A junior girls’ football team have been celebrating - after they won a boys league!

Crayford Arrows Reds from Bexleyheath, near Dartford, finished top of South East London & Kent Youth League (SELKENT) under-13D Navy in their inaugural campaign at the level.

“It’s been an amazing season for them,” said manager Allen O'Shaughnessy.

“They have had a little bit of a pushback from some teams and some parents. I think maybe some parents struggle to realise that girls can play football and, when they beat their sons, they weren’t too happy!

“But overall, it’s been quite a good experience for the girls.

“They have loved every moment.”

O'Shaughnessy detailed why the girls’ side opted to compete - and indeed succeed against - male counterparts.

He noted: “I just think the girls wanted a little bit of a challenge.

“We kept going into girls’ leagues but, once you get halfway through the season, you don’t get to play the opposition again. Once you have beaten them once, they kind of just handed us the points.

“So, that’s why the girls decided this year that they wanted to play in a league where they could play every game and it would be a bit more of a challenge.”

Crayford Arrows edged out Halls AFC and Sutton Dynamo Blues in a close title race.

“The top three have been quite even,” admitted the manager whose daughter, Lacey, is part of the team.

“But the girls have been outstanding.

“Just after Christmas, I think they had five or six games against the top three and they just went on a little run of winning every single one. I think that maybe knocked some of the drive out of the boys.

“Once they lost against them, they realised they were trying to play catch-up, rather than leading the league.”

The talent of the Crayford Arrows players is already beginning to catch eyes.

O'Shaughnessy explained: “We have got two girls that are playing for Arsenal, two girls that are now playing for West Ham, and a lot of the girls play in the Junior Premier League on a Saturday.

“At the moment, a lot are going for trials at other Academies.”

When asked to name the stand-out performers from their season, O'Shaughnessy simply could not single anyone out.

He said: “Every single one of them.

“They have all improved. They have definitely upped their game and improved. It’s definitely helped the girls, playing in the boys’ league.

“They have a little bit less time, it’s a little bit more physical, and they have learnt to deal with all that.

“When they go back to playing for their girls’ sides on a Saturday, they have been the top performers in their league.”

And while the side is technically under-14s - girls can play a year down when they enter a boys’ league - plenty still even qualify as under-13s’ anyway.

“They’re under-14s playing a year down,” O'Shaughnessy said.

“But half of the team are actually that age, so it’s a mix. Probably about five players are ‘full’ under-14s and the rest are all playing in their year - with one girl playing up a year.”

It’s a team which has already been together for many years, too.

O'Shaughnessy noted: “The majority of them have been together since about seven or eight. There’s quite a good bond between them.

“A lot of the girls that went to Academies last year, they didn’t really want to go because they would rather continue playing with the girls.

“But because we’re in the boys’ league, they were allowed to continue to play. That was one of the reasons I think they headed that way.”

O'Shaughnessy thinks the team intends to remain in a boys’ league for the 2024/25 season - although concedes it may become more of a test for them next time around.

He said: “That will be a little bit more of a test because this is the year where some of the boys have a little bit of a growth spurt.

“The physical side will come into it - but I think they still want to keep playing: Win, lose or draw.

“It’s something they’re looking forward to.”