Somerset Trojans 3Devonshire Colts 1Dennis Brown’s Somerset Trojans won the inaugural PDL Christmas Tournament final with a hard fought victory over Devonshire Colts on New Year’s Day.Colts were forced to play with nine men because just six of their squad were under the age of 23 and the PDL rules only permit a team to field three over age players.To make what was already a difficult afternoon even more trying, Colts had Ryan Purnell dismissed by referee Stephen Allen late on for dissent and missed two penalties.Trojans opened the scoring at Somerset Cricket Club through striker Jonathon Bean who raced onto a through ball before finishing past Colts’ onrushing goalkeeper Terry Foote.After the break Colts were awarded a penalty when Purnell was adjudged to have been brought down in the area by Trojans defender Justin Lee. Midfielder Lozendro Symonds stepped up to take the kick but missed his first penalty of the day, dragging his effort wide.Trojans made the most of their reprieve by going straight down the other end to double their lead with Jonathon Bean grabbing his second in somewhat fortuitous circumstances.To the misfortune of the Colts keeper Foote, an almighty clearance out of the Trojans defence bounced over his head and towards the goal-line as he came to collect, giving Bean the simplest of tap-ins.Keishon Smith’s team continued to push and probe but found themselves further behind when dread-locked winger Tahj Wade supplied a cool finish to his mazy dribble through the heart of Colts defence. Their efforts, though, were rewarded midway through the second half when Purnell won his side another penalty after being fouled by keeper Bean who unfairly prevented the striker from rounding him. This time, though, Symonds made amends for his earlier miss by converting the spot-kick.Nine man Colts went in hunt for a second goal and were thrown a lifeline when Trojans defender Chris Godfrey handled in the area. Perhaps it was a case of tired legs with Symonds failing to finish from 12 yards out for the second time of game with his penalty striking the postTrojans skipper Trevin Ming, who was presented with the winner’s trophy by Premier Paula Cox, paid tribute to Colts for their battling performance but believed the West Enders had been the hungrier of the two teams.“Both teams wanted it, but I guess we wanted it more,” said Ming. “We’re definitely delighted to win this competition because we’ve been knocked out of the FA Cup and the Shield.”Colts coach Smith was proud his team’s effort particularly considering they finished the game with just eight players.“You would never have guessed we had just nine men ... we actually finished with only eight,” he said. “I think two of our players must have been suffering for New Year’s Eve which meant we only had six players under the age of 23. Still, I’m proud of my team and I hope it gives us a boost going into the second half of the season.”Somerset Trojans squadS. Bean, Z. Iris, J. Lee, T. Ming, C. Godfrey, V. Blanchette, J. Harvey-Outerbridge, D. Brangman, T. Wade, C. Basden, J. Bean, G. Smith, J. Corday, R. Cann, J. Santucci, J. Scott, L. BurgessGoals: Bean, 15, 47, Wade, 74Yellow cards: S. Bean, J. LeeDevonshire Colts squadT. Foote, M. Burch, Q. Jones, E. Wilkins, L. Symonds, R. Purnell, C. Trott, I. Coke, Z. Morris, K. Jones, R. Tyrell, M.Place, K.WadeRed card: R. PurnellReferee: S. AllenGoals: Symonds (pen), 77Man of the match: T. Wade (Trojans)n For pictures of the PDL final and Bermuda Under-23’s match against Rough Riders see, Page 18.