Dandy Town 3 Somerset Trojans 1

Substitute Cecoy Robinson scored and provided an assist as ten-men Dandy Town came from behind to beat relegation-threatened Somerset Trojans at Goose Gosling Field on Sunday.

Striker Haile Eve gave Trojans the lead early in the second half against the run of play and Town’s task got harder when midfielder Ajai Daniels was shown a straight red card for using abusive language and/or gestures with 15 minutes left to play.

Defender Daniel Cook equalised for Town just nine minutes from the end before additional strikes from forwards Ereico Outerbridge and Robinson four minutes apart completed their impressive fightback.

Referee Tashun Simons had a busy afternoon as he dished out a plethora of yellow cards to players and coaching staff in addition to Daniels’s late sending off.

Tempers flared throughout with opposing players having to be separated and Trojans pair Micah Eve and Jaellan Greaves also had to be kept apart when an argument broke out between them after Outerbridge put Town ahead 2-1.

Greaves and Eve were both booked for their quarrel, while Trojans goalscorer Haile Eve saw yellow for leaving the pitch without the referee’s permission in the 90th minute.

However, after all was said and done on the pitch, Town coach Scott Morton was delighted to come away with the result that steered his team farther away from the relegation zone.

“Personally, I don’t focus on points, I focus on performances,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“I understand the position we’re in so we needed the points, but the performance was what was key for me and I enjoyed what they did.”

As for his team’s resilience to push through adversity, he added: “I am glad it went that way because you get to learn more about your players when things are not going so well.

“That’s the mentality I am looking for to help the team grow; to be able to see them in difficult situations then help them grow and progress well into the game.

“It’s how your team responds to those challenging moments and I am pleased with the effort they gave and the belief.

“I’m Disappointed in some of the unnecessary frustrations that they showed, but we’ll work with that.”

Morton also hailed the huge impact substitute Robinson made coming off the bench.

“Cecoy has experience and because I had him before at PHC he understands what I am looking for,” he said.

“He has the experience as a coach [Bermuda under-20] also to be able to get the information across to the players a lot better and I appreciate everything everybody brings.”

Trojans suffered an early setback when left back Michari Tear-Deleon went off hurt but pressed on with striker Eve blowing the first clear-cut opportunity of the match when he blasted over from inside the area after being played through by forward Kenyi Mills.

Lightning then struck twice for Trojans as midfielder Tahzeiko Harris was injured while clearing the ball of the boot of Town striker Tomiko Goater in the box and also had to replaced.

Town pair Cook and Lazai Outerbridge both tested Trojans goalkeeper Yizharyah Williams as the teams remained deadlocked at the interval.

Town came out swinging at the start of the second half but were unable to capitalise as Goater missed a sitter, while Cook’s inviting cross went untouched across the goalmouth.

Those squandered opportunities came back to haunt Town when Eve tapped in Mills’s low cross to make amends for his earlier miss and give Trojans an unexpected lead.

Both teams created chances as the game opened up before Cook equalised for Town. The left back gained possession just outside of the box and kept his composure as he slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Outerbridge then popped up with an equally clam finish inside the area after Robinson intercepted a pass deep in Trojans’ half and picked out his fellow forward.

Robinson, back on island after the Concacaf Under-20 Championship Qualifier in St Kitts & Nevis, then made the points safe when he tapped in Goater’s cross from close range.

Trojans coach Jensen Rogers, who also served on Bermuda’s coaching staff at the recent Concacaf Under-20 Qualifier, said his team were the orchestrators of their own demise.

“We did it to ourselves but hats off to Town, they fought right until the final whistle,” he said.

“For some reason in the last ten minutes we couldn’t control our emotions, made some uncharacteristic mistakes and Town punished us for it.

“We had chance after chance to put the game away and we didn’t take it. So I would say were made to pay for our emotions, missed chances and uncharacteristic mistakes that we made.”

SCORERS

Dandy Town: Cook, 81; Outerbridge, 90; Robinson, 90+4

Somerset Trojans: Eve, 51

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-1-4-1): A Harvey 7 – D Cook 7, M Issac 7, E Moore 7, A Furbert 7 – A Daniels 7 – L Outerbridge 7, J Bean Lindo 7, D Ming 7 (sub: C Robinson, 63min 7), E Outerbridge 7 – T Goater 7. Substitutes not used: E Blankendal, Dakayo Leverock, K Brangman, Dante Leverock, K Sharrieff-Hayward. Booked: Issac, Cook, Daniels, Bean Lindo. Sent off: Daniels.

Somerset Trojans ( 4-1-4-1): Y Williams 7 – M Tear- Deleon (sub: M Eve, 21 7), M Nisbett- Tankard 7, P Robinson 7, T Laziah 7 – C Durham 6 (sub: J Greaves, 46 7) – K Mills 7, T Harris 7 (sub: J Shields, 45 7), Jadan Ratteray- Smith 7 (sub: K Cann, 79)), K McNeil 7 (sub: Jaz Ratteray-Smith, 79) – H Eve 7, Substitutes not used: J Powell, J Simmons, Kameron McNeil. Booked: Haile Eve, Jadan Ratteray-Smith, Robinson, Micah Eve, Greaves.

Referee: T Simons.