Dandy Town 3 Som. Eagles 2

Ecstatic Dandy Town players, team officials and die-hard supporters were last night celebrating a fourth Friendship Trophy and first cup triumph in three years after edging by a stubborn Somerset Eagles side 3-2 at the National Sports Centre.

With the two teams deadlocked at 2-2 midway through the second-half, an unmarked Brendan O'Riordan quietly slipped through the back door to apply the lethal touch to a diagonally floated Lionel Furbert cross. His ferocious shot from just outside the six yard box whistled past stunned Eagles `keeper Winslow Williams and sent the cup on its way back to St.John's Road for the first time since 1994/95.

Town's diminutive forward and man of the match Reggie Tucker grabbed Hornets other two goals, while Lamaul Crofton and Musceo Hunt replied for an Eagles side who, despite falling behind twice in the match, displayed tremendous courage to not only claw their way back into contention, but also threaten to walk away with the spoils on several occasions before finally coming up just shy of their objective.

In fact, many Eagles fans felt a bit hard done following the match after Crofton appeared to have had the ball in the back of the Town net in the 49th minute. However, referee Anthony Mouchete judged that a scrambling Hornets custodian Jason Smith had just prevented the ball from crossing the goal line. If that wasn't enough, the west enders must have really figured the Gods were conspiring against them when the woodwork denied both Sean Simmons and Sean Dill of stunning goals during a pulsating period of first half pressure that saw Town pinned up against the ropes and hanging on for dear life.

However, the Hornets weathered the storm, and in the end, O'Riordan's stunner was just enough to silence the gritty Eagles.

"It can't get any better then that," said a relieved Town coach Devarr Boyles afterwards. "I am very impressed with Somerset Eagles and the type of football they try to play.

"Their team has had pressure placed on them all season long but they have still managed to play football in the manner in which it should be played and today was no exception."

Kicking into the wind, not even that added challenge could prevent Hornets from jumping out to an early lead.

After an indecisive Adolfus Lambert handled the ball just inside his own half, Town skipper Furbert floated in a well weighted free-kick that was firmly met in the middle by an unmarked Tucker who planted his effort in at the far post.

However, after making the early breakthrough, Town went on the defensive instead of looking to further stamp their authority on the proceedings.

And that tactic proved costly as it allowed Eagles to grow in confidence up front and they drew level when Crofton somehow managed to steer the ball across the goal line at the near post through heavy traffic. The goal coming after Jabrell Tucker had evaded his marker and sent in an appetising cross.

That goal ignited a Somerset attack that was slow shifting into gear, a Dill 20 yard blast taking a wicked deflection off a Town defender and rattling the cross bar shortly after.

Nakia Smith then followed up with a firm header that went just wide of the upright, while Town striker Carlos Smith intercepted Sean Simmons' header on the goal line as Eagles swooped in for the kill.

However, all of Eagles hard work was undone when a rare Williams fumble at the near post while attempting to gather a low Smith cross allowed Tucker to pounce on the loose ball and poke his shot into the empty net to give Hornets a 2-1 advantage at the half.

Undaunted, Eagles again set about repairing the damage following the restart and it wasn't long before their fans were jumping up and down again. Casually strolling up to take a free kick from all of 25 yards, veteran Hunt fired in a low drive that went through a porous Town defensive wall and nestled in at the far post.

The stage was now set for a dramatic finish and O'Riordan wasted little time in seizing the moment as he again made Eagles pay dearly for some loose marking. His fierce drive beating Williams for pace and sending Town's supporters into a frenzy.

"They (Town) didn't really create too many chances. We hit the woodwork twice and it was good to come back but it is also good to get the victory," said a visibly dejected Eagles coach Marc Bean, who was also a bit upset over a few of the calls that were made against his team.

"We had a clear goal disallowed. Their `keeper was actually in the back of the net with the ball in his hand," he added.

"My team deserved to at least go into extra time. Dandy Town didn't really do anything. They managed three crosses and had three goals.

"So I still take my hat off to my team because they fought hard. But not to worry . . . next season we will be much stronger."

Dandy Town: J.Smith, L.Furbert (S.Wilson, 72 mins), R.Swan, B.O'Riordan, M.Lowe, K.Mundy, S.Tuzo, R.Tucker, L.Christopher (G.Foggo, 55 mins), C.Smith, K.Hurdle (W.Place, 83 mins).

Somerset Eagles: W.Williams, A.Lambert, K.Simmons, M.Hunt, M.Dill (D.Woolridge, 71 mins), M.Butterfield (D.Dowling, 83 mins), S.Simmons, S.Dill, J.Tucker (D.Burgess, 71 mins), N.Smith, L.Crofton.

Booked: C.Smith (Town); N.Smith, D.Burgess (Eagles).

Men of the match: R.Tucker (Town); L.Crofton (Eagles).

Referee: A.Mouchete.