Dandy Town 4

Somerset Trojans 0

Dandy Town sent out a statement of intent for this season as they dismissed Somerset Trojans in the Charity Cup on a rainy Sunday night at Goose Gosling Field.

Two goals in quick succession by 16-year-old striker Jahnazae Swan, who was making his first-team debut, in the 37th and 39th minutes, gave Town a two-goal lead at the interval.

The defending Premier Division champions continued to dominate Trojans, who won the Friendship Trophy last season, as the rain continued to pour in the second half, with Fabian Frankson, the Town midfielder, scoring his team’s third goal in the 59th minute.

Ayshaun Smith, a second-half substitute, completed the rout in the 84th minute to hand Jomar Wilkinson’s side an impressive victory in the traditional season curtain-raiser, which started with a minute’s silence in the memory of Nathan Richardson, a former Western Stars Sports Club president.

Wilkinson admitted that he was surprised by how sharp his side looked and singled out home-grown players Swan, Amar Lewis and Jahtino Richardson-Martin, who were all making their Town debuts, for special praise.

“I was a bit surprised as I didn’t expect the team to look quite as good as that so early in the season,” Wilkinson said. “Although we have been training since before Cup Match, I was impressed with how clinical and sharp the players looked.

“We had about three young players making their debuts and they all performed very, very well. I thought Jahnazae was excellent tonight, Amar did a very good job in midfield and Tino also played well at the back.

“They all did a superb job and I’m very proud of them.”

Clay Darrell, who has joined Town from North Village, missed two good chances early on as Somerset’s defence looked worrying porous after losing captain Trevin Ming early on with an injury, with Damon Ming having plenty of joy down the left flank.

It was no surprise when Town took the lead, with Swan, who had sent a glancing header inches wide moments earlier, raced through on goal before side-footing beyond Karl Brown, the Trojans goalkeeper.

Swan, the cousin of Town midfielder Jamal Swan, added his second two minutes later when Ming’s perseverance on the edge of the box paid off, with the ball breaking for the equally diminutive forward, who turned past his marker before slotting home.

Darrell, who appeared slightly off the pace on his Town debut, did at least play his part in his side’s third goal, releasing Frankson, who skipped past the onrushing Brown and tapped into an empty net to effectively end the game as a contest.

The heavy rain rendered it difficult to play much in the way of free-flowing football in the second half, although Town continued to threaten as a seemingly undercooked Trojans offered little in attack.

Another Town teenager, Smith, who also displayed plenty of promise, added his name to the scoresheet late on after bursting through the Trojans backline before supplying a neat finish.

“I was very pleased with the boys tonight,” Wilkinson added. “It was mature performance, which is especially pleasing, as we had a lot of young players out there.”