Dandy Town 4 Somerset Eagles 2

A late altercation between team-mates Seion Darrell and Oneko Lowe marred Dandy Town’s 4-2 win over Somerset Eagles at Goose Gosling Field yesterday.

The pair had to be separated when tempers boiled over after Town conceded a second goal in stoppage time in their Premier Division encounter.

Both players were fortunate not to have been sent off when the dust had settled, with Darrell the only one booked for the incident, which tarnished Town’s otherwise hard fought victory.

“It took some shine off it,” Angelo Simmons, the Town captain admitted. “We are brothers and that’s what families do.

“Families fight sometimes but we will make up when we go in the changing room and focus on the next game.”

The scoreline flattered to deceive as Eagles were never out of the match which neither team really stamped their authority upon.

It ultimately boiled down to finishing, where Town were clearly a cut above their opponents to deservedly come away with all the points.

“I think we dropped down a level in the first half,” Simmons added, pointing to complacency as a factor behind their unconvincing play for the majority of the opening 45 minutes.

“The first 15-20 minutes we were on it. We were coming, we were fighting and working hard,” Simmons said.

“We wanted it more. But I think we got too complacent and ended up letting them back in the game, and then we had to push again for the third one.”

Town drew first blood in spectacular fashion before either side had settled into a groove.

Simmons gained possession in midfield and made a short pass to Nizigh Spence.

Spence took a touch before unleashing a ferocious right-footed shot from 25-yards out that flew into the top left corner of the net.

Spence then doubled Town’s advantage with another gem of a goal.

The midfielder side-footed Mathew Mello-Cann’s cross in the box in at the near post without breaking stride.

Town were forced to make a double substitution at the interval after striker Cecoy Robinson and midfielder Jahzardae Samuels went off injured.

Substitute Lowe, who replaced Robinson, made an immediate impact as he scored two minutes after the restart.

The diminutive forward ran onto Azende Furbert’s through pass in the box and slotted home from an angle.

Eagles eventually pulled one back when forward Shakir Smith intercepted full-back Eusebio Blankendal’s wayward pass and beat Julian Roser, the Town goalkeeper, with a low shot into the far bottom corner.

However, substitute Dante Scraders restored Town’s three goal cushion after dispossessing a defender and drilling in a low shot from an angle to all but secure the points.

Smith then grabbed a late consolation and his second of the match after a mix-up in the Town defence, which failed to deal with substitute Keedai Astwood’s long throw in, which sparked the altercation between Darrell and Lowe.

SCORERS

Dandy Town: Spence 9, 29, Lowe 47, Scraders 88

Somerset Eagles: Smith 61, 90+2

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-2-3-1): J Roser 7 – J Bean-Lindo 6, T Webb 6, S Darrell 7, E Blankendal 7 – A Furbert 7, N Spence 8 (sub: J Johnson, 76min) – J Samuels 6 (sub: K Davis, 46 6) M Mello-Cann 7 (sub: A Scraders, 64 7), A Simmons 7 – C Robinson 5 (sub: O Lowe, 46 7). Substitutes not used: J Manders, E Swan, A Simons. Booked: Darrell, Bean-Lindo, Davis.

Somerset Eagles (4-2-3-1): J Rumley 5 – M Iris-Simmons 5, J Rogers 6, K Harrison 6, S Lambert 6 – A Telford 6, W Tucker 6 (sub: S James, 89min) – E Fubler 6 (sub: K Durrant, 49 6), D Simmons 5 (sub: K Astwood, 62 7), S Smith 8 – H Butterfield 5. Substitutes not used: K Evans, D Joell, J Roberts. Booked: Smith.

Referee: D Jackson.