Calvin “Patches” Dill Jr is on the verge of joining the great North Village coaches if his side pull off a win against Devonshire Cougars in the FA Cup final at Flora Duffy Stadium on Sunday.

Dill, the Village interim head coach, has already helped to secure the club a tenth Premier Division title and can take his name alongside other greats to have coached the Pembroke club.

Scott Morton secured back-to-back doubles for Village during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, while Larry Smith (1977-78) and Dwayne “Streaker” Adams (2005-06) took the achievement a step further by winning the Triple Crown.

“I could be making history if that does happen but the game’s played on the day,” Dill told The Royal Gazette.

“We’re coming up against a spirited Cougars side with a good coach in Kwame Steede. We just have to stay humble, put the hard work in, get the job done on Sunday and finish the season on a high.

“Those that have paved the way for me, kudos to them but now it’s a different journey and hopefully I can emulate them.

“We want this double for the North Village community and I want to win it for all the coaching staff.

“I’ve been working with Jehmeiko Jennings, Tarik Smith and Rai Simmons. We also have ladies doing a wonderful job in providing support to the technical team, Apryl Jackson, Akeyla Furbert, Tenae Hassell, and Taché King.”

One of Village’s key players this season, Tre Ming, feels blessed to still be on the pitch. In September 2023, after helping Village win the Charity Cup over PHC, the former Bermuda player announced his retirement.

The 31-year-old reversed that decision and played on but this time he seems to have made up his mind about calling time on his career.

“I wasn't supposed to be playing for this long,” Ming said. “But my captain and other guys asked me to play, and I felt I had a duty to give Village the league.

“It takes a lot to get my body ready for a game on Sunday, but the camaraderie and fellowship I have with these guys makes it easy for me to commit to a sacrifice.

Ming, who joined Village from PHC in 2022, has had surgery on both knees and needs a further operation soon.

“I’ve to get another surgery on my left knee when the season ends,” he said. “I’ve had two surgeries, one on each knee. When we made it to the Gold Cup in 2019, that’s when I had my first surgery after I tore my meniscus on the right knee.

“When we came back from the Gold Cup, that August, in a friendly match against North Village, I picked up another knee injury.”

A two-times FA Cup winner, Ming wants to win the island’s premier knockout competition in what he believes is his final match in competitive football.

“I want it more than anything,” he said. I’m going to give everything, it’s my last game and this is it for me. The coach knows that I’m done, and I’m ready to be a fan.”

Ming was the first of four Village players sent off by Amaury Majors in the 4-0 loss to St George’s in the final last year.

“I try not to think about that match too much,” he said. “To make it worse the player who stole the show, he plays for us now and the coach is with us as well.

“It’s been great working with the two guys. We've been having banter about what happened in that final last year, but it’s going to be strictly red on Sunday.

“It was tough for us losing the league and the FA Cup last year but I think it made us stronger, and in a harsh reality it showed us how to win.”

Dill recalled how Ming’s career appeared over as he struggled to keep up with training at the start of the season.

“I remember when we started training at Dellwood Middle School, Tre Ming was finished then,’’ the coach said.

“As the season went along, he said to me ‘if you need me, I'll be here’. He started against St George’s in the first half of the season and has played every game since.

“He was supposed to have retired last season because of his knees but he kept coming for training and, as time went, he decided to be a part of the team.

“His commitment is out of this world, he’s always the first at training and he puts in maximum effort. He gives you 100 per cent whenever he’s on the field and he’s shown other players about commitment. This has impacted positively on the whole team and we always have good numbers at training.”

Jonte Smith could win the FA Cup for the second season in a row after a hat-trick in the final a year ago denied his childhood club a tenth FA Cup success and the 30-year-old feels that he has paid for his “sins” by securing the league title for Village.

“The FA Cup was my first senior trophy in Bermuda,” Smith said.

“For that, it definitely holds a special place in my heart. It motivates me every time I’m playing in the competition.

“We've won the league and I’ve scored a good amount of goals this season, so everyone is happy that I’m back at Village.

“All’s forgiven and as long as I keep doing what I’m doing, whatever happened last year is all in the past.”

Village captain Detre Bell has recovered from the disappointment of losing the FA Cup last year and then being shown a red card at the end of the match. His dismissal in the final saw him miss the start of this season.

“I got over that a long time ago,” he said. “That’s just how football is, you can’t go out there and expect to win every game.

“We’re happy to have Jonté and Patches. I always tell people that they were on loan, now they’re back home doing what they’re supposed to do.

“I have faith and trust in the coach, and definitely got the most faith in my strikers, Jonté and Jai.”

Daion Swan-DeSilva, the youngest member of the Village side, is hoping to be on a plane on Monday with a winner’s medal around his neck. The creative midfielder will next week head back to Connecticut, where he is studying and playing football at Woodstock Academy.

“Since the team’s been winning, I think we can come out and do well,” the 18-year-old said.

“Our team has looked good in training and we’re looking to do our best. As an individual, I’ve done everything I can to prepare myself for the final.

“The energy’s good, I’m making sure that I’m doing everything right to get myself ready for this game. I've been away at school, so I don’t know what to expect from Cougars, but I know that we’re going to play our game, and give the opponents a hard time.