Saturday night's clash between bitter rivals Somerset and St. George's promised much at the West End, but delivered little to satisfy the palate with neither side appearing particularly inspired.

In the end it took two highly questionable mid-second half penalties awarded to each side by referee Esten Curtis to breathe life into the contest, which until then had meandered much like a rudderless ship.

Somerset centre-back Jermaine Burrows played key roles in both decisions by Curtis.

First, in the 65th minute the defender was adjudged to have been fouled by opposite number Franklyn Greaves in the penalty area when acting's Oscar Award might have been more appropriate. Still, captain Duane DeRoza took full advantage, burying his spot kick in the low right corner as goalkeeper Troy Hall went the wrong way.

However, Burrows' fortunes were reversed less than a minute later when he and St. George's' striker Dean Minors engaged in what appeared a legitimate shoulder-to-shoulder tackle, but Curtis saw it differently and again pointed to the spot even as players from both sides prepared for what they assumed was a corner kick.

Neil Paynter stepped forward and like DeRoza buried a hard, low effort into the corner, the difference being that his went in on the left side.

The home team dominated much of the early going in the first half and looked like wiping the visitors off the pitch as they controlled the pace and flow.

Andrew Rahman should have put Somerset ahead in the third minute when he missed a sitter from all of seven yards, stabbing his effort well wide with Hall exposed after Rodney Bascome had threaded the perfect pass from the left through the penalty area.

Four minutes later Bascome and Rahman conspired again, this time deep on the left corner, drawing the St. George's defence before releasing overlapping left-back Eugene Dean, who controlled the ball and sent in a right-foot blast that grazed the crossbar.

Gradually, the East Enders began to work their way into the match, gaining their first corner in the 18th minute -- Somerset had three in the first 10 minutes -- but wasting the opportunity.

Their first shot on target came from the boot of Marlon Outerbridge in the 22nd minute, his 35-yard piledriver burying itself in Hendrickson's midsection.

It was then Minors' turn to get in on the act three minutes later, but the falling striker could only merely poke the ball wide of the right post with the entire goal beckoning.

Those who thought the second half could only get better were sadly mistaken as the match plunged further into the mediocrity of wayward passes, destructive build-ups and a dearth of shots, with the East Enders noticably missing leading scorer Clay Smith.

That was until Curtis intervened, yet even those moments could not camouflage this worthless charade.

Each team moved onto eight points -- Somerset lead on goal difference -- as a result of the draw and remain in line for spots in the Dudley Eve Trophy tournament.

Somerset: A.Hendrickson; R.Butterfield, J.Burrows, D.DeRoza, D.Woolridge, E.Dean; A.Rahman, C.Grant, D.Binns (R.Tucker 60 mins); L.Crofton, R.Bascome.

St. George's: T.Hall; P.Bailey, N.Paynter, F.Greaves, D.Bailey; Q.Francis, M.Outerbridge, D.Wright, D.Richardson (R.Hill 50 mins); J.Laws, D.Minors.

Men of the match: Eugene Dean (Somerset), Franklyn Greaves (St. George's).

Referee: Esten Curtis.

Somerset 7 BAA 0 The night's opening Junior Premier Division encounter saw Somerset thrash visiting BAA in a match that was a rout from the opening whistle, with the home side in no-nonsense mood.

Somerset took just six minutes to score as Darin Showers converted to be quickly followed onto the scoresheet by Mark Mills in the 17th minute.

Sphiwe Dube made it 3-0 with a goal in the 40th minute.

More of the same followed in the second half as Mills added a second in the 56th minute and two minutes later Perry Jones tallied. Marco Butterfield closed out Somerset's account with two strikes in the 68th and 88th minutes.