For 90 minutes of absorbing Dudley Eve football at Somerset Cricket Club on Wednesday night, North Village coach Dwayne (Streaker) Adams and assistant Maceo Dill remained calm as ever on the sidelines while the Reds were being pushed to the brink by a gutsy Devonshire Cougars on a slick pitch.

Arrogance? Perhaps . . . some might argue.

But such is the confidence of the Village side these days bolstered by an influx of college kids craving for some Christmas football action.

Making eight changes from the team that jettisoned Somerset Trojans from the Friendship Trophy competition three days earlier, red hot Village demonstrated exactly why they are among the favourites to win the festive competition via a hard fought win over the Big Cats.

What?s alarming, though, is the fact Village have the ability to raise their game to an even higher level given the depth Adams has at his disposal ? depth which just might carry the Reds to Dudley Eve glory for the first time since 2000-01.

Yet to make their presence felt in the festive tournament are the likes of Keith, Daniel and Tariq Jennings, Kaiwon Dill, Vernon Tankard, Damon Wade and Damon Edwards.

Among those having returned home from studies overseas for the holidays include Cornell Castle Jr, Wednesday night?s two goal hero Tyrell Burgess, Taurean Manders, Devaun DeGraff and the acrobatic Jason Williams in goal.

Commenting on his team?s win over Cougars, Adams declared: ?We want to win every competition we enter. . . . that philosophy never changes. And when I left Somerset I was pleased by the way the players had dug deep to stay in the match earlier on and then come away victorious.

?Cougars played well and my hat goes off to them, but sometimes I think we allow teams to take control of the match. I think our guys took a while getting adjusted to playing with each other because the team had only been assembled the night before.

?So really I think it just took time for them to gel and get an understanding for the things we are trying to achieve. We actually walked through our plans (in training) the night before.?

Adams is now pinning his hopes for Dudley Eve success on a well blended squad of youth and experience ? not to mention a long list of college kids eager to showcase their talents.

?We have to balance what we have with the college kids back,? he added. ?What these guys bring is a focus. They?ve come back and made it known they want to play football and showcase their skills. And so far I think this is exactly what they have achieved.?

Adams also intends to use the tournament to rest some of his key players over the holidays before the ball drops on what is anticipated to be an intensive second half of the league campaign.

Village presently trail leaders Trojans by three points with six matches remaining in the season.

?It?s important we maintain a balance whereas those players who have been playing all year along get an opportunity to rest and recover,? he said. ?This tournament and the depth we now have provides those players that are committed to us all year time to lay back their families.?

Adams isn?t fussy over who Village?s next opponents will be in the festive competition played amongst the top four clubs in the Premier Division tables at the halfway stage of the season.

He noted: ?Both Dandy Town and Somerset have played well but we?ve already won our first match to be in the winner?s bracket. So now it?s really up to them to do their jobs and whichever one does their job we will meet them on Monday (at Lords).?

A win for the Reds on Monday would catapult them into the January 2 final at Wellington Oval and, as Adams was quick to add, earn the players ?some extra rest?.

North Village Community Club president Shervin Dill added: ?Kentoine (Jennings) is playing with practically half of the players he coached a few years ago. We have seen these kids go overseas and get their education and come back and make a contribution to football and the community.

?And this is where see these kids as immensely positive for the club in terms of the whole development of these players.

?It certainly lends a lot of support to our ongoing programme whenever they return because this is a lot of talent that is returning to us. And I would say that our coach?s biggest problem at the moment is team selection.?

Meanwhile, Dudley Eve Champions Cup actions resumes with a double header on the cards tonight at the Den.

Beginning at 7 p.m. First Division leaders St.David?s take on Wolves in their opening Dudley Eve clash while Hornets lock horns with Trojans for the fourth time this season in what is a repeat of last month?s Martonmere Cup Final.

Hornets, who edged Trojans 1-0 in the Martonmere final at the National Sports Centre, will be boosted by the return of key striker Carlos Smith from vacation in Europe.