Dandy Town Hornets paid a fitting tribute at a windswept Lords yesterday to late full-back Machai Campbell who died earlier this week in a fatal traffic accident.

Goals from skipper Heys Wolfe, Lashun Dill, Raymond Beach and sub Jahron Dickinson advanced Hornets through to a first Dudley Eve final in four years.

But perhaps more importantly, Town's emphatic humbling of Cougars also went some way towards easing the emotional pain they have suffered in recent days as they continue to come to grips with the loss of one of their most promising defenders.

Throughout yesterday's encounter the late footballer's father, Wayne, clung to a framed picture of his son while Hornets players wore his name on their undershirts in a show of respect for their fallen colleague who also showed promise on the cricket pitch.

And it seemed to do the trick as Hornets repeatedly stung Cougars, and stung them badly!

"I don't know if it was an omen or not . . . . .but the players really wanted this win the most today and credit must go to them for the way they rallied to the cause," an emotional Wayne Campbell told The Royal Gazette.

"We are all trying to deal with this loss the best way we can right now, and it has been very difficult.

"The players were all friends with Machai and they loved how he played.

"He was definitely one of our future players and I guess having his picture on the bench today and some of his team-mates playing with his name on their shirts may have helped rally the players."

Town relied heavily upon the same fighting spirit that inspired them to Dudley Eve glory at White Hill Field in 2005, a victory that arrived just weeks after defender Randy Swan died in a fatal car crash.

If it was anything Cougars learned the hard-way yesterday, it might have been never to take a wounded Hornets side for granted.

"Machai definitely would have loved this win today because it was his favourite number . . . four!," commented the late Campbell's twin brother, Michiko. "He also wore the number four jersey.

"I loved Town's performance today, it was a fitting tribute to my brother's memory."

Hornets will now square off against Boulevard in the final next Tuesday night at Somerset Cricket Club in a rematch of the December 17 Dudley Eve clash Town won 2-0 at the same venue.

It will mark the first time the two sides have met in a cup final.

Starting the match with the wind at their backs, Town's early pressure finally told on 33 minutes when skipper Wolfe fired his team into the lead for good. An attacking raid down the right side bore fruit as college kid Seion Darrell slipped the ball behind a flat-footed Cougars defence, leaving Wolfe ample time and space to ponder his options before burying his shot in the bottom right corner.

Town's breakthrough goal proved to be the beginning of the end for a Cougars side whose 'keeper Ricardo Brangman endured a New Year's Day he'll probably want to quickly forget.

Having been earlier left exposed by his defenders, Brangman could be excused for Hornets' first goal.

But he had nobody to blame other than himself for conceding Town's second directly from Dill's wind-assisted corner-kick that swirled into the roof of the net past the hapless goalie.

Former Big Cats striker Beach then netted Hornets' third when he slid the ball under the advancing Brangman after receiving a threaded pass from playmaker Nahki Wells as the wheels continued to fall off the Cougars bandwagon.

Already faced with an enormous uphill climb, Cougars' afternoon went from bad to worst as defender Ijahmon Mallory hobbled off with an ankle injury just moments before sub Dickinson rubbed salt in the wound with a delightful left -footed chip that curled in at the back post to punctuate Hornets' dazzling display in style.

Dandy Town: D.Johnson, S.Darrell, A,Lowe, E.Signor, K.Lathan, A.Russell, K.Goddard (G.Butterfield, 75 mins), L.Dill, N.Wells (J.Dickinson, 65 mins), H.Wolfe (capt), R.Beach (A.O'Brien, 80 mins).

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman, J.Butterfield, K.Franks, I.Mallory (T.Smith, 68 mins), D.Cox (capt), R.Robinson, M.Smith (D.Simmons, 68 mins), T.Steede (L.Brangman, 75 mins), S.Brangman, K.Tucker, L.Weeks.

Man-of-the-match: L.Dill

Referee: George O'Brien

Match Commissioner: Ian Rawlins.