Devonshire Colts assistant coach Joseph Trott believes the club’s loss to Somerset Eagles in the Shield semi-finals on Thursday night is only minor a obstacle as they strive for league success this season.The Devonshire side were bundled out of the Christmas competition on penalties after seemingly having the game in the bag midway through extra-time.A rash decision by Keimo Gardener, who had scored the go-ahead goal before grabbing two yellow cards in the space of a minute, saw the side go down a man before eventually falling on kicks from the spot. The teams were tied 2-2 after extra-time.A spot in the final would have helped Colts continue momentum heading into the second half of the season but Trott is adamant it isn’t all doom and gloom for his side.“When a player gets sent off it is never a good thing, especially when you are ahead,” he said. “Silly cards tend to backfire on teams because players get carried away and in the heat of the moment do something that results in them being sent off.“It was unfortunate but once you play short you can’t cover all the bases so it is difficult to maintain your momentum.”Colts have had a respectable start to the season, finishing the first half in seventh place with 17 points and are only five points off second-placed Hamilton Parish.Having won five of their first seven matches, expectations were high but successive losses to Boulevard and Young Men’s Social Club stifled their promotion push just before the holiday period.A resounding 8-0 win over Paget got the side back on track but Trott is insistent that the players focus on the task at hand as they look to reel in Parish.“Our first half of the season was up and down because we have drawn and lost to teams that I feel we should have beaten. The players need to believe in themselves and it has been so long that we have been down and just playing to play that now we need to instil a winning mentality.“We have a few youngsters coming in and they can get something out of the game as along as they strive to get where they want to be.“The effort has to be put in. Just because you were beating people in the junior divisions doesn’t mean you will beat them at the senior level, so we need to remain focused and keep the main goal, which is promotion, in sight.“We are in a good position, the points we are behind the second place team is manageable as long as we do our job. It will come down to the wire to see where we end up come season’s end.”Colts start the second half of the season with three road trips that will go a long way in shaping their destiny, having to travel to BAA, league leaders St David’s and Parish.