After losing the final last year, Northern Ireland look set to challenge once more for the prestigious title as they thoroughly outplayed their opponents at Dixon Park, Ballyclare. In the other games, Manchester United - last year’s winners - suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Shamrock Rovers, whilst Surf Select lost out 1-0 to Brighton at Monkstown. Finally, Irish side Finn Harps lost out to Aston Villa 2-1, in an evenly-matched contest. Meanwhile, in the Girls’ Junior section it was goals galore, with Madison Perez of Surf Select grabbing a hat-trick as her US team smashed Belfast side Crusaders 5-1 at Chimney Corner. Manchester United went one better as they smashed last year’s runners-up Larne 6-1 at Rathcoole, while Scottish club Kilmarnock edged an eight-goal thriller 5-3 against FC United of America. RESULTS (GIRLS) PREMIER SECTION: Finn Harps 1 v 2 Aston Villa (Chimney Corner, Antrim); Surf Select 0 v 1 Brighton and Hove Albion (Cloyne Crescent, Monkstown); Northeast Rush 0 v 5 Northern Ireland (Dixon Park, Ballyclare); Shamrock Rovers 3 v 2 Manchester United (Dixon Park, Ballyclare). JUNIOR SECTION: Crusaders 1 v 5 Surf Select (Chimney Corner, Antrim); Kilmarnock 5 v 3 FC United (Cloyne Crescent, Monkstown); Manchester United 6 v 1 Larne (The Diamond, Rathcoole).