Wolves are better equipped to win their first major trophy than they were when they reached the FA Cup final two years ago as a Second Division team.

Their coach Dennis Brown is convinced of that after watching his nine-man team shock North Village on Tuesday night to reach the Martonmere Cup final for the first time.

And now he thinks they can go all the way and add a major trophy to their collection on November 11 when they meet holders Dandy Town in the final.

"I thought we showed tremendous character tonight,'' said a delighted Brown after the memorable victory.

"We had two men sent off but we hung in and dug deep. The plan was to catch them on the break which we did. I commend my players, I thought they did extremely well.'' Wolves were unsettled early in the match they outnumbered Village in bookings, leaving Brown fuming from the bench. But the longer the match went on without Village seizing the upper hand, the more determined Wolves became. Village will look back and rue a missed penalty by Michael Hansey in the first half.

To boost their own chances Wolves brought back striker Khari Sharrieff from school in the US. Wearing a soft cast on his left arm after a recent fracture, the lanky striker stuck to his task of leading the attack.

Admittedly, it didn't look good for Wolves when Sharrieff was ejected for a second booking after 62 minutes and captain Anthony Thomas followed 20 minutes later.

But their refusal to concede the fight eventually resulted in the winning goal against the run of play in the second period of extra time when Nakia Smith squeezed a header in at the near post from a freekick.

"I tell them all the time that in matches like this you have to dig deep sometimes and hold out and defend which we did in the Devonshire Colts game,'' said Brown.

"When we got the two guys sent off is when the game changed a little bit. It helps to have 11 but you just have to dig deep and work a little extra, and it paid off in the end.'' Wolves have reason to be optimistic about their chances in the November 11 final at St. David's. The squad can still get stronger with players still missing, including Mark (Beaver) Ray, who is recovering from a pinched nerve in his back. He watched intently from the sideline.

And if availability allows, the club may also look to bring back defender Joey Rego and utility player John Barry Nusum from school to strengthen them further.

"We're going to get a couple of guys healthy like Mark Ray and we also have the option of bringing back Joey and John Barry, while Khari should also be ready for that,'' said the coach.

"His (Sharrieff's) presence makes a big difference, he is one of the better strikers in Bermuda.'' Brown, who returned to his hometown Somerset for his team's latest triumph, is hoping now the team can go on and improve on the 1997 achievement of reaching the FA Cup final which they lost that year to Boulevard in extra time.

"We're going to enjoy that day, a whole community day, and just like the FA we're going to bring the whole of Devonshire down,'' Brown promised.

"But we are a little more experienced than when we played in the FA Cup.'' Wolves will have to redirect their focus quickly as there is an important league match coming up on Sunday when they take on Dandy Town in what will be a prelude to the Martonmere Cup final.

Town also left it late in their match on Tuesday night. Trailing to a Vasco goal from former Town player Chris Anderson eight minutes from time, the defending champions then struck twice in the final four minutes through Darron (Duke) Simons and Burton Bruce to snatch an improbable victory and a place in their fifth Martonmere final.