Report from Chris Styles (Exeter Fury player) on the second Devon Ability Counts Festival of the season (October 2014)

A fantastic start to 2014 - 2015 Disability Football League. Strong starts by all teams as they get used to each other, their new players and also their new opposition. The top league having being split into 2 divisions of 4 and 4 teams made it 2 games each for the top tier as unfortunately Totness Penta couldn’t attend.

Obvious flaws in everyone’s games and when asked various captains mentioned holes in defences and lack of ability to score. This adds up to an interesting first set of games. A lot of young blood on the field so energy was high but it was obvious it needed to be controlled and set in the right direction.
Martyn Brook of Exeter Fury mentioned “we have a lot of young blood and also a few players that aren’t ready for the new season. If we give them time to develop altogether our team will start to frighten the opposition, with our ability to finish off the game comfortably.” He also remarked his best game of the day was turned around by a breathtaking penalty save from their goalkeeper Chris Herring.

Another of the stronger teams of the top tier appeared to be Plymouth Argyle. An impressive performance by this team to top off a convincing day. When asked, their captain Alonso mentioned “superb team effort; but one that can always be improved on.”

Moving onto the Championship it was another good start. New team Tavistock Tyres had their work cut out as they have had three new players, with whom they hadn’t ever played with before. They struggled against the teams of this league, only managing two draws whilst losing their first against Torquay Stars, who scored four goals against them. Despite this, their manager, Will Reed, commented that he can see potential in the team, “We have achieved a lot today, even with three new players coming in. I was quite impressed with how the team communicated and worked together. I have a good feeling that we will have an impressive season.”

Another team who were impressive on the day were Plymouth Pilgrims, who have had three draws in a row and only letting in one goal. Their manager, Gary, commented that they defended very well, and he was happy with their performance. He, however, states that his “midfield needs improving – our reaction has to improve and be much quicker.”

Overall, the teams in the top two tiers have had fantastic days, all had enjoyed their games and some had proved themselves to be one of the top dogs of their leagues, whilst others might have come out as underdogs. But this is football, and in football things are unpredictable. One thing that is indeed predictable would be this: This season will be exhilarating!