Armed thugs marred what had otherwise been an absorbing Premier Division clash involving two of the Island?s most decorated clubs at Southampton Oval yesterday.

Just moments after Zebras? second-half sub Phillip Anderson earned his team a deserved share of the spoils with a goal right on the final whistle, one victim had suffered what is believed to be machete inflicted wounds near the clubhouse after being set upon by a large group of men.

And after fans were subjected to witnessing further unwanted scenes of violence, it was the beautiful game of football that was again cast in dark shadows.

But up until that point, yesterday?s evenly-contested and bruising clash involving old rivals had all the trimmings of a classic which saw two disputed penalties awarded, Trojans? skipper Sean Simmons sent off and the emergence of unlikely heroes in Somerset?s debutant Aaron Williams and Zebras? Anderson.

Then of course there was the ongoing verbal exchange between referee Lyndon Raynor and Trojans? coach Dennis Brown whose antics at the final whistle qualified him for a crash course in anger management.

Trojans could not have asked for a better start when Williams gave them an early lead after intercepting a poor clearance, dribbling five-yards and unleashing a low drive that gave Raymond Glasford absolutely no chance in goal.

The off-the-ball running of Brown?s men repeatedly exposed the home team?s defence, particularly the trio of Williams, Stephen Astwood and Lamaul Crofton whose wizardry around the box which might have even baffled the great Merlin himself.

A clever build up involving Jelani (Roots) Butterfield and Crofton which split the Zebras? defence resulted in the former slicing his shot just wide of the post underscored Trojans? imagination in attack.

But after being rocked back on their heels by Williams? fifth -minute strike, an unsettled Zebras began to find their groove with Raynel (Manga) Lightbourne and the tireless Tokia Russell each testing Figuerido while twin towers Chris Furbert and Shea-Tai Smith chiselled away at Somerset?s midfield.

Omar Shakir?s curled free kick which dipped just over the bar provided chilling ominous signs the sleeping giant was about to awake, though the warnings went unnoticed.

Still, it took a bizarre sequence of events before Zebras would draw level just before the half.

Evidently perturbed over fans spilling over onto the sidelines, the game was held up for several minutes while ref Raynor ordered all those on the pitch to return to the stands ? much to the bewilderment of players and spectators alike.

However, Trojans? bewilderment turned to despair on the restart when Zebras were thrown a lifeline, Raynor pointing to the penalty spot after fragile forward Patrick Russell went sprawling in the box.

But amid heated protests over the call, Lightbourne planted his rebound to the right of the ?keeper who partially saved the striker?s initial effort.

At this juncture coach Brown should have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for maintaining some degree of composure.

However, whatever encouragement the Trojans? coach offered at the half appeared to have the opposite effect as his team seemed to leave some of their intensity in the dressing room, allowing Zebras to grow in confidence during yet another physical 45 minutes of non-stop end-to-end action which turned to comedy when PHC sub Mike Williams sent fans on the embankment ducking for cover with back-to-back efforts which soared high and wide.

At the other end, Zebras ?keeper Glasford positioned himself well to deny Astwood from point-blank range and then Williams from a slight angle.

But there was little the young goalie to do to keep out Simmons? spot-kick which restored Trojans? lead midway through the half after sub Rohaan Simons was shoved to the ground inside the box in an off-the-ball incident which did not go undetected.

Simmons, however, went from hero to villain minutes later when he was sent off for a second bookable offence, leaving Trojans to soldier on for the remaining 30 minutes with ten-men.

But even having to play with a numerical disadvantage didn?t seem to have any real effect on the visitors. Instead it was their over -defensive approach which let them down as Zebras attacked almost at will to set the stage for Anderson?s late dramatics.

During what proved to be the last attacking foray of the match, Anderson somehow managed to squeeze the ball between Figureido ? who had been flawless between the sticks up this point ? and the near post to ignite joyous scenes around the ground which were quickly replaced by ugly violence.: R.Glasford, J.Sealy, S.Smith (J.Mallory, 80 mins), S.Lewis, C.Dowling, P.Russell (M.Williams, 65 mins), C.Furbert, T.Russell, B.Bean (capt), R.Lightbourne, O.Shakir (P.Anderson, 72 mins)T.Figureido, S.Riley, J.Tucker (N.Wade, 60 mins), S.Simmons (capt), M.Butterfield, C.Moulder (A.Lambert, 45 mins), A.Williams, J.Duffy, S.Astwood, L.Crofton (R.Simons, 64 mins), J.Butterfield.: O.Shakir (PHC) S.Simmons (Somerset): T.Russell (PHC); T.Figureido (Somerset).: Lyndon Raynor.