Football festival achieves its goal

And once again the tournament, the largest of its kind in the south east, maintained its reputation for second-to-none quality and organisation.

Festival co-ordinator Kevin Baker hailed another hugely productive event. He said: "It was a big success. It's been going for 28 years and the whole thing started with 16 teams. This year there was something like 176 and I had to turn away 34 teams. I've got five teams who have already paid to go in next year. There's teams that have been coming for quite a few years."

The first leg of the festival took place a couple of weeks ago and the second instalment on Saturday and Sunday featured teams aged from under-7 to under-10.

Sixteen teams representing five different counties took part in each age group ensuring plenty of competition.

The British Gas Trophy for u7s was won by Beacons (Eltham, London) who saw off Hastings Town in the final.

Cliffe Royals (Rochester) scooped the u8s' Hills & Pollington Trophy while St Leonards finished as runners-up.

The u9s' Marbran Trophy was shared between Hastings Town and Hastings Gunners after the final finished goalless at the end of four minutes of play. FA rules prevent children of these ages from taking part in more than an hour's worth of competitive football in a day.

Metro (Ashford) laid their hands on the Selanex Shield for u10s having defeated Hastings Town in the final.