Devonshire Colts 1 Somerset Eagles 2

Somerset Eagles capitalised on poor decision-making to keep themselves in the hunt for Premier Division survival with a vital win over Devonshire Colts at Police Field yesterday.

The first half was a scrappy affair with neither side managing to take control of the tempo. The hosts, despite dominating possession, failed to deliver the killer pass or finish against a decent Eagles defence.

Their best opportunities came from set pieces, most notably a corner which was beautifully whipped in by Dezion Davis towards Michael Williams, who nudged it towards goal forcing Khimo Harrison into a goal line clearance.

Eagles created their best first half opportunity from a corner as well, with Marcus Simmons’s driven pass glanced just wide by Kieran Evans midway through the first half.

The West End side eventually opened the scoring from a lapse of concentration in midfield, which came about as the hosts were knocking the ball around before Shakir Smith stole possession and sprinted into space before firing past Jahniko Francis at the near post.

Minutes after the goal, Colts had to replace Francis following a mid-air collision with Harrison as the two challenged for an Eagles corner kick.

Just before the hour mark, the visitors doubled their advantage when a lovely lofted ball by Simmons was flicked on by Smith to Hubert Butterfield, who controlled nicely before lobbing substitute goalkeeper Juran Tucker from just inside the box.

Pushing to get back into the game, the home side ramped up the pressure. Their best opportunity within that spell came when they worked the ball around through midfield before Zuhri Burgess found Shaki Swan, only for the striker to lash his effort into the side netting.

They would cut the deficit in stoppage time from yet another corner, which was swung in by Davis from the left for Robert Urquhart to tap home from close range after a goalmouth scramble.

SCORERS

Devonshire Colts: Urquhart 90+1

Somerset Eagles: Smith 53, Butterfield 60

TEAMS

Devonshire Colts (3-4-2-1): J Francis 5 (sub: J Tucker 56min 6) – M Williams 7, L Symonds 5, K Cann 5 – C Minors 5, K Bailey 5 (sub: J Salaam 68 6), K Burch 5 (sub: F Lema 65 5), D Davis 6 – Z Burgess 5, J Paynter 5 (sub: S Swan 68 5) – T Smith 6 (sub: K Urquhart 85). Substitutes not used: J Saunders, E Weldon, T Axelsen, A Famous

Somerset Eagles (4-2-3-1): J Roberts 6 – K Astwood 6, K Evans 5, K Harrison 5, M Iris-Simmons 5 – D Joell 5, W Tucker 5 – S Smith 7, E Fubler 5 (sub: J Rogers 87), Z Smith 6– H Butterfield 6. Substitutes not used: S Lambert, J Rumley, R Saggar, A Telford

Referee: I Appleton (Antigua)