ANYONE who watched Boca Seniors beat Bovey Tracey to clinch the Devon Premier Cup will not forget it in a hurry.

It was a privilege to be among the 600-plus crowd at Ladysmead to see a team from the North Devon Journal League win the competition for the first time.

For local league footballers, nights like that are special and they don't come along too often.

The emotional scenes at the final whistle as the team celebrated with their ecstatic fans will live long in the memory.

Richard Shannon's 27th-minute strike settled the historic occasion and Boca defended heroically in a pulsating second half.

The achievement was put in perspective as Bovey went on to finish second in Division One (East) of the South West Peninsula League.

Eventual champions Exeter Civil Service were also brushed aside by Boca in a thrilling semi-final at Witheridge. If the Exeter club were guilty of underestimating a self-confessed pub side, it was too late by the time Giles Daniel's thunderbolt inspired a 4-2 win.

Given the two-month gap between the semi-final and the final, tension understandably become unbearable in the build-up to the big game.

Manager Darren Todd said: "We all arranged to go for a steak at the Wrey Arms the night before the final.

"We wanted to get together for a bit of bonding, but it was so quiet. There was this unerring silence — it reminded me of the last supper."

Happily those pre-match nerves brought the best out of the players, even if some of the backroom staff struggled to contain themselves.

Chairman Brian Fishleigh admitted he was a nervous wreck, sat in the technical area during the 90 minutes.

"Apparently I never stopped shouting — or so they told me afterwards," he said.

"Darren and Lee Ackland (assistant manager) told me off for shouting at the ref. You're on edge all the time and you still want to be out there trying to play.

"But I've been involved in football so long, I knew in the back of my mind we were going to win it.

"It has been an unbelievable season.We all call it a pub team, but they have all become big-game players.

"I'm proud of them and I think 90% of the people in North Devon were proud of them too.

"I don't think anybody in North Devon will ever surpass it, to tell you the truth."

Along the way, Boca won seven games, twice coming through extra-time and visiting unfamiliar grounds at Newton Abbot, Totnes, Witheridge and Tiverton.

That opportunity to take on new opponents is what county cup football is all about. Put in professional terms, it is like playing in Europe.

By their own admission, 2008/09 is the first time Boca have properly focused their efforts on the cup.

Their unexpected success has sent out a message to every team in North Devon that county football should be savoured.

It may be a long time before the Journal League sees another team repeat this kind of success in the Premier Cup.

But there is no reason why, with the right approach, North Devon sides cannot enjoy good runs in the Devon Cup, either at Premier, Senior or Intermediate level.

Ask any of the Combe Martin lads who won the Devon Senior Cup in 2007 or the Shebbear United players who reached the final of the Intermediate Cup the same year. Like Boca, they will tell you how special these cup runs can be.