action during the second round, a return to domestic soccer cannot come soon enough.

The same can be said for the clubs who have been without their stars for the past two months. Two in particular, North Village and Dandy Town, will appreciate the boost as they seek to clinch Dudley Eve Trophy spots with good results in their last two matches before Christmas.

North Village, who started the season as one of the tips for the major honours, will welcome back the experience of captain Elliott Jennings, Kevin Grant and Philip Clarke as they bid to improve on their mid-table position when they go up against Hotels at Southampton Oval.

"Boulevard (October 4) was my last game and I can't wait,'' said full-back Kevin Grant who, along with Dandy Town's Lloyd Christopher, Carlyle Crockwell Crockwell of PHC and Neil Robinson of Boulevard, did not get a single minute of playing time in the second round of the World Cup.

"North Village haven't been playing as well as we could have been,'' said Grant. "Before we left I thought we would do well because there is really good depth here. With Elliott, who brings a lot of inspiration, back along with the rest of us I think we're going to fare pretty good.

"We're full of confidence and you can see the potential North Village have.

The whole experience of the World Cup was nice even though I didn't play. Now I'm really excited to get back on the pitch again.'' Village, who have not scored a goal in their last two outings, which finished in a 2-0 loss to Devonshire Colts and a draw against Dandy Town, will certainly welcome back Jennings and Clarke to boost an attack that has averaged less than a goal a game in the league.

But while Village have been able to reach into their reserves, their opponents are still struggling to adapt to the loss of top striker Ricky Hill, who has a broken hand. Hotels crashed to PHC and Devonshire Colts in their last two matches without scoring a goal and they, too, find themselves needing a victory to stay in the hunt for a Dudley Eve Trophy place.

PHC Zebras, who have risen to the top of the First Division standings despite the absence of their most experienced goal-scorers Kyle Lightbourne and Sammy Swan, face third-placed Somerset Trojans tonight at PHC Stadium in an intriguing contest at 9.00.

Swan may return to boost the Zebras front line, which has been led admirably by the league's top scorer Kenny Mills.

Trojans striker Dwight Basden moved up the individual goal-scoring chart following his four-goal haul in the 9-1 win over Hamilton Parish in the Friendship Trophy in midweek.

Dandy Town, who will welcome back defenders Christopher and Neil Paynter, winger Paul Cann and captain Voorhees Astwood, if he has recovered from injury, are just a point out of fourth place, which is where they need to be after next weekend. This weekend they travel to Frog Lane to meet a Devonshire Colts side who need just a point to qualify the holiday tournament.

The other two matches involve teams in the bottom half of the standings. The parish of St. George's will have its first First Division derby in 18 years when the Colts travel to St. David's to meet their promotion partners.

Boulevard, the defending Dudley Eve Trophy champions, have only a very slim chance of qualifying for the tournament this year. But still they should be confident of victory when they travel to Wellington Oval to meet bottom team Hamilton Parish.