The Bermuda Football Association is doing something different with this weekend’s schedule, spicing up the Premier Division fixtures by introducing a “Derby Weekend”.

One of the eagerly anticipated derbies will be in the west where Somerset Trojans host Somerset Eagles, while Southampton Rangers meet PHC at Southampton Oval and the two Devonshire sides, Colts and Cougars, will clash at Police Field.

North Village and Dandy Town, who met two nights ago in the Dudley Eve Trophy semi-final, will play again on Saturday night at Goose Gosling Field. St George’s and X-Roads, who play at Garrison Field, will meet at Wellington Oval in their first derby match in the Premier Division.

Many older St Georgians have fond memories of the fierce derby matches between St George’s Colts and Wellington Rovers, who played at Garrison Field before they went out of the league in 1978, the year the Eastern Soccer League was formed.

Shannon Burgess, chairman of the competitions committee, admits this weekend’s fixtures weren’t a coincidence at all, with the same matches taking place on February 21 in the return fixtures.

“The competitions committee is constantly looking for something to crease intrigue around the season and to add a bit of spice to it,” said Burgess, a former Devonshire Colts captain who remembers the derby matches against the Cougars, when Colts’ home field was the old Frog Lane Field, which is underneath where the National Sports Centre’s North Field is now.

“Speaking with the deputy chairman, Manny Faria, we were brainstorming and came up with the decision to create a derby day, which definitely adds spice to the season, particularly now that Somerset Trojans and Somerset Eagles are both in the Premier Division. That’s always been a great rivalry, bragging rights for the western end of the island.

“You have Devonshire Colts and Devonshire Cougars also both in the Premier Division. When I was growing up as a Devonshire Colts player at Frog Lane, Cougars were on the other side of the fence. That was a rivalry from Day 1.”

Burgess added: “Just looking around the league and the potential match-ups, you have the two teams in the eastern end of the island, X-Roads and

St George’s, and then two central powerhouses in Dandy Town and North Village, then PHC and Southampton Rangers, which is always going to be a big rivalry.

“The stars are aligned and we were able to come up with a solution to put these matches in place and we’re looking forward to seeing what unfolds this weekend.

“Yes, it was intentional. Hopefully it creates a buzz this weekend.”

Derby matches brought out big crowds back in the day,

although crowd sizes this year are being restricted because of Covid-19. Even so, the Trojans and Eagles match should be one of the keenly contested matches.

In January the teams played to an exciting 3-3 draw at White Hill Field, and already the anticipation is growing among the west end clubs.

“I played in a lot of derbies and coached in the derbies last year and I feel this is the game that can help kick-start our

season,” said Eagles coach Jenson Rogers, a former Trojans player.

“The banter has already started, both sets of fans have been talking. Hopefully our fans come out and help pull the guys through for the 90 minutes.”

Eagles are desperate to get some points on the board after four straight losses in the league has left them at the bottom of the tables.

“We’ve had a slow start but the feeling in the changing room and at the training sessions is that this could be the start of our season. We’ve had a slow start while Somerset have been gradually picking up their performances.

“The guys have kept their heads high and every week have tried to improve. It’s up to me as the head coach and my coaching staff to make sure we put the pieces together to get a result on Sunday.

“We made some additions this year and with the guys we’ve had from previous seasons, if we get everything clicking there is no reason why we can’t start moving up the tables.

“In our first four games we played Robin Hood, Cougars, PHC and Dandy Town, teams that were playing in the Dudley Eve, so they were a little fitter than us.”