In a season when league leaders and cup winners can be beaten out of sight - see Devonshire Colts, PHC and Devonshire Cougars - it is clear that supremacy in local football is there for the taking.

North Village, with 13 goals in their past three matches, have put their hand up and after Sunday's impressive 5-0 victory over Colts brought them within a point of first place going into the FA Cup break, few would argue that they are the team to be reckoned with.

Scott Morton, the Village coach, could hardly contain himself after the most recent display and even Shannon Burgess, the tireless Colts sweeper, had to admit that Village were, in his words, "playing with themselves".

This weekend, they meet again with Colts not defending first place in the Premier Division, but rather the FA Cup against the same Village side they beat in the 2001 final. On today's form, the bookmakers' sheet would read: "Village -3."

"We showed that we can play and any team that comes against us has to be prepared, just like we have to be prepared," Morton said. "With our desire to get back to where we need to be it showed (on Sunday)."

Village began their resurgence with consecutive 4-1 victories over Devonshire Cougars in the league and Friendship Trophy, but the Martonmere Cup winners are out of sorts these days, evidenced by a disappointing showing in the Dudley Eve Trophy, so Morton's men needed further validation.

Colts, at White Hill Field, gave it to them.

"I can appreciate that performance without a doubt, especially on a field as big as (White Hill)," Morton added.

Central to the beginning of the turnaround was the return of Ralph Bean from college in the United States, but even though he was due to leave the Island yesterday, Morton believes the youngster served his purpose in helping to get the team pointed in the right direction.

"We shouldn't have a problem with replacing him even though he brought a great deal to the team," Morton said. "All the players have to do is build on top of that. They've already expressed to him how much he has contributed to the team. So they know that anyone who replaces him has to play at the same calibre or higher."

The problems are more severe for Colts, whose season could hinge on how they respond at Bernard Park even though they are well placed in the league and have reached the Friendship Trophy semi-finals. Frustration abounded at the end of the match, with Burgess, a proud captain, searching for answers while coach Ray Jones appeared at the brink.

They have conceded five goals three times in a little more than half a season - twice at home. For a side who pride themselves on being defensively sound, it is enough to make grown men throw their rattles out of the pram.

"Anybody would have knocked the ball about against us (on Sunday)," Burgess said. "We were not on the field. We didn't defend well, our passing was ridiculous, our first touch was ridiculous. Village really played with themselves today, meaning that we gave up no resistance."

A Colts tactical switch is in the offing for the cup tie as the five-man midfield deployment was an unqualified disaster. Village, who had four in the middle, bossed that area from the outset and did not take long to pick out Jason Dill, the left wing-back, as the player to exploit.

Given the tighter dimensions at Bernard Park, a return to 4-3-3 is expected, but Burgess insists that Colts should be up to the challenge regardless.

"Mentally, one or two things didn't go the way a few players would have liked before the game regarding the formation we played," he said, "but guys have to realise that once we get on the field playing 11 against 11, if we don't eliminate the man that we're responsible for, the formation doesn't matter.

"We never shut Village down. There were times when they had the ball and three Village players were around the ball and there was no one to tackle from Colts. We would lose against any team in Bermuda if we played the way we played (on Sunday)."

Perhaps, but Village's movement was of a quality that Colts will rarely see on the domestic scene. Bean's link-up play was vital and his role will only be easily filled, as coach Morton hopes, if Dwight Warren and/or Kevin Jennings can accelerate their return to match fitness to complement the more immobile Clay Smith in a forward pairing.

For Colts, Kuma Smith, who was with Village last season, is facing a fitness test after limping out of Sunday's match towards the end of the first half with a thigh injury. Smith, the team's most creative midfield player, carried the fight for more than 15 minutes before accepting the inevitable and is essential to Colts maintaining consistency going forward.

"To lose Kuma as early as we did, it definitely hurt us," Burgess added. "If anyone was going to get us back into the game when we went two goals down it would have been Kuma. Everything, even the bounces, seemed to go against us.

"If we don't step up to a team like Village, who will be confident on the ball, and try and let them know that we're there to play against them, we're going to get beaten. So we have to have confidence in ourselves first of all and, secondly, we have to play a lot better defensively."

On the previous two occasions Colts were hit for five, they came back with a much-improved performance and Burgess is banking on much of the same at Bernard Park when Village fans will be confident that their team will record a third victory over them this season.

"We have to take (the defeat) in stride and realise that next week's a different match," Burgess said. "We have to feel confident against any team if we play our 'A' game. We also have to be prepared to battle, and we weren't prepared to battle (on Sunday)."