THE coach of South Cave Wildcats football club has praised his team for their efforts at the Gothia World Youth Cup.
Tony Grunnill has said the girls from the under-16s side have arrived back in East Yorkshire with their heads held high after "massively over-achieving".
Playing against teams a year older, they topped their group, beating Norwegian side Il Jotun 3-0; drawing against Swedish champions Stuvsta IF 0-0 and beating the National Soccer Academy of America 1-0.
Mr Grunnill said: "The victory against the American side came at a cost though, as the blistering heat saw several South Cave players collapse at the conclusion of the match through heat exhaustion.
"One of our players even had to spend a night in hospital.
"The girls were amazing and their performances were outstanding."
The girls, who have won five trophies this season and 25 in the past five years, were invited to take part in the tournament due to their previous success.
After topping their group in Sweden, the girls lost 2-1 in the knockout stages of the tournament against Swedish side Stenungsunds IF.
Mr Grunnill said: "After taking more than a year and an awful lot of hard work from all concerned to raise the necessary funds to get South Cave to the Gothia Cup, the event was infinitely better than any of the girls could have dreamed of.
"Having now had their appetite for top-class football on a world stage whetted, the Wildcats know they have the ability to progress even further in the competition and are even more determined than ever to return next year, bigger, stronger and fitter."
Prior to going to the tournament, the 16 girls spent ten months organising everything from bag-packing sessions, quiz nights, cake sales and even a badminton marathon to raise the £14,000 needed to go to Sweden.
Mr Grunnell said: "I'd like to thank all the businesses and everyone who donated to the girls' trip."
As part of the trip, the team went to the opening ceremony of the women's European Championships, which was on at the same time in Sweden, and watched Denmark and Finland play.
Jessica Roworth, 16, said: "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to play teams from America, Sweden and Norway with a team of girls who I have enjoyed playing with for years.
"From the opening ceremony to how well we played in the games I have a lifetime of memories and was lucky to be a part of the Gothia World Youth Cup."
