THE Macclesfield and District FA youth team are hoping to make it third time lucky.

The cream of the borough's footballing talent have reached the final of the prestigious Umbro International Soccer Tournament in Manchester for the previous two seasons.

The lads have had to settle for the runners-up trophy in the four-day competition, but plan to go one better this year as they prepare to take on teams from around the country, as well as several sides from overseas.

The Macc squad consists of the best 16-17-year-olds from Macclesfield and the surrounding areas, including Poynton, Congleton and Wilmslow, and will compete in an age group up to two years older.

The team is: Alex Shatwell, Chris Bass, Jake Powell, Chris Gilson, Alan Webb, Nathan Shaw, Tom Madden, John Cusk, Paul Garner, Sean Buck, Jordan Belfield, Steve Brocklehurst, Pierce Higgins, Jordan Dyson, Alex Tomlinson, Farid Rosta, Wayne Riley, Chris Smith, Tom Delar, Dan Wyatt, Mike Hooley, Aaron Walker, Alan Percival and Steve Ansty. Also pictured are: manager Mike Cunningham, assistant manager Graham Astle, youth chairman Phil Edwards, Macclesfield FA's Allan Lunt and Jan Bailey, sponsor Steve Warren and mascot Dean Warren.

The Macclesfield side will again be sponsored by Steve Warren of Sovereign Security Specialised Services.