Somerset Trojans 1 Hamilton Parish 0

D’Andre Wainwright scored the only goal of the game as Somerset Trojans secured their place in the Dudley Eve Trophy final.

Wainwright dusted himself off after being fouled at the top of the box in the first half to plant his free-kick around the wall and into the right corner of goalkeeper Paul Tohill’s net.

With both teams chasing the chance to capture some early silverware to offset a disappointing league start, there was a promising start to the match with four-time champions Trojans the more determined as they forced Parish goalkeeper Tohill to make back-to-back saves as early as the fifth minute.

Khairi Joyiens was put through to get off a sliding shot which Tohill did well to save before the goalkeeper redeemed himself after a badly-taken goal-kick when diving at full stretch to push the firm drive of Jadan Ratteray-Smith around the post.

Parish would get their first threatening attempt at goal in the fifteenth minute but Shane Hollis’s curling right-foot shot was well wide of Trojans goalkeeper Jade Morrissey’s upright. Macquille Walker should have opened the scoring for Parish when he was put through on a breakaway but Morrissey did well to to block his attempt.

Midway through the half, Tohill had to be alert to punch Simeon Burrows snap-shot volley to safety after he found room to get the shot off.

Wainwright and Justin Corday were interchanging as strikers to keep the Parish defence off balance and their movement led to the only goal of the game.

Wainwright collected the ball and dribbled along the top of the box before being fouled by Parish captain Kyle Wade with a late challenge. The ball carrier dusted himself off and buried the free-kick beyond the wall and into the net as Tohill could only watch to give Scott Morton’s men the lead at the break.

The Trojans carried this momentum into the start of the second half as Corday ran on to a chipped ball over the defence by Jeze Butterfield only for the Parish defence and goalkeeper to recover to block his goalbound effort.

It was then that Parish started to enjoy a period of possession resulting in Kion Knights putting Hollis through but he would shoot into the side netting from a tight angle. Midway through the half, Corday’s thunderous shot beat the goalkeeper but rattled the post before it was cleared to safety to keep Parish in the game.

With time running out, Parish had two opportunities to find the equaliser when Knights threaded a pass to Shakeem Albuoy, who rounded Morrissey, but his goalbound shot was cleared for a corner by a recovering defender before Jordan Outerbridge’s curling free-kick was saved by a well-positioned Morrissey.

“It was about who wants it the most as we hear time and time again“, stated a satisfied Trojan’s coach Scott Morton. ‘Parish did dominate some parts of the game but all credit to the players as they took on the information and stayed structurally sound to pull off the victory. There is still a lot of work to be done but I am thankful for the win.’

Before the match players and spectators observed a minute of silence to mark the passing of honorary life vice-president of the Bermuda Football Association and Fifa referee Charles Marshall who died last week.

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans

D Wainwright 32

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-1-4-1): J Morrissey 8 --- A Morrissey 6, C Durham 6, Jaz Ratteray-Smith 7, J Fraser 6 (sub: D Ming, 50min 6) --- S Burrows 7 --- Jadan Ratteray-Smith 7, K Joyiens 7 (sub: D Swan, 83), J Butterfield 7, D Wainwright 8 --- J Corday 8. Substitutes not used: J Shields, M Aden, Z Saltus-Seymour, K McNeil. Booked: S Burrows, D Ming.

Hamilton Parish (4-2-3-1): P Tohill 8 --- J Bean 6, Q Outerbridge 7, K Wade 6, K Richardson 6 (sub: J Steede, 74) --- S McKittrick 6, K Knights 7 --- J Outerbridge 6, S Albuoy 6, M Walker 6 --- S Hollis 7. Substitutes not used: C Castle. Booked: S Albuoy, K Wade, J Outerbridge.

Referee: T Simons