There was a little bit of history created at Shaftesbury on Tuesday evening when they secured their first-ever victory at Step 4 level.
It came courtesy of a 4-1 triumph over Bemerton Heath Harlequins in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South and left manager, Pat McManus, beaming from ear to ear.
“It came as something of a relief to finally get that first win under our belt,” admitted McManus. “We’ve felt that it was on the horizon; we’ve come up marginally short on all but one of our fixtures so far and there has been a feeling in the camp that our first complete performance would probably return all three points, and so it proved.
“The win itself was pretty comprehensive; we scored goals at opportune times and but for some excellent goalkeeping could’ve quite easily ended the first half in a healthier position.”
McManus started the season as joint manager alongside James Milligan, who recently departed the club to take over at the helm of Tuesday’s opponents.
“I was proud that everyone involved followed the brief as opposed to getting caught up in the occasion or emotion of facing a recently-departed manager, who for some is also a friend,” added McManus. “We stuck to our game plan and remained focussed on the task of getting all three points.
“Being a joint manager is an incredibly difficult role, I think it takes time, patience and understanding to undertake it in a manner where both parties are completely satisfied. It’s for those reasons I completely understood Jim’s decision to step down and seek an individual role.”
For the Dorset outfit, the step up in standard this season has come as no surprise to them.
“The division has been everything we expected it to be,” continued McManus. “Every fixture is a challenge; no opposition can be taken lightly and there is some real quality throughout.
“From our point of view, we will be looking to build upon these three points and improve in certain areas. If we can so this, it should facilitate our longer term aim of consolidating into the upper part of the table and seeing where hard work and some good fortune will take us.”
Shaftesbury hit the road on Saturday as they head to Helston Athletic.
IMAGE: Shaftesbury FC
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