It used to be that Devonshire Colts epitomised the term `bridesmaid'.

No more ...

Results in recent years have seen the club become, arguably, the best in Bermuda, a crew of true championship calibre.

Colts are the most successful trophy-winning team over the last two years, having captured five titles, including the Friendship Trophy (twice), Dudley Eve Trophy), FA Cup and Charity Cup, while also ending as runners-up in the FA last season.

In fact, it seems they save their best for the matches of greatest significance -- a quality that does not necessarily lend itself to the quest for league honours, that require unerring consistency, but affords them well in the glamorous cup competitions.

And so it was on Sunday when, placed in a virtual do-or-die situation for qualification for the Dudley Eve Trophy, they brought forth their `A' game, dismantling a quality Wolves outfit, while earning the right to defend the title they won last season against Vasco.

"We usually rise to big games, and the mentality of our team is that we wait for big games to try and lift our level,'' explained captain Shannon Burgess, the indisputable heart and soul of the side.

"We like to play in this tournament, and to defend it is something we want to do.'' With Colts confirmed for battle over the Christmas break, Burgess noted the period between now and Saturday's opening round of the competition to be a time to get attuned, in terms of the mental and tactical approach.

"We have to regroup and figure out how we're going to settle down, because the Dudley Eve's a pretty intense tournament, and we have to be constructive going forward,'' continued Burgess.

"We also need to think about defending a little more sound in the midfield and trying to keep possession of the ball going forward.'' Under a double-elimination format, the event has the top four teams -- as of tonight -- playing on Saturday night. The winners from the first set of matches play each other in the second round, with the victor from that contest going through to the final.

The losers from Saturday night likewise play each other, with the loser eliminated, and the winner going through to play the loser of the match pitting the two first round winners.

Meanwhile, reflecting on the first half of the season, Burgess pointed to a failure to execute during an early match against Southampton Rangers as somewhat typical of the team's play, but noted how they were now showing positive signs of movement towards playing within the system first year coach Ray Jones has extolled.

"We have to learn to take what's in front of us,'' said Burgess. "I think from the first game of the season, where we gave up two points by drawing to Southampton Rangers and missing a lot of goals, we have to learn to really put teams away.

"I feel that in the last game against PHC, even though they came back and got us in the second-half and at the end of the day the game could have gone either way, in the first-half if we'd have put away our chances, they would have never been in the game the second.

"So we need to learn how to put teams away when we have them on the ropes.''