Airbus started the match strongly, taking control from the outset. Beau Darlington opened the scoring with a composed finish, setting the tone for the team’s attacking intent. The boys continued to play progressive football throughout the first third, combining effective passing and intelligent movement, but Crewe managed to equalise just before the end of the third.

At the break, the team was reminded to focus on the positives from the first third—particularly their quick passing, off-the-ball movement, and tenacity in winning the ball back. The reminder paid off as Airbus dominated the remainder of the match, scoring four unanswered goals. Oscar, Giorgio, Lyle, and Beau, who completed his brace, all found the net through a combination of well-worked moves and sharp finishing.

Defensively, Charlie Foulkes and Oakley Joinson were outstanding, dictating play from the back with excellent positioning and a superb range of passing that helped transition the team from defence to attack. Harri Williams was a constant source of energy, pressing and supporting across the pitch. Even when a harsh penalty was awarded against the Wingmakers, goalkeeper Dewi Noonan stepped up magnificently with a crucial save, keeping the team in control.

The match finished 6-2 in Airbus’ favour. Beyond the scoreline, it was particularly encouraging to see the team’s commitment to a clear style of play, their relentless effort to win the ball back, and the growing togetherness as the players continue to develop bonds and friendships.

Player of the Week

Charlie Foulkes

Charlie was defensively superb, he set many attacks in motion from a ‘quarterback’ position and demonstrated a remarkable range of passing throughout the game.

Under 9’s

Airbus Academy Under 9's vs Crewe FC

The young Wingmakers made the trip to Crewe in the morning sunshine for an exciting 7v7 fixture played over four 20-minute quarters.

From the very first whistle, the boys started brightly, settling quickly into their trademark passing and moving game. With a small but determined squad of just nine players, they worked tirelessly, moving the ball through the thirds with confidence and creating chances at will.

Only a superb performance from the Crewe goalkeeper kept the scoreline closer than it might have been — the boys could easily have won by a much greater margin.

Player of the Week

Zak Shields

Zak was outstanding in goal, making several key saves and showing great composure throughout.

A fantastic team performance full of energy, teamwork, and quality football. Well done, boys!

Under 10’s

Our Under 10 wingmakers made the trip down to Crewe this week where it is always a competitive game.

The Under 10’s started off very strong showing they were in control of the game playing fast forward passing and creating a lot of chances.

Throughout the game we showed resilience to react when things went wrong and still come out on top showing a lot of maturity.

The big difference this week was the reactions and discipline off the ball to trust ourselves to defend 1v1 and win the ball high up the pitch.

Overall a fantastic performance, well done lads

Player of the Week

Charlie Hough-Smith

Throughout the game Charlie was able to play many line breaking passes which often resulted in important goals as well as getting one for himself and a clear attitude to win the ball back when the team lost possession

Under 11’s

This Saturday, our Under 11’s travelled across to Cheshire to play a friendly fixture against Crewe Development centre. The first period kicked off with the hosts starting very brightly with some quick passing football which caught the Young Wingmakers off guard and resulted in a quick earlier goal to Crewe. Not long after, Airbus failed to deal with a corner effectively and Crewe managed to poke the ball home for a second goal. Airbus were now starting to play some good football, however another scramble just outside the Airbus penalty area, saw Crewe win the ball and score a third.

After a quick chat at the break, Airbus came out a different team, raising their intensity and moving the ball quicker. A good press from Airbus resulted in us winning the ball and Ellis Hollins finished confidently. Airbus were now on the front foot, controlling the game with good possession and the defence of Jack Davies, Arthur Irwin, Indy Peyton and Hudson Reilly were dominant in stopping any Crewe attacks.

A good move started from the back, progressed through midfield got Airbus their second with Jude Speers finishing well. A third goal came quickly again with a fantastic finish from Tristan Hughes. Some excellent work down the right hand side from Jax Charters resulted in a cross to Lennon Leese who again finished well. Airbus were in full flow now, with some good work in Midfield between Roux Ithell and Jude resulted in Jude's second of the game.

The third period continued as the second had finished with Airbus controlling the game and counter attacking effectively. On a number of occasions, Crewe did well, moving the ball around the penalty area quickly but Airbus GK Joseph Tuplin was proving hard to beat, with some excellent saves. Airbus added another two goals in the last period through Jude and Lennon with Crewe adding one more later on in the game.

In Summary, after a slow first period, Airbus really got themselves into the game and played some excellent football in possession whilst also being defensively solid.

Player of the Week

Hudson Reilly

Defensively solid with good decisions when on the ball.

Under 12’s

Two games for our Under 12's this week

Caernarfon Academy Under 12’s 1-1 Airbus Academy Under 12’s

Today we travelled to Caernarfon always a very difficult place to play and the weather certainly didn’t make it any easier. The boys battled through tough conditions and came away with a hard-earned point. It could easily have been all three, but a disallowed goal meant the match finished 1–1.

This game was truly a story of two halves.

First Half:
We started very slowly and never really got going. The boys struggled to complete two or three passes together and were second to most balls. We didn’t use the space behind Caernarfon’s defence as planned, instead playing long and high balls that were easily dealt with by their defenders especially with the wind against us. Caernarfon controlled the first half, hit the crossbar twice, and we were fortunate to go into halftime only 1–0 down.

Second Half:
At halftime, we regrouped and encouraged the players to get back to our game passing from the back, keeping the ball, and winning individual battles. The reaction was outstanding. The boys came out as if they were a completely different team. For the next 25 minutes, we played fantastic football — confident passing, clever combinations, and constant pressure. We even came close to a winner when a powerful shot struck the crossbar.

Blake equalised with a rocket of a goal in the 51st minute to make it 1–1. Soon after, Mason found the net again with what looked like a perfectly good goal, but it was disallowed for offside for a reason we couldn’t see.

In the final minutes, Caernarfon pushed forward, but our defence stood firm.

Overall, it was a fair result. Caernarfon had the better of the first half, and we dominated the second. The boys showed great character to turn things around, fight for every ball, and finish the match strong.

Goal: Blake Evans
Final Score: 1–1

Player of the Match

Kian Mills

Our captain today. Kian played in a position which is not familiar for him as a right back but gave us the stability and the ability to play out from the back again with more confidence. Absolutely a star today.

The Under 12’s also travelled to Oswestry to face TNS on Tuesday evening.

After slow starts in our previous games we encouraged the lads to start on the front foot and move the ball quickly on the ball and press high off the ball. The lads executed this brilliantly, going a goal up after an excellent finish from Will after only 7 minutes.

The Under 12’s didn’t stop there, after 9 minutes Max played an unbelievable pass to Mason Rimmer to run onto and slot one into the back in the net calmly. After such a brilliant start the lads composed themselves and moved the ball around brilliantly, making it difficult for TNS to get a hold of the game. After 30 minutes, Will scored his second of the night after another brilliant finish and assist from Mason Rimmer. An excellent overall first half performance.

Unfortunately Tyler got injured in the first half and had to be carried off after landing on his ankle awkwardly. We wish him all the best and hope he recovers quickly.

With us only having 10 players available and Tyler getting injured this left us with 9 men for the second half. We asked the lads to manage the game well and defend as a team. The lads were absolutely brilliant again in the second half, working as a team off the ball and TNS struggled to break us down.

We scored the fourth from an Archie Davies header after a good corner from Kian this topped off a brilliant team performance. The work ethic was superb and me and Mo were really proud of the group as a whole.

An overall excellent night for the Under 12’s, 4 goals and a clean sheet against very good opposition.

Player of the Match

Max Williams

Max was superb on and off the ball this evening. Getting a brilliant assist for our second goal and also his work rate for the team down the left wing was excellent. Well done Max!

Under 13’s

Our Under 13's also had two games this week.

Caernarfon Academy Under 13’s 7-0 Airbus Academy Under 13’s

For the first 15 mins airbus struggled to keep any possession as our opponents pressed with intensity throughout.

After defending under pressure Arjan (GK) kept us in the game. Unfortunately we couldn’t hold on conceding 2 quick goals which led us into the break 3-0 down.

In the second period we looked like a different team controlling play in & out of possession but couldn’t take any of of few chances created.

Every Caernarfon attack we conceded as they created overloads in all areas.
A freak result as Airbus played well and lads gave all was just one of them days. On to next week.

Player of the Match

William Hughes

Will came on after 23 mins in front on back 3 and changed the game with his positional play, physicality and passing detail at pace.

The New Saints Academy Under 13’s 2-3 Airbus Academy Under 13’s

The Under 13 wingmakers also travelled to Park Hall on a windy Thursday night to play TNS 7-30pm ok.

First half was a flying start for Airbus as the press we worked on in training the night before came off with the two quick goals Freddie Rawson in the 2nd minute and Harri Morris in the 12 minute. We knew the way Tns would play and took advantage going into the break 2-0 up.

In the 2nd period Airbus continued the intensity levels of the press winning every throwing and every tackle with shouts of encouragement. On the 45th min an attack down our left side fell nicely for Lucas 20 yards out for him to strike the ball into top corner of the TNS goal.

The opposition had a quality striker up front and TNS got themselves back into the game by scoring a header and a low powerful strike.

The last 10 mins the Airbus defensive unit was tested however with grit and desire played out time to take home a massive well deserved 3 points.

Player of the Match

The whole team for the pure passion and determination after back result last week.
The lads were brilliant throughout!

Under 14’s

Caernarfon Town Academy Under 14’s 0-1 Airbus Academy Under 14’s.

The Airbus Under 14’s continued their Welsh Premier academy fixtures with an away fixture to Caernarfon on a cold, wet and Windy Sunday morning.

The horrible conditions had an obvious effect on the game as both teams struggled to get any meaningful control of the game, with plenty of turnovers of possession in the early stages. Caernarfon's aggressive pressing game nearly caught out Airbus on several occasions when looking to play out from the back, but Caernarfon failed to capitalise on these chances. Airbus were starting to look a threat when they moved the ball quickly, with wingers Adam Alsaadi and Daffydd Edwards offering pace down the Flanks, and striker Leo Killick threatening in behind the Caernarfon defence. However, neither team could find a goal as the game went into the break.

The second half continued to be a scrappy affair but the Airbus Defence of Henry Jones, Sam Griffiths, Louie Hammond and Henry Carter were holding firm and allowing Airbus to start to build into the game. The decisive moment of the game came 15 minutes into the second half when Arthur Williams did well to win the ball in midfield and play the ball into the path of Mauro Afonso, running into the penalty area and he calmly lifted the ball over the oncoming Goalkeeper.

This turned out to be the only goal of the game as both teams attempted to play good football in the freezing conditions but neither team could make that key breakthrough. Special mention must be made for Airbus Goalkeeper Alfie Gibson for a very confident debut and he can be very pleased with his clean sheer.

Player of the Week

Louie Hammond

Louie was excellent in his defensive duties whilst also making good passing decisions when on the ball

Under 15’s

Airbus Academy Under 15’s 2-1 Connah’s Quay Nomads Academy Under 15’s

The young wingmakers hosted Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium on a grey and windy Sunday morning.

Airbus set up to frustrate our opponents in the first half and the out of possession shape was excellent. We did have a couple of moments in the opposition box but lacked the cutting edge that was needed to take the lead. The lads build up play in possession improved as the half went on and the score remained 0-0 @ half time.

We conceded a goal straight after half time which shows how you cannot abandon your principles at this level - as you get punished by good teams.

So we reacted by changing our shape and looked to take the game to the opposition and we began to have joy not just on both flanks, but in central areas too.

Our pressure eventually told and we equalised when Junior Kelly struck a powerful shot which caused the opposition keeper to push the ball back into wide forward Jack Hardstaff who slotted the ball home clinically.

We then had a stonewall penalty not given after a foul on Harry Delap as we piled on the pressure - but just as important - we had excellent balance throughout the side as we looked to build to get the winner.

Thus, it came in the final minute of the game as Harry Delap was put through on the right hand side, receiving an inch perfect pass from Junior Kelly and his cross/shot found its way past the opposition keeper via the opposition defender.

The game ended 2-1 to Airbus and the lads got the reward they deserved for their efforts on the day.

Player Of The Week

Cobi Brand

Cobi was excellent at the heart of our defence in the 1st half. Moved well between units and looked comfortable both in and out of possession. Played in CDM during the 2nd half and provided excellent balance throughout. Excellent overall performance - Well done

Under 19’s

Airbus Academy Under 19’s 0-3 Connah’s Quay Nomads Under 19’s

Airbus hosted Nomads on Sunday afternoon at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium

Both teams started a bit inconsistent and struggled to settle the ball for either team. Just when it looked like Airbus settled and mounted two or three positive attacks Nomads caught Airbus in transition and counterattacked on 25’ to take the lead. Airbus had chances to draw level but could not convert. HT 1-0 Nomads

Second half it felt like Airbus came out the better of the two teams however were unable to make anything stick in the final third. That combined with Nomads press having more energy than ours sadly lead to the opposition scoring a further two times. Airbus couldn’t buy a goal hitting the post late in the game and creating some important moments of our own. Final score 3-0 Nomads

Player of the Week

Ben Williams

Even though Ben only had a small part to play on Sunday he has been a real leader in training and is a huge character in the group. Well done Ben keep up the good work