Last updated at 22:00, Tuesday, 04 May 2010

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THE four girls’ cup and shield finals saw teams from Barrow Celtic, Dalton and Barrow Wanderers competing on the Holker Street turf.

The two shields were shared after draws, while Barrow Celtic edged the under-10s cup and Dalton took home the under-12s cup.

The Under-10s cup was settled by a single second-half goal with Barrow Celtic just getting the upper hand against Dalton Aces.

Dalton came close to scoring when a shot from Megan Phear hit the crossbar, but the only goal came when a long clearance found Danielle Crickett, who set up Sophie Henderson for the match-winner. Dalton hit back strongly, but Celtic held on to their lead to add the cup to their Barrow and District League title.

This was another keenly-fought end-to-end final that was a credit to both teams.

The Under-10s Community Shield was shared when Barrow Celtic B and Dalton B failed to break the deadlock, their contest ending in a goalless draw.

Both teams had their chances, with Celtic almost snatching a winner when the Dalton keeper Amy Sutherland did well to halt Ebony Etchels as she closed in on goal. In the end a draw was a fair result in an entertaining game.

Georgie Stanway’s four-goal haul was the highlight of a one-sided Under-12s Cup final as Dalton beat Barrow Wanderers 7-0.

The win ended three years of waiting for the Dalton girls. With Walney, winners for the last two years, moving into a higher age group, the door opened for new faces to step up and grab a place in the limelight.

Unfortunately for Wanderers, they came up against opponents with an eye for goal and there was never any doubt about the result once Dalton got into their stride.

They led 3-0 at the interval and the benefits of playing together through the age groups paid rich dividends for the girls and their manager Gordon Briggs.

“The majority of the girls are from Askam school and some of them have been playing together for the three years I have been taking them,” he said. “I had to feel a bit sorry for the Wanderers girls and their manager because it was a bit of a one-sided match.”

The other goals came from Emily Bolton (2) and Leah Jackson.

In the Under-12s Community Shield, the girls of Barrow Celtic and Dalton B shared the honours – and the well-deserved applause – after a keenly-contested 1-1 draw.

Dalton enjoyed all the early play and created several scoring chances, one resulting in a shot against the crossbar.

The pressure eventually paid and, following a goalmouth scramble, Dalton went in front.

Celtic regained their composure and played with more structure, with Eve Leech, Cally Dawson and Ainsleigh Hartley testing the opposing defence, but there seemed no way past the Dalton keeper.

In the second half, Celtic went in search of an equaliser and began to create space, Dalton relying on the occasional counterattack.

It looked as though Dalton were going to hang on, but the equaliser eventually came when Celtic were awarded a corner and the ball fell to Georgia Bloomer, who fired it into the net – a reward for Celtic’s never-say-die spirit.

First published at 13:14, Tuesday, 04 May 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk