WOODHEY High School's under-16s girls' football team made history in the English Schools National Cup, despite missing out on a place in the final.

The talented teenagers made it all the way to the last four – going further in the competition than any other Woodhey team – before losing 4-1 at reigning champions Thomas Telford.

After conceding two early goals, Lizzie Lucas pulled one back for Woodhey in the 25th minute, finding the bottom corner with her low drilled effort.

But Thomas Telford, who boasted players from the Wolverhampton Wanderers Ladies academy, Shropshire county and one from the Northern Ireland U17s, pulled away again to go into the break three goals up.

It is to Woodhey's credit that they stood firm to deny Thomas Telford any further goals in the second half and coach Lee Garcka said they did the whole school proud.

“They have made great progress this year by working hard in training, having a great team spirit and a never-say-die attitude," he said.

“They are a very talented bunch.

"This is the furthest any of our teams have ever got in the school's history and while we were disappointed to lose in the semi-finals, the achievement to get to the last four is something the girls should be extremely proud of.

"They have been a credit to the school and some of them will hopefully continue with their football and go on and play at a higher level."

More than 220 schools from across the country entered the competition in September.

Woodhey battled through five rounds to make it into the semi-finals, beating schools from Bury and Manchester, as well as two from Cheshire and one from Carlisle.

Highlights of the run included a fourth-round win that went to a penalty shootout, when goalkeeper Sasha Booth was the hero, while they battled back from 3-1 down to win 6-3 in the quarter-finals.