Somerset Eagles 3 –Devonshire Cougars 2

Troy Tucker's controversial injury-time winner gave Somerset Eagles a thrilling win over Devonshire Cougars at White Hill Field yesterday.

The Eagles midfielder capped an impressive alround display, striking three minutes into added on time to break Cougars' hearts after the defending champions had overcome the sending off of Moses Steede to battle back from 2-0 down.

And while Tucker's goal was no more than Eagles deserved, its manner is likely to be argued about for the rest of the season.

As the game moved into injury time, Eagles charged forward looking to restore their lead, and in the build up to an attack Tamauri Tucker was injured, the move continued and it was only after Cougars had eventually cleared their lines, by smashing the ball out of play, that the injured Eagles player received some treatment.

Once Tucker was fit to continue, Eagles took the throw, Darrin Dowling cut inside, squared the ball for Troy Tucker, who crashed the ball past Dwayne Adams in the Cougars goal.

The defending champions were furious, believeing that Eagles should have kicked the ball back to them, instead of playing on as normal. The arguments continued well after the final whistle with both sides clashing on the pitch, as officials from both clubs desperately tried to restore some order, physically pulling players from both teams apart and hearding them towards the dressing rooms.

Cougars sense of injustice was probably motivated more by frustration at their own poor performance, than anything Eagles had done wrong.

While Kenny Thompson's side were well within their rights to keep the ball, Cougars will look back on a game where they played poorly for 70 minutes, and were punished because of it.

Antwan Russell gave the home side the lead after just 11 minutes, scoring from the penalty spot after he had been brought down by a clumsy challenge from Joshua Butterfield, and despite some flashes of brilliance from Cougars the home team dominated for the rest of the first half.

They doubled their lead five minutes into the second half when Eagles again carved Cougars open, and Shakir Smith skipped past the hapless Butterfield to score.

Moses Steede grabbed one back from the penalty spot with 69 minutes gone, and two minutes later was sent off for a second yellow card, following an innocuous challenge on Troy Tucker. Going a man down seemed to shake Cougars out of the malaise that effected them for much of the game, and they were level ten minutes later when skipper Kwame Steede finished off a fine move to punish indisciplined Eagles defending.

It would have been no surprise if Cougars had gone on to win, but Thompson's team are well-organised and will prove a stern test for most of the sides in the Premier Division. A win was no more than they deserved, although it should have been a lot more comfortable than it turned out to be.

Somerset Eagles: M.Dill, A.Rocker, T.Fubler, D.Woolridge, A.Lambert, Troy Tucker, T.Davis, D.Swan (Tamauri Tucker, 69mins), A.Russell, S.Smith (A.Grant, 79mins), D.Dowling. Subs not used: J.Bather, K.Thompson, D.Andrade, P.Russell, J.Davis. Scorers: Russell (pen) 11, Smith 50, Troy Tucker 90.

Devonshire Cougars: D.Adams, I.Mallory, K.Franks, J.Seymour, S.Brangman, K.Steede, K-V.Tucker (D.Simmons, 82 mins), Moses Steede, L.Weeks (S.Minors, 61 mins), Mark Steede (L.Simmons, 72 mins). Subs not used: A.Wolfe, J.Lowe, Zekoro White, Zeko White. Scorers: Moses Steede (pen) 69, K.Steede 81.

Red card: Moses Steede

Yellow cards: Dill, T.Davis, Swan, Smith (all Eagles). Moses Steede (Cougars).

Referee: R.Cann

Man of the match: Troy Tucker (Eagles)