For the first time in local football history the Premier and First Division championships could both be decided on the final round of the season.

At Devonshire Recreation Club tomorrow North Village will bid to retain their league title while hosts Devonshire Cougars are gunning for a second title in three seasons.

Not much has separated the two city rivals this season as they drew in the first league meeting last October and then Cougars survived a late Village revival to defeat Dwayne Adams' team 4-3 in the Dudley Eve at Somerset Cricket Club last December.

And with so much at stake in tomorrow's match, emotions should run high at the Den where the championship race will go right down to the wire.

"It's definitely going to be lots of pressure and probably all going to come down to who really wants it the most basically," Cougars' assistant coach Shawn Smith said.

Smith was a member of Cougars' 2004-05 championship winning team, scoring from the penalty spot to help his club clinch a first Premier title on the final day of the season against Somerset Eagles at White Hill Field.

Cougars will be without the services of key players Raymond Beach, Domico Coddington, Reggie Baker and Kor Von Tucker who are all out through injuries. But Smith remains optimistic his team can deliver the goods in their own back yard.

"Our team has a lot of depth and we have had a lot of young players step up for us," he said.

Players such as budding striker Lamont Brangman — younger brother of Cougars 'keeper Ricardo Brangman.

Smith added: "We do have injury concerns, but we've our young players have shown a lot of maturity."

And they will need to against the might of Village, now gunning to achieve back-to-back league championships for the second time in the past six-seasons.

Following a disappointingly slow start to the 2006-07 league campaign, Village's championship pedigree has steadily risen to the top. And that's exactly where coach Adams hopes his team will remain after the final whistle is blown at the Den tomorrow.

"We are looking at the final game as an avenue for us to pay ourselves off for fighting our way back after a slow start to the season," Adams said.

"I think that's what the players deserve, it's their day and now they have an opportunity to show what quality they really are capable of producing. It's all about bragging rights."

Village clinched a seventh league championship last season, finishing seven points clear of runners up Somerset Trojans. Tomorrow they only need take a solitary point off Cougars to move to within one title of Trojans' record for the most championships (nine).

But not if Cougars have any say in the matter.

"Obviously we want to win the league," Smith said. "Basically this is a cup final and there's a lot of history between the two clubs."

In 2001-02 Cougars edged Village 3-2 at Lords to win a first major domestic title (Martonmere Cup) and then defeated the Reds on penalties at Wellington Oval in 2005-06 to win a maiden Dudley Eve title.

In remaining Premier Division matches of less significance, Dandy Town hosts Trojans at St.John's Field, Boulevard welcome PHC to BAA Field while relegated St.David's and Paget lock horns at Lords.

The eventual First Division champion, however, may not be decided until next Wednesday night at the National Sports Centre as Bermuda Football Association (BFA) have postponed leaders Ireland Rangers final match with Somerset Eagles tomorrow. Rangers will now tackle Eagles and second placed Devonshire Colts will play their game-in-hand against Prospect United in a double-header at the Sports Centre that could finally settle the championship issue should Colts get past Southampton Rangers tomorrow at Southampton Oval.

Elsewhere, Social Club host Wolves at Bernard Park, X Roads are favoured over whipping boys Hamilton Parish at Garrison Field while St.George's Colts host Prospect at Wellington Oval.