A feisty Devonshire Colts outfit doused any hopes the Boulevard Blazers had of a second First Division championship with a humbling 5-1 upset at Frog Lane field yesterday.

The result handed Somerset the league title as they disposed of Hamilton Parish 6-0 at home, giving them an unassailable three-point lead in the standings with just one game still to be played.

While the scoreline would indicate total dominance by the home side, this was not the case as Boulevard controlled much of the action in the first half and early on during the second.

However, they were laid waste by clinical finishing on the part of Colts and superb goalkeeping by Antoine Lightbourne, who stood firm under intense Blazer pressure.

Boulevard were rocked early as Ellington Weldon notched two first-half goals before they pulled one back minutes following the interval.

Colts, though, sealed the two points and moved to second place with three more strikes, two from Mark Ray and another by Craig Smith.

It was the third goal, by Ray, which came as a result of a blunder by Boulevard 'keeper Mitchell Steede in the 66th minute, that permanently turned the tide in Colts' favour.

Steede allowed Ray's seemingly harmless grounder to slip through his hands for the score, making it 3-1 at that point.

This bitter blow knocked the stuffing out of Boulevard, who had appeared on the verge of equalising after long periods of unrelenting pressure.

"It was a mistake by us and they made us pay,'' said Boulevard coach Gary Mallory after the match. "On the day I guess we didn't want it bad enough and the better team won...the breaks went for them and they capitalised.'' Earlier, Weldon had given Colts a dream start when he headed them into the lead in the sixth minute, connecting on a right-wing cross by Dennis Williams and watching the ball deflect in off defender Leroy Stevens.

Stevens almost garnered a quick reply, sending an acrobatic scissors kick inches over the bar two minutes later.

Knowing they needed a victory to have a chance at the title, Boulevard strode forward with organised attacks, most of which were orchestrated in midfield where Brian Anderson, Albert Smith and Carlos Pearman reigned supreme over their Colts counterparts.

As usual Dwight Warren was never far from the attack and his cross from the left side in the 23rd minute found the head of Amon Brown, but Lightbourne was able to save the effort.

It was Lightbourne again calling on his reflexes to keep out Anderson seven minutes later, using his fingertips to put a 20-yard blast over the crossbar.

Nevertheless, Weldon reaffirmed Colts' superiority as he bundled the ball across the line after Keishon Smith had headed over the 'keeper.

A vengeful Boulevard began the second half attacking in droves.

They reaped almost immediate dividends when full-back Dean Boyles scored four minutes into the half on a surging run where he eluded the challenge of young Jahmal Samuels to place his effort into the lower right corner.

To Boulevard's dismay this would be their only shining moment as Ray, then Smith, and Ray again completed the rout.

Devonshire Colts: A.Lightbourne; K.Burchall, J.Samuels, D.Wright, A.Wilson; M.Ray, D.Williams (J.Belboda, 73 mins), Y.Wade (Q.Aberdeen, 55 mins); C.Smith, E.Weldon, K.Smith.

Boulevard: M.Steede; D.Boyles, W.Richardson, L.Stevens, V.Eve (K.Darrell, 45 mins); C.Pearman, B.Anderson, A.Smith; A.Brown (N.Robinson, 25 mins), V.Symonds, D.Warren.

Referee: Esten Curtis Men of the match: Antoine Lightbourne (Devonshire Colts); Brian Anderson (Boulevard).

SAFE HANDS -- Devonshire Colts goalkeeper Antoine Lightbourne denies Carlos Pearman in first-half action yesterday.