Two goals in the opening 17 minutes by Kenny Hill effectively ended this game as a contest.

But when he missed a second-half penalty, and with it his hat-trick, the hitherto-sleepy Colts revived and almost snatched a draw they had done little up until then to deserve.

Boulevard started the day with considerable fire.

Hill and Dwight Warren caused the Colts defence all manner of problems, while at the other end Dean Boyles, revelling in the role of sweeper, closed down just about every Colts move before it began.

With the Boulevard front row exchanging passes in neat combinations, an early goal seemed likely, and within eight minutes of the start a pinpoint pass from Stevie Wade out on the right wing found Hill no more than four feet from the goal, with Colts keeper Randy Darrell nowhere in sight.

The goal was a just reward for the Blazers' pressure, and another was not far behind.

A superbly-flighted free kick from 30 yards out by Blazers skipper Dean Boyles floated across the box. Hill ran onto the ball after one bounce and stabbed it into the back of the net, out of the grasp of the advancing Darrell.

Colts came alive a little at this point.

Had they not woken up, the score might have been 4-0 before half-time, but with Boulevard content to sit on their lead and play pretty passing patterns, the teams went in at half-time with just two goals between them.

The opening 20 minutes of the second half were featureless, until the Blazers' Johnny Boyles committed a needless tackle from behind, and was promptly booked by referee Osborne.

Two minutes later, Dwight Warren was brought down in the Colts' penalty area.

A penalty was in order, and the the referee pointed to the spot without hesitation.

Hill stepped up with supreme confidence to put the match beyond the relatively lacklustre Colts, only to push the ball wide to the right.

Colts were quick to take strength from their opponents' missed opportunity.

After 20 minutes of fairly relentless Colts pressure, Craig Smith, who had just come on as a substitute, fastened onto a cross from the tireless Damon Ming to cut the Boulevard lead to 2-1.

They might have seen the match slip from their grasp but for a couple of late saves from keeper Mitchell Steede.

In the end, a fair result, but how different it might have been had Boulevard driven home their early advantage, or Colts been awake from the start.

Boulevard are now in with a chance for the championship, but they would do well to remember to play the full 90 minutes with the enthusiasm and dedication skipper Boyles and forward Stevie Wade brought to bear throughout this exciting game.

Devonshire Colts : R. Darrell, J. Bean, J. Belboda, M. Hollis, K. Burchall, L.

Hypolite, V. Ball (C. Smith, 78 mins), P. Hollis, E. Weldon, M. Lewis (D.

Ming, 36 mins), R. Jones.

Boulevard : M. Steede, W. Richardson, D. Boyles, J. Boyles, A. Caisey, G.

Smith, S. Wade, V. Eve (J. Samuels, 75 mins), D. Warren, M. Holdipp, K. Hill Referee : Rex Osborne.

Men of the Match : Damon Ming (Devonshire Colts); Dean Boyles (Boulevard).

MISSED SPOT-KICK -- Kenny Hill's two goals saw Boulevard to victory, but he missed an easy chance to net a hat-trick.