A young Cally Stars Under-11 side battled hard before succumbing to a 4-1 defeat against Camden Town Youth on the opening night of the new Camden & Islington League season.

The Stars team, now beginning their third season in the league, are mostly made up of Under-10s and coach Carlos Casimiro is hopeful that his boys will benefit from lining up against older players.

He said: “They were a bit nervous against older boys and a team that’s been in the league for quite a long time, but they played really well.

“Considering that 90 per cent of them are Under-10s, it was a good game. We’re a growing club and that’s our target, for the boys to get some more experience.”

Islington district player Sid Kershaw-Shirley also made his mark on the first night of the season at Market Road, grabbing all three goals for Isledon Wolves Under-12s in their game against Soccerscool.

However, it was Soccerscool who emerged as 5-3 winners, with Michael Bolger netting twice and Fred Joslin, Jimmy Bone and Oscar Bolger also on the scoresheet.