Somerset Trojans 0 Paget Lions 3

Dion Stovell was the toast of Somerset after bowling the West Enders to an historic Cup Match triumph over St George’s at Somerset this summer.

Yesterday, he was their worst nightmare as he notched a hat-trick at the same venue to guide Paget Lions to a win over a Somerset Trojans.

The Paget striker scored twice in the first half before completing his treble midway through the second half with an exquisite finish from outside the box. The margin could have been wider had some of Stovell’s team-mates buried their chances.

Fortunately, Paget’s wastefulness did not come back to haunt them thanks mainly to their defence which dealt with what little Somerset threw at them.

“I thought it was a good performance today and I was very happy with the boys,” Robert Lee, the Paget coach, said.

“I was expecting three points and thought we could do it because we have good players who can put the ball in the back of the net,” he said.

“Today was Dion’s day. His finishing was beautiful and I was very impressed with him.”

Lee was also pleased with his team’s robust defensive display.

“Defensively we stayed compact and defensively sound,” he said.

The comprehensive victory was the second of the season for Paget, who stretched their unbeaten run to four games, while Trojans remain winless.

Paget took just two minutes to open their account through Stovell’s well-executed set piece. The striker won a free kick just outside of the box attempting to play strike partner Akale Bean through which he drilled into the bottom left-hand corner.

Deunte Darrell, the Somerset striker, went to ground in the box under a challenge from Robert Richardson, the Paget central defender, but the home side’s pleas for a penalty went in vain. The goal that Paget’s dominance warranted finally arrived and once again it was the clinical Stovell doing the damage.

This time the striker took possession in the box and created just enough space in heavy traffic to squeeze a low shot into the bottom right corner with Butterfield stranded in no-man’s-land.

In the second half Darrell then went agonisingly close when his lob towards an empty net bounced off of the crossbar.

At the other end Butterfield positioned himself well to save Demarlo Curtis’s header from point blank range.

But there would no denying Stovell moments later when he put the match beyond reach with a beautiful finish. The striker unleashed a shot with the inside of his boot on the turn which curled into the roof of the net.

SCORERS

Paget

Stovell 2, 34, 66

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-3-3): H Butterfield — M Henschke T Ming, C Durham, Jadan Ratteray-Smith — A Trott, D Swan (sub: Burrows, 46 mins), J Corday (sub: R Simmons, 73) — Jaz Ratteray-Smith (sub:D Zuill, 63), D Wainwright, D Darrell. Substitutes not used: K Hollis, V Perinchief, D Minors. Booked: Trott, Burrows.

Paget Lions (4-4-2): J Smith — J Carpenter, R Richardson, K Hill-Tuzo, N Carpenter — K Smith (sub: S Worrell, 85), T Sanders, T Welch, D Hart — A Bean (sub: D Curtis, 63), D Stovell. Substitutes not used: C Smith, K Whitter. Booked: N Carpenter, Hill-Tuzo.

Referee: T Simons.