Somerset Trojans 3 Dandy Town 1

Somerset Trojans registered their first league win of the campaign with victory over Dandy Town at Somerset Cricket Club on Saturday.

Haile Eve broke the deadlock in the opening ten minutes for Trojans only for Angelo Simmons to level shortly after.

However, second-half goals in the space of ten minutes after the hour mark from Jahkari Furbert and Jaden Ratteray-Smith ensured the hosts claimed all three points.

“I saw a mature approach from a very young team,” said Trojans’ head coach Jensen Rogers. “We stuck to our game plan, the discipline was there, we matched the fight we knew Town were going to give us.

“It will certainly bring confidence. We must continue to put in the work and be competitive every match.”

Somerset started on the front foot, pressing Town high up the field.

The opening goal stemmed from their aggressive nature in the early stages, with Jaden Ratteray-Smith stealing the ball from Town defender Mateo Isaac in their defensive half. He played forward for Dejon Bean, who slipped Haile Eve to finish low past goalkeeper Azir Harvey.

Town responded confidently and equalised from a beautiful move through midfield as Tomiko Goater picked out Cecoy Robinson, who in turn played in Angelo Simmons to slot the ball past Yizharyah Williams.

The remainder of the first half became a battle of attrition, with neither side taking true control of the tempo or territory, amid a very physical and even battle in midfield.

The opening minutes of the second half followed a similar pattern, though both sides showed far more attacking intent.

Trojans had a bit more composure and efficiency about their forward play and regained the lead on the hour mark. Jahkari Furbert, drove into the area and was brought down by Quayan Watson leaving referee Stefan Maybury no choice but to award a penalty.

Furbert stepped up and tried to place the penalty high into the near post, but goalkeeper Harvey saved it. However, the goalkeeper had been judged to have been off his goal line by Maybury, and the kick had to be retaken. Furbert went to the opposite corner this time with a low, hard effort that sent Harvey the wrong way.

Trojans gained a two-goal cushion eight minutes later as Eve cut the ball back for Jiriko Powell to pick out skipper Jaden Ratteray-Smith, who fired a driven effort past Harvey.

Trojans continued to pour forward and came close to adding a fourth late on as Robinson’s fierce effort beat Harvey, but no the upright, with his effort crashing back off the crossbar.

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans: Eve 8, Furbert 60, Ratteray-Smith 68

Dandy Town: Simmons 12

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-2-3-1): Y Williams 6 – M Eve 6, J Shields 7, M Tear-Deleon 6, M Nisbett-Tankard 6 – J Ratteray-Smith 6, P Robinson 5 – J Furbert 6 (sub: C Durham 89), J Powell 6 (sub: Z Brown 87), D Bean 5 (sub: J Greaves 81) – H Eve 6 (sub: E Mendes 81). Substitutes not used: R Russell, K McNeil, J Simmons; Booked: Shields, Eve, Tear-Deleon

Dandy Town (4-3-3): A Harvey 6 – E Outerbridge 5, D Leverock 5, E Moore 5, M Isaac 4 – Q Watson 5 (sub: D Butterfield 61 4), T Goater 5, A Simmons 6 – K Sharieff-Hayward 5 (sub: K Brangman 70), C Robinson 6, A Daniels 5. Substitutes not used: D Simons, G Liburd, T Smith, J Bailey; Booked: Watson, Isaac

Referee: S Maybury