A TEAM of talented young Stourbridge footballers won the final of the West Midlands Junior Champions League.

Cookley Sports under-8s secured trophy success on Saturday, May 26 at Aldersley Stadium in Wolverhampton.

They won the Europa League of the competition, which was aimed at promoting grassroots football to enable youngsters and teams to express their love of the game in a friendly environment to suit all abilities.

The competition saw 60 teams from across the West Midlands compete in a first round stage which determined which league – Champions or Europa – they competed in for the remainder of the competition.

Cookley Sports played a total of 11 teams from locations such as Sutton Coldfield, Great Barr and Wednesfield and won all but one of their games.

They went on to win 7-2 in the Quarter Finals against Bridgnorth Spartans which qualified them for the Finals Day at Aldersley Stadium. Here, they beat Creswell Wanderers 3-2 in the semi-final in a tense game which went to extra time. Their final battle was a local derby against the reputable Kewford Eagles from Kingswinford, in which they won 3-2.

Cookley Sports under-8s are coached by Stuart Hunt and Mark Penko who were delighted with their teams’ performance. Stuart said: “Each and every one of the team put in an enormous effort in today’s matches and throughout the whole competition. I am immensely proud of them all and it is my pleasure to coach them as they develop their skills and love of football.”