Main’s season was off to the best possible start with a 1-0 win over title favourites Long Eaton United at Muglet Lane.
The home side were straight at United when Scott Somerville dispossesed Ian Wheat and played the ball to Simon Hickey, whose low cross was hit just wide of the near post by Rob Branagan in the fourth minute.
United’s first attempt came in the nineteenth minute when Jared Holmes headed wide from ten yards following Nathan Parker’s cross and the visitors almost took the lead in the twenty third minute when Paolo Piliero’s looping cross had to be tipped away from under his own crossbar by Jamie Bailey in the Main goal.
Long Eaton had the ball in the net in the twenty ninth minute when Piliero side footed past Bailey and into the bottom corner but the goal was ruled out for offside.
With five minutes of the first half remaining Holmes wasted a great chance when he shot wide from the edge of the box while under pressure from Danny Reilly following Kelvin Mushambi’s great ball forward.
Bailey pulled off a great save to catch Holmes’s curling free kick from twenty yards out in the sixty ninth minute before United’s Lee Sutton had his shot blocked by Danny Reilly; the ball looped goalwards where Craig      

Roden was there to head the ball off the line and away from danger.
Roden had a shot cleared off the line by Wheat in the seventy eightth minute by following Paul McGinty’s weak clearance.
With eight minutes remaining,Main took the lead when Reilly headed John Wall’s freekick back across goal, Whalin palmed the ball away only as far as Lee Mellon who headed into the United goal to give Main a dream start to the new campaign.
Main had strong appeals for a penalty turned down by the referee in the third minute of stoppage time when Wall burst onto Somerville’s ball forward and, as he rounded Whalin, the big Keeper upended him but all Maltby’s appeals were turned away. Two minutes later Long Eaton also had claims for a penalty turned down when Holmes looked to have been pushed over in the area by Paul Lavender.

Main: Jamie Bailey, Simon Megson (Greg Mason 75), James Ellis, Danny Reilly, Craig Roden (Dave Shepherd 85), Lee Mellon (Danny White 90), Paul Lavender, Simon Hickey, Rob Branagan, Jonathan Wall, Scott Somerville.