New first grade coach Jordan Stafford said he has a season plan to get Bega back to the grand final and this result was a good start.

“I was happy with the first round result after months of hard training,” he said. 

The Devils claimed their first goal of the season in the 30th minute after 16-year-old Luka Hodder, in his first grade debut, headed the ball into the back of the net off a Simon Jones corner kick.

The Devils and Tigers continued to tussle for possession for the rest of the half, but the score remained 1-nil at half-time.

“I was pleased with how they were playing, however their last pass towards goal needed to be better and their positioning play was not 100 per cent there,” Stafford said at the break.

In the 55th minute Devils striker Blake Grant made a break down the right wing to cut the ball into an open box, ready for midfielder Chris Dwyer to slot through.

Grant soon got a goal of his own and took the score to 3-nil after a scintillating individual run.

However, Wolumla was far from beaten. 

The visitors scored one of their own late in the second half after Daniel Kennedy came down the left wing to shoot the ball inside the top corner of the goal.

With two minutes left on the clock the Devils’ Grant made another individual effort to score his second goal of the match and take the final score to 4-1 at the final whistle.   

Best on field for Bega were Grant, Dwyer and new first grade goal keeper Kody Hazelgrove. 

It was a big day of soccer for across all grades with Bega’s reserves winning the Alan Mitchell Cup.

In just its second year, the Cup was arranged in honour of Bemboka local Alan Mitchell, who died in 2013.

Bega won the cup this year with a 2-nil victory over Bemboka. 

In the women’s grade Wolumla managed a shock 3-1 victory over 2014 premier Bega.

“They were a bit under strengthened today, lucky for us,” Wolumla women’s coach Kirsty McPaul said after the match.

McPaul said she was pleased with how her team played and made special mention to Amy Legge, Jane Woolacot and Katrina Oldham.

“The whole team executed my game plan to perfection and it paid off,” she said.