Somerset Trojans 1

K Brown 41 (pen)

Southampton Rangers 0

Southampton Rangers welcomed Janeiro Tucker and Dion Stovell back from international cricket duty, but still came out losers in a match in which they looked the more threatening for long periods at Somerset Cricket Club on Saturday night.

Tucker and Stovell led the Rangers attack in a line-up that contained five changes from the starting team that lost to Flanagan’s Onions last weekend. The changes promised to reap rewards as Rangers looked the more dangerous team in the first half as Tucker, Stovell and the lively Reggie Lowe kept the Trojans defence busy with some fluent early moves.

However, it was the home team who scored the night’s only goal four minutes before the break when defender Shaun Williams was blown down by referee Anthony Mouchette for a handball as he covered Kirk Brown in the box. Brown took the spot-kick himself, sending Jason Smith the wrong way to put the home team on the way to victory. Before that it was virtually all Rangers, as they had their first chance after just four minutes when Stovell sent Tucker through and his shot from the right corner of the penalty box was turned around the far post by Shaquille Bean in the Somerset goal.

Captain Vernon Perinchief, who had a quiet night by his standards in the Rangers midfield, went close with a long-range free kick on the half-hour mark as Rangers continued to look the more threatening.

The penalty was all that could separate the teams, with Somerset holding on to the lead owing to some solid defending, as Rangers injected Jahkai Dyer in as a substitute for Demarlo Curtis early in the second half and switched to three up front. A turn and shot from Tucker brought off a reflex save from the goalkeeper, as Rangers continued to press for the equaliser. Then he failed to connect with a free header when well placed inside the box after a long ball into the area by Kemon Simmons from a free kick.

Against the run of play, Somerset had strong claims for a penalty turned away by Mouchette when Brown went over in the box from a challenge from Williams.

Mouchette, who had a busy night with his notebook, booked four players from each team, including Perinchief and Leo Burgess, the Somerset substitute, for an incident in the 69th minute when the former was dispossessed by Burgess and then tripped him in frustration, leading to a brief coming together.

The three points was Somerset’s fifth in nine outings and lifted them ahead of Devonshire Cougars and into second place in the standings going into the Christmas break. Rangers remain sixth.

A minute’s silence was observed at the start of every match organised by the Bermuda Football Association on the weekend as a mark of respect to Nelson Mandela, the former South Africa President, who died on Thursday.

Somerset Trojans (4-4-2): S Bean — S Fubler, T Ming, D Benjamin, D Lister — A Trott, S Brangman, T Harvey, V Blanchette — A Burrows (sub: L Burgess, 61min), K Brown (sub: D Swan, 69). Substitutes not used: T Brown, G Smith, M Joell, A Seaman. Booked: Fubler, K Brown, Burgess, Blanchette.

Southampton Rangers (4-4-2): J Smith — A Raynor, S Williams, K Simmons, M Tankard — V Perinchief, W Clemons, R Lowe (sub: E Stoneham, 75), D Curtis (sub: J Dyer, 55) — D Stovell, J Tucker. Substitutes not used: D Richardson, J Charles, A Bean, M Lowe. Booked: Smith, Perinchief, Tucker, Stoneham.

Referee: A Mouchette.