ST. MARY'S Under-7s picked up their first piece of silverware on Saturday with some tremendous displays in the Monkton Juniors FC Annual Tournament.

In their first group match St. Mary's were up against Hetton Juniors. St Mary's took the lead with a fine header from Jude Bowes. They doubled their advantage with a powerful left foot drive from Aidan Crooks after a lovely ball from Cameron Tague. Hetton did pull a goal back, but St. Mary's held on for the three points.

In the second match against Nissan, St. Mary's were on the offensive from the start and soon took the lead through a lovely solo goal from Dominic Curl. Two fine strikes from the edge of the penalty area from Jordan Wintersgill and Cameron Tague gave St. Mary's a 3-0 interval lead.

They continued to dominate in the second period and increased their lead with a further goal from Wintersgill and Aidan Crooks. The scoring was completed late on with a fine half volley from the edge of the area from defender Ellis Tait.

In the next group game they were up against Whiteleas Barcelona.

Although they were dominating, St. Mary's were not turning their chances into goals until Ellis Tait stepped up to fire in a beautiful long range free-kick from the left flank that beat the Whiteleas keeper at the near post.

Jordan Wintergill then sealed the game for St. Mary's when he fired in from the edge of the area.

Next up were Fatfield Foxes, who had looked impressive in their opening games. This was a much tougher game for St. Mary's, but they took the lead when Cameron Tague fired home a first time shot. On-form striker Jordan Wintersgill then doubled the advantage with another impressive strike that gave the keeper no chance. The result was put beyond doubt late on when and under pressure Fatfield defender headed into his own net, to make the full-time score 3-0. There were some fine defensive displays especially from Michael Dinsdale, who got in some crucial tackles.

The last group game was against second-placed Leam Rangers Yellows who sat two points behind St. Mary's.

This turned out to be a very tough game against a strong Leam side, who took an early lead with a well worked goal. St. Mary's fought back and equalised when striker Ciaran Jackson produced a smart turn before firing an unstoppable shot past the Leam keeper. The play swung from end-to-end, but it was Leam who got what turned out to be the winner. The result meant that they were group winners, but St. Mary's had still qualified for the quarter finals in second position.

In the quarter finals St. Mary's were up against their namesakes from Jarrow. St. Mary's (Bishop Auckland) got off to a flier when left winger Aidan Crooks went on a fine run down the left and fired a powerful shot past the keeper in the first minute. St. Mary's FC (Jarrow) gave as good as they got and Bishop Auckland St. Mary's defensive pairing of Emily Scarr and Ellis Tait has to be at their best. Bishop Auckand St. Mary's eventually sealed the win when Jordan Wintergill went past several player out on the right flank before playing a lovely square ball to Crooks, who rounded the keeper and side footed home.

The semi finals saw St. Mary's up against Jarrow FC. After a close first half, Jarrow held a 1-0 advantage at the break. St. Mary's had chances to get back into the game, but rattled the crossbar twice. Keeper Jack Blacklock also produced a couple of important saves to stop Jarrow increasing their lead.

St. Mary's started the second half brightly and looked for the equaliser which eventually came when midfielder Dominic Curl picked up the ball on the halfway line and surged forward beating several Jarrow players before sliding the ball past the diving keeper. St. Mary's continued to dominate and deservedly took the lead when Jordan Wintersgill got on the end of a long through ball and lobbed the keeper who had charged from his line. St. Mary's saw out the remainder of the game to win 2-1 and reach the final.

The final was against Throckley Magpies, who had been impressive and free-scoring in their group games.

The game was a tense affair and it always looked like one goal would be enough to win it. Dominic Curl got the all important goal, when he picked up a fine through ball and slipped the ball past the advancing keeper. Fine defending, especially from Emily Scarr; saw St. Mary's hold firm and win their first ever trophy.

There were great celebrations as St. Mary's were presented with their trophies by ex-Sunderland, Manchester City and Darlington striker Craig Russell. Although there were several fine individual performances, this victory was achieved with a great squad effort.

Squad: Jack Blacklock, Ellis Tait, Emily Scarr, Michael Dinsdale, Cameron Tague, Aidan Crooks, Jude Bowes, Dominic Curl, Ciaran Jackson, Jordan Wintergill.