Vasco bounced back from their Friendship Trophy defeat in midweek to crush Somerset Trojans at PHC yesterday.

A hat-trick of goals just before the half-time interval sealed it for the First Division leaders and helped them maintain their unbeaten league record.

The West Enders' hopes of emulating the feat of St. George's were short-lived -- the young Trojans really feeling the backlash from their opponents' shock loss to the East End team last week.

They held out for 22 minutes before Vasco took the lead through a Vorhees Astwood strike which beat the diving Andre Hendrickson low to his right.

Astwood made no mistake having been put through with a fine ball from Irving Burgess.

After that, it was only a matter of time before Vasco found the net again, with much of the second phase of the first period being played in the Trojans' half.

It was not until six minutes before half-time, however, that Vasco converted their domination into more goals.

Dwight Basden was perfectly positioned on the edge of the penalty area to meet a ball coming in from the left. He struck the ball on the turn and buried it in the back of the net leaving Hendrickson helpless.

Three minutes later Hendrickson was picking the ball out of the back of the net again when skipper Karl Roberts latched onto a Corey Hill pass to score the first of his two goals.

And with almost the last kick of the half, Hill himself got on the scoresheet after a neat attacking move involving Franklin Simons and Irving Burgess.

Somerset made a double substitution at the interval, bringing on Dwayne Basden and Richard Scott for Curtis Grant and Dion Woolridge in a bid to stem the tide.

And in the early stages of the second half, they met with some success as they sought to limit the damage.

Vasco looked to have lost their way a little, their momentum having been interrupted by the break. They were still enjoying the lion's share of possession but lacked the penetration in front of goal that led to the first-half scoring frenzy.

Trojans played some good football in the middle of the park but struggled to get the ball out of their own half to threaten the Vasco goal.

Vasco 'keeper Timmy Figureido got great protection from his defenders who played the ball calmly out of trouble on the rare occasions Somerset looked like creating a scoring chance.

And slowly Vasco applied the pressure again up front as they got back into their rhythm.

Sinclair Gibbons came on for the injured Simons after quarter of an hour as Vasco went in search of more glory.

The Trojans had their moments, with Duval Binns and Lamaul Crofton causing the most trouble as they tried to get a consolation goal to boost their side's flagging spirits. But it was all in vain.

The Vasco skipper rounded out the scoring for the day mid-way through the second half when a long-range effort got the better of Hendrickson. The Somerset 'keeper got both hands to the ball but he was too far off his line and instead of forcing it over the bar, he only succeeded in pushing it into the roof of the net.

Roberts' strike brought cries of "We want more'' from the Vasco supporters but, while there was plenty more in the way of excitement, there were no more goals.

An exhausted Roberts went off as Vasco made a double substitution with a quarter of an hour remaining to allow two more players to have a part in the winning performance.

Time and again Vasco homed in on the Trojans' goal forcing a series of fine stops by Hendrickson, who at times got little cover from his defenders.

But Vasco's over-eagerness to add to their tally served to prevent them increasing their margin of victory.

And Somerset were unlucky not to reduce the deficit in the dying minutes when a goal-bound Crofton went down under a heavy challenge in the penalty area.

Vasco: T.Figureido, E.Richardson, K.Jennings, S.Smith, D.Stapley, V.Astwood (P.Richardson, 74 mins), K.Roberts (B.Kirkpatrick, 74 mins), F.Simons (S.Gibbons, 61 mins), C.Hill, I.Burgess, D.Basden.

Somerset: A.Hendrickson, R.Butterfield, E.Dean, J.Burrows, D.Deroza, D.Woolridge (R.Scott, 45 mins), A.Rahman, C.Grant (D.Basden, 45 mins), D.Binns, L.Crofton, R.Bascome.

Referee: Stuart Crockwell.

Men of the match: Karl Roberts (Vasco); Lamaul Crofton (Somerset).

Photos by Tony Cordeiro CELEBRATION TIME -- Shawn Smith congratulates Vasco skipper Karl Roberts on the first of his two goals.

ON THE ATTACK -- Irving Burgess gets another Vasco attack underway as Somerset's Duvall Binns looks to cover.

TWO AGAINST ONE -- Somerset's Duane Deroza is outnumbered in this challenge with Vasco's Franklin Simons and Irving Burgess.