DARRAN Walters was determined to remain upbeat despite overseeing a tough opening day for Devizes Town as they were emphatically beaten at home by Chard Town.

James Boyland put the visitors ahead midway through the first half at Nursteed Road before a quickfire double from Oscar Latas and Scott Holland in the second wrapped up the points.

Manager Walters admitted the game was a tough learning curve for his young side but hoped the experience would stand them in good stead.

“We have got a young side and will do throughout the season, so things will be tough to start with,” said Walters.

“I think it’ll be one of the youngest sides in the division. We had a lot of 16 to 19-year-olds and I think our oldest player was 24.

“We actually started quite well and after they went 1-0 up, we went very close to getting an equaliser but we hit the bar from a free-kick.

“We were still 1-0 down at half-time but there hadn’t been much between the sides.

“Again, in the second half we started well and should have scored but had a shot cleared off the line.

“From there, they went up the other end and scored themselves and at 2-0 down, it’s very hard to come back.

“But there were a lot of positives. We had 15 lads from Devizes in the squad, which is important, and the players are really looking forward to the rest of the season.”