Southampton Cup: Day One

More than 40 boys’ and girls’ teams from around the world are participating in the eight-day international youth tournament, which runs throughout the coming week.

There were smiles all round for the excitable under-7s at Wide Lane Sports Ground, with their excellent performances setting the standard for the rest of the day’s games.

Spirits were high throughout the day as teams from across the country competed in the round-robin stages whilst putting on an entertaining show for both management staff and spectators alike.

Players were rewarded for their fantastic efforts at the end with medals and a warm applause from proud families, friends and coaches.

Teams included Pickwick Lions, Greenfields Falcons, Fareham Town, PG10, Sholing, Pace, Champion Sport Group, Denton and South Heighton and Hythe and Dibden Predators.

In the under-14s Academy matches, Chelsea and Southampton both kicked-off their respective campaigns.

Chelsea struggled to settle into the game and two first-half goals were enough to see Portuguese side FC Porto pick up victory.

Saints started well but were unfortunate to find themselves 2-1 down at half-time, before a fantastic second-half outing from GNK Dinamo Zagreb saw them fall further behind.

Southampton (Devon) got off to an excellent start after a 12-0 victory over Andover Town Youth in their Under 14’s Premier Boys Group B clash.

The Saints under-12s Academy team finished their first match with victory, thanks to an impressive 4-1 success over Brighton & Hove Albion.

For a full list of results, click here.

A full round-up from each day will appear on southamptonfc.com, with additional content appearing in our dedicated Southampton Cup pages throughout the tournament.