At 11:00 on Sunday 11^th of September Davyhulme Park open their league campaign with a home tie against local rivals Broadway Rovers. If an earlier
pre season friendly is anything to go by the game promises to be an enthralling contest that is not to be missed.

Broadway have already got off to a flying start with a 4-1 victory over Cheadle Hulme Albion and find themselves sitting on top of the division 2 table. The
experienced side will want to maintain that form throughout the season as they
seek promotion back to Division 1 following a 2 year absence. Manager Stuart
Liston will be taking nothing for granted as he prepares his side to face
Davyhulme Park “Over the years, we have played most of the
teams in our league but we take every team with the same approach as we can only beat what is put in front of us. Premier or 4^th division, they
can all be dangerous on their day”. In response to the notion of his side being
favorites Liston responded with “I don’t think we would be favorites, Davyhulme are a good team to win promotion in your first season
is no mean feat and they won some difficult games, scored an average of 3.3
goals, and conceded 1.75 per game. That is excellent football and I have warned my team on how good and well organized they are. Also with them having won promotion, we will have to be on top form to get a result and that’s a fact”

The 2-1 friendly is still fresh in the mind of some and new Davyhulme midfield Jon Sharkey missed a rather strange penalty in which the ball moved just before taking the kick. When asked if that was still in mind Sharkey replied with “Cheers for bringing up the missed penalty, somehow I thought that would pop up though. Messi and Ronaldo have missed penalties but they didn’t look back ha-ha. Plus the ball moved!!! But yeah i guess it was my low point”

The midfielder has struggled for consistency during pre-season due to niggling
injuries but is in contention to start on Sunday “Yes I have had a rather unfortunate run of injuries affecting my pre-season, but feel I like I’m fit to start the season and ready to help DPFC win the league!”

Someone who has shown great consistency in preseason is striker Adam Mannion, with an impressive 5 goals in 6 appearances as he looks to put an injury ravaged first season behind him “I do think I will show what I can do this year an score a lot more goals. I don’t think it was my injury that hindered my season, its more of a case that whilst injured I watched an studied the game, and have come back with an improved football brain and better movement. I have shown in preseason I am a poacher for goals but I can also set them up. My confidence is high and I think I can prove to be a big asset in this squad” When asked on how the ankle had recovered Mannion said “In all honesty the ankle isn’t 100%, its still not right and I am seeing a specialist later in the month to have another look. I am fit to play and have shown that already, but I am not as mobile as I would like. That’s where my improved intelligence and movement has come into play. This team can go a long way this year and I hope to be a big part of that!”

So how will each team be lining up for this encounter? Well whilst both managers kept their cards close to their chest they were both in agreement that this will be a stern test for each team with both dismissing that the preseason result will have any bearing on the fixture. DPFC manager Mike Jones had this to say “I have high expectations of this squad and made it
clear in no uncertain terms that the first half of that preseason game wasn’t
anywhere near the standard I expect. The players responded brilliantly with a
second half performance that I felt on another day would have been enough to
have won us the game. Make no mistake this will not be an easy game. Broadway are an experienced side with some very good players and in Stuart they have a manager who knows the game as much as anyone. Still, I believe in my players and despite still having some key players out I still think we should have enough to win the game”. Broadway manager Stuart Liston concluded “I find preseason friendlies to be a bedding in session for new players and injured players to get match fitness back for the long season ahead. I must of made 15 changes as we are try to find our strongest team for the season so no I don’t believe we have the edge. Also it was a close game which could have gone either way. I still believe Sunday will be a hard fought affair. I have seen Davyhulme Park play as a Manager & Referee and know how they like to play football. I am sure we both just want the game played in a fair manner with good flowing football. I, as the Manager, will not let my team take anything for granted. We may have won the friendly but that counts for nothing as league games are a different matter with a lot more to play for”

Make sure you make your way over to Pitch 3 on Broadway (M41 7WJ) for what promises to be a fantastic encounter.