A TALENTED Dunfermline Athletic girls football team have made a flying start to life in a new league and age group by winning their first two games.

The Pars under-16 Whites, who last year competed at under-14 level, proudly sit top of the SWF (Scottish Women's Football) Youth Performance League 16s after netting six points from six.

The team, who are coached by Chris Wilmshurst, defeated Spartans in their opening match by five goals to nil on February 17, with Aine Mulholland, Olivia Fisher, Lola Wilmshurst, Sophia Lawson and Sarah Thomson on the scoresheet.

On Saturday, they followed that up with a 3-1 win at Hutchison Vale, leaving them top of the table ahead of Falkirk, the only other side to have won two from two, on goal difference.

Other teams in the league include Bayside, Hibernian Girls and Ladies and Glasgow City, and Chris said: "We've already just started the new season, pushing on into under-16s now. It's fantastic.

"We've kept the squad together. They've all pretty much signed up again for the new season and we're looking forward to new challenges ahead. We're in the performance league now, so we're up against some tough opposition.

"It'll be brilliant to play the likes of Hibs, Glasgow City and Spartans, and it's only going to push the girls on to further better themselves. As long as they're still enjoying it, which they definitely are, and having a great time, just enjoying football, that's as much as we can ask.

"They're a great bunch to work with. I love coaching them and they seem to love playing, so it's great."

Last year, at under-14 level, the team won the SWF East Region League Cup, and the Caroline Weir Under-14s League, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the national Scottish Power Youth Challenge Cup.

They were also nominated for the Youth Team of the Year prize at the SWF Annual Awards, and, last Wednesday, were joint winners of the Junior Team of the Year accolade at the Dunfermline and West Fife Sports Council Awards for 2023.

This Saturday, the team host Glasgow City, at Inverkeithing High School.