Devonshire Cougars utility player Omar Butterfield has been ruled out of Sunday’s Friendship Trophy Final against Somerset Trojans through suspension, The Royal Gazette can reveal.

Butterfield accumulated a third yellow card during Cougars’ FA Cup quarter-final replay loss against Somerset at the Den on March 20, and will now serve a mandatory one-game suspension.

Cougars’ assistant coach Gary (Tuba) Mallory acknowledged yesterday that Butterfield’s absence would be felt as his team gun for a third title for the season.

“Any team would miss a player of Omar’s calibre, and he is going to be missed. But this is a situation we have faced before and at the end of the day this will give someone else an opportunity to play,” he said.

The 26-year-old Butterfield, son of former Trojans’ ‘keeper Wayne Butterfield, has been a key cog in the newly-crowned Premier Division champions’ last line of defence, scoring arguably the goal of the season against North Village in the championship deciding match at the Den earlier this month.

Cougars will be looking to avenge their Dudley Eve Final and recent FA Cup quarter-final defeats against Trojans at the National Sports Centre on Sunday. But more importantly they will also attempt to snap their cup final drought against Somerset that stretches all the way back to 1979.

“We do respect Somerset but we are coming out to put our best foot forward and play football. So really we’re not concerned about records or things that happened in the past. We are just coming out to try and win a game and that is our main priority,” Mallory declared.

Since winning a second league title in three seasons, Cougars, Mallory argued, have not received the recognition they deserve.

“At the beginning of the season nobody picked us to be where we are today. Everybody was talking about all of the other teams, and even though we are now league champions, I don’t think we have received the respect we are due,” he claimed.

Mallory might have a point as Cougars have appeared in every cup final so far this season.

“I think that is an achievement in itself,” Mallory said. “But we are raring to go and looking to end the season on a good note.”

Sunday will be the seventh meeting between the two clubs this season and the first since Trojans put paid to Cougars’ triple crown hopes.

“Obviously nobody likes to lose. But we’re definitely looking to respond with a win,” Mallory added.

After losing to Trojans in the Dudley Eve Final last January, Cougars went unbeaten in the league for the remainder of the season. Mallory is now counting on lightning to strike twice.

“The last time we lost to Somerset we were able to go on an unbeaten run that helped us to clinch the league,” he said. “Now the guys want to use this as an added incentive when we get up on the ‘carpet’.

“We lost to them in the FA, but now we are looking to rebound with a win.”