On the eve of his team?s tour match against Santos, all Dandy Town coach Devarr Boyles asked of his players was for a marked improvement on last year?s lopsided defeat to Barbados.

Not only did his players heed the call, but with a little luck, the Premier Division and FA Cup champions could have walked away with a major scalp in the bag.

Restoring a bit of pride to local football, the Hornets battled to a courageous scoreless draw against the visiting Brazilians at a windswept Somerset Cricket Club on Tuesday.

And it was a performance ? albeit scrappy ? which Town must have been proud of after watching Santos pick apart the national team two days earlier at the National Sports Centre.

?When I saw the amount of wind out there (on the pitch) and then losing the toss I thought we had to be a bit more conservative in our approach,? said Boyles, moments after watching his team hold Santos at bay.

?Having made it through the first half scoreless, I really liked our chances heading into the second and I thought with a little bit of luck we could have pulled it off.?

Hornets, with the wind at their backs, managed to take the match to their opponents, applying pressure for long spells and nearly cracking open the Santos defence.

However, the woodwork and some hasty clearances off the line prevented Hornets from springing what would have been a well-deserved upset over the Brazilians.

?We certainly had our moments but the wind ultimately destroyed the match,? Boyles added.

?I thought we fought hard and managed to stick to the game plan and I am definitely excited for our players. We always felt we could get the result.

?Last year (against Barbados) we tried to contain them and it didn?t work. So this year I told the players that we would rather lose 4-0 instead of trying to contain the opposition and lose 1-0.

?That?s just not how we want to play football at St.John?s Road and so on this occasion we decided to go at the opposition more rather than trying contain them.?

Town president Cal Blankendal also seemed impressed by his team?s gutsy performance.

?It was difficult for both teams out there playing in those conditions,? he noted. ?And I think the final result was fair to both teams having to play in those conditions.

?But to draw against a team like Santos will certainly give us a mental boost and hopefully we can now carry that momentum through the rest of the domestic season.?

Hornets, current Premier Division leaders, will sit idle over the weekend having been ousted out of the FA Cup.

Town?s next fixture is against Somerset Eagles at St.John?s Field on February 13.