Dandy Town 6 Somerset Trojans 2

Dandy Town Hornets produced an entertaining display of attacking play as they thrashed Somerset Trojans at St John’s Field yesterday.

Their win puts them just one point behind league leaders PHC Zebras. Hornets reserved most of their scoring for the second half as they took a 2-1 lead into the interval. Brothers Jadan and Jaz Ratteray-Smith gave some consolation for Trojans as they scored in each half.

Town threatened Somerset with their first corner in the fifth minute. Trojans goalkeeper Shaquille Bean pushed the inswinging corner against the crossbar, with the ball falling to the feet of Town’s Ernest Trott. His firm shot was blocked by Bean who was able to trap the ball between his legs.

Trojans came close to scoring when Vernon Perinchief and Jadan Ratteray-Smith combined to put Justin Corday through but Town goalkeeper Troy Hall advanced and blocked his shot.

Town opened the scoring after a defensive error when defender Coolridge Durham was dispossessed by Nizign Spence deep in his half. His cross was met by a diving Ian Coke who beat Bean with a header.

Trojans equalised a few minutes later from a free kick just outside the area. The ball took a deflection off the wall and landed at the feet of Jaz Ratteray-Smith. His cross found his brother Jadan, who rolled his shot into Hall’s far corner.

Town regained the lead when Damon Ming was on the end of a long, diagonal cross field ball. He passed inside to K’wonde Lathan who turned his marker and hit a low shot which beat Bean at his near post. Town scored their third goal on a counter attack. Trojans intercepted a poor clearance with the ball falling at the feet of Malachi Jones, whose shot was saved by goalkeeper Hall who then threw the ball long to Oneko Lowe.

Lowe dribbled half the length of the field before slotting the ball under the advancing Bean. Lowe notched Town’s fourth when Ming outpaced Bean to a ball that was wide of goal. Ming’s low cross found Lowe who slotted the ball into an empty net.

Trojan’s goalkeeper Bean created Town’s fifth goal when, after making a good save, he dribbled the ball up the field unnecessarily and conceded a free kick after losing possession of the ball.

The resulting free kick found Steede unmarked at the back post and his header gave Bean no chance. Bean was substituted just before the restart.

Lowe then turned provider when he dribbled inside from the left and passed to substitute Dennis Russell, who surprised substitute goalkeeper Morrissey with a deliberate backheel, which wrong footed the goalkeeper and landed in the net.

Jaz Ratteray-Smith then scored a consolation goal for Trojans in the dying stages when he planted his header past Hall.

TEAMS

Dandy Town: T Hall — O Lowe, K Steede (sub: K Simmons, 70min), J Shrubb, E Blankendal, K Lathan, N Spence (sub: D Williams, 46), E Trott, D Ming (sub: D Russell, 73), A Simmons, I Coke. Substitutes not used: J Manders, G Liburd. Booked: Lowe.

Somerset Trojans: S Bean — (J Morrissey, 68), R Quinn, T Ming, C Durham, Jaz Ratteray-Smith, A Trott, M Jones, J Corday, Z Darrell (sub: J Butterfield, 75), V Perinchief, Jadan Ratteray-Smith. Substitutes not used: Y Williams, A Simmons, R Butterfield. Booked: Jadan Ratteray-Smith, V Perinchief.

Referee: Garic Swainson.