Survival already assured, Devonshire Cougars see reaching another FA Cup final as icing on the cake in what has been a testing season.

Cougars meet Robin Hood in the opening game of a semi-final double-header tomorrow night at Somerset Cricket Club, while holders Dandy Town meet PHC Zebras in the 9pm nightcap.

Cougars looked certain to struggle during the campaign even before the season started after losing several players in preseason.

And it didn’t look good for them early in the season when they lost their first five matches to be anchored at the bottom of the table.

However, they managed to turn things around after Christmas when they won their first five matches in the second half to climb away from the relegation zone. Now they can go out and enjoy themselves against a Robin Hood side that finished second in the league.

Cougars closed out their season with a 1-0 defeat against North Village at Bernard Park, on a day that three other matches were called off because of the weather.

“I was glad the game got played and now we can focus on the FA,” said coach Kwame Steede who is well aware that Cougars have an impressive record in the FA Cup over the last few years.

In fact, only two teams — Cougars and Town — have lifted the trophy in the last six seasons, each winning three times.

“We’ve been to this stage a lot of times and have always prevailed to the final so if history plays on our side I hope we get there,” Steede said.

“The game is going to be tough. Robin Hood have had a good season, coming second this year. We’re still in the rebuilding stage so for us we’re the underdogs, but I don’t mind that at all.”

Player-coach Steede, the old man in the team at 35, rates his team as the youngest in the Premier Division after the departures which included Darius Cox going to Hood and Drewonde Bascome to Town on late transfers.

Philip Parsons went to Village, goalkeeper Daniel Johnson to PHC, Dominique Williams to Dandy Town and Derrick Brangman to BAA.

“As a player-coach I’ve won it twice and we’ve won it three times in the last six years, so when we’ve gotten to the final we’ve competed,” Steede said.

“I was assistant coach with the Triple Crown team [2012-13].

“It was a great second half for us, five [wins] on the trot at one time so that was a good push for us. With relegation behind us we feel good going into the FA Cup and our minds are clear going into the semi-finals.

“These guys are young so staying up is a good achievement for them when everybody wrote them off.

“The average age is 18 to 23 so they are young, but plenty of time for them and I hope they relish the semi-finals. I had to put on the boots this year to guide them, there wasn’t much leadership out there with the gap between my generation and the next generation so big. But at 35, I’m still young!”

Town, Cougars and PHC share 18 FA titles while Robin Hood are aiming to reach their first final.