Somerset Trojans 3

Hamilton Parish 1

Deunte Darrell struck a double salvo to hand in-form Somerset Trojans their second comfortable victory over Hamilton Parish in four days.

Trojans condemned Parish to a 4-1 thrashing in the Friendship Trophy final on New Year’s Day, and once again had too much firepower for their opponents in Saturday night’s league match at Somerset Cricket Club.

The victory keeps second place Trojans in the thick of the title race, completing a memorable week for a side tipped by many to struggle this season after losing a slew of influential players in the summer.

Leo Burgess gave Trojans the lead in the seventh minute with a close range header after Parish’s defence had failed to clear their lines, allowing Justin Corday to direct the ball back into the danger zone.

Parish fought back, though, on 35 minutes when Lorenzo Simmons finished off a free-flowing passing move with a venomous first-time volley, which goalkeeper Shaquille Bean had no chance of saving.

While Parish were looking far more unyielding in defence than they had at the National Sports Centre last Wednesday, Trojans had a threatening edge going forward and restored their advantage early in the second half through Deunte Darrell.

Better known for his cricketing prowess, Darrell was causing Parish plenty of problems with his speed and trickery and opened his account with a stunning half volley after being picked out on the edge of the box by Vashun Blanchette.

Darrell was presented with another opportunity almost immediately but seemed to get the ball trapped under his feet while bearing down on goal, enabling full back Quincy Glasford to intervene with a well-timed sliding tackle.

The Trojans striker made no such mistake with his next chance on 85 minutes, cutting inside his marker on the edge of the area before beating goalkeeper Nigel Burgess with a low, fizzing effort at the near post. Trojans almost extended their lead late on when workaholic midfielder Corday flashed a drive from long distance inches wide of Burgess’s right-hand post.

Trevin Ming, the Trojans skipper, insisted his side still felt like “underdogs” despite their lofty league position but believed they were beginning to prove their naysayers wrong.

“It’s been a good week for us and we were deserving of this win tonight,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of belief in the team right now and we’re just going to take it one game at a time and remain humble.

“I still don’t think we get the credit we deserve and we still feel like underdogs, which suits us.”

n St David’s gave their survival hopes a tremendous boost when Angelo Cannonier netted two minutes into injury time to give them a 1-0 win over visiting Southampton Rangers yesterday to move off the bottom of the tables.

The game’s only goal came following a free kick inside the St David’s half which saw Zachary Morris dribble to the left touchline and square the ball to the far post where the unmarked Cannonier headed home.