Devonshire Colts 2 St David’s 0Devonshire Colts enjoyed a comfortable victory over St David’s in the second semi-final Shield Trophy match at Wellington Oval before a sparse crowd on Boxing Day. Seanoj Mitchell and midfield maestro Diego Richardson scored to set up a New Year’s Day final against Flanagan’s Onions at Somerset Cricket Club.Despite entering the game as favourites, the Colts had to play second fiddle to an eager St David’s in the early stages of the game. Manoj Paynter should have scored twice in the opening minutes when first, he was put through before forcing Colts goalkeeper Jaden Mills-Furbert to make a diving save with his left hand and then, minutes later, he shot straight at the advancing Mills-Furbert, the ball catching the goalkeeper flush in the face before being cleared to safety. Mill-Furbert could not recovery from the blow, having blurry eyes, and had to be replaced by substitute goalkeeper Janiko Francis.This appeared to be a wake-up call for the Colts as they settled down and started to dominate the game through their midfield play. Charles Trott brought off a fine diving save from St David’s goalkeeper Mikkail Crockwell, who went full length to push a curling left-footed free kick around the post. Richardson was instrumental in many of the Colts’ attacks with his flashy dribbling skills which led to the opening goal. Having being put through, Richardson was heading for goal when he was brought down from behind by a recovering defender leaving referee Tashun Simons no choice but to award a penalty. Despite protest by the St David’s players for offside, the penalty stood. Mitchell stepped up and sent goalkeeper Crockwell the wrong way with his spot kick. Crockwell saved St David’s from going into the break 2-0 down when he went full length to push a Richardson back post volley around the upright for a corner.The Colts started the second half with continued energy and nearly scored when Mitchell received a diagonal cross before cutting inside to unleash a fierce drive which just missed goalkeeper Crockwell’s upright. Colts scored their second in the 52nd minute but not without controversy. A cross from the right found Richardson whose initial shot was blocked by the feet of Crockwell. He was first to the rebound and placed his shot past a diving goalkeeper into the back of the net. Crockwell appealed that an attacking player, who was in an offside position, interfered with his sight of vision but after consultation with his assistant, referee Simons allowed the goal to stand. This seemed to deflate St David’s who then resorted to petty fouls. Crockwell along with centre backs Latwon Bennett, Matteo Turner and captain Kurtis Minors tried to keep St David’s in the game but without too much support from the other players. The Colts remained disciplined and continued to press on with substitute goalkeeper Francis a mere spectator.Richardson should have scored his second and Colts’ third late in the game when he was put through but shot wide under pressure from the advancing goalkeeper. “We got the win, but I wasn’t totally happy with the quality of play,” Ray Jones, the Colts coach, said. “Those two early misses by St David’s and the injury to our goalkeeper was a blessing to us. “We then settled and didn’t give them any more chances in the game. We addressed some things half-time like settling on the ball and doing some running on and off the ball.”SCORERSDevonshire Colts: Mitchell 30, Richardson 52TEAMSDevonshire Colts (4-2-3-1) J Mills-Furbert (sub: J Francis 6min) — F Lima, C Trott, T Foote, N Raynor (sub: R Smith-Jones, 70) — J Salaam, San-Tze Burgess — D Richardson, S Mitchell (sub: J Paynter, 64), Jahkeylo Bugess — C Henry. Substitutions not used: M Hartman, M Bean-Brown, V Lambe. Booked: San-Tze Burgess, D Richardson.St David’s (4-4-2) M Crockwell — C Wellman (sub: J Pitcher, 61), L Bennett, M Turner, N Anderson — C Lugo-Elibox, K Minors, M Proctor, M Trott — I Van Patton (sub: K Burton, 61), M Paynter. Substitutions not used: D Butterfield, S Wilkinson, S Wilson. Booked: M Turner, M Trott, C Wellman, K Minors.Referee: T Simons.