Corey Hill's perseverance paid off with three minutes left and revived Vasco left Somerset with two valuable and deserved points on Saturday night.

Vasco would have felt hard done by when they went into half-time trailing to a Reggie Tucker header but Irving Burgess drew them level midway through the second half and Hill wrapped it up as the Trojans finally succumbed to the hectic pace of the match.

Hill's winner came when he was sent forward on the right against Sean Simmons by Earl Richardson. Simmons did well to stay with Hill and then block his first shot, a right-footer.

But the little man, who troubled Somerset throughout with his ball skills, kept his balance and casually stroked home a left-foot shot from the top of the area with goalkeeper Andre Hendrickson wrong-footed.

For Somerset, it was a story of the walking wounded as after losing Jermaine Burrows early in the first half, they endured a string of injuries, mostly due to fatigue.

Still, after Tucker gave them the lead against the run of play on the half-hour, the Trojans settled into their game.

Vasco's Kentoine Jennings lost possession near the halfway line and Steval Arorash quickly slipped the ball wide on the right to Rodney Bascome whose cross was expertly met by Tucker for his seventh goal of the season.

That, ironically, was the last save Timmy Figureido was asked to make while at the other end Hendrickson had to be sharp early to twice deny former Trojan Dwight Basden.

Somerset could not turn their change of fortune into clear-cut opportunities as most attacks petered out when a telling pass would have made the difference.

Kwame Tucker, a first half substitute for the injured Burrows, was instrumental in Somerset's left-side domination but he too was occasionally guilty of that extra touch.

Somerset's best chances of the half saw a twisting shot from Reggie Tucker go over and Webb head wide at the back post on the end of a Bascome left-wing cross.

Vasco's advantage of having more direct attackers showed in Hendrickson having to get down well to his left to save from Hill's volley in the 59th minute.

Hill then laid on the equaliser in the 68th minute as he ran at a disorganised Somerset defence on the right and squared the ball back. Basden overran the play but Burgess checked back and, after a moment's hesitation, blasted the ball home from eight yards.

Vasco midfielder Walton Burgess, the smallest man of the pitch, had a chance to create one of the season's best goals with 10 minutes left. But after beating four Somerset players in a tight space on the left, he elected to shoot from a narrow angle instead of following Hill's example.

Fading Somerset did not look like winning at this juncture and it was only a matter of whether they could hold on to claim sole possession of first place for the night at least.

But when Hill struck the decisive blow, Vasco were full value for their win and the race that is the First Division championship is still there for the taking.

Somerset: A.Hendrickson; D.DeRoza, J.Burrows (K.Tucker, 36 mins), N.Woods, S.Simmons, A.Rahman; C.Grant (H.Hunt, 82 mins), S.Arorash, R.Tucker; J.Webb, R.Bascome.

Vasco: T.Figureido; E.Richardson, D.Livingston, K.Jennings, D.Stapley; W.Burgess, K.Roberts, F.Simmons (K.Dill, 70 mins); I.Burgess, D.Basden, C.Hill.

Referee: Esten Curtis.

Men of the match: Andre Hendrickson (Somerset); Corey Hill (Vasco).