IT was a dramatic opening to the Huws Gray Alliance season, with plenty of shocks, goals and dominant performances during the first weekend of the campaign.

Sports reporter Dean Jones brings you his first weekly awards of the season below:

Performance of the week: Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochant

Few gave the newly promoted side any hope of securing a share of the spoils against title hopefuls Rhyl, but Marc Griffiths’ side produced a sensational display to emerge victorious 1-0 at their Llansantffraid base.

They were resolute defensively and had plenty of chances to secure success by a wider margin, and this is a great platform from which to build and become a force to be reckoned with within the second tier this term.

Player of the Week: Les Davies (Bangor City)

Much will depend on the form of Davies as the Citizens look to make an instant return to the JD Welsh Premier League, and he made the perfect start with a brace in their 5-1 rout over Buckley Town at the VSM Stadium.

The physical striker was a constant threat and his physicality was a nightmare for the Town defenders, and a big season looks to be in the offing for both Davies and City if they continue to show the same sort of ruthlessness in the weeks and months ahead.

Managerial performance: Niall McGuinness (Flint Town United)

It has been a busy pre-season of incomings at the Silkmen as they look to mount a promotion push this season, and they got off to the perfect start thanks to a resounding 5-2 triumph over Holyhead Hotspur.

McGuinness is a very talented coach who has done a fine job getting so many new faces to gel in such a short period of time, and this is sure to bring with it even more to celebrate as the campaign progresses such is the potential within the United set-up.

Emerging star: Jake Eyre (Gresford Athletic)

A talented forward with bags of potential, Eyre looks to have found his feet at the earliest opportunity and played a starring role for Steve Halliwell’s men in their outstanding 3-1 victory over Denbigh Town.

The sky is the limit in terms of what he can achieve providing he remains consistent and injury-free, and he can take plenty of encouragement from his opening night efforts as he looks to get amongst the goals and challenge for the top goalscorer title.

Team to watch: Ruthin Town

Chris Williams has gone about his business very quietly during the summer, and his side demonstrated their immense talented in an eye-catching 3-0 triumph at Holywell Town on Friday evening.

They have a fantastic team spirit and try to play football the right way, and they even had the luxury of starting last season’s top scorer Llyr Morris on the bench such is the wealth of talent at their disposal.