FURNESS Cavaliers Under-10s have proven themselves the team to beat this year – amassing a wealth of trophies.

The Rampside Road side, who operate in the Barrow and District Junior Football League, have bagged silverware left, right and centre since January.

First as an under-nines side and now a year up, the side – coached by Mark McGladdery, Nigel Lamb, Keith Lawton and Ryan Tyson – have proven a force to be reckoned with in South Cumbria and beyond.

“We’ve won eight tournaments,” said McGladdery, himself a former player for the Cavs open-age team.

Victories indoors and out have seen them fill the club’s trophy cabinet as they have proven themselves one of the top teams in the area.

Their first success came in the annual futsal competition run by Barrow AFC – a result which opened the floodgates to further triumphs.

At under-nines level, they won tournaments at Millom, Barrow AFC, Walney and their own Rampside Road event.

They also succeeded in the five-a-side competition at Pulse, Barrow.

When they stepped up to under-10s level, victory at Barrow Island was followed by their greatest achievement to date, winning the Bispham Junior Football Federation event at Blackpool.

Added to their victories, there were defeats on penalties in the finals at Holker Old Boys and Haverigg United.

It was the win at Bispham that stood out for McGladdery as Cavaliers overcame 41 other teams from across the north, Scotland and Wales to lift the trophy.

“It’s one of the biggest competitions in Britain, there are nearly 300 teams across the age groups,” he said. “We were up against teams from Manchester, Bolton, Liverpool, Blackpool and Blackburn.

“We beat a team from Wales in the semi-finals and a team from Liverpool in the final.

“It’s a massive competition to win. You had to finish in the top two in your group to qualify for the quarter-finals.

“It was nip-and-tuck and we had to win our last group game to get through.

“Without a doubt it was our biggest win.

“We’ve been entering it since the kids were under-sevens, so that’s four years now and the last two have been competitive.

“We didn’t get out of the group last year, but this year we won it.”

McGladdery feels the successes of the team are just reward for their efforts in matches and in practice.

He added: “They’re a really good set of lads.

“They try hard in training and they try hard in the games.

“They all enjoy it and we try and do fun-based stuff in training.

“You can’t be too serious with them at this age, but they’re a good set of kids to work with and hopefully they will get better.”

Cavaliers will continue to play games through the season in the Barrow and District Junior Football League – they took on new club Barrow Wanderers last weekend at Rampside Road – but they will also test themselves against opposition from outside the area.

Last year they took on academy teams from the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool and more fixtures have been arranged for the near future.

“You are going to progress more if you are playing against these teams,” said McGladdery.

“The games at Blackpool and Blackburn last year were good and they did well.

“We’ve been invited to go down again this year and take on their academy sides, which is a good experience of kids – they realise how good they’ve got to be to get to the next level.”