It was only a matter of time before Devonshire Cougars finally erupted.

And on Sunday their timing was right.

Cougars thumped Somerset Eagles 4-1 to clinch Group B honours in the Martonmere Cup and advanced to the semi-finals of the competition they won in 2001/02.

"That's what we needed," said coach Albert Smith yesterday. "Not only for us . . . but also for the community. We talked things over from the get-go because we wanted to set the tone of the match."

Smith coached his team during their recent "morale boosting" win from beyond the bench as he served out a one-match suspension stemming from an incident which occurred last season.

"It took a little while for us to settle down," he added. "But it was always a matter of us getting over the first hurdle (first match of the season) and then taking things from there.

"We met at the club prior to the game and discussed a few final pointers before we got to the field.

"Eugene Joell (technical director) and myself had a few words with the team and things worked out quite well," said Smith, who coached Cougars to their last Martonmere Cup championship.

For Cougars, victory might have come at a high cost as the lively Heys Wolfe and Dennis Eve both limped off the pitch late in the second half with injuries. However, Smith described their knocks as "slight".

"They will be alright," he reassured yesterday.

Having now qualified for the semi-finals, Smith isn't about to start counting his chickens before they hatch. In fact, the coach reckons there's still a long road to travel.

"Winning is one thing, but winning the entire tournament is everything," he said. "So that's what we are focusing on at the moment. We just want to take things one match at a time."

At present, Cougars and North Village appear locked on a collision course for a repeat of the 2001/02 final.

"That could be a possibility. But it really doesn't matter to us," added Smith. "We only have to concentrate on us and keep focused on what we have to do."

On Sunday, Cougars were without midfielder Mark Smith who is still nursing a groin injury. Smith said he expected the powerful player to be out for a few weeks.

Cougars defeated Village 3-2 in a highly entertaining 2001/02 final at Lord's to seize a first-ever domestic major trophy.

They open their 2003-04 league campaign this Sunday against Premier Division newcomers Southampton Rangers at Southampton Oval.