There was a proud moment for Shaftesbury striker, Greg Peel, this week as he represented the UK Armed Forces against the Irish Defence Forces in Belfast.
In a hard-fought game, Peel’s side battled out a narrow 1-0 victory to lift the Friendship Trophy as Peel won his first cap.
“With the UK Armed Forces FA, you gain your cap for two international fixtures,” he explained to us. “So, you can play friendlies throughout the season but you will only be capped for an international fixture and this was my second international fixture I had featured in.
“I’m currently in the REME (Royal Mechanical Electrical Engineers), which is part of the British Army, so in football I represent the REME FA, Army FA and UK Armed Forces FA.”
Peel had a delayed start to the season having suffered a broken ankle in pre-season as Shaftesbury prepared for life in Step 4 for the first time in the Pitching In Southern League Division One South.
“It wasn’t the best of starts as I had to sit out the first eight or nine games because of the broken ankle,” he continued. “We’ve had a lot of personnel changes in the team over the opening few months of the season; we’re looking to find the right balance and it takes time to adapt, but we’re getting there.
“The performances are improving and recent results have given us plenty to be positive about.
“Going into this season, we were expecting it to be tough at the higher level with the additional travelling and step up in quality.
“We learned pretty quickly that mistakes get punished in this League and you need to take your chances when they come along and be clinical.
“It wasn’t quite the start we wanted, but it’s a long season and we’re looking forward to seeing what the weeks and months ahead bring.
“I’ve played for a number of clubs in the Southern League previously, but getting promotion with Shaftesbury and making history for the club by getting them to this level for the first-ever time is pretty special.
“It’s a very competitive League and as has been seen over the years, if you can hit a good run of form at the right time, it can really lift you up the table. On the flip-side, the same can be said of a bad run of form too.
“We always knew that our first season at this level would be tough, but I can certainly see positive signs as we get used to the added demands.
“My personal aims are to help Shaftesbury climb the table and maintain our place at this level. I also want to continue playing military football to the highest possible standard.”
IMAGE: UKAF FA
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