North Village will be without Elliott Jennings, their most experienced player when they take on Dandy Town in tonight's FA Cup semi-final at BAA Field -- but another Jennings, Kevin, could play a crucial role.

Striker Elliott, who limped off with a recurring hamstring injury at the weekend, is ruled out tonight along with player-coach Kenny Thompson.

"We have most of our players available and these players have to carry the baton,'' he said.

Both Town and Village are capable of going all the way in the cup, and the winners tonight should go into the final as favourites, though Colts and Boulevard -- who meet in Sunday's second semi-final -- cannot be counted out.

"With four teams left, every player on every one of those teams knows that the FA Cup is the magical cup,'' said Town coach Mark Trott. "It's the last game of the season and everybody wants to be in that last game.

"You can be assured that in Devonshire Colts' and Boulevard's camp it's the same type of excitement. No matter where you lie in the standings those placings are going to go right out the window.'' Certainly Village will want to put last year's semi-final loss to Vasco behind them and win the cup for the first time since 1989.

Town have already put Vasco behind them, knocking the holders out in the previous round and if they reach the final they will be determined to end a sequence of three straight losses in the final (1990, '92 and '94).

However, their immediate task is Village, and coach Trott feels that by virtue of Village's win over them in the Dudley Eve final, the Red Devils will be slight favourites.

"North Village beat us in the Dudley Eve and you would be hard pressed to say they are not the favourites,'' said Trott.

"To be honest I really relish the underdog status. We're definitely not going to take Village lightly.'' Village may also be without midfielder Jamaul Boyles who is still recovering from flu.

But Kevin Jennings, in and out of the Village team this season, was back in their line-up last weekend and will be a key man for them tonight.

"Kevin can definitely be a threat, he had been missing for some time and had to work his way back into the team,'' said Thompson.

"He has served his time of recommitting himself to the team.'' Trott, too, admits Jennings could be a threat.

"Kevin's a class act, but North Village are a class act in themselves so we're not just looking at one player but the whole 11 that they put on the field,'' Trott stressed.

Thompson admits the team has not played consistently since winning the Dudley Eve, though the ability is there to beat any team.

"We showed in the first half of the season and in the Dudley Eve that we have the potential to play attractive football and win and we are capable of beating any team in the country,'' he stated.

"But we haven't made great strides since that Dudley Eve win.'' Town will be relying on veteran players like Lloyd Christopher in defence, midfielder Devarr Boyles and Simons up front to provide the right leadership.

"The veterans in our team are going to be a major key,'' Trott acknowledged.

"All the guys who are looked to provide leadership know who they are.

Tonight's match will be preceded by a Crystal Palace encounter between Boulevard and St. George's at 7.00.

Threat: Kevin Jennings