Devonshire Cougars 1

Dandy Town 2

Cougars ?keeper Ricardo Brangman must have tossed and turned in his sleep last night.

With the Big Cats holding a slim lead and threatening to run away with the match, Brangman?s ? and Cougars? ? night went horribly wrong.

Gaining possession some 30 yards out, Hornets forward Anthony Thomas beat the unsuspecting ?keeper with a rasping right-footed thunderbolt that soared into the roof of the net.

That goal, more than worthy of the highlight reel, provided Hornets with the ideal lift to overcome a Cougars side that ultimately paid a heavy price for failing to convert pressure into goals.

Six-minutes after Thomas gave the well-sheltered Hornets? faithful behind the northern goal something to shout about, club stalwart Carlos Smith stuffed Jared Peniston?s corner kick in at the back post to send the Barn Yard crew through to their sixth overall and second straight Martonmere Cup final.

Cougars big striker Mark Steede netted minutes before the half to send his into the dressing room with a slim lead and, perhaps, bought himself extra minutes on the pitch after a mostly quiet opening 45 minutes.

But while not much separated these two urban warriors in terms of possession, chances and overall distribution of the ball, most would have agreed it was Hornet?s clinical finishing which gave them the decisive edge.

After a lacklustre first-half, Town came out a brand new bunch in the second half.

?I just asked them to go back to the basics and play the game simple,? Hornets coach Devarr Boyles told The Royal Gazette afterwards.

Evidently, the message stuck, especially inside of Thomas? head.

?I think that goal really made the difference,? Boyles added. ?That galvanised us because up ?til that point it appeared as though we weren?t going to get much or anything from the match.?

Then there was the resilience of Smith in attack.

?We are just glad to have Carlos. Now if we can get a few others like him up and running then I think we will be okay,? Boyles smiled.

?Last year we stumbled in the final against North Village and so whoever we meet in the final we hope to finish the job this time around.?

Still acclimatising himself to his new surrounding at the Barn, Thomas certainly did enough to boost his stock with what the player later described as ?the goal of his career?.

?I was pushing forward with the play and I saw Jared (Peniston) come from wide with the ball. So once I had possession of the ball and I realised nobody had picked me up in the middle I looked up, picked my spot and had a hit,? the burly forward recalled.

The rest, as they say, is history.

?I knew it was going in from the moment I struck and it had to be my best ever,? he added.

Earlier Cougars managed to hold a slight edge over Hornets in what was for the most part an evenly contested match.

After a fast and furious start, Cougars midfield trio of Kwame Steede, Domico Coddington and Jamal Simmons seemed to win the battle in the middle of the park. But often forwards Steede and Chris Caisey Jr ran out of ideas around the area when fed up front.

Cougars played a typical Andrew Bascome style of play, spreading the ball around like margarine in gradual build ups starting from deep in their own half.

In contrast, Hornets relied on the quick counter-attack where Smith, Michael Parsons, Ottis Steede and Lorenzo Simmons always looked dangerous.

Peniston had a curling shot palmed away by Brangman while Smith had a powerful downward header also saved by the Cougars custodian.

However, with half time approaching, it was Cougars who would crack the ice and take a deserved lead with, perhaps, a little assistance from Cymande Davis who should have routinely collected the ball.

But fortunately for Steede, his low drive trickled under the ?keeper?s body and into the back of the net.

Prior to the Big Cats? sole moment of joy, Steede completely mis-kicked in front of goal, a disgruntled Aljame Zuill had a goal-bound shot cleared off the line by Kingsley Mundy, Jeremy DeShields shot inches wide and Darius Cox found the side net after weaving his way around the Hornets defence.

?I thought we were the better team tonight,? said Cougars coach Bascome afterwards. ?I thought we lost the ball in midfield and paid a heavy price for it.?

Devonshire: R.Brangman, I.Mallory, D.Cox, O.Butterfield, J.DeShields (S.Pearman, 84 mins), J.Simmons (C.Hill, 78 mins), K.Steede (capt), C.Caisey, A.Zuill, D.Coddington, M.Steede (R.Baker, 75 mins)

Dandy Town: C.Davis, K.Mundy, D.Zuill, M.Lowe (capt), E.Signor, A.Thomas, O.Steede, L.Simmons (S.Tuzo, 61 mins), J.Peniston, C.Smith, M.Parsons (C.Anderson, 77 mins).

Yellow cards: C.Caisey (Cougars); E.Signor, C.Smith, M.Parsons, J.Wilkinson (Town).

Men of the match: J.DeShields (Cougars); A.Thomas (Town)

Referee: Lyndon Raynor.