A set of St Ives Rangers girls have national glory in their sights after roaring to regional success.
The club’s Under 14 side were crowned queens of the east when representing Hunts at the Copper Box Arena, in London, last Sunday.
The successful squad - made up of Zoe Barratt, Aimee Best, Sasha Brown, Ellen Bullinaria, Poppy Dunmore, Ella Hampton, Molly Sutherland and Abby Townsend - went unbeaten by winning three and drawing one of their four matches. They scored 13 goals without conceding as they emerged victorious.
And St Ives Rangers only narrowly missed out on a regional double when their Under 16 side were pipped to victory by Hertfordshire side St Albans.
It was a terrific effort from the team of Ellie Brown, Ella Burnley, Fran Chapman, Mollie Coupar, Sophie Marjoram, Emma Mellors, Lauren Mellors and Sophie Tarpey, who were all playing up a year.
The two futsal squads are football team-mates for St Ives Rangers Under 15s, and their coach Darren Marjoram said: “I could not be more proud of the girls to win one age group and come so close to a double.
“It was a terrific day at the Copper Box Arena and the girls left with more fantastic memories. It proves yet again that St Ives is a great place for the development of female footballers with opportunities to play other forms of the game, such as futsal, only helping that.”
The national finals take place in Birmingham on June 24.
St Ives Rangers Under 10 Girls competed in their regional event last Saturday. They performed well at the University of Hertfordshire Sports Village – where the Under 10 and Under 12 tournaments were held - with their only defeat coming against champions Harvesters FC, from Herts.
Eight teams, who won county events in recent weeks, represented Hunts at regional level. The others were Bluntisham Blasters (Under 10 mixed), Buckden Harriers (Under 12 mixed), South Peterborough (Under 14 mixed), St Neots Town (Under 16 mixed) and Priory Parkside (Under 12 girls).
“We would like to thank all teams, players, coaches and parents who took part in the regional finals last weekend and represented the Hunts FA so well,” said county development officer Andy Coles.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here