North Village 3 Somerset Trojans 2

A last-gasp Domico Coddington strike in the final minute fired defending champions North Village into another FA Cup final at the expense of Somerset Trojans at Devonshire Recreation Club last night.

Just when it appeared as though the match would require extra-time after speedy Trojans forward Rohann Simons had equalised for the west enders three minutes from full time, Coddington - after coming on as an 80th minute substitute - found himself in the right place at the right time to side-foot Dwight (Payback) Warren's low cross into an empty net and send Village through to their fourth successive FA Cup final.

Prior to Coddington's heroics, Village had veteran Kentoine Jennings to thank as it was he who single-handedly kept his team alive on a night when his fellow frontrunners just couldn't find their way to goal.

Shawn Riley scored Trojans other goal in the first half.

"We didn't play as well in the second half as we did in the first. But I can appreciate that they were able to sustain some pressure and in the end still able to fight through some adversaries," said a jubilant Village coach, Scott Morton, afterwards.

Asked which team he would prefer to meet in the final, Morton said it really didn't matter.

"We are prepared for whoever comes. It's up on the carpet which is our type of field, plenty of space and ideal conditions conducive to our style of football."

Prior to the start of the match, players had to endure a 30-minute delay as ground staff at Devonshire Rec. frantically worked to fix the lighting which had failed on the southern end of the ground.

But when play finally got underway at 9.30 p.m., Village immediately stormed at their opponents and found themselves 1-0 up barely two minutes into the match when Kentoine Jennings rose majestically at the far post to power home Kevin Jennings' cross from the left.

Clay Smith, Ralph Bean Jr, and Warren all then threatened to extend Village's lead as the league champions continued to dictate play. Village defender Jamaul Boyles also had goal disallowed for offside in the 27th minute.

But after Village failed to cash in on their dominance, Trojans clawed their way back into the match by equalising three minutes before half-time when Riley was the first to pounce onto a Keith Jennings' miscued clearance that rolled directly into his path.

In the second half, after a series of promising raids broke down deep into Trojans terrain, Jennings again took matters into his own hands and forged Village back in front - tapping home another Warren cross.

But Trojans were not yet done as Simons gave his team a glimmer of hope three minutes from time.

However, Morton's decision to introduce Coddington paid great dividends as the youngster produced the goods when it mattered most.