Somerset Trojans 3 Robin Hood 5

Robin Hood secured a big win over Somerset Trojans at Somerset Cricket Club on Saturday night, primarily, because of a dominant first-half display in which they stunned the host side with goals.

However, the Trojans responded in kind in the second half, scoring three goals of their own as they almost pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks of the season.

Hood came out firing on all cylinders right from the start, and they had a 2-0 lead after only 11 minutes.

Tomiko Goater broke the deadlock for Hood in the seventh minute, with a near-post header, after the Trojans were unable to clear their lines, after a Hood free kick.

Four minutes later, Hood doubled their lead. A cross came in from the right of goal that the Trojans defence once again was not able to properly deal with, and Antwan Russell, the Hood forward, was able to place his header into the back of the net from two yards out.

Six minutes later, the Trojans managed to get their only real chance of the first half, but striker Deunte Darrell placed his shot right at Dale Eve, the Hood goalkeeper.

In the 25th minute, Hood scored their third goal. Daniel Andrade picked up the ball and let off a somewhat hopeful shot, from outside the box that Yizharyah Williams, the Trojans goalkeeper, got a hand to but could not prevent from going in.

Four minutes later, Hood almost extended their lead with a venomous free kick from Shakir Smith but Williams just managed to push it against the crossbar for a corner. Williams and the Trojans would not be so fortunate moments later, when a free kick from Russell, took a slight deflection off of the wall and wrong-footed Williams.

In the 43rd minute, Goater scored his second goal of the match, after Williams spilt his shot over the goal line, to send his side into the break with a seemingly insurmountable, commanding five-nil lead.

If the Trojans’ had been guilty of poor defending and slack goalkeeping in the first half, then it was Hood who would be the culprits in the second half.

In the 55th minute, the Trojans’ striker D’Andre Wainwright was hounding the Hood defence, which caused goalkeeper Eve to somewhat panic and clatter a powerful attempted clearance against defender Jaylon Bather that then flew into the back of the net, and put the Trojans on the scoreboard. Tahzeiko Harris then had a point blank header saved by Eve.

In the 65th minute, Wainwright was again troubling the Hood defence, and this time he caused Parsons to put the ball through his own net. Wainwright then crowned his industrious second half, with a goal of his own. After linking up with Jaz Ratteray-Smith, who played a delightful one-two pass which left Wainwright with only the goalkeeper to beat and the rejuvenated striker duly obliged.

Having brought the game to a more respectable scoreline, the Trojans began to believe that they could find the two crucial goals that they needed to salvage a remarkable draw. And they probably should have been awarded a penalty late on, which really could have made things interesting. But alas, time ran out on the Trojans and they were unable to close the two-goal deficit.

After their team’s first-half display, Hood fans will have no doubt that their team will challenge for the title. Meanwhile, the Trojans’ second-half fight back showed that they may still have some spirit left in them and if they can carry their second-half momentum into the next game, maybe they can find a way to pull away from the drop zone.

SCORERS

Somerset Trojans: Bather 55 og, Parsons 68 og, Wainwright 78

Robin Hood Goater 7, 43, Russell 11, 34; Andrade 25

TEAMS

Somerset Trojans (4-4-2): Y Williams — M Henschke, T Harris, T Ming, C Durham — A Seaman (sub: J Butterfield, 57min), Jaz Ratteray-Smith, D Swan (sub: A Trott, 72), Jaden Ratteray-Smith — D Darrell (sub: Z Smith, 74), D Wainwright. Substitutes not used: H Butterfield, K Swanson-Robinson. Booked: Darrell, Swan.

Robin Hood (4-4-2): D Eve — C Castle, P Parsons, J Bather, D Andrade — L Symonds (sub: C Ricca, 82), A Nelson, C Ryan, S Smith — T Goater (sub: Z Burgess, 59), A Russell (sub: Bean, 80). Substitutes not used: J Nusum, E Outerbridge. Referee: Lionel Cann.