THE first finalists will be determined, and one team from each division will bow out, when the Dudley Eve Cup switches to Wellington Oval and Devonshire Rec. in what should be two intriguing matches over the Christmas weekend.

St. George's will be aiming to make home advantage count when they take on Somerset Eagles at the Oval in the opening clash on Boxing Day. The winner advances to the New Year's Day final at St. David's, as will the victors from Friday's feature match between Dandy Town and Boulevard.

This year's tournament promises to be one of the most exciting yet judging by the results from the first two days which saw two of the four matches decided by a single goal and another go into penalty kicks after St. David's and Somerset Eagles failed to find a winner during regulation play.

Eagles, flying high after prevailing in the penalty shoot-out, meet St. George's, the only team to beat them in league play this season. That recent 1-0 loss will be foremost on the minds of the Eagles players when they take on the First Division leaders, but indications are the match will be just as close, with possibly one goal separating the two sides who will each have college students in their lineup.

Tahj Bell, back from high school abroad, was the Eagles hero when he made a crucial save in the shoot-out to deny Aaron Lugo and hand St. David's a heart-breaking 5-4 loss after the first nine spotkicks were converted. At the other end St. George's will likely have college student Freddie Hall in goal.

Hall played in the east enders' 1-0 win over Somerset Trojans in the opening Dudley Eve match last week, but the home side have plenty of cover in that department as regular 'keeper Troy Hall has played a significant role in the Colts rise to the top of the division with an unbeaten run of 10 games against First Division opposition. St. George's may also include another student as striker Jarreau Hayward is also back from school to give them another option.

The winners of this game will go through to the New Year's final, and more importantly have a six-day break, while the losers, if they eventually reach the final, will have to play again on Tuesday in the second semi-final.

Certainly it is something all the team had hoped to avoid at the start of the tournament. Town's assistant coach Scott Morton saw his team's opening win as crucial, not so much because it secured a Boxing Day outing at Wellington but it also put them into the winners' bracket.

"It's not so much the field, for me more so not playing catch-up, meaning you want to get the first victory under your belt which makes it easier for you going forward," said Morton, the day after his team's win over pre-tournament favourites Devonshire.

"That was the main objective for us. We've played on many different fields and have had different results, so it's now about getting the players to understand that regardless of the field it is what we produce and being able to master the conditions which is critical."

It will be a home-coming of sorts for Town pair, brothers Ernest and David Signor who began their careers with St. George's before moving to Town. Ernest is the Town captain.

"Over the Christmas period is when we plan to put it all together so that it carries over into the second half (of the season)," said Morton who is taking on more of the coaching responsibility now that player-coach Meshach Wade is playing more.

The first teams will be eliminated from the double-elimination tournament on Sunday when actions switches to Devonshire Rec.

Cougars, who have home advantage, will be hoping to capitalize when they meet PHC in what is now a straight knockout situation for both teams. Both teams are determined to bounce back from opening loses and save face.

Cougars have an added incentive of trying to reach a fifth straight Dudley Eve. However, despite that achievement they have only one title (2005-06) to show for it as three of those four finals ended in defeat to Dandy Town (2004-05), Somerset Trojans (2006-07) and North Village last season.

The Trojans, playing in the First Division version of the tournament after their relegation last season, will also be trying to avoid elimination when they meet St. David's in Sunday's noon opener. Both teams suffered narrow losses first time out, the Trojans losing at home to St. George's while St. David's were finally beaten by penalty kicks by Somerset Eagles. No doubt St. David's have aspirations of playing in the final on their home field, but the Trojans may just put paid to that dream on Sunday.