win championships.

In those days the trophy cabinets at Somerset Cricket Club were chock full of gleaming trophies and clusters of shiny trinkets, proof of their soccer prowess.

Today the cabinets are bare, the area a veritable ghost town, a far cry from the glory years.

For the first time in several years Somerset failed to grab a single trophy in 1993-94 and only a late second half surge enabled them to finish fourth in the league.

Infighting among the players and team officials resulted, with head coach Larry Hunt the major casualty as he begrudgingly stepped aside to be replaced by another former player, Josef Gooden.

Now Gooden, with help from assistant coach Dennis Brown, has engineered a turnaround in the west, one which has a youthful batch of Trojans riding high on top of the First Division standings with a record of five wins, two draws and two defeats.

And the new breed of Trojans get chance to continue their reversal tonight when they face Dandy Town, the team that has staked itself as the new rulers of the roost, in the first leg of the Dudley Eve Trophy final at Devonshire Rec., (8 p.m.).

Town are the defending champions, but the West Enders enter the match full of confidence after already beating Town 1-0 on their way to the final of the double elimination tournament.

The Boxing Day victory gave Somerset time to rest up while Town were forced into an extra encounter in order to make their second consecutive trip to the final.

"This is the route the guys wanted to take and right now everybody is pretty keyed up,'' said Reggie Tucker, Somerset's diminutive skipper and a key player in midfield. "Everybody just wants to get a trophy, which would be a first for a lot of individuals in the side.

"We just want to do the same things we've been doing all this time, be consistent and play simple.

"Right now we have strength all over, both on the field and the bench. The biggest problem the coach will have is selecting the eleven.'' Although the side have been winning, Tucker was quick to point out that there was still room for improvement.

He was also wary of Town's front-line which he said represented their main strength, with leading goal-scorer Darron (Duke) Simons and reigning league MVP Carlos Smith. Another plus for the Hornets, he said, was their experience, many of the players now playing together in the First Division after coming through the junior ranks.

"We have to be aware and identify who's on and be able to cut them down on the night,'' said Tucker. "I have confidence in all my players from the defence, to midfield, goalkeeper and the forwards that we can get it done.

"As far as I'm concerned we have not hit our true potential. We've been playing well, but we haven't peaked yet.'' Town captain Lloyd Christopher noted his side's long route to the final, but like Tucker was confident of returning home with the silverware.

"They beat us on Boxing Day and they beat us again in the league and we beat them in the Martonmere,'' said Christopher. "It's going to be a very interesting final. They took one way to the final and we another.

"(But) we have the Dudley Eve Trophy, so they have to come and get it from us.''