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Top-flight clubs aiming to avoid cup upsets

Scoring spree: Cecoy Robinson, the PHC captain and Premier Division leading scorer, will be aiming to build on the momentum of his five-goal haul in his side’s 7-2 victory over Boulevard last weekend, against First Division Devonshire Colts in their FA Cup quarter-final tie tomorrow (File photograph by Lawrence Trott)

PHC and X-Roads will be favoured against their First Division opponents, Devonshire Colts and St George’s Colts, in this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals, however stranger things have happened in this competition.

The two Colts, who look certain to clinch the two promotion spots, are battling against the odds to get past Premier Division opponents.

PHC take on Devonshire Colts at PHC Field while St George’s host X-Roads at Wellington Oval in an East End derby.

However, if either team need confidence then the achievement of Devonshire Colts thirteen years ago should be inspiration enough.

The odds were heavily against Colts when they went up against Boulevard in the 2007 FA Cup final, yet they won 2-0 to become the first First Division team to win the competition.

They achieved it in their thirteenth appearance in the final and now, 13 years later, they are two wins away from reaching another final.

Their opponents, PHC, have won the cup a record eleven times, while North Village and Somerset, who both have nine titles, are also still in the competition.

They have Premier Division opposition to get past, with the Trojans taking on holders Robin Hood tonight at Goose Gosling Field (9pm) and Village playing Southampton Rangers tomorrow at Southampton Oval.

“It’s going to be a difficult one,” Rangers coach Jomar Wilkinson acknowledges. “We are at home so we have a little advantage.

“Village are on top of the table but my team is able to beat anybody on any given day as long as we come with the right mentality.

“It’s going to be a tough match and we understand how important cup games are and the intensity that’s needed. I’m sure that my boys will bring it.”

Rangers are still in the competition after taking their case to arbitration following the Bermuda Football Association’s decision to expel them from this year’s competition for failure to pay membership fees.

They subsequently beat Dandy Town 2-0 in their delayed first-round match.

This weekend’s quarter-finals could be set to produce some high-scoring games with the leading scorers in the two divisions, Cecoy Robinson of PHC and Chemari Henry of Devonshire Colts involved in the tie at PHC Field.

Robinson, following his five goals against Boulevard last weekend, is the leading scorer in the Premier Division with twelve goals, with Robin Hood’s Lejuan Simmons on ten goals and Donavan Thompson of X-Roads on nine.

Henry is leading the First Division scoring with fourteen goals while team-mate Senoj Mitchell has twelve.

There have been 16 different winners of the FA Cup since the competition started in 1955-56 with BAA beating Southampton Rangers in the first final.

Last year, Robin Hood came out on top of a five-goal thriller to beat X-Roads 3-2 in the final and claim third title in four seasons.