THE inaugural Barrow and District Junior Football League Under-eights Autumn Trophy proved a big hit with youngsters from across South Cumbria.

The event saw 12 teams battle it out for places in the Autumn Cup and Autumn Shields.

Group matches went ahead on the 3G pitch at Furness College the week after the competition had been postponeddue to the wintry weather.

The competition – the first of its kind for under-eights sides in the Barrow JFL set-up – saw the young stars shine in cold but bright conditions in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

All the games were played in good spirit, with some exciting football on show. There were lots of close matches with plenty of goals being scored and all the children seemed to enjoy themselves despite the weather.

The teams were split into two groups, Red and Blue, each with six players. Each team played the others once in a round-robin format to decide who progressed to the Cup and who to the Shield, with the top three in each group reaching the former competition.

Furness Cavaliers, Hawcoat Park and Furness Rovers Royals from the Red group, along with Holker Old Boys, Crooklands Casuals and Furness Rovers Whites, from the Blue group, advanced to compete in the Autumn Cup.

The Autumn Shield will see Barrow Wanderers Tangs, Barrow Wanderers Hoops, Millom Junior Blacks, Dalton Juniors, Millom Junior Reds and Barrow Celtic battle it out for honours.

There is a lot of football still to be played, and, as the under-sevens tournament recently showed, all the teams involved still have a chance to do well.