They had just nine fit players, but for one girls’ football team, that did not stop them romping to victory.

Cottenham United Under 16 Girls, hampered by illness and unavailability before kick-off, cruised to a 5-1 win over Leverington Sports under 16s in the Cambridgeshire Girls' League's U16 'A' division.

Keira George, Danielle Foster, Beatrice Rogers and Lilli Layn scored the goals for a team that has climbed into the top tier since forming five years ago.

David Burkett, coach of Cottenham United U16 Girls, said: “Leverington played 9v9, but the girls kept up a relentless pace, without any subs, for 80 minutes in the heat.

“We started with 20 girls having fun with friends first and foremost with football third on the list and ended up with 60 girls over the next couple of years!

“With the boys’ teams added, we have 26 teams from U6-U18 and building more as Cottenham grows but as we do so, we struggle for facilities and pitches to play on.”

The team is looking for more players for the 2021-22 season. For more details, email David at d.burkett07@icloud.com.