Devonshire Colts 2

St.George’s Colts 0

(after extra time)Two superbly taken goals brought St.George’s Colts’ fairytale run in the FA Cup to a grinding halt at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday — and moved Devonshire Colts to the verge of achieving an unprecedented cup treble.

With neither team able to break the deadlock in regulation time, it took tallies from veteran Colts strikers Clevon Hill and Aljame Zuill to finally extinguish St.George’s’ flame in added time and send Ray Jones’ team to a first FA Cup final since 2001.

In terms of technical and tactical ability, yesterday’s FA Cup semi-final in the West End was probably a coach’s nightmare. But what each team lacked in skill, they more than compensated for with enthusiasm and hustle.

And with little separating them, in the end it would take two opportunistic goals from two seasoned players who certainly know their way around the box.

Hill struck first in the opening period of extra-time while Zuill put the result beyond doubt with a clinical header minutes from the end to finally settle what eventually proved to be a defensive battle between the two sides.

“This team has character and really sticks together, win, lose or draw,” commented jubilant Colts captain Shannon Burgess. “I also thought that St.George’s showed some character today — they have some talented youngsters.

“But Clevon (Hill) and Aljame (Zuill) bring a lot to this team. We have the youthful talent and hunger, along with the calmer heads like Clevon, Aljame and Vic (Ball) to guide them. And to me this is a perfect combination.”

The East Enders heavily fortified their defence and relied on the fast break in the hopes of catching Colts short at the back. But in the end this tactic might have led to their downfall as they lacked the necessary potency and numbers up front to unlock the opposition’s defence.

“I could see they were trying to counter attack,” Burgess added. “They blocked out the middle and made it very difficult for us. So we had to use the width of the field and in the end it worked out for us.”

St.George’s’ coach Carlos Greaves defended his decision to put heavy emphasis on defence, and instead pointed the finger at missed chances in front of goal.

“I think we should have put away our opportunities when we had them,” Greaves lamented. “I thought we lost a bit of focus and our shape and the result ended up going to Devonshire Colts.”

St.George’s, on the rare occasions they managed to get behind the Colts’ defence, failed to convert and put pressure on their opponents. Forward Jade Foggo was among the culprits, weakly shooting into the arms of Kevin Bean after receiving a defence-splitting pass from former Colt Kuma Smith.

Bean nearly gifted St.George’s a goal after spilling Oronde Bascome’s free kick in the box. Fortunately for the Colts keeper, Jarreau Hayward lost his footing with the ball bouncing around the area.

Foggo then lifted another good opportunity over the bar as St.George’s finished the first half of regulation on a strong note after they were slow getting out of the blocks.

With the experience of Neil Paynter, the St.George’s’ player/president, Gregg Foggo, skipper Kyle Hodsoll and Dean Bailey in defence, Colts were forced out on the flanks. But this actually seemed to help the cause as their younger players made life difficult for their more senior rivals by running into open space and gradually stretching St.George’s out of shape.

The best chance Colts had in regulation fell to livewire Marvin Williams who curled his effort past Freddie Hall’s upright.

Like Bean at the opposite end of the pitch, Hall had an outstanding afternoon between the uprights, patrolling the area with seldom-seen assurance.

But in the end it would take a set piece and an ill-advised foul by Bascome on Williams to help Colts crack the ice and send them on their way to a 13th FA Cup final.

Having gained possession of the ball near midfield, Williams was hacked down from behind by Bascome. And his resulting free kick in the box fell to the unattended Hill who was left with the easy task of slotting home into an unguarded goal.

St.George’s’ fading hopes then evaporated into thin air minutes from the end as Zuill headed home sub Geron Trott’s free kick in the middle to seal his team’s hard-fought win.

In the preceding women’s FA Cup semi-final, Prospect produced the competition’s biggest upset by defeating Lady Cougars 4-2 on penalties.

Cougars went ahead midway in the second half through Juanita Smith only for Terry-Lynn Paynter to draw the teams level from the penalty spot and send the match straight to penalties.

Devonshire Colts: K.Bean, J.Darrell, S.Burgess (capt), J.Butterfield, K.Simpson, W.Ming (D.Williams, 84 mins), V.Ball (L.Symonds, 75 mins), M.Williams, C.Hill, A.Zuill, R.Nesbitt (G.Trott, 99 mins).

St.George’s Colts: F.Hall, K.Hodsoll (capt), D.Bailey, N.Paynter, G.Foggo (J.Carlington, 95 mins), M.Paynter, K.Smith, O.Bascome (R.Dickinson, 101 mins), J.Foggo (T.Houston, 79 min J.Hayward, K.Burchall.

Yellow cards: J.Butterfield (Colts); O.Bascome, R.Dickinson (St.George’s).

Men of the match: K.Bean (Colts); F.Hall (St.George’s).

Referee: Anthony Mouchette.