Kent Merit Under-15 Girls Cup Final: Ebbsfleet United 0 VCD Athletic 1

A performance full of endeavour and determination was rewarded for VCD Athletic during a terrific clash with Ebbsfleet at the Gallagher Stadium on Sunday.

Ralitsa Nedeva’s excellent first-half strike was the difference between the teams but VCD, inspired by a player-of-the-match display at centre-back from captain Sacha Stewart, more than deserved their victory.

VCD manager Ian Biggam said: “The girls have been working really hard for years to get where they are today and this is the accumulation of all their hard work and effort.

“I’m absolutely buzzing and so proud of them.

“It wasn’t always the best football but they worked hard. I know they can play better but to win against a JPL team means they’ve done really well.

“There were a couple of chances to score a second, they put me through it in that regard.”

On captain fantastic Stewart, he added: “She’s a super captain. She’s got everything and embodies everything I want from my caption - skill, encouragement, enthusiasm and love of the game. And she’s also a really lovely person as well.”

Stewart was simply magnificent. In fact, you’ll be hard pushed to find a better individual performance during any of the 25 county cup finals this season.

Her reading of the game was impeccable, she made countless interceptions, tackles and blocks - and even found time in the second half to turn provider for a chance that should have seen VCD double their lead.

And when Stewart wasn’t taking on the lead role, she encouraged her team-mates and applauded every time one of them stepped up to the mark.

VCD had the best of the early exchanges, with Deborah Ogunbiyi also catching the eye early on with her determination in the tackle and silky skills on the ball.

After 10 minutes, Ogunbiyi