Their feathers may have been ruffled but by no means was the pride of Somerset Eagles plucked away.

Eagles suffered a 4-1 mauling at the expense of Devonshire Cougars in Sunday's Martonmere Cup Group B match. However, there was still reason to cheer - albeit muted - in the Eagles dressing room afterwards.

After all, the West Enders still advanced to the semi-finals of the competition at their very first try.

"The majority of us still feel optimistic even though we lost, because we are still in with a shot at making the final," said Eagles veteran Musceo Hunt yesterday.

"We still have an opportunity to come out on top. I think we just didn't come out with the intensity that we needed to keep Cougars at bay.

"I think that was a fault of each and everyone of us. Cougars came out like they really wanted to win the game and as a result they received their reward."

Hunt said his team were undone at the seams due to some costly errors.

"Those things happen," added Hunt. "We made a few mistakes and Cougars were able to capitalise on them."

Eagles now face six-time Martonmere champions North Village in the semi-finals - the club's third semi-final appearance in as many seasons in a major cup competition.

"We have to mentally prepare ourselves for that match," said Hunt. "We know that we have to work hard and maintain our composure during the game in order to get a positive result.

"We definitely will have to play with more intensity and a bit more patience because Village have a lot of experience in their team. And we can't afford to make simple mistakes. We have to capitalise on each and every opportunity that we get and put our best foot forward."

Overall, Hunt said being a part of the Martonmere Cup competition augured well for Eagles as they head into the league season which gets underway this weekend.

"It's a good tournament. It's good for teams preparing for the league season to get some match fitness in against good opposition," he said. "As long as we are learning from the mistakes that we've made . . . I think that it will benefit us in the long haul because it's going to be a challenge in the league this season with a lot of new teams coming up. And I think everyone has a solid team."