Hamilton Parish have defied the odds to reach the Friendship Trophy final for the first time and are just a win away from a maiden major trophy.

Parish shocked Devonshire Cougars, the cup-holders, last Friday night in a match that produced seven goals and are now looking forward to the final against Somerset Trojans at the National Sports Centre tomorrow.

The win means Parish will feature in their fourth straight New Year’s Day final, but this time in the main event rather than the First Division Shield, which they won three years on the trot.

Tomorrow’s match, however, holds more significance because it will be only their second appearance in a major final. Their last visit to the NSC for a showpiece cup final ended in a 2-0 defeat by North Village in the 2005 FA Cup final.

Parish, last season’s First Division champions, have shown the ability to hold their own against the top teams in the Premier Division, with Friday’s win going down as possibly their best performance of the season.

“I figured as long as we kept working, we would have a chance,” Keishon Smith, the Parish coach, said of the semi-final victory.

“We have a good cup history and for the last three years we have won the Shield. I told the players we have played on New Year’s Day for the last three years; let’s make it four.

“And there’s no better way to do it than by beating the defending champions. If that’s the route we have to take, then let’s make it happen. Credit to Dennis Brown [the Cougars coach] and the triple crown champions. I couldn’t ask for a much better test to see where my team is at, so that we can keep pushing forward.

“We were missing two key players in Nigel Burgess and Ian Coke, but the players who came in did an excellent job. The goalkeeper Chae [Clarke] came in and did an outstanding job and this is something the community will savour.”

Somerset will go into the final as favourites, but Parish will be hoping to rise to the occasion.

“Their history speaks for itself and Danvers Seymour [the Somerset coach] and the guys are doing great work up there,” Smith said.

“When the season started, they were taking a lot of licks and teams might have thought they would be one of the teams that wouldn’t do well, but he has quickly settled the ship and we’re looking for a great final with Trojans.”

Had Cougars beaten Parish, it would have been a Friendship Trophy final family affair because Brown’s side would have faced Trojans, his former club, who are coached by his nephew Seymour.

Unfortunately for Brown, he was prevented from pitting his wits against the younger man after Parish turned the tables against the team who could do no wrong in the 2012-13 season.

“I wish my nephew good luck in the final,” Brown said. “We talked about it [meeting in the final] on Christmas Day, but it isn’t to be and I wish them the best of luck.”

The loss means Cougars cannot repeat their triple crown triumph from last season. “It wasn’t about defending [Friendship Trophy title] but playing to our ability and we didn’t play to our ability,” Brown said.

“We weren’t good enough on the night to win the game. In a cup game, anything can happen and it happened tonight. One thing I said before the game: if we don’t come prepared to battle, it is going to be a long night — and it was a long night.”

Trojans will be hoping to put the horrors of the 2012 Friendship Trophy final behind them. On that occasion, they were hammered 4-0 by North Village, who claimed their third straight title.

Village have won the trophy a record 11 times, one more than PHC and two more than Somerset, who last won the cup in 2007 when they defeated Cougars 4-0.