A GIRLS’ football team from Ellesmere Port is just one step away from playing on the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium.

The under 13s side from Whitby High School has reached the northern finals of the npower Football League Girls Cup.

If Whitby win next month’s northern area final at Notts County FC, they will go through to the Grand Final at Wembley in March where they will face the southern area champions.

The Grand Final will be played before the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final in front of thousands of fans.

Whitby’s journey began when they won the local area competition, staged by Tranmere Rovers. The girls then represented Tranmere at the North West finals at Bury College, where they beat a school representing Blackpool 3-0 in the final.

Shirley Waring, Tranmere Rovers community officer and local tournament organiser, said: “It’s a great achievement for the girls to get as far as they have and hopefully they can keep going all the way to the national finals.

“They’ve beaten some really strong teams so far and should be proud of the way they’ve played.”

In the North West finals, Whitby finished top of a group featuring schools representing Rochdale, Morecambe, Oldham and Preston North End. They faced Burnley is the semis and went through on penalties after playing out a goalless stalemate.

Whitby’s winner came from an unlikely source – goalkeeper Harriet Shaw, who saved a penalty before stepping up to score the decisive spot-kick herself.

The npower Football League Girls Cup was set up to encourage youngsters to be active, healthy and develop a keen sense of team-work.

The final is always a north v south affair and last season it was won by King Ecgbert School, representing Sheffield United. Next month’s northern area finals in Nottingham will feature Whitby and three other schools.