North Village will be looking to become the first club ever to achieve a hat-trick of back-to-back Martonmere Cup titles when they run out against league leaders Dandy Town at Somerset Cricket Club tomorrow.

The two Premier Division clubs collide in tomorrow?s final in what could pan out to be a classic shoot-out in the West End given that both are coming off resounding wins last weekend.

Village captured successive cup titles in 1973-74 and 1974-75 and repeated the feat again in 1978-79 and 1979-80. Now the Reds remain poised to repeat yet another successive haul of Martonmere Cup titles and in doing so emerge as the first team to achieve back-to-back crowns since the Hornets in 1998-99 and 1999-00.

Village defeated Devonshire Cougars 3-0 in last season?s final at the National Sports Centre to avenge a loss to the big cats in the 2001-02 final played at Lords, and then became the first club to win the Charity Cup three times on the trot last September.

Tomorrow will mark Village?s third Martonmere Cup final appearance in four years.

?We will be looking to make the match very exciting,? promised North Village Community Club president Shervin Dill.

?We are now just finding our form coming off two very good wins and it seems as though we have also rediscovered our scoring touch. All due respect to Dandy Town, but we intend to defend our title to the best of our ability.?

Only Village, Somerset Trojans, Boulevard and Town have won successive Martonmere Cup titles in the competition?s 32-year history. Town have won the cup four times in five final appearances while Village are tied with the Trojans for the most wins (seven) and have appeared in the most finals (eleven) since the competition?s inauguration in 1972-73.

Trojans have appeared in ten finals while inaugural winners Devonshire Colts have featured in eight.

?Given our proven track record in the competition, I am sure we can put on a first class performance and hopefully get the result we are looking for,? added Dill.

Village will again pin their hopes on striker Ralph Bean Jr, who has netted five goals in the last two matches, while veteran campaigners Damon Wade and Kevin Jennings could also be a threat up front.

Player/coach Kentoine Jennings brings years of experience to a Village defence that welcomed Michael Hansey back last weekend, while Town will have to quickly shut down Village?s midfield quartet comprised of Tafari Outerbridge, Vernon Tankard, Kaiwon Dill and Jemieko Jennings if they are to enjoy any success.

So far Village and Town have met in five cup finals with the Reds winning four, while tomorrow marks the first time both clubs have met each other in a Martonmere final.

Village defeated Town 3-0 in 2001-02 to hoist the FA Cup the last time the two clubs clashed in a major cup final.

Now Hornets seek to finally set the record straight and carry on their own impressive winning tradition in the competition.

?We are aware of Village?s cup winning tradition and the fact they have an abundance of talented players. And so we are not going into the match overconfident,? said deputising Town coach Ju Ju Waldron.

Town head coach Devarr Boyles is currently off the Island, leaving Waldron at the helm in his absence.

?This is a new season and we haven?t won anything yet. Yes, we won the league and FA Cup last season . . . but that was last season. The sheet has been wiped clean and so we are not going to take this match or our opponents lightly,? added Waldron.

Like Village, Town also possess tremendous depth in their team right down to their bench. Again strikers Carlos and Khano Smith will be expected to lead from the front while captain Lionel Furbert, Maurice Lowe and David Lawler will shoulder duties at the back.

Full back Chris Anderson could also prove a handful for the Reds whenever he decides to overlap down the flanks to provide Hornets with another attacking option.

The two clubs have split two matches between them so far this campaign, Town avenging a 2-0 Charity Cup loss to the Reds by defeating their nearby rivals 3-1 in a Group A Martonmere Cup clash at BAA Field in September.

Hornets clinched a first Martonmere Cup title in 1987-88 and last hoisted the crown in 1999-00 ? the last occasion they appeared in the final of the competition.

In order for Town to prevail, said Waldron, it?s going to take an entire team effort.

?Every player is going to have to play their roles right down to the person responsible for bringing along the team jerseys,? he added.

?This is probably going to be our toughest challenge so far this season and we don?t expect Village to be any pushovers.

?But if our guys can stick to the game plan and keep focused then we should be okay.?

To date, Town?s sole win over Village in a major cup final was in the former Dudley Eve Trophy Tournament in 1993-94.

Meanwhile, in tomorrow?s preceding Konica Cup Final, PHC will rest their crown on the line against Lady Cougars. : (from): R.Bean Jr. (capt), Z.Hendrickson, Kev.Jennings, M.Hansey, G.Augustus, K.Dill, K.Jennings, S.Goater, T.Outerbridge, K.Dill, J.Jennings, Q.Paynter, V.Tankard, D.Jennings, D.Wade, Kentoine Jennings (coach).(from):Lionel Furbert (capt), S.Darrell, C.Davis, T.Douglas, J.Marshall, D.Lawler, M.Lowe, C.Anderson, D.Zuill, L.Furbert, O.Steede, L.Dill, S.Tuzo, C.Smith, K.Smith, A.Lightbourne, A.Outerbridge, K.Hurdle, L.Holder, M.Waldron (coach).