SOUTH and West Cumbria shared the honours in the 11th annual Walney Island FC junior football tournament.

A hot day on Walney, with sunny but breezy conditions, saw more than 70 sides from across the county compete over age-groups from undersevens up to under-14s.

Each age group played an initial round-robin group phase, with a knockout stage to determine the winners and runners-up.

An especially strong contingent from Whitehaven AFC, who had entries across a number of age groups, showed their intent as they took the first trophy of the day in the under-sevens.

The youngsters from West Cumbria accounted for local premiers Holker Old Boys in the semi-finals and faced a well-drilled Furness Cavaliers in the final, who had dispatched Walney.

The final was a well-matched affair with some fantastic football on show from the youngest age group and the West Cumbrians just edging it 2-1 after extra-time.

The home club did not have long to wait to taste success, with Walney Island under under-nines running out victorious after defeating local rivals Furness Rovers in the final.

Both teams had topped their groups and reached the final after knocking out Heathwaite FC, from Windermere, and Holker Old Boys respectively in the semi-finals.

A terrific final was played out with chances at both ends, and was only decided by a late winner for the hosts.

The under-11 age group was the largest and most competitive, with all the top local sides joining Whitehaven AFC in two groups of six.

After a tight group stage, the host club were looking good, however, they fell to a last-minute defeat against Ulverston Rangers in the semi-finals, whilst Whitehaven defeated the much-fancied Swarthmoor.

An excellent final resulted in Whitehaven AFC and Ulverston Rangers being unable to be separated during normal and extra-time and so the last final of the morning went to penalties. The West Cumbrians held their nerve to take the trophy after a 3-1 shootout victory.

The first age group of the afternoon saw the under-eights dominated by Crooklands Casuals and Whitehaven AFC, who between them provided all four semi-finalists.

Even before the semi-finals were played, the spectators knew the final would be between Crooklands and Whitehaven, with Casuals Oranges accounting for Casuals Blacks 1-0 in the first semi-final and AFC Blues triumphing 2-0 over their own Yellows.

Another tight final could not split the two sides, and so for the second age group running a penalty shootout decided the winners, with the Casuals restoring local Furness pride to take the trophy.

At under-10s, two entries from a strong Whitehaven AFC squad entered and one took the trophy home as they defeated Barrow Celtic in the semi-finals and then eased past Furness Cavaliers 3-0 in the final, Cavs having earlier had battled through against Furness Rovers in a tasty semi.

The under-12s competition was similar to the under-11s, with all the local sides entering two large groups and the top two Barrow and District Junior Football League teams, Furness Cavaliers and Holker Old Boys, contesting the final.

The well-drilled league champions Cavaliers had just too much for Hawcoat Park Sports Hawks in semis and similarly runners-up Old Boys were too strong for Crooklands Casuals in the semi-finals.

The final was a tight affair, which the Furness youngsters shaded to take the prize.

The final age-group, the under-14s, saw the home club and teams from Vickerstown, Holker Old Boys, Barrow Celtic and Workington Wanderers compete in a single league.

Workington topped the league and progressed to the final after defeating fourth-placed Barrow Celtic in the first semi-final, while Walney – who finished second in the group stage – saw off third-placed Vickerstown Vale in the second semi-final.

The last final of the day was another duel between South and West Cumbria, with Workington Wanderers showing their class as they took an early lead with a well-worked goal from a set-piece.

The Islanders threw everything at the visitors in search of an equaliser, but they just could not find the target as another of the trophies went up the A595.

Walney Island FC thanked all the visiting clubs, managers, players and parents for contributing to the day.

They also thanked all home managers, players and volunteers who gave up their time to help on the day, and tournament sponsors 3Q Sports, Heritage Construction, Eastworth Ltd, Dave Willan, Nick Bell Concrete Services, Jaggar Heating & Plumbing Services, Jewson, Stylecrete, The Bakery, Atkinson Renovations, Cumbria Kitchens Ltd, Lake District Farmers and Shooting Stars Studio.