Somerset Eagles have received maximum points for Sunday?s abandoned Premier Division clash against Hamilton Parish at Lord?s, thus assuring the West End club of top flight football next season.

But while there was joy in the Eagles camp yesterday, the same couldn?t be said for Devonshire Colts, who following the Bermuda Football Association announcement were officially relegated to the First Division along with Parish.

Requiring a win in order to remain in the Premier Division next season, Eagles were leading 8-1 and cruising towards a lopsided victory when Parish ? already reduced to ten men ? had two more players sent off in the 51st minute for swearing.

Following heated protests, the appropriately named ?Hot? Peppers took matters into their own hands and walked off the pitch, leaving referee Vance Campbell with no option but to abandon the match ? which left Eagles players and fans waiting until yesterday to learn of their fate.

?According to the rules (of the Bermuda Football Association), there will be no replay of this match and therefore the result stands as it is,? said BFA general secretary David Sabir, confirming the association?s swift ruling on the matter.

?We received the referee?s report indicating the situation throughout the match and we can confirm that the match was abandoned in the 51st minute as a result of the players from Hamilton Parish refusing to continue. And at this juncture the relevant committee will review the circumstances regarding the abandonment of the match and make any decisions regarding the same in due course.?

Those players who walked off the pitch could now face disciplinary action, though Sabir remained tight-lipped over that possibility.

During the 1977-78 Friendship Trophy final, several players from Southampton Rangers received lengthy bans from the association for walking off the pitch at the National Stadium.

?The guys always knew the result would go in our favour ? you can?t really deny that. It?s just good to survive in the top flight because at one point in the season things just weren?t working out for us. But now it seems as though things are finally coming back together,? said Eagles defender Desmond Burgess.

And the West Enders could not have picked a better time to get things back on track as they prepare for Sunday?s Friendship Trophy showdown with North Village, now switched from the National Sports Centre to Wellington Oval.

?Our confidence is very high right now. We know we are capable of beating anyone in the league,? said Burgess, adding ?It will all boil down to how we play on that day.?

As for Eagles? final league fixture against Dandy Town ? twice abandoned ? Burgess said his team would approach the match as they would any other, knowing the Hornets must win in order to clinch the Premier Division championship.

?We will just go out there and play our natural game . . . and we like playing against Town,? he said.

Meanwhile, Sabir yesterday confirmed that this Sunday?s venue for the Friendship Trophy and First Division Shield finals would be Wellington Oval as the NSC was being prepared for the following weekend?s Carifta Games.

?The Friendship match between North Village and Somerset Eagles and Shield match between Paget and Somerset Trojans will be played at the Wellington Oval in St.George?s and the reason is because the National Sports Centre is unavailable,? he said.

The BFA official, however, did not offer any date for the final Premier Division matches involving Eagles and Town, and Southampton Rangers and North Village. That announcement, he said, would be made at a later date.

Football fans can purchase advance tickets for tomorrow night?s Bermuda versus Nicaragua clash at the National Sports Centre from BFA offices on Cedar Avenue between the hours of 12 noon and 2 p.m. today and tomorrow.

Official Bermuda national team jerseys, track suits and footballs can also be purchased at the BFA while Reading striker Shaun Goater will be on hand to sign autographs along with members of the Island?s senior national team.