Devonshire Cougars 1 North Village 3

North Village put an end to Devonshire Cougars' recent reign of terror before a packed house at the Den last night to earn the right to meet Dandy Town in next month's Martonmere Cup Final at the National Sports Centre.

After weathering early pressure either side of the break, Village made the most of their limited chances in front of goal to not only advance through to a second successive Martonmere final, but also put an end to a recent losing streak stretching back as far as last November against the big cats.

The Reds took a surprising 38th minute lead through captain Ralph Bean Jr. and then dodged a major bullet when Aljame Zuill squandered a golden opportunity to put his team back into contention from the penalty spot, leaving Kaiwon Dill to finally settle the issue with a gem of goal in the 56th minute before the relentless Keith Jennings extended the match far beyond Cougars reach with a lasp-gasp strike deep into injury time.

Teenage striker Lamont Brangman, a half-time replacement for injured midfielder Mark Smith, breathed a bit of life into Cougars hopes of appearing in yet another cup final with a clinical piece of finishing in the 73rd minute of play.

"I think the break might have helped us tonight," said jubilant Reds' player/coach Kentoine Jennings afterwards, alluding to his team's seven day rest.

"It was a good game but I think several days of rest and our team's defence and our ability to limit their chances paid off for us in the end.

"We defended well all night and then made the most of our opportunities in front of goal."

Village and Town will now square off against each other in next month's final in what will be a repeat of the 2001-02 FA Cup final between the two urban clubs.

But while Village had plenty to celebrate about last night, Cougars were left to ponder on some earlier misses in front of goal that ultimately came back to haunt them while the loss of three players to injury, Zuill's penalty miss and then the dreaded sight of second-half substitute Reginald Baker being taken away in an ambulance perhaps best summed up the home team's night.

With a cup final appearance on the line, neither team gave away much in the opening half, though Cougars came out gunning at their cross-town rivals.

Again skipper Kwame Steede led from the front and nearly gave Cougars the lead as early as the fourth minute when his diving header resulting from a Joshua Butterfield diagonal cross rolled inches wide of the post.

Steede's opposite number Ralph Bean Jr. then nearly made his presence felt at the other end with a close range effort that prompted an alert Dyke Lawrence into action in goal.

But with Cougars running rampant in attack, the home team always looked the more likely to initially break the ice as Zuill, Steede and Jamal Salaam all went close.

However, the Reds had other thoughts in mind as they managed to keep their shape, bide their time and then exploit Cougars defence in the six minutes before the break with the unmarked Bean drilling Keith Jennings' cross inside the far post.

From there, Village put their foot on the throttle and pinned Cougars down for the remainder of the half with wave after wave of sustained pressure.

But just as they had done in the first-half, Cougars immediately took the match to Village after the re-start with Domico Coddington leaving two markers in his wake and splitting the Reds defence with a piercing pass to free Zuill in the middle. However, the wiry striker scuffed the chance.

Reds striker Damon Wade, returning from a one game suspension, entered the pitch in the 52nd minute and immediately made his presence felt with a cross which was unmercifully planted home off the boot of Dill hovering above the penalty area.

Zuill then missed a crucial spot-kick right on the hour after Coddington was sent crashing to the canvass after colliding with Kofi Dill.

The miss would prove costly along with the sight of Salaam and Omar Butterfield and then Baker all leaving the pitch injured. And if they thought Village might have been sympathetic to their plight, then Jennings cruelly erased those ideas by slotting home his team's third seconds from the end.

Devonshire: L.Dyke, S.Smith, D.Cox, O.Butterfield (R.Swan, 66), J.Butterfield, J.DeShields, M.Smith (L.Brangman, 45), J.Salaam (R.Baker, 59), K.Steede (capt), D.Coddington, A.Zuill

Village: Z.Hendrickson, G.Augustus, K.Dill, Ken.Jennings, S.Goater (D.Wade, 52), T.Outerbridge, K.Dill, K.Jennings, M.Crane (Q.Paynter, 72), R.Bean Jr (capt), V.Tankard

Booked: K.Steede, R.Swan (Cougars); T.Outerbridge (Village)

Men of the match: K.Steede (Cougars); K.Jennings (Village).

Referee: George O'Brien.