Somerset Trojans might finally have put to rest one of the darkest moments in their history with victory over Devonshire Colts last Tuesday night at Somerset Cricket Club.

It was exactly a decade ago that Colts defeated Josef Gooden?s Trojans 3-2 at the former Frog Lane Field in Devonshire to condemn the West Enders to the First Division for the first time.

This week Trojans returned the compliment by hammering the final nail in Colts? relegation coffin with a 3-0 victory.

And former coach Gooden was among those who witnessed Colts? midweek demise.

?I remember that day quite clearly,? he said, referring to the match 10 years ago. ?We knew we had a chance of avoiding relegation if we could beat Colts by five clear goals. I remember speaking to the players about our aim and how it was going to take a one hundred percent effort on their behalf.?

Colts went ahead on a Mark (Beaver) Ray free kick but Trojans equalised via a Rodney Bascome strike and then took the lead with 25 minutes remaining through an Andrew Rahman penalty.

However, Colts hit back with goals from Ellington Weldon and Ray to seal the West Enders? fate.

?It just wasn?t meant to be and we went down that year for the first time ever,? added Gooden, a member of Trojans? victorious 1988 FA Cup winning side that defeated Colts in Somerset.

?Going down for the first time was not a very good feeling and I remember receiving a lot of negative comments.

?I didn?t realise it at the time, but that experience taught me how different coaching football at the senior level can be when you?re not winning.?

However, last Tuesday night saw the shoe being worn on the other foot.

?I sympathise with Colts because they knew they had to win their remaining two matches in order to survive in the Premier Division,? Gooden said. ?They went out there with the intentions of winning. But they have a young team and so it?s important they try and stick together because it takes time for teams to rebuild.

?But I saw some every promising youngsters playing for them the other night and I?m sure they have a bright future. Hopefully they can keep these players together.?

Trojans prevailed on Tuesday night on goals from Rohann Simons, Chris Moulder and Sean Simmons.

The two clubs have met each other in ten domestic cup finals since 1967-68 with Trojans emerging victorious on each occasion.

Trojans defeated Colts 2-1 in the 1988 FA Cup, the last time the two clubs played in a final, at a sun-baked Somerset Cricket Club.

After 1996, Trojans were also relegated from the top tier under coaches Randy Horton (2000) and Mark Trott (2002-03). However, although relegated at the end of the 2000 season, they were given a reprieve when they retained their Premier Division status after Vasco Da Gama disbanded.

Despite Somerset surrendering vital league points down the home stretch in their pursuit of an unprecedented tenth Premier Division championship this campaign, Gooden said overall he was pleased to see the club take significant strides in the right direction.

?I?m quite pleased with the team?s progress this season,? he said. ?This was the first year we didn?t have to look over our shoulders at relegation. We went through our periods and setbacks, but the players responded quite well and overall we are all quite happy at the club.

?Obviously this is another step forwards towards some of the goals we are trying to achieve to bring the cup back to its glory days. And with the experiences that were learned from this season hopefully the players can take things a step further next season.?

This season saw Trojans appear in a first Martonmere Cup final since 1992 and 11th overall.

It was also Trojans? first appearance in a cup final since the 2004 First Division Shield final at Wellington Oval which saw the West Enders crush Paget Lions 7-1.