Cup with a supreme team performance against Devonshire Colts during yesterday's feature match at St. David's.

While the route presented them by Colts was one paved with pitfalls, Town were able to successfully negotiate, reaching their desired destination unscathed, thus keeping alive dreams of a rare `quadruple crown'.

Colts, though, found the going much more treacherous, especially after losing the services of key front-runner Craig Smith to a red card early on and were at constant odds playing short.

However, if anything, the men in orange made things interesting but in the end they were simply another victim of the Hornets' sting.

Town's Darren Simons finished as one of many heroes of the Town line-up in notching a late winner after a strike by Colts' skipper Ellington Weldon had cancelled out an early second-half score by centre-back Troy Durham.

"I'll take it!'' said an elated Town coach Mark Trott, who has certainly staked a claim for coach of the year honours. "I just congratulate all my players for their effort today.

"We went in at the half, weren't doing what we did best and concentrated on doing it (for the second half), playing the ball around to feet, making good passes, spreading the play... "(But) what really set us apart was that the team defence was there. It was hard to single out any one player as being above the rest.'' In contrast, the first 45 minutes provided little work for the Hornets' back four of Wylie Rudo, Lloyd Christopher, Durham and Wayne Campbell as their midfielders and forward numbers kept play firmly entrenched in the Colts half.

Not surprisingly, Town had the first crack at goal when Darren Simons and Paul Cann combined on the left with the latter scorching an angled shot inches over the crossbar.

Goalkeeper Andre Hendrickson of Colts was kept busy, having to smother a cross into the six-yard area by Simons in the 12th minute and then happily watching as top marksman Carlos Smith completely miskicked in front of goal moments later.

Reeling from the unrelenting barrage perpetrated by Town, Colts were stunned by Smith's ejection in the 24th minute after linesman Stuart Crockwell reported the player to referee Peter Sousa for deliberately elbowing Rudo in an off-the-ball incident.

Smith continued to plead his innocence long after leaving the field of play, but there was no avenue for recourse as his season came to an abrupt halt.

The lone shot managed by Colts came from Leonard Hypolite, a curling free kick in the 26th minute that nestled safely in the arms of 'keeper Cymande Davis.

At the other end, Hendrickson produced the game's best save five minutes before the interval, a one-handed pluck of a goal-bound effort by midfield schemer Kris Martin.

The second half, however, was a study in contrast for the young goalie as it took just three minutes for his clean slate to be deprived with Martin playing a significant part.

Martin won a corner on the right side and his waist-high corner was met by the head of Durham in close and bolted into the back of the net.

Colts' initial response to the setback was a near miss by Mark Ray, who caused Davis problems with a curling long-range shot that bounded off the bewildered 'keeper's face for the save.

The next, in the 55th minute, was much more decisive as a perfectly-executed set piece reaped dividends.

Quincey Aberdeen, enjoying maybe his best outing of the season, won a free kick deep on the right, which was floated into the penalty area by Hypolite to be headed on by Aberdeen, leaving Weldon to firmly plant the ball home and bring Colts back into the match.

Play continued to see-saw after the score, until Town again `gripped the bull by the horns' this time with a quick counter-attack in the 72nd minute.

In a rare move, Campbell overlapped beautifully on the right and sent in a cross to which Hendrickson reacted slow off his line, allowing Simons to nip in and slot in the winner, marking the end of the line for Lorenzo Symonds and his young Colts.

It was a bitter pill for Symonds to swallow and he was particularly critical of the decision to send off Smith "in a match of such magnitude as an FA Cup semifinal''.

"What lost it for us was having to play with 10 men for such a long period,'' said Symonds.

In the absence of Smith, Colts chose not to place a man on the last man in defence even though this gave Town time to settle and plan many attacks from that area.

Symonds defended these tactics saying: "The way we decided it at the half was that Wayne (Campbell) and Tortoise (Durham) were playing the long ball forward and turning it over, so it was playing into our hands.'' With the victory, Town, who had already qualified for the final of the Friendship Trophy and are also favoured to take the Coca-Cola First Division title, set up an April 10 confrontation against Vasco -- they face the latter in the Friendship Trophy final as well.

Dandy Town: C.Davis; L.Christopher, W.Campbell, T.Durham, W.Rudo; K.Martin, L.Furbert (T.Lewis, 77 mins), D.Boyles, P.Cann; D.Simons, C.Smith.

Devonshire Colts: A.Hendrickson; J.Belboda, J.Samuels, D.Wright, A.Wilson; L.Hypolite, M.Ray, Q.Aberdeen; C.Smith, E.Weldon, J.Weeks (K.Smith, 78 mins).

Referee: Peter Sousa.

Men of the match: Darren Simons (Dandy Town); Quincey Aberdeen (Devonshire Colts).

CANN-DID CAMERA -- Dandy Town's Paul Cann takes midfield possession before Leonard Hypolite of Devonshire Colts can close in.