SCHOOLBOYS tackled their way to triumph by coming third in a football competition.

The junior team from Our Lady's Abingdon booted their way into the regional finals of the Danone Small Schools Soccer Sevens.

For the past six months they have secured victory against teams across the South West, earning a place in the regional final in Bath on Saturday in which they fell at the semi-final stage.

Ceri Wareing, spokeswoman for the school, said: "The team had faced a gruelling battle in the county finals back in November to secure their place in this competition and, as representatives for Oxfordshire, everything was riding on their performance at Bath.

"The final game came quickly - Berkshire were the boys opponents and with a bit of pressure lifted from their shoulders, the boys played magnificently to win 5-2 and end the tournament in third place.

"Securing third place was a huge David and Goliath type success from our incredibly small team and the boys can celebrate the best result in the history of our junior school football. Well done to all those who took part and our thanks to all the staff and parents who came along to watch the team play."

The boys had won two games earlier in the day, 1-0 against Gloucester and 3-0 against Cornwall, then lost 0-3 to Somerset and 0-1 to Wiltshire before taking on Berkshire.

The tournament was part of the U11’s Danone Nations Cup, organised in partnership with the English Schools’ Football Association, which sees around 3,000 primary schools compete nationwide.