“We can be proud with how competitive we were” Dylan Harris-Newton reflects on the Summer Showdown

With the National Futsal Series Summer Showdown coming to an end, mens team captain Dylan Harris-Newton reflects on a positive experience for his side.

Derby went into the tournament wanting to challenge their opposition and not just to make up the numbers.

Starting the tournament against Bolton, missed chances proved costly, as they were unfortunate to lose a very competitive game, 3-1 at St Georges Park.

A tough challenge against eventual group winners, ProFutsal London followed, with the 9-1 scoreline not reflecting the positives that Derby could take from the game. They had chances but again, just were not clinical enough and were ruthlessly punished by a team, who were many peoples favourites to take the overall crown pre-Summer Showdown.

The tournament ended on a high note though, as Derby showed their resilience and character to lead four times, in a 4-3 victory against Worcester.

Before his thoughts on the tournament itself, Harris-Newton, Derby’s number 11 shared his elation with being back playing again.

“It was great to be back. It had been a long time coming with all the lockdowns, but we are back, so I’m pleased.”

Despite not progressing into the semi-finals, Harris-Newton was pleased with the teams performances.

“I think we have to be happy.  We all want to win every match but also must acknowledge we were playing against some of the best teams in the country.

“We can be proud of how competitive we were and how well we handled the step up in level, which we were rewarded at the end with the victory.”

The captain was personally happy with the performances and was full of praise for the NFS, who have announced this week that the Summer Showdown finals will be broadcast live on BT Sport, on Sunday 27th June.

“I really enjoyed it, especially having that winning feeling back in the final match.

“Credit goes to the league for the matchday event they put on. Especially the live streaming on YouTube and the highlights on FreeSports, which has been a massive success for the sport of Futsal in England, following a really tough couple of years.

“Like everyone, we’re excited and extremely proud to have been a part of this and are looking forward to working with the NFS and other clubs to build on this competition next season.”

Looking forward to the future, this was a great learning curve for Derby, with pre-season starting soon, this will be a good opportunity to get ready for the new NFS season. The captain looks forward to the future and will use this Summer Showdown experience to push forward, “We will take a lot away, definitely, I know us as players learnt a lot from playing at that level and I know the coaches will take a lot from it to help us improve. Hopefully, we will continue to develop, and it shows when the new season comes around.”

With a successful experience for Derby to compete against the best, this will set them in a good position for when the new season starts in the autumn.