Brayton Belles were denied a repeat of last season's whitewash in the hotly contested Connexions Girls' League end of season tournament at the brand new Poppleton Juniors facility.

The Belles swept the board last time out, but this year had to settle for a sole victory in the Under-12s age-group in a battle involving 27 teams, including fledgling U12 side Hamilton Panthers.

Heworth took the U10s prize from Brayton Belles and Poppleton Tigers with a won two, drawn two record from the four-game round robin.

A competitive U12s league was split into two groups with the top two in each going through to the semis. Brayton Belles 'A' saw off Wigginton 'A' 4-0 to meet Rawcliffe in the final, who had beaten Tadcaster Albion 2-1, and the Belles finished the job off with a 1-0 win.

Also in group 'A' were Hamilton Panthers, who formed a matter of weeks ago and had never played together, but still put on an impressive show, winning one, scoring four and conceding just six.

Coach Robert Pearson said: "Three of the teams in our group were actually officially U14 because the tournament is at the end of the season, rather than the start, so considering we had players aged nine and ten who were a foot and a half shorter, I think we did really well. We were the only team to put a goal past Brayton."

Hamilton beat Wigginton Grasshoppers 'B' 3-0 with two goals from youngest player Jodie Longstaff and one from Lauren Hague, who also put one past Brayton.

Sponsorships with TJ Smith Logistics, Glenn Coaches and Bell's of York Removals and Storage have now been confirmed as the youngsters gear up for their first ever season.

Brayton Belles and York Tigers topped the U14 group tables, but it was Pickering Bluebirds who took first place after defeating the Tigers 3-0 in the final.

In the U17s, hosts Poppleton took the runners-up prize after losing out to Garforth Rangers.

Updated: 11:09 Wednesday, June 23, 2004