Solent Devils’ Spring Cup series success was ‘icing on the cake’ for head coach Alex Murray

Mitchell Murray's last-gasp goal in a 3-1 defeat to Slough Jets proved crucial and ensured the Devils were crowned champions in a condensed four-team division by the slenderest of margins.

Devils finished up with the same number of points and an identical head-to-head record as Slough, but Murray's side secured the Spring Cup mini-series title having secured five regulation wins to the Jets' four over their six matches this season.

Initially, head coach Murray was just relieved his team were able to play competitively this season - something that looked increasingly unlikely because of the pandemic.

So to return to action, albeit in a reduced league format in February, and then to come out on top in the four-team division was something which provided the Devils with great satisfaction.

Murray said: 'We were due to start the season in November 2020 and when that lockdown came it was very deflating.

'You kind of thought we were going to miss a year and that would be another off everyone’s career - some of us are in the twilight years of our careers - so just missing a year would have had a massive impact.

'To be able to do something from February - we returned in January but the competition started in February - so to go from February to now is remarkable.

'For me, it was a great series, it was great for us, it was great for the players, the supporters and it was great for our sport to be able to play through the pandemic.

‘The fact that we won the series was the icing on the cake, was the bonus, and the guys thoroughly deserved it for our performance.'

Devils finished the season on a high and have opted out of any further playing action in 2020-21.

The opportunity to face off against the North Cup winners to crown a national champion and compete in a summer series was on the table.

But Murray explained the reasoning behind deciding against taking up those opportunities.

He said: ‘There were some options to extend the series and Sport England and the DCMS have offered some funding, but we decided against it.

‘The reason for that was because we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time, but we’re also very aware of the time, energy and effort the volunteers and players have to put in to ensure everything was at the level it was.

‘It’s only fair that we let the players have their summer to recover, recoup - it was a very intense six to eight-week programme.

‘With lockdown restrictions easing it’s a chance for players to get back to some normality before a rigorous 2021-22 season which is going to be very intense and I’m very conscious of burnout.

‘We felt for the welfare of everyone it’ll be better if we allow players to rest, recover, our support networks to rest and recover and go again come August/September time when we return for pre-season.'