DANNY Scopes enjoyed a dream start to life as Concord Rangers manager after recording a 3-0 opening day victory at Oxford City.

Joel Nouble, Kreshnic Krasniqi and Joe Gardner hit the back of the net as the new-look Beach Boys got the National League South campaign off to a winning start.

And Scopes, who was taking charge of his first competitive fixture after being appointed as Concord’s boss in May, was full of praise for his players.

“It was pleasing and I’m very happy with the way we have started the season,” said Scopes.

“We scored three goals and kept a clean sheet, so I couldn't have asked anymore of my players on the opening day.

“I think we started nervously but we were the better side in the first half and took a deserved lead into half-time.

“We didn’t start the second half as well as we would have liked, but we then scored a second goal to put daylight between the two teams and the third goal killed the game off.

“Chris Haigh made some good saves near the end of the game but the game was over by then and it’s a fantastic way to start the season.”

Just two players who were with the Beach Boys last season - Danny Green and Aron Pollock - were included in Scopes’ starting line-up.

And Concord broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time as Nouble, a summer signing from Haringey Borough, found space before firing home.

Pollock made a vital goal-line clearance to deny the hosts soon after the break, while Oxford also struck the woodwork as they looked to draw level.

However, the Beach Boys doubled their advantage as Nouble found Krasniqi and the former Billericay Town midfielder converted.

Concord wrapped up all three points as substitute Gardner, one of few players to remain with Concord since the end of last term, added his name to the scoresheet.

And Scopes felt the timing of his side’s opening goal was vital.

“The first goal knocked the stuffing out of them because it came just before half-time,” admitted the Concord chief.

“It’s what we deserved because we were the better side in the first half.

“We played some good football and put 12 or 13 balls into the penalty area in the first half.

“It was a fantastic way to start a new era for the club, but we can’t get too high because it was only the first game of the season and there’s a long way to go.”