Clinically executed solo efforts either side of the half gave Devonshire Cougars? coach Shawn Smith the perfect gift on his 37th birthday at Wellington Oval on Saturday.

In 2001-02 Smith won a Martonmere winner?s medal as a player with Cougars. And on Saturday he earned a first as a coach.

Cougars? inspirational midfielder Kwame Steede gave the Big Cats the lead for good after 32 minutes before fellow playmaker Domico Coddington completely shattered PHC?s hopes with an insurance strike eight-minutes from full time.

?All credit has to go to this team for their overall preparations. They showed up with a professional attitude and approach to the match and in the end that?s what paid off,? Smith commented afterwards.

?We always felt we were going to get a few chances, and it was just a matter of putting them away.?

Saturday?s win earned Cougars their fifth overall cup title in the club?s history, and a second Martonmere crown in the new millennium.

For Zebras it was their third straight cup final loss at a venue that has seemingly become jinxed for the men in black.

Yet in some way Cougars? win was achieved in an unconventional manner as one of the Island?s most explosive attacking teams opted to defend for long spells, particularly in the second half.

?It was a risky tactic, going defensive,? Smith admitted. ?But we were confident we could defend our one-goal lead.?

Cougars were also able to capitalise on their chances and prevail where a gun-shy Zebras ? who managed only two shots on goal for the entire match ? fell woefully short.

Despite missing several key players and falling behind to Steede?s first-half thunderbolt, PHC stretched Cougars? back four of Omar and Joshua Butterfield, Keimo Bean and Darius Cox, but lacked the killer instinct around goal.

Very seldom was makeshift ?keeper Reginald Baker tested between the ?sticks, and on the isolated occasion when the youngster was beaten his defence came running to the rescue.

The opening 45 minutes of this scrappy affair which fell well short of expectations saw play evenly shared, though Cougars created more chances.

The Big Cats should have grabbed the lead after 25 minutes when Shaki Minors found himself all alone inside the area with only ?keeper Raymon Glasford to contend with. But after taking what seemed an eternity to pick his spot, Minors inexplicably blasted his effort high and wide of the target.

Minors then missed another golden opportunity by hesitating to the pull the trigger from inside the box with the goal at his mercy.

Steede, however, made no mistake minutes later as he stuffed Coddington?s free kick in at the back post with a terrific volley to give the Big Cats the lead.

But after forging ahead, Cougars removed their foot from the throttle and flirted with danger as twice Zebras came close to levelling the scores just before the half.

First central defender Shea Smith had a goal-bound shot saved on the line and then Kevin Lambe lifted a golden opportunity from 10 yards over the bar right on the half-time whistle.

A subdued Raymond Beach, who passed a late fitness test, nearly doubled his team?s lead shortly after play resumed. However, the prolific striker lobbed over an empty net after the advancing Glasford had committed himself.

Ten minutes later Beach appeared to pull up and was eventually replaced by Bermuda Under-20 national player Ajani Gibbons.

It was the first match Beach has failed to hit the target in after netting eight goals in five outings.

And his glaring miss nearly came back to haunt Cougars as Zebras shifted into another gear in search of the all-important equaliser, Baker making a key save by pushing a Lambe effort around the post.

Ibou Barry then followed up by dragging Lonnie Bascome?s corner kick just wide.

With the pendulum swinging slightly in his team?s favour, Zebras? coach Kyle Lightbourne inserted fresh blood to try and keep the momentum going. And while subs Aquino Grant and Jason Smith and team stalwart Raynel (Manga) Lightbourne continued to chisel away, the Cougars? defence held firm.

During a rare Cougars? counterattack, Glasford?s athleticism thwarted Coddington?s ballistic from outside the area.

But there would be no denying the 2004-05 MVP moments later when he squeezed his shot between an indecisive Glasford and the near post on the second attempt to extend the match well beyond Zebras? reach.

?I felt we were in the game until Cougars scored their second goal. We got ourselves in some good positions, but lacked confidence handling the ball,? Zebras? coach Lightbourne commented.

?In cup finals or in any game it?s all about taking your chances. And we didn?t take the chances that we had.

?But Cougars were the better team on the day. They took their chances and deserved to win.?: R.Glasford, M.Williams, S.Smith, O.Shakir (capt), D.Wilson, K.Lambe (Jason Smith, 62 mins,), D.Francis, J.Almeida, Lonnie Bascome, I.Barry, R.Lightbourne: R.Baker, D.Cox, O.Butterfield, J.Butterfied, K.Bean, K.Steede, D.Coddington, C.Caisey (K.Goddard, 80 mins), M.Smith, S.Minors (I.Mallory, 73 mins), R.Beach (capt) (A.Gibbons, 45 mins).: M.Williams, O.Shakir, L.Bascome.S.Smith (PHC); K.Steede (Cougars).: Anthony Francis

Rams won the Konica Cup battle between the ladies at Wellington Oval on Saturday.

The underdogs rocked the champions on their heels in the 12th minute after Chloe Martin?s free kick from outside the 18 yard box went in off the far upright.

Cougars? afternoon then went from bad to worse as defender Allanete Hayward was sent off for handling the ball in the box and Martin converted the resulting penalty to double Rams? lead.

Vinzie Zuill scored late in the second-half to give Cougars a ray of hope. But Rams managed to hold on and avenge a lopsided Charity Cup loss to their opponents earlier this season.

?This win was long overdue and first and foremost I must congratulate my team for the way they took the match to Cougars and adhered to the game plan,? stated victorious Rams? coach Jeremy Salaam.

?I?m very proud of this team and I?ve always felt they had the potential to go a long way.?