DURHAM schoolgirls have just missed out on the chance of glory in the regional rounds of a national six-a-side soccer competition.

Durham Johnston School's under-13s reached the semi-finals of the northern heat of the Adidas Community Cup.

The school is involved in Newcastle United's Football in the Community and sported the Magpies' black and white stripes in the competition.

The team beat a side from Sunderland's community programme 6-1 and beat sides from York and Halifax in the six-team preliminary group before losing 3-1 to Hull City in the semi-final.

The girls in the team were Lauren Attley, Gemma Dinning, Rachel Jackson, Kimberly Luke, Ruth McKenzie, Robyn Neely, Laura Rae and Sarah Wood.

Ray Hankin, director of football in the community at Newcastle United, said: "The great thing about this scheme is that it involves schools who are a part of the football in the community programme.

"The level of competition is perfect for the children at this age group and while it was disappointing that Durham Johnston didn't progress to the next stage of the competition, they did extremely well on the day, which proved to be a marvellous experience for them all."

John Sinclair, who has run the school's girls' football teams for the past five years, said: "The girls did ever so well and, although we didn't achieve our aim of winning the competition, I'm proud of each and every one of them."