 25-yard free kick round the wall with a fierce drive that Somerset keeper Ricardo Tucker just managed to tip against the bar.

In the end, a draw was a fair result in this often scrappy game that left the Trojans -- who dropped three points to the east end strugglers last season -- still looking for their first goal of the season, having also drawn 0-0 with Boulevard in the Martonmere Cup in midweek.

Coach Josef Gooden rated yesterday's point an improvement over that match but for long periods his young side struggled to find any sort of rhythm against Neil Paynter's competitive St. George's side and, in the first half at least, were content to `kick and hope' rather than create any real openings.

Indeed, it was St. George's who had the better of the early chances but Jerry Laws and Melvin Simmons lacked the pace and power to make more of two breakaway chances in the first 15 minutes.

Simmons blew another chance in the 22nd minute after Somerset co-captain Andrew Rahman had given the ball away to Darrin Walker in the area but his weak shot did not trouble Tucker. Moments later, the otherwise solid Rahman again put Tucker under pressure with a poor back pass as Dean Bailey rushed in. Luckily, Tucker cleared his line for a corner.

It was 27 minutes before Somerset threatened Tucker's counterpart Troy Hall and then it was left-back Jermaine Burrows whose thundering 25-yarder dipped just over the bar.

Five minutes from halftime, Hall was at his best to turn a well-struck volley from Curtis Grant over the woodwork.

Grant almost hit the target eight minutes into the second half when he bounced a corner off the cross bar.

In the 61st minute, Tucker had to be sharp to parry Carlos Greaves' header from Walker's floated free kick and Gregg Foggo was left holding his face in disbelief after shredding the Trojans' right flank, only to fire wildly across the face of the goal.

Tucker again made a good save from Carlos Greaves in the 67th minute as he raced in to meet Laws' low cross from the right.

At the other end, Hall somehow caught a goal-bound header from Burrows after touching it onto him from Bascome's corner. Trojans' co-skipper Reggie Tucker, a tireless inspiration in midfield, and substitute Jerry Webb both put close range chances wide of the right post and in the final five minutes, Hall denied Webb, turned a dangerous Bascome cross over the bar and, after dropping the resulting corner, made a brave recovery amidst a melee of boots.

In between, Walker fired a long range effort just wide of the right post and Carlos Greaves blasted high after Tucker could only parry a cross from the right. Greaves and Foggo were both booked by referee Roddy Burchall for fouls.

Somerset: R.Tucker; J.Burrows, A.Rahman, S.Roberts, S.Riley; R.Tucker, C.Grant (L.Crofton, 80 mins), S.Arorash, P.Place; R.Scott (J.Webb 57 mins), R.Bascome.

St. George's: T.Hall; A.Todd, F.Greaves, P.Bailey, D.Bailey; C.Greaves, D.Walker, M.Outerbridge; G.Foggo, M.Simmons (S.Smith 85 mins), J.Laws (C.Smith 62 mins).

Referee: Roddy Burchall.

Men of the match: Reggie Tucker (Somerset), Troy Hall (St George's).