The Wolves Academy under 16s fell at the last hurdle in the prestigious Northern Ireland Under 16s Milk Cup going down 3-2 to Everton in the final of the competition in Coleraine this afternoon.

After just 15 minutes Wolves had taken a 2-0 advantage thanks to goals from Andre Landall and Aaron Forde, but the Merseyside team hit back to level matters at the break in the 30 minutes each way game.

Everton grabbed what proved to be the winning goal six minutes from time.

Earlier in the competition, the Wolves youngsters got off to a flying start by beating Co. Londonderry 2-0 with Landell and Zele Ismail the scorers.

Then came a two all draw against Club Jorge Griffa, from Argentina's top Academy, with Landall again on target along with Forde.

The draw was enough to put the Molineux lads into the quarter-final where they met, and beat, Queen of the South. This time Sam Pritchard and Liam McAlinden were on the mark in a 2-0 win.

Maccabi Tel Aviv provided the opposition for the semi-final and they were soundly beaten 5-0 by a rampant Wolves side with Ismail helping himself to a hat-trick and Kane Cork and Jordan Cranston the other scorers.

Zele Ismail was named as Player of the Tournament following the Everton game.

Speaking immediately after the final whistle, Academy Manager Kevin Thelwell (pictured) said: It has been a fantastic achievement and good experience for the boys as they prepare for professional football.

"They have done brilliantly in the tournament and it's a shame that they just lost out but, when you consider that teams like Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund have taken part in the competition, you can see just how well they have done in getting through to the final."