Aaron Denkins, the Dandy Town technical director, was happy that his side has bounced back to form at the earliest opportunity in this season’s Dudley Eve Trophy.

Town outscored St George’s 5-3 in a eight-goal thriller in their opening group A match at Goose Gosling Field on Tuesday night to become only the second team behind PHC Zebras to clinch their place in the quarter finals.

That performance was the perfect response to the 4-0 thrashing they suffered at the hands of a rampant Devonshire Cougars in the Charity Cup at the same venue six days earlier, but Denkins was quick to point out that there is still is room for growth as the club strive towards their season objectives.

“The team is still a work in progress and as you can see we made some changes from our first game,” Denkins said.

“The Dudley Eve being the first competition of the season is normally when teams are starting to feel themselves out, get their tactics right, and so it’s still an adjustment period for us.

“It’s always the team’s goal to advance in these competitions and qualify for the final. So it’s just on course for where we want to be as a team and as a club we are progressing in the right ways.”

The win over St George’s catapulted Town to the top of group A with three points and was enough to see them through to the last eight with a game to spare.

The top two teams from the three groups will advance to the quarter-final, with the remaining four teams facing off in a play-off to determine the final two spots in the quarter-finals.

Denkins said qualifying for the last eight was not the focus prior to Town’s opening group match against St George’s.

“That was not discussed,” Denkins said. “For us our discussions are game to game, so every game is a final and a must win for us.

“We didn’t focus in our-pre game talk that if we won we qualify. It’s about winning, giving our best performance every match, so that’s what we were really focused on. All the other things; league, cups, advancement, all those things will sort themselves out if we concentrate fully on what we need to do that day.“

While things are now going well on the pitch, Denkins is delighted to be able to focus solely on his primary role as technical director again at Town after was forced to “step in” as head coach after Kwame Steede parted ways with the club during their pre-season preparations for the 2021-22 campaign.

The season turned out to be a triumph as Denkins coached Town to the coveted Premier Division and FA Cup double to deservedly earn the Coach of the Year accolade.

Jay Bean has since been appointed head coach following an extensive interview process, which enables Denkins to once again concentrate on overseeing the club’s entire football program, a role that suits him just fine.

“That’s where I am at in football,” Denkins said. “I think I can give more to the game, more to the club from a technical director’s aspect.

“I think I have more impact on the program not just the senior team. That’s kind of where I want to put in my work that is really impacting the club as a whole; helping the club to progress, helping the coaches to become better, helping the players to become better throughout the club and just not focusing on one single team.”

Elsewhere in the Dudley Eve Trophy, Group B leaders PHC also booked their spot in the quarter-finals with a match left to play courtesy of a 3-1 win over Boulevard at Goose Gosling Field on Sunday night.

Holders Devonshire Cougars top group C on goal difference over Hamilton Parish, whom they beat 2-0 in their opening group match at Goose Gosling Field on Tuesday night.