Their hopes of a second straight league crown all but over, Devonshire Colts are now taking aim at the FA Cup.

They took their first steps towards that goal last night by beating lowly PHC in the second game of a Cup doubleheader at blustery BAA Field.

League-leading Vasco advanced with a 2-0 win over Hotels in the first game.

PHC, sitting at the bottom the First Division, put up a fight but in the end had no answer for Colts' typically air-tight defence, anchored by the Belboda brothers, Jermal and Jermaine.

A swirling wind made things difficult for both teams but especially PHC, who watched substitute Keimon Lawrence score the winning goal directly from a corner kick in the 68th minute.

Lawrence's corner was headed for a crowd on the six-yard line but dipped and curled just inside the far post, about a foot off the ground.

Another freak move opened the scoring, when a throw-in bounced past three PHC players and right to Colts striker Tito Smith for a 41st-minute tap-in.

PHC had their chances and also came up with the prettiest play of the night seven minutes after the restart.

It started with a splendid defensive effort, followed by a fine run through the midfield and culminated with a through pass for Eddy Dowling, who juggled the ball on his knee before slamming a shot into the roof of the Colts goal.

The return of skipper Shannon Burgess provided a spark for Colts, whose attack has sputtered much of the year. Last night wasn't much different, although they took over a see-saw match in the latter stages.

Two stops by PHC 'keeper Ellsworth Bean in the final ten minutes -- from a 25-yard rocket by Burgess and from Jermaine Belboda's point-blank shot -- kept his team alive.

Colts: T.Hall, J.Belboda, D.Wright, M.Hollis, J.Belboda, O.Butterfield (K.Lawrence, 63 mins.), J.Samuels, S.Burgess, V.Ball (H.Trott, 87 mins.), M.Ray, T.Smith (D.Lewis, 82 mins.).

PHC: E.Bean, C.Dowling, A.Hunt, D.Burgess, R.Lewis, B.Anderson, E.Dowling (S.Smith, 87 mins.), S.Lewis, B.Bean, K.Mills, R.Mallory (A.Thomas, 45 mins., F.Ming, 80 mins.).

Men of the match: Mark Ray (Colts); Corey Dowling (PHC).

Referee: Lyndon Raynor.

Vasco 2 Hotels 0 The First Division's top team made it look easy against a side struggling to avoid relegation.

Only some timely saves from Hotels 'keeper Stefan Dupres -- with a little help from his goalposts and his opponents' own misfires -- kept Vasco from winning by a far greater score.

In fact, the talk afterwards was how Clay Smith, who scored twice in the first half, didn't end up with a hat-trick, considering all the chances he had.

Capitalising on a mesmersing passing attack that continually caught Hotels defenders flat-footed, Smith scored his first goal in the 19th minute and added his second 11 minutes later.

Vasco weren't done, of course, sending wave after wave in search of a third goal.

Hotels would've been happy just for one. It wasn't until the final ten minutes that they were able to mount any consistent pressure on goalkeeper Timmy Figureido.

The best opportunity belonged to Michael Holdipp, who drew the goalkeeper out and fired towards the empty goal only to have full back Derek Stapley race out of nowhwere to sweep the ball off the line.

It was that kind of night for Hotels, who lost their best player, Dennis Robinson, to a red card after 55 minutes.

Robinson had earned a booking a minute earlier and when he steamrolled Dwight Basden, a small scuffle ensued. Referee Stuart Crockwell conferred with his linesman and, despite Robinson's potestations, gave the Hotels forward his marching orders.

But the advantage didn't last long. Still fuming over the incident, Basden violently collided with Clifford Roberts in mid-air five minutes later and this time Crockwell wasted no time with the card.

It was Basden who set up the first goal, spinning around two tackles and shooting, with the rebound landing at the feet of Smith, 15 yards out.

Smith's second came from a fine pass from Earl Richardson, sending the left winger in alone -- barely a minute after had Dupres denied Smith on a similar move set up by Sinclair Gibbons.

Vasco: T.Figureido, E.Richardson, D.Stapley, K.Jennings, O.Steede, V.Astwood, P.Towlson, A.Russell (S.Swan, 80 mins.), C.Smith, D.Basden, S.Gibbons.

Hotels: S.Dupres, D.Sharrieff, F.Franklyn, C.Roberts (J.Weeks, 65 mins), C.Sabir, M.Holdipp, W.Crockwell, D.Robinson, D.Wainwright, M.Lindsay, C.Crichlow.

Referee: Stuart Crockwell.

Men of the match: Clay Smith (Vasco); Stefan Dupres (Hotels).