Devonshire Cougars 1 Dandy Town 2

Seyoum Tuzo's 68th minute strike kept Dandy Town's Martonmere Cup hopes alive at BAA Field yesterday.

Before another packed house, the fleet-footed striker was the first to react to a Khano Smith pass deep inside Cougars' area and his clinically taken first-time lob over an onrushing Ricardo Brangman proved to be just enough to spoil Cougars' afternoon.

Smith had earlier forged Town ahead in the first half with a brilliant piece of individual skill before the tireless Heys Wolfe drew the teams level midway through the second period.

"Today it was all about attitude and execution," said Town coach Devarr Boyles afterwards.

"I felt that last week we shot ourselves in the foot. When they went down 2-0 against Eagles they became individuals and left the team structure. And it didn't work out. But I told my players afterwards that regardless of what happens we have to stay focused and when we get our moments we have to work a bit harder on our execution."

Judging by the way Town ran at their opponents from the outset, with every passing moment it became clear that Boyles' instructions had sunk in. In the sixth minute Smith showed why he was recently involved in trials in the UK. The lanky striker produced a snap shot just on the fringe of the 18-yard box to which Brangman barely got his fingertips.

New signing Jared Peniston then forced Brangman to react quickly to a firm drive inside the box as Town had things all their own way.

But although the Hornets enjoyed most of the possession and threatened to score, it was Cougars who almost found themselves in front when Omar Butterfield unleashed a sizzler from 25 yards which prompted Town `keeper Jason Smith to go airborne to tip over the midfielder's goalbound shot.

However, that was the closest Cougars would come to scoring in the first half and in the 36th minute they found themselves a goal down - thanks to a brilliant piece of work from the industrious Smith.

Chasing down a long ball on the right side of the pitch, Smith muscled his way inside the 18-yard box past two defenders before firing in a firm, low drive which caught Brangman totally by surprise and rattled the back of the net.

Smith was at it again two minutes later but an alert Brangman was equal to the task this time around.

With half-time fast approaching, Cougars coach Albert Smith introduced Dennis Eve into the match for the out of touch Mark Smith who had struggled to find any rhythm.

With their attack kept under wraps for most of the half, Cougars' front line of Wolfe and Raymond Beach slowly began to gel after the restart and show brief flashes of last season's form.

But it took a bit of luck for Cougars to get back on even keel. In strikingly similar fashion to Smith's first half piece of magic, Wolfe chased down a long ball on the right side and with inches of real-estate to work with, he snaked his way through three defenders before unleashing a shot that took a wicked deflection off the frame of David Lawler and left `keeper Jason Smith standing flat footed.

Kwame Steede then had curling free kick just inside the 18-yard box go over in the 66th minute as a now rejuvenated Cougars began to sink their claws into the match.

However, Tuzo had other ideas in mind. And it was his cleverly taken lob which proved to be the straw which finally broke Cougars' back.

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman, S.Smith, G.Butterfield, O.Butterfield, J.DeShields, M.Smith (D.Eve, 39 mins), K.Steede, K.Goddard (S.Minors, 72 mins), D.Coddington (L.Tota, 86 mins), H.Wolfe, R.Beach.

Dandy Town: J.Smith, T.Douglas (J.Simons, 79 mins), M.Lowe, D.Lawler, R.Swan, K.Mundy, K.Butterfield (V.Hill, 73 mins), S.Tuzo, K.Smith, S.Wilson (L.Dill, 69 mins), J.Peniston.

Men of the match: H.Wolfe (Cougars); K.Smith (Town).

Referee: Gregory Simons.