Somerset Trojans 4 Somerset Eagles 1

Somerset Trojans recorded their second win within a week, as they played hosts to Somerset Eagles in a West End derby that offered plenty of excitement in Saturday night’s Premier Division encounter.

The fans, however, would have to wait until the second half to get what they paid for, when the duo of Nathan Rego and Alan Douglas Jr entered the pitch, flipping the game on its head, with the former scoring a brilliant hat-trick to carry his team to victory.

Captain Jaz Ratteray-Smith, who added one of his own, was happy with the result and the way the team responded to what could be described as a lacklustre first half performance.

“We expected it to be a tough match considering the fact that it’s a derby, but we knew that we had the edge in terms of personnel and it would be a matter of how well we executed,” said the Trojans’ captain.

“I think we were too casual in all aspects in the first half and after some strong words during the break we came out and delivered a much better performance, which got us the result that we needed,” said Ratteray-Smith.

The match started off in a fairly scrappy manner and continued in that vein for much of the opening period. Although they had most of the ball, the Trojans found it difficult to break down a resilient Eagles defence that was set up quite compact with the team always posing a threat on the counter with the likes of Shakir Smith.

With neither team carving out any real clear cut chances, they went into the interval on level terms but whatever was uttered to the home team by the coaching staff who have taken the reins in the absence of coach Jomar Wilkinson, worked with great effect.

Moments after the restart Trojans could have taken the lead, but Jaden Ratteray-Smith could not keep his effort under the bar after following-up his own rebound from close range.

Not long afterwards, the strike pair of Rego and Douglas Jr were introduced and immediately made their mark on the game.

Within minutes, Douglas Jr was on the end of a cross with his powerful header going just over the bar. Only moments later, the lively striker was first to a ball in the box from Jakari Furbert, this time nodding into the path of Rego who made no mistake with his header from close range opening the scoring.

Jaz Ratteray-Smith would be next up in the 71st minute with a perfectly timed run, glancing his header into the far post from a corner to double his team’s lead.

By now, the hosts were in complete control and it would be the one-two punch of Rego and Douglas Jr that delivered the third.

Douglas Jr made a strong run down the left side of the box, smashing in a low hard cross that was met by Rego who finished firmly into the top corner.

However, Rego was not done yet and had saved the best for last when he received a lobbed cross from Furbert and showed great athleticism with an overhead kick that left the keeper with no chance, sending the Somerset contingency into a frenzy.

The spirit was dampened slightly when Smith popped up at the other end with a good finish, lobbing the keeper from the edge of the box, but the goal was never going to be more than a consolation in what ended up being a one-sided affair.

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans: Rego 65, 77, 85, Jaz Ratteray-Smith 73

Somerset Eagles: Smith 89

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-1-4-1):J Morrissey 5 ‒ K Sharrief-Hayward 5, T Ming 6, Jaz Ratteray-Smith 7, D Brangman 6 sub (sub: R Symonds 79min) ‒ C Durham 6 (sub: D Swan 62, 6) ‒ J Furbert 6, Jadan Ratteray-Smith 5, J Corday 6, J Butterfield 5 (sub: A Douglas Jr 57, 8), T Tyrell 5 (sub N Rego 57, 9). Substitutes not used: Q Watson, N Durham, J Gooden

Somerset Eagles (4-3-3) T Hall 5 ‒ M Iris-Simmons 5, K Harrison 5, S Lambert 6, K Astwood 5 ‒ E Fubler 5, A Telford 6, D Joell 5 ‒ R Woodley-Smith 5, S Smith 6, D Simmons 5. Substitutes not used: W Tucker, J Rogers

Referee: D Jackson