A DRAMATIC late goal earned Petersfield Town Juniors under-9 Eagles the silverware after a day of pulsating youth football action in Beacon Hill on Saturday.

The Eagles, managed by Tom Hall and coached by Oli Meaker, couldn’t be separated from Bourne Blades Badgers, from Farnham, with one round of matches to go – the two sides having fought out a goalless draw earlier in the tournament.

But the Badgers beat one of the Haslemere teams 4-1 in their final game, leaving the Eagles facing the propspect of needing to win by five goals in their last game, also against a team from Haslemere, if they were to wrest the trophy away from the Farnham side.

Driven on by captain George Port, the progressive Eagles surged into a 4-0 lead with time fast running out. And just when it seemed they would fall agonisingly short, the Eagles mounted one last raid on the Haslemere goal and found the net for goal number five to seal the triumph.

A chuffed Eagles spokesman said: “In true Petersfield Town Juniors style, the Eagles won out through hard work, determination, self-belief, teamwork and neverending grit.”

The victorious Eagles squad was made up of George Port, Vinnie Hall, Mackenzie Van-Laun, Patrick Joyce, George Purslow, Lewis Charlwood-Heath, Jack Moody, Ryan Hinkley and Ben Tutt.