Devonshire Cougars 3 Somerset Trojans 6

Somerset Trojans scored three times in injury time to seal a dramatic victory today away to Devonshire Cougars in one of the most bizarre finishes to a match this season.

Leading 2-0 in the first half after goals by Jadan Ratteray-Smith, Somerset found themselves trailing 3-2 early in the second period when Cougars netted twice in the space of four minutes soon after captain Moses Steede missed a penalty.

When Ratteray-Smith completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute, Trojans were relieved to back level and possibly sharing the points.

However, nine minutes of added time because second-half injuries, left the game wide open up as Somerset penetrated the Cougars defence three more times to reclaim the lead and then go on to their biggest win of the campaign.

“We managed to focus for the whole game to get the best result possible,” said captain Trevin Ming, who conceded the second-half penalty when he fouled Allan Douglas.

“I would say it was the best performance we’ve had this season because we were able to score six goals. We hardly ever score a lot of goals, so it was good we got to tick off a bunch of boxes.”

Cougars, looking to take over second place, started a few youngsters in defence because of the absence of key players.

“We beat them the first time [3-2] so it gave us confidence that we could do it again,” Ming added. .

“We knew they were missing some of their name defenders, so we put speed up against them and were able to get behind them. Jadan did well; he’s very composed in the box. He scored some good goals.”

Ratteray-Smith opened the scoring after being slid a pass by Ming to steer his shot past goalkeeper Kioshi Trott.

Somerset were the better team in the first half and went close to doubling their lead when Justin Corday got through on the left before Trott blocked his effort at the near post.

Two minutes later Corday went close again, this time Vernon Perinchief’s neat back-heel set him up but his curling shot was just wide. Somerset found the second goal a minute later when Ratteray-Smith lobbed the ball over Trott who was caught off his line.

Cougars responded immediately when Moses Steede curled a free kick from 22 yards into the top corner. A miss from the penalty spot by Steede five minutes into the second half proved costly, the midfielder smashing his kick against the crossbar.

Cougars struck back in the 52nd and 56th minutes to lead for the first time. Full back Lovintz Tota scored for the second straight home match when his shot went through the hands of goalkeeper Yizharyah Williams.

Four minutes later the home team scored again as Somerset started to look shaky at the back. Mark Steede played the ball towards the box for Douglas to place his shot past the goalkeeper.

Trott injured himself while making a good save from a Corday volley and the game was held up for a few minutes while the goalkeeper received treatment. Trott was then left exposed by his defence as the Trojans netted four late goals to seal the win.

Ratteray-Smith completed his hat-trick to make it 3-3 when a cross from the right by his brother Jaz was not cleared. Somerset’s three substitutes all featured in the final three goals.

Corday scored in the first minute of injury time after Leo Burgess set up the chance with a run down the left before crossing into the middle.

Zarion Darrell and Evan Heyliger, who came on as late substitutes, then scored in the eighth and ninth minutes of injury time to make certain of the points that keep Somerset in the hunt for a Dudley Eve spot.

“We weren’t just looking to stay up but to try to make it into the Dudley Eve for next year,” Ming added. “This win eases up the pressure and now we can be more relaxed.”

TEAMS

Devonshire Cougars: K Trott — C Brangman (sub: S Jones 34min), D Simmons, Z Simmons, L Tota, N Carmichael (sub: J Smith, 46), N Simmons, Moses Steede, J Mouchette, A Douglas (sub: C Hardtman, 71), Mark Steede. Substitutes not used:

J Wade, L Thomas. Booked: N Simmons.

Somerset Trojans: Y Williams — R Quinn, C Durham, T Ming, H Butterfield, J Corday, Jadan Ratteray-Smith, M Joell, M Jones (sub: L Burgess, 73), V Perinchief (sub: Z Darrell, 85), Jaz Ratteray-Smith (sub: E Heyliger, 90+7).

Referee: M Wyer.