There was to be no open-top bus tour for Willington Boys' Under-14s last weekend.

The tickertape stayed under lock and key; the champagne remained firmly on ice (though the coach allowed himself a few glasses of Aussie white wine - purely for medicinal purposes, you understand).

But the lads' valiant display in the Sage Soccer Festival left confidence coursing through my veins ahead of the forthcoming season.

The character and commitment of some players, which I questioned after last Wednesday's 4-0 defeat to Redby, was indisputable in the final three games of the week.

Two comfortable victories, in which we scored a total of eight goals but created so many chances that we ought to have doubled that tally, were followed by a semi-final exit to eventual winners Redheugh.

The results were of little consequence, however; having entered the event at two days' notice, I was delighted to reach the last four.

What mattered was the application and attitude that every player demonstrated. And in that respect, I couldn't have been more satisfied.

Take the semi. We were 1-0 down at half-time to a strong Redheugh side - we fell behind when one defender cleared the ball against the back of another, and it ricocheted into the net. But we were the better team for 40 minutes; biting into every tackle, harrying and hustling Redheugh out of their stride, while carving out opportunities when we had possession. Then, we conceded another scrappy goal to put us on the back foot again, and a fine third all but made the game safe.

But still we would not be cowed. We kept our heads up, continued to cause them problems, and remained resolute at the back.

All that without at least five important members of our squad, all of whom were injured. So threadbare was our squad that we had to borrow three players from elsewhere.

Special mention, therefore, must go to Simon Taylor - who stepped up from the Under-13s and bolstered our midfield against Seaham on Friday when we were 2-1 ahead but rocking. Adam Simpson, at centre-back, added much-needed height to our team and grew in stature as the week evolved.

Steve Alderson also impressed at left-back; one stunning surge forward which saw him beat three defenders before he was hacked down to win a penalty was arguably the highlight of the week.

Along with the pride gleaned from my players' approach, though, I felt a certain amount of self-satisfaction after seeing one of my tactical plans bear fruit in spectacular fashion.

In our second game, when we met a team assembled by Newcastle Council, only one of our strikers stayed up front against two defenders when they won a corner.

Immediately, I ordered our other forward to return to the halfway line - confident we could beat them on the counter-attack. Sure enough, after dealing with the corner, we broke quickly - and Lewis Hope and Harry Drummond combined to put us 2-1 up! Five minutes later, with our opponents having equalised, we went 3-2 ahead in an identical manner on the stroke of half time.

After the interval, they left three defenders back whenever they won a corner.

Game, set and match to me, I think! Congratulations to Century FM's Derek Christie, who was living proof of the adage "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach."

He gave one or two handy tips to my players during the week in his role as assistant to the Willington coach.

In Saturday's charity match, however, his lack of talent was shown up alarmingly.

Stick to the coaching, Derek!