Dandy Town 2 Somerset Eagles 2

Somerset Eagles settled the title race for North Village by taking a point off Dandy Town, but failure to hold on to a late lead clearly hurt them more than their opponents last night at Goose Gosling Field.

Needing a win to climb out of the bottom two, Eagles held their own in an entertaining match, coming from a goal down and taking the lead with 21 minutes to go.

However, Town netted in the 89th minute to deny Eagles a third win over them this season.

Nathan Rego was outstanding for Eagles, scoring both goals after Town took a twelfth-minute lead through Clay Darrell’s left-footed shot from close range.

The lead did not last long, however, with Rego equalising four minutes later when he chased a through ball down the middle.

Bravery saw him beat the advancing goalkeeper Treadwell Gibbons to the ball before steering it into an empty goal.

Eagles almost took the lead two minutes after the restart when fullback Shentoine Lambert grazed the crossbar with his long-range shot.

At the other end, a free kick from Angelo Simmons from the edge of the box was tipped over the bar by the Eagles goalkeeper.

Eagles took the lead for the first time in the 69th minute when Rego’s cross from the right was deflected over the line by a Town defender. Referee Anthony Francis confirmed the goal had been credited to Rego.

However, late pressure by Town finally paid off as Eagles could not hold on to their slim lead, with midfielder Judah Chapman converting a cross from defender Seion Darrell to keep Eagles in the bottom two.

Pride was salvaged by Town, but the point was not enough to keep them in the title race as they cannot now catch Village with two games remaining.

SCORERS

Dandy Town

Darrell 12, Chapman 89

Somerset Eagles

Rego 16, 69

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-3-3): T Gibbons — A Furbert, S Darrell, J Johnson, E Blankendal — J Chapman, J Amory (sub: M Parsons, 80), J Furbert — C Darrell (sub: M Aden, 82), A Simmons, K Steede. Substitutes not used: J Rosser, L Emery, N Smith, E Swan, T Lowe.

Somerset Eagles (4-4-2): L Lambert — S Lambert, K Evans, G Smith, M Iris-Simmons — T Eve, E Fubler (sub: J Ratteray, 77), A Telford, R Woodley-Smith (sub: D Simmons, 77) — N Rego, T Wade. Substitutes not used: R Ford, C Madeiros, J Rumley, C Smith.

Referee: A Francis.