Esmé Hicks was the star as her four goals helped Hutton (Hawks) to win the first ever Essex Under 13s Girls Cup Final, Matt Kelly’s team recording a comfortable victory against South Woodham Ferrers United (Mavericks) at Aveley FC.

Hicks put Hutton in front with just 8 minutes on the clock, Silya Hamri levelling for Woodham eight minutes later, but Hicks added another two to give her side a 3-1 half time advantage. Straight after the break, Isla Burgess reduced the arrears for the Mavericks, though further strikes from Hicks again, Sophia Glickman, Elsie-Love Smith and Monet Goulding sealed the win.

Having just watched his club become the first name etched onto the brand-new silverware, Manager Kelly, was delighted: “I’m over the moon. Obviously, we won the Under 12s section last year, so it was nice to retain it. I’m a bit lost for words, but I’m ecstatic. We had a game plan. The girls listened, they executed it, and now they’re reaping the rewards.”

It only took a few minutes for Hutton’s Hicks to receive a ball between defenders, take a couple of touches and side-foot past goalkeeper Scarlett Pratt to give the Hawks the lead. But Ferrers went very close within a minute at the other end as they searched for a quick equaliser, Leela Hills shooting straight at ‘keeper Evie Cross.

And South Woodham Ferrers did level in the 16th minute. Hamri was brought down in the penalty area but got she back up to take the spot kick, which crossed the line off the inside of the post. Nevertheless, it was Hicks who got on the score sheet again for Hutton on 25 minutes. This time her attempt from a central position was drilled into the bottom left-hand corner.

On the half-hour mark, Hicks completed her hat-trick. Another low drive beat the goalkeeper, and Hutton had a 3-1 cushion to work with they approached the interval. But Ferrers weren’t out of the contest. A minute after the re-start, they were back down to a one-goal deficit as Burgess drilled inside the near post with her left foot from ten yards. Immediately, she grabbed the ball out of the net and wanted to re-start quickly... game on!

However, on 41 minutes, Hicks made it four goals for herself and her team, beating the on-rushing custodian to the ball and tapping into an empty net. Kelly explained how important she is to the squad: “Esmé’s probably one of the best strikers around at this age. If you give Esmé the ball, she scores. It is nearly impossible for her to miss. She’s massively important. The game plan was to get ‘Ez’ over the top, and Ez will score.”

A brilliant save from South Woodham’s Pratt attempted to keep her side in the match, denying Smith, who was through on goal. The goalkeeper palmed the shot to safety, which could have proved crucial later in the match. Though Glickman spotted the ‘keeper off her line in the 55th minute and lobbed the ball into the net from distance to make it 5-2.

Hutton sought to add to their lead, and they did just that with a 57th-minute sixth. South Woodham stopper Pratt did brilliantly to block Glickman’s initial shot, but Smith was ideally placed to bury the rebound! In the final minute, Hutton’s Goulding then dribbled into the box and created herself sufficient space on the right to bury an excellent finish across the ‘keeper and into the net.

There was nearly a consolation for Ferrers five minutes into injury time when Burgess robbed a Hutton defender of the ball and forced a brilliant diving save from Cross. But boss Kelly was still left to reflect on what’s next for the development of his team: “It’s unpredictable. You never know what’s around the corner. We’ve had 17 players signed this season.”

“Some games, I’ve only had nine or ten players. You can’t really predict. We’re flying in the league. We’ve won this cup and we won a tournament last week against the same sort of standard teams. But next is the league. I want to wrap the league up again and maybe have a second ‘double-treble’. But it’s unpredictable. You never know what happens tomorrow or in the week.”

Hutton (Hawks): Evie Cross, Florence Pryor, Abigail Flynn, Lottie Richardson, Izzy Roch, Monet Goulding, Ruby Atkinson, Savannah-Blossom Ludlow-Gibbon, Sophia Glickman, Esmé Hicks, Lyla Mercer. Substitutes: Lacey Holmes, Elsie-Love Smith, Lacey Kelly, Layla Sherlock, Olivia Biggs. Manager: Matt Kelly.

South Woodham Ferrers United (Mavericks): Scarlett Pratt, Georgia Nelson, Anna Benns, Silya Hamri, Grace Keeler, Darcy Radley, Isla Burgess, Leela Hills, Amalia Constantinou, Rose Holland, Ruby Reddy-White. Substitutes: Maya Cushing, Imogen Forbes-Buckingham, Thuy-Trang Nguten. Managers: Kristian Hills and Paul Burgess.

Referee: Poppy Mangan.

Assistant Referees: Zoe Eldridge and Amelia Sagnella.

Fourth Official: Jem Phillips.

Attendance: 179.

Photos: Tiego Grenho.