Our Wildcats took three youth teams to the Wincanton Girls’ Tournament in the glorious summer sunshine and had an outstanding day, competing in 28 rapid-fire games, using 26 players.

The U12s Panthers and Pumas overcame early nerves, as many had never played in a tournament before, with many of them playing a year up.

Both teams rose to the challenge and played some good flowing football, battling hard, winning duels, sticking to their task and really developing some encouraging team play. It was a terrific environment to develop their skills and play in different positions.

The Pumas won two, drew four, lost three and only conceded five goals while two players scored their first goals for the club. T

he Panthers won two, drew two and lost five, only conceding nine goals which was a sterling effort, and hats off to a winning goal in one game from the halfway line. The coaches were pleased with everyone’s efforts, and it gives a new focus for pre-season training.

The U13s went into their tournament knowing there were some strong teams on show including a couple they had never played against before

The early games were very tightly contested with plenty of draws but, as the morning progressed, and players adapted, they became a danger on the counter-attack to every team and started getting wins and scoring more goals, including a 6-0 win towards the back end of the group stage.

After the final game, the Wildcats ended with three wins and six draws, finishing second and setting up a semi-final with Midsomer Norton in a longer game.

With the full support of the U12s players and parents, the Wildcats had an electric start. The attacking play of the Emilia, India and Lleya, linking up selflessly, was superb.

Norton, who had conceded the least number of goals (two) in the group stage, found themselves 2-0 down in four minutes, effectively sealing the tie. The rest of the game was played out in an assured fashion, allowing the rotation of players and giving opportunities to everyone.

The U13s final was played against Sporting Weston Vixens who won the group stage by a single point, and who Wildcats had a 1-1 draw against previously.

The final was very physical, and chances initially were very few and far between. Sophie in goal with Frankie and Immy in defence had their best performances of the season and were able to keep everything at bay.

The second half saw the introduction of Jess and Isla, and this helped create more pressure further up the pitch. After a good opportunity Weston pulled off a composed counter attack to open the scoring.

The Wildcats made another change and subsequently hit the post. They had a couple of good chances and, with the last play of the game, won a free kick on the edge of the box. Unfortunately, this wasn’t converted and the full-time whistle was blown.

The eight girls were superb, winning a runners-up trophy against well-drilled teams, scoring the most goals (14) and conceding only four in 11 games. It was testament to the squad’s abilities and their reward was well deserved.

It was a superb day of girl’s grassroots football in every aspect and the parents need a huge thank-you for getting there for such an early start.