Town out of drop zone after dominant win
Dandy Town 3 Somerset Trojans 0
Dandy Town climbed out of the relegation zone after cruising to a comfortable home victory over Somerset Trojans at St John’s Field yesterday.
Town stamped their authority from the outset, Angelo Simmons, the captain, putting the home side ahead after just 43 seconds.
Tomiko Goater doubled Town’s lead with a neat finish at the near post before Simmons grabbed a second right before half-time to leave Trojans all but done and dusted.
The home team were just as dominant in the second half but were unable to stretch their lead because of some wasteful finishing. Town controlled the middle of the park with midfielders Jahmel Swan, Damon Ming and Simmons providing the thrust playing in front of a defence well marshalled by Seion Darrell and Tre Manders.
Trojans’ best chances fell to midfielders Antione Seaman and Vernon Perinchief and striker Jonathan Bean who all missed when scoring seemed easier.
Further compounding Trojans’ defeat was the loss of Perinchief who injured his right ankle in a tackle midway through the second half.
Town’s third league win enabled them to leapfrog Flanagan’s Onions and Somerset Eagles to move from ninth to seventh, level on points with Eagles, but ahead on goal difference.
Trojans’ fourth league loss saw them slip one spot from fifth to sixth.
Fresh off a shutout victory over Devonshire Cougars in their previous outing, Town made the best possible start when Simmons broke the deadlock during their first attack on goal. The forward carved space for himself out wide on the left before beating Shaquille Bean, the Trojans goalkeeper, from a tight angle.
Town should have doubled their lead shortly after but Goater, playing with a level of confidence that eluded him during the first half of the season, blazed Lynn Tucker’s cross high and wide.
Trojans lacked organisation in the early stages but gradually settled down and began to cause Town some concern going forward with some attractive ball movement of their own.
Town nearly threw their lead away when Manders was caught in possession deep in his own half. The defender was dispossessed by Leo Burgess who charged into the box and squared the ball to Seaman who blasted over from close range.
Seaman’s miss proved costly as Town doubled their lead moments later against the run of play to put Trojans back on the back foot.
Goater used his strength to hold off a defender before squeezing the ball inside of Bean’s near post from a tight angle to pull Town further ahead.
Even though they trailed by two goals Trojans were still in the match and they were unfortunate not to cut Town’s lead in half when Justin Corday picked out Perinchief on the edge of the box. Rather than take a touch Perinchief opted for a lob which ballooned over the bar.
One again Town made their opponents pay dearly as Simmons grabbed his second of the match and eighteenth of the season against the run of play to give the home side a commanding 3-0 advantage at the break.
Trojans made a change at the start of the second half with player-coach Danvers Seymour replacing left back Dennis Lister.
However, the home team controlled the second half but were unable to convert their dominance into goals.
Goater and Swan had shots saved from close range before Trojans’ afternoon went from bad to worse when Perinchief injured his ankle in a tackle.
The visiting side’s best chance fell to striker Bean who was kept under wraps most of the match. He chested Seaman’s cross in the box but dragged wide with only Daniels, the Bermuda Under-20 goalkeeper, to beat.
Substitute Jahtino Richardson-Martin missed a handful of chances after coming off the bench while Amar Lewis, an 80th-minute replacement for Town captain Simmons, went close with a thunderbolt from 30-yards that brought off a superb fingertip save by Bean.
SCORERS
Dandy Town
Simmons 1, 27, Goater 44
TEAMS
Dandy Town (4-5-1): A Daniels — K Tucker, S Darrell, T Manders, K Davis — L Tucker, D Ming (sub: D Butterfield, 75min), J Swan, T Goater (sub: J Richardson — Martin, 70), A Simmons (sub: A Lewis, 80) — D Bascome. Substitutes not used: K Wade, E Blankendal, K Steede, J Amory.
Somerset Trojans (4-5-1): S Bean — D Lister (sub: D Seymour, 46), T Wade, T Ming, J Ratteray-Smith — J Corday, A Trott, V Perinchief (sub: H Butterfield, 64), A Seaman (sub: R Cann, 80), L Burgess — J Bean.
Referee: M Wyer.