Like a silent thief in the night, First Division newcomers X Roads Warriors have been quietly getting the job done.

After encountering a rocky start to the league campaign, X Roads appear to have finally made the adjustment to life in the First Division.

In fact, the East Enders have remained unbeaten since suffering an 8-0 hammering from Ireland Rangers late last November at Malabar.

Since that lopsided defeat, the Warriors have embarked on an impressive four-game undefeated streak, holding the likes of promotion hopefuls Devonshire Colts, St.George?s and Prospect to draws before going one better last Sunday in thrashing Hamilton Parish 7-2 at Lords.

But despite his team?s current unbeaten streak, emphasis at X Roads remains geared towards long-term development, insists coach Saleem Talbot.

?Our main objectives were never centred around accumulating an avalanche of points,? he explained. ?Yes, I understand everyone wants to win. But we remain focused on the longer-term objectives with hopes of building towards the future.

?And I think we are making steady progress and we intend to continue making steady progress on the field, off the field and all around.?

?Personally I think that what you are now seeing in the second half of the season are the fruits of our labour during the first. And what you sow is what you reap . . . it?s just as simple as that.?

X Roads? current good run of form can also be partly attributed to the behind-the-scenes involvement of former US pro and senior national coach Gary Darrell as well as the players themselves whom Talbot feels are now beginning to ?gel?.

?Gary (Darrell) has certainly been very helpful to our programme,? Talbot continued. ?But I also have to credit the players themselves because they are now beginning to gel. And if you were to analyse our performances during the first half of the season, apart from the loss against Ireland Rangers we were competitive in all of the other matches.

?But it?s taken our players some time to get used to playing with each other and also the coaching staff and things like that do tend to take time. And so it?s been a natural progression and our primary goal is to stay together and continue to progress and stay focused.?

Talbot insisted that had winning been the club?s main priority from the outset, then perhaps X Roads might have been riding even higher in the league standings.

?We don?t fear any team in the league,? he declared. ?But again our goal for the season remains long-term development. And once we achieve this, then I don?t see any reason for us not to be able to go onto even bigger and better things in the future.?

With the season now heading down the final stretch, Talbot hopes X Roads can carry on their present good vein of form to the very end.

?What we?re looking to do is to continue working hard,? he pointed out. ?And I think already some of that hard work is beginning to pay off in terms of getting good results.

?So basically we?re not looking to make any dramatic changes because that?s not a requirement at this point in time ? in terms of coming away with the points.?

Tonight?s scheduled First Division double header at Somerset Cricket Club featuring St.George?s and Prospect and league leaders Ireland Rangers and Social Club has now been put back to Wednesday, February 23, at the same venue.

Saturday?s postponed Premier Division clash between Somerset Trojans and North Village will now take place tomorrow night at Somerset Cricket Club, beginning at 9 p.m.

That clash will be preceded by a Commercial B Division contest involving Bermuda Pest Control and Somerset Extros.