Hamilton Parish 1 Somerset Trojans 2

Somerset Trojans earned themselves a sixteenth Friendship Trophy final appearance after defeating Hamilton Parish 2-1 at Southampton Oval yesterday.

A hotly disputed, late penalty awarded to Somerset by referee Anthony Francis, which was converted by Trojans captain Jaz Ratteray-Smith, proved the difference in a match that was largely controlled by Parish.

“It was just about maintaining composure in the moment,” Ratteray-Smith said.

“Guys have a tendency to get rushed and allow the adrenalin to get the better of them, so I had to calm myself down and focus.”

While the chagrin exhibited at game’s end by Parish was understandable, they had no one to blame but themselves after failing to convert first-half dominance into tangible reward, with a lack of finishing prowess demonstrated all too often.

Parish should have taken the lead in the seventh minute, when a quickly taken free kick saw Tre Burgess feed Samario Valasse-Paul on the left flank, with the latter sending in an inch-perfect cross to Che Lindo, who glanced his header straight into the arms of goalkeeper Nekenge Durham.

Ten minutes later, Valasse-Paul was left shaking his head in disbelief after having surged into the box and curling his right-foot shot around an advancing Durham, only to have Ratteray-Smith clear the goalbound effort off the line.

Despite the applied pressure Somerset took an unlikely lead in the 33rd minute, largely due to an inadequately erected wall and poor positioning by Parish custodian Nigel Burgess.

Paris Robinson, alert to both factors, which left a gaping path to the far corner, needed nothing fancier than a simple side-footed shot from 20 yards to give his side the lead.

The advantage remained until the 65th minute, when Parish equalised. With acres of space deep in Trojans territory, Diego Richardson slipped the ball inside to Burgess, who tapped in from close range, setting up for Ratteray-Smith’s late winner.

Ratteray-Smith was well aware of how Parish had manhandled Somerset in a 2-0 league win recently and was determined that they not be allowed to have their way this time around.

“It was a good game, a hard-fought match, where they came at us hard, but in the end we worked harder and got the result,” he said.

“We knew that they would come out and put their best foot forward due to it being a cup game and everybody wants to win that.

“This game shows that, even as a young group of guys, we can do it if we apply ourselves and work hard.

“Cup games tend to bring us together and bring out our best. We just need to now transfer that form to league games.”

Somerset coach Jensen Rogers echoed the comments of his captain, noting how he had anticipated an all-out effort from a Parish outfit seeking a second final appearance.

“We analysed the last match against Parish, when they were really physical and we helped them by making some immature mistakes,” he said. “Today was about whether we could limit our mistakes and be up for the battle.

“We knew that it was going to be a tough, physical match, but also we knew that we had guys back and it would be an intense battle.”

Parish assistant coach Larry Smith gave kudos to Somerset, noting how his team had given their all and simply come up short.

“Both teams had good opportunities to score,” said Smith, who previously played for and coached Somerset.

“It was an ebb-and-flow match and at the end of the day Somerset were the winner.

“I don’t criticise referees, so whether it was a penalty or not is none of my business.

“The referee said it was a penalty and if the referee said it was then that’s what it was and they won on the basis of converting the kick.

“We don’t know what might have happened if it had gone into overtime, but what we do know is that we played as well as we could and Somerset put up a good battle.”

Somerset now turn their attention to the other semi-final involving North Village and holders PHC today at Devonshire Recreation Club (9pm).

Somerset are tied with Village, both having recorded 11 final successes, while Zebras have claimed a record 13 titles.

“They’re both quality sides,” said Rogers. “PHC and North Village are like us in having been to the Friendship final a great number of times.

“We’ll start preparing for both and will see the result they have tomorrow and we’ll then gear our preparation for the winner and go from there.

“It’s not a preference thing, but a matter of what we can do and what we bring to the game. It’s going to be tough either way.”

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans: Robinson 33, Jaz Ratteray-Smith 87

Hamilton Parish: Z Burgess 65.

TEAMS

Hamilton Parish (4-3-3): N Burgess 5 – M Hill 6, M Turner 6, T Burgess 6, J Commissiong 6 – Z Burgess 7, N Brockington 6, D Richardson 6 (sub: Q Outerbridge, 69min 5) – S Valasse-Paul 6 (sub: Jutorre Burgess, 46 5), C Lindo 6 (sub: G Burgess, 46 5), K Knights 6. Substitutes not used: K Trott, A Nelson, Jordan Burgess, C Smith. Booked: Richardson.

Somerset Trojans (4-3-2-1): N Durham 7 — Jaz Ratteray-Smith 7, M Eve 5 (sub: M Henry, 41 6), M Tear-Deleon 6 (sub: S Tatem, 46 5), T Outerbridge 6 – Jaden Ratteray-Smith 6, J Shields 6 (sub: J Powell, 69 5), P Robinson 6 – K Cann 6 (sub: E Mendes, 82), R Russell 6 – H Eve 5 (sub: J Greaves, 69 5). Substitutes not used: K McNeil, C Durham.

Referee: A Francis.