Faultless Dartford claimed the Kent Merit Under-16 Girls Cup after scoring five perfect penalties in their shoot-out against Aylesford.

There was little to choose between the two sides after 1-1 draw in normal time but it was the Darts who came out on top in the end.

Manager George Kingdon said: “It was a really good representation of girls’ football at under-16 level.

“Both teams are a credit to their clubs and played some nice football. It was a physical game and both sets of players managed it well, as did the four officials, I was impressed with them.

“There was very little between the two sides. They had the early goal and then we got a bit of brilliance from our winger, Isabelle, who is a phenomenal player and that showed her quality.

“It’s looking like Aylesford will win the league, I’ve got a lot of respect for them and their managers and we’ll finish second. We’ve got a lot of development still.

“We’ve had a few penalty shoot-outs over the years and we’re always doing them at the end of training sessions. We knew our five straight away, and I was really impressed with the girls who took them.”

Aylesford led after five minutes when Sophie O’Neill held off the last defender as she raced clear on goal before confidently slotting low beyond keeper Lottie Kelk.

O’Neill nearly repeated the trick six minutes later but Kelk was out smartly this time to save with her feet.

Amelia Roberts then looked to go around Kelk as she raced out of her penalty area but her touch took her too wide and the chance was gone.

Dartford got themselves back on level terms on 20 minutes when the lively Isabelle Edgar found the back of the net with a shot from the angle of the penalty area.

The second half was a more cagey affair with clear-cut chances few and far between.

Dartford striker Olivia Ajose found space in the penalty area on 42 minutes but her shot lacked power to trouble keeper Jessica Goldfinch before Edgar shot wide after being played in by the excellent Ellie Stirling.

At the other end, Aylesford’s Roberts went clean through but she shot just wide of the upright.

The Dartford centre-back pairing of player-of-the-match Aniya Hooper-Cole and Logan Willis were exceptional while Aylesford skipper Amber Ruthven stood out at the heart of their defence.

It looked like the match was going to penalties although there was one last chance when Ruby Fletcher’s pinpoint right-wing cross found the willing Kelsi Wilkinson in the box but Kelk made a brave save to turn the ball away for a corner.

That meant the teams had to do a penalty shoot-out and when Aylesford put their fourth penalty of the wide, Dartford continued their 100 per cent record to lift the cup.

Dartford: Lottie Kelk, Cicely Smith, Aniya Hooper-Cole, Logan Willis, Esme Pigden, Abigail Lewis-Kelly, Tori Day, Ellie Stirling, Cherish Stewart, Isabelle Edgar, Olivia Ajose, Lacey Daniels, Vivienne Skelton, Maddie Crawley, Neave Devlin.

Aylesford: Jessica Goldfinch, Ebony Chapman, Amber Ruthven, Ruby Fletcher, Esmee Bartlett, Amira Woolston, Keeley Morgan, Charlotte Harrison-Carroll, Kelsi Wilkinson, Amelia Roberts, Sophie O’Neill, Sophie Jelfs-Monje, Isla Thornton, Daisy Jarrett.

Referee: Keiji Pursall.