Merley Cobham under-12 girls capped a memorable first season by being crowned champions at the R & T Tournament at Chapel Gate.

Formed less than 12 months ago, they competed against teams from Woking, Essex and Oxfordshire in the Bournemouth Classic.

And after performing superbly in eight tough games, they emerged victorious following a hard-fought 1-0 win over Didcot in their final match.

Annie Graham scored the only goal of the game to ensure Merley Cobham would complete their debut campaign with a deserved trophy.

A new team for the 2011-12 season, they took their chance in the New Forest League and finished a highly-respectable third.

They also enjoyed an excellent run in the cup and were narrowly beaten 1-0 by league champions Boscombe Albion Arrows in the final.

Manager Martin Rendell, a level-two coach, said: “We are elated and everybody is very proud of the girls. They have worked so hard all season and have a great bunch of parents who have continued to support both them and me. It was a difficult task to start with because everybody was coming together for the first time. But the standard of football we played in the cup final was excellent and it was fantastic to see they had made so much progress. Every one of them showed passion and commitment and they got their rewards in the end.”

He added: “We are looking forward to next season when the girls will be playing nine-versus-nine games. We would like to hear from any girls in academic school years seven and eight (as of September 1) who would like to join our squad.”

Martin also wished to thank sponsor Organix Goodies and tournament sponsor Simon Phelps of Fluvial Innovations.

Merley Cobham under-12s: Kayla Rendell, Sienna White, Lilly Badawy, Annie Graham, Molly Graham, Gemma Mountain, Bethany Perdisat, Harriet Williams, Alisha Hemming-Stevens.