Winchcombe Town Under-12s Magpies have been flying high this season.

They have been one of the dominant teams in the Cheltenham Youth League Under-12 Division 1 (Saturday) this season and are also through to the last four of the Ted Croker League Cup.

But just as importantly, they are a team in the true sense of the word.

“They are a group of lads who started together when they were seven or eight,” said manager Josh Marks.

“The kids are all really close. The best thing about them is they’re all friends. They enjoy playing together and they all want to play for Winchcombe.”

Marks, who played for Rodborough in the Northern Senior League back in the day, is in his fourth season as manager.

His son Freddie is a centre-back and Marks said: “He plays like I did. He’d rather make a big tackle than score a goal.”

Games are still 9-a-side for the under-12s and Marks currently employs a 3-4-1 formation.

And it’s one that is clearly working because they’ve been scoring goals for fun this season.

Central midfielder Louie Bishop is their top scorer with 20 in all competitions.

“He’s a really good player,” added Marks. Striker Roman Gue has 14 and attacking wide player Zach Cherry has scored 12.

And they don’t give many goals away either with goalkeeper Dineo Mavuma proving very difficult to beat.

Marks said there are no academy or JPL players in their 14-strong squad but that certainly isn’t holding them back and they are looking forward to playing 11-a-side when they become under-14s.

“I can’t wait. We’ve got a really good team,” continued Marks. “I feel really passionate about this team. We’ve put in a lot of work and effort.

“I want to take them all the way through to under-18s and then watch them play for the senior team.”

That’s quite a long way away, of course. More immediately, they’ve got a big cup semi-final at home to Bredon Juniors Under-12s Fire on Sunday 15^th March, with the prize for the winners a place in the final at Cheltenham Town Football Club on the second weekend in May.