Somerset Trojans 1

St George’s Colts 1

Jarreau Hayward scored twice as St George’s grabbed a valuable point in their fight to avoid relegation.

Hayward, the St George’s defender, put the ball into his own net five minutes before half-time, but made amends minutes later when he rose highest at a corner and headed his side level at Somerset Cricket Club last night.

Somerset Trojans, meanwhile, created few chances of their own and might count themselves fortunate not to have suffered an embarrassing defeat.

Only a glaring miss by Javazinho Bassett, who fired wide from six yards out ten minutes from time, spared their blushes.

The draw leaves Trojans top of the Premier Division, but they did little last night to suggest that they are worthy of serious consideration as title contenders. Hamilton Parish, who play on Monday night, and PHC, who face Dandy Town tomorrow, are only a point behind.

St George’s, meanwhile, who play seven of their remaining eight games at home, can enter the second half of the season with renewed optimism after a performance where they were largely the better team.

“That was a good point for us,” Kameron Fox, the St George’s coach, said. “We’ve been working hard for it [a good result], and we came close a couple of times and it’s getting there. We’ll take it as a positive and move forwards.

“We’ve only got one more away game, at North Village, and if you look at our record at home, Wellington Oval is no easy field for teams to come to.”

The outcome of last night’s game might have been different if Trojans had been able to make the most of a couple of chances that came their way in the first 20 minutes, but Leo Burgess, Antoine Seaman and Jensen Rogers all squandered good opportunities to score.

Of the three, Rogers’s miss was the worst, the right back got free in the area when the St George’s defence fell asleep but fired his shot straight at goalkeeper Zeko Burgess.

St George’s seemed content to sit back and soak up the Somerset pressure, such as it was, although Ernest Signor did force Shaquille Bean, the Somerset goalkeeper, to make a couple of smart saves with shots from distance.

Bean had a rough night, all in all. Clattered in a 50-50 challenge inside his area by Bassett midway through the first half, he received lengthy treatment for a thigh injury and was substituted at the break, by which time the damage was done.

His inability to jump for crosses allowed Hayward to equalise moments before half-time.

The St George’s defender will have been grateful for the opportunity to redeem himself after his miskick gave Somerset the lead. The most joy Trojans had all evening was through the attacking runs of Tahj Wade down the left, and he got the better of Greg Wade, the St George’s right back for most of the game.

On one such occasion he skipped past Wade, fired the ball across the face of goal and Hayward’s attempted clearance only resulted in the ball striking his standing leg and rolling gently into the back of his own net.

The second half was much the same as the first, with chances at a premium on a wet night when even standing upright appeared a challenge for a few of the players.

Maccai Simmons, the St George’s striker, hit a post with a free kick and Bassett headed over from a corner as the visiting side grew in confidence as the game wore on. Bassett should have grabbed all three points for Fox’s side, he did everything right in getting clear of the Somerset defence on the edge of the area and controlling a lovely pass from Mitchell Tucker, but he fired his shot wide when it would have been easier to score.

Despite being second best for much of the game, Trojans still might have won it at the death when Wade got free at the back post, but his shot from inside the area was deflected just inches wide of the St George’s goal.