PHC Zebras took another giant step towards an unprecedented tenth FA Cup triumph when they dumped arch rivals North Village from the prestigious competition earlier this week.

Zebras, Village and Somerset Trojans all have nine wins to their credit and are in a tight race to become the first to reach double digits. But with Village and Trojans having already been ousted it would appear as though Zebras have the inside track this time around.

PHC coach Kyle Lightbourne now hopes his men can go the distance and achieve another milestone by bringing the coveted showpiece to Stadium Lane for the first time in 16 years.

"That would be nice because the last time (1991-92) we won the FA Cup I was actually playing," Lightbourne told The Royal Gazette.

Last Wednesday's hard-fought 1-0 FA Cup win over Village has catapulted Zebras to the final eight, with coach Lightourne refusing to take anything for granted at this particular stage of the competition with so much at stake.

"Realistically we are in a good position but we are going to take things one game at a time. It's just a matter of us preparing ourselves accordingly for every game. We still have a long way to go because there are still some good teams in contention," he said.

Trojans were the first of the trio to reach nine FA Cup wins in 1989-90, with Zebras drawing level two-seasons later and Village in 2005-06 - the same year they clinched a second triple crown (league, FA Cup and Friendship Trophy).

Zebras now find themselves entering familiar terrain, though coach Lightbourne refuses to get ahead of himself.

"We have definitely set our season up nicely in terms of everything we have worked towards up to this point," he said.

Meanwhile, Village assistant coach Clyde Best yesterday conceded that Zebras were the better side on the night and wished Lightbourne's men the best of luck moving forward.

"We didn't play well and that's why we got beat," he reasoned.

"Whenever you come up against a team like PHC you have to match them in effort if not they are going to run all over you."

That Zebras prevailed owed much to Kevin Richards' first-half header that snaked its way in at the back post through heavy traffic.