Despite a 2-0 loss to North Village that has pushed them to the brink of elimination from the Dudley Eve Champions Cup competition, the president of cup holders Dandy Town Cal Blankendal isn?t ready to hit any panic buttons just yet.

After all Hornets already know a thing or two about taking the long route to glory, having done so last year with victory over Devonshire Cougars in the final which sent the hardware to St.John?s Road for the first time since 1993-94.

Hornets, mourning the tragic loss of defender Randy Swan at the time, lost 2-1 to Cougars on a sombre night of football at Somerset Cricket Club in their opening match, but bounced back to reach the finals courtesy of a 4-0 drubbing of Somerset Eagles and a penalty shootout win over Mark Wade?s PHC Zebras in the loser?s semi-final.

Now cup holders Town find themselves yet again in a must-win situation over a team they have already beaten on three occasions this season.

Still, Blankendal isn?t taking the Big Cats ? buoyed by a recent 2-0 win over Somerset Trojans ? lightly.

?We can?t afford to go into the match complacent because we are going against the league champions,? he cautioned. ?We just have to go out there and try to do our best in order to achieve a positive result.?

Blankendal did, though, concede Hornets would have preferred taking route one to the final.

That distinction went to Dwayne (Streaker) Adams? Village at Lords on Boxing Day.

The eventual winner of tonight?s Premier Division Dudley Eve clash at Somerset will meet Village in the January 2 final at Wellington Oval.

?The shorter route is always best as it gives the players more time to rest and time for the team to reflect on their previous matches,? Blankendal continued. ?But at the same time we have a job to do.

?We might have lost out on the first chance but now we have another opportunity to get the job done.?

As for Monday?s loss to Village in adverse weather conditions, Blankendal reasoned: ?You could have put two Brazilian teams out on that pitch (Lords) in the rain and they still would have struggled.?

Meanwhile, Cougars ? with the law of averages now in their favour ? are hopeful of a repeat Dudley Eve victory over Hornets in Somerset for the second year in succession.

?We have to find a way past them if we want to reach the final. Therefore, we will prepare ourselves as best we can because this is another opportunity for us and at the moment things are looking pretty good,? a Cougars team official told .

In tonight?s opening First Division Dudley Eve clash, Paget and St.George?s will do battle for the second time in nine days for the right to meet Wolves in Monday?s other final at Wellington Oval.