AYLESTONE School have secured their place in this weekend's Coca-Cola National Under-13 Schools Cup Finals at Liverpool's Anfield headquarters.

The Hereford-based school moved to within touching distance of the national title after recording a superb 4-0 win over Grantham's Central Technology College to land the Midlands Cup at Villa Park.

Aylestone gained the upper hand in the Midlands Final in a frantic opening 10 minutes which saw James Upcott and captain Stephen Smith dominate the midfield battles.

And, from a corner, striker Ashley Preece rose to head home Aylestone's opening goal after 11 minutes.

The goal gave Aylestone an early lift and they doubled their advantage before 20 minutes when man-of-the-match Upcott finished off a free-flowing move.

The Grantham school failed to push forward after the interval and Aylestone started to play with more confidence, with Smith deservedly bagging the third goal.

Aylestone continued to torment their opponents and defender Adam Bendall completed the scoring, and capped a memorable team performance, with an excellent 30-yard free-kick.

Aylestone can now look forward to the trip to Merseyside where they will line up against the champions from the North, the South-East and the South-West.