One might have mistaken the jubilation displayed by Southampton Rangers players, coaches and fans following last night's clash with Somerset to that of a team having just captured the league title.

Alas, it was merely the celebration of the first Premier Division victory by the South Shore club for the season, which served to lift what must have felt like a 10 ton burden resting on their shoulders.

"Three points! Three points! We got three points!'' exclaimed striker Janeiro Tucker, as he and team-mates hugged, high-fived and generally mobbed each other on the pitch after referee Stuart Crockwell blew the final whistle.

And joining in the hoopla was head coach Edgar Smith as he relished in the glory of his first victory in charge of the team since taking over exactly one week prior.

Indeed, the match itself became but a secondary front to the positive end result, an outcome that had eluded Rangers over the course of their first five league contests.

"This was a tremendous result for us,'' said Smith, a former midfield general for both Southampton and Bermuda. "This means that Rangers are on the climb.

"We're not trying to win the league, but what we are trying to do is have a good finish, play constructive soccer, and progress ... we just want to try and do better.'' Second half strikes from Tucker, his cousin Kwame Tucker and a textbook goal from Craig Darrell served to more than offset a first half score from the boot of Somerset striker Dwight Basden.

Basden had placed the home team ahead in the 43rd minute under somewhat dubious circumstances as he induced a penalty call out of referee Crockwell against centre-back Randy Simmons with Hollywood style antics following what appeared an innocuous challenge inside the area.

The forward rose to take the spot-kick, putting it down the middle as goalkeeper Randy Darrell dived to his right.

Southampton equalised in similarly suspect fashion eight minutes following the break, Janeiro Tucker getting away with a clear hold of last man Andrew Rahman and proceeding to lob the ball over an advancing Timmy Figuerido into the back of the net.

More conventional methods unfurled in the 62nd minute as confusion in the Somerset defence following a substitution allowed Darrell to pick out Kwame Tucker with a hard, low cross from the right side, and Tucker made no mistake in picking his spot.

Darrell added further insurance to the outcome a minute from the end, crashing home a pin-point ball into the middle by Sheridan Ming, after Jason Raynor started the move at the half-way line.

Somerset: T.Figuerido; D.Burchall, J,Martin, A.Rahman, Dwa.Basden; G.Butterfield (R.Scott 65 mins), D.Rahman (K.Roberts 61 mins), N.Burrows (J.Dill 80 mins); R.Bascome, C.Grant, Dwi.Basden.

Southampton: R.Darrell; A.Tucker, S.Simmons, R.Simmons, J.Raynor; K.Tucker, S.Bailey (O.Riley 69 mins), S.Ming; C.Darrell, J.Tucker, R.Simons (T.Flood 61 mins).

Referee: Stuart Crockwell.

Men of the match: David Burchall (Somerset); Craig Darrell (Southampton).

Yellow cards: David Rahman, Galvin Butterfield (Somerset); Jason Raynor (Southampton).

Dev Cougars 1 Wolves 3 Two days after scoring a stunning 3-2 victory over powerful PHC Zebras, Cougars fell short of dismantling Wolves in this Premier Division clash at Devonshire Rec. last night.

Cougars, however, made Wolves sweat it out for victory after Wali Salaam had netted their lone goal as Wolves' right full back Trevor Forth was forced to clear a ball destined for the back off the net.

Cougars trailed 2-0 at the half following goals by Jared Peniston and Mark Ray and then Ray put the result out of reach with his second -- a penalty after 46 minutes after substitute Kori Goddard handled.

Peniston got the opener after just eight minutes when he scored from close range after Nakia Smith created the opening. Then Ray added the second with a thunderous drive from 20 yards.

But Cougars remained competitive, forcing six corners in the half and were denied after 41 minutes when Salaam's drive was blocked by goalkeeper Corby Durrant.

However, if Cougars had any ideas of resuming play with the same decisive edge, Wolves quickly gave them a jolt by going 3-0 up with Ray converting his spot kick after just one minute of play in the second half.

After 64 minutes Salaam, working hard in midfield all night for Cougars, sent a blast into the chest of Durrant. And a minute later substitute William Pitt missed from close range.

Wolves' defence looked unsettled with big centre-back Diallo Sharrief often forced to steady the ship.

But it wasn't a surprise when Salaam slipped through, thanks to an opening created by veteran Phillip Clarke, to drill home a shot after 85 minutes.

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman; S.Coddington, S.Smith, P.Clarke, J.DeShields; W.Salaam, K.Steede (W.Pitt, 60 mins), L.Durham (K.Goddard, 41 mins), M.Smith; S.Hewey (P.Mallory, 75 mins), H.Wolfe.

Wolves: C.Durrant; T.Forth, D.Sharrieff, L.Stevens (T.Davis, 50 mins), C.Smith; A.Thomas, M.Ray, N.Smith; S.Crockwell (P.Sampson, 56 mins), C.Simmons (N.Webb, 65 mins), J.Peniston.

Men of the match: Wali Salaam (Cougars); Mark Ray (Wolves).

Referee: Irven Simmons.

Yellow cards: S.Coddington, L.Durham (Cougars); M.Ray, A.Thomas, N.Webb, T.Davis, N.Smith (Wolves).