Foundation Report

Another fantastic week for the foundation this week with Pro club opportunities and tough FAW fixtures for our squads. The 8’s got the opportunity to compete against a Cat 3 academy in Shrewsbury on Friday night, while the 10’s got to experience the Blackpool futsal festival competing against Blackpool and Burnley. While the FAW programme gave us fixtures against the always tough opposition TNS. Overall another great week filled with new experiences and opportunities. Coach comments as followed:

Under 8

Plenty of positives to take away. The guys grew into the games quickly, showed great determination to win the ball back and produced some quality passages of football that led to goals vs a good Shrewsbury team.

We’ll take those positives into our next training session, work on our passing and possession, and look to bring more consistency to our performances.

Player of the week

Jorgie-Lea Morgan

A well-deserved Man of the Match for Jorgie! Her defensive work was fantastic today, showing great awareness, getting into the right positions and working hard to close down the opposition. She wasn’t afraid to get stuck into challenges, tracked back brilliantly and showed real determination to win the ball back. Her commitment to defending and helping the team regain possession was a real positive throughout the games. Well done, Jorgie!

Under 10

Airbus Academy Under 10 – Futsal

Another fantastic day at the futsal, giving the boys the opportunity to play, express themselves and show us what they know, what they can do, what they’ve learned and, most importantly, how they see the game.

Their game, their decisions, their quality and, of course, their mistakes. All of it is part of their development.

As coaches, our job isn’t to control every decision or provide every answer. It’s to create an environment where the boys feel confident enough to try things, make decisions, take risks and learn for themselves.

The more we trust them and allow them the freedom to play their game, the better players they will become.

Developing intelligent, creative players who understand the game and have the confidence to express themselves is what it’s all about.

Players of the week

Callum Bailey
Aussie Wardle

Well done both

Under 11

A mixed weekend for the 11’s who started Friday night with a great win vs a Chester development side, scoring plenty of goals and putting some good passages of play together. With no GK the lads had to take it in turns too which shown great leadership and adaptability.

Onto Saturday and the performance was maybe not to the level we expect from this group with a lot of tired legs. Stand out goal from Finley who scored from inside his own half.

Players of the week

Archie Kane and Theo Connah who across the 2 games were excellent and did great work on and off the ball.

Under 12

TNS 8-1 Airbus

First half - it started pretty evenly between both sides but as the game developed mistakes were being made and led to us conceding a few goals early into the first half. We made a few changes which had a slight impact positively but still wasnt enough

Second half - We were much better than the first half, we created some good opportunities but we lacked an end product

Overall - We need to focus on maintaining our positions and shape which was disappointing to see.

Player of the week

Noah Gibbs️

Under 13

TNS 1-1 Airbus

Today we travelled to TNS for our first game in the National League, kicking off bright and early at 11:00 AM. It was a hard-fought contest that ended all square a fair start to our campaign.

First Half

We started well and created a couple of early chances. TNS looked to control the game through a three-man midfield, and we found it difficult to prevent them from playing through the centre. It was an even contest for the whole half, with both teams battling hard but neither side managing to break the deadlock. Half-time: 0–0

Second Half

We came out much stronger after the break, pressing higher and stopping TNS from building from the back. We created a few good opportunities early on, but against the run of play, TNS broke away and took the lead on the counter 1–0 to TNS.

From that moment on, it was all Airbus. We dominated possession and territory, pushing for an equaliser. With just 8 minutes remaining, we switched formation, committing players forward with two at the back and three in midfield. The pressure paid off when Rimmer calmly converted from the penalty spot to level the game.

We had chances to win it late on, but it finished honours even. Full-time: 1–1

A 1–1 draw away from home is not what we hoped to get but it is a fair result against a strong side. We showed great character to come from behind and earn a point that resilience is what matters most. We'll keep working hard and building toward our next game. Next week we're at home to Colwyn Bay in the league.

Players of the Match

Will Crook

Our Goalkeeper

Outstanding performance! Made some few but crucial saves in the game and kept us in the game when we went behind. Brilliant handling and command of his area.

Grayson Stead

Outstanding leadership! Played at centre-back and centre-midfield, solid and commanding throughout. A true leader on the pitch who bossed the game from start to finish.

Well done to every single player today, great effort, great attitude, keep going

Under 14

TNS 0-3 Airbus

Our Airbus 14s travelled to TNS for the dreaded 4-30pm kick off for our first National league match.

After a great week of training the lads arrived ready for this challenge once again.

From the start Airbus pressed with intensity leading to us taking the lead in the 6th min when a Fred Rawson pass broke lines to find Peter edge of area with a first time shot with power into bottom corner 1-0.

After our great start TNS started to play and we struggled to compete for the next 25 mins but our defence were on top leaving TNS with scraps or shots from outside our area of which Elliot dealt with comfortably.

We changed our starting formation slightly to stop them playing through mid areas which helped up take control of possession once again. In the 34th min Airbus scored through Harri Murphy-Allen only to be disallowed for a dubious hand ball

HT 1-0.

In the 2nd period the match was end to end but again our back line where in control. In the final third we created many chances but struggled to finish hitting the woodwork and finding their keepers hands each time.

TNS lost their discipline with 3 yellow cards and were lucky to keep 11 men on pitch when a bad tackle saw us lose Joe with an injury of which we hope his X ray today has a positive result.

Eventually we got our rewards in the 58th minute when a perfectly weighted free kick from Mynor fell for Harri who smashed the ball into top corner 2-0.

After a great save by Keir Airbus pressed on the break for more and in the 66th minute a corner from Ioan found Harri coming on back post to head home our third.
FT 3-0

Overall a great squad performance from all. Was very pleased with our fitness levels playing a different system to previous matches. Also the 3rd goal from corner we worked on in training weds night.

Players of week

Harri Murphy-Allen

Part of a strong defensive line and a threat in the final third with all set pieces scoring two of our goals.

Freddie Rawson

Playing wide right was a constant threat with his runs 1v1 and his crossing detail was outstanding along with his work rate out of possession.

Under 15

It was a home fixture against TNS this weekend for the U15s in their Academy league programme. Airbus had suffered a heavy defeat to The New Saints on the first fixture of the season, so the young Wingmakers were looking for an improved performance this time around.

In the early stages of the game, you could see the determination in the Airbus players as they pressed effectively and looked to give the good TNS side no time on the ball, and were disciplined in their shape. When on the ball, Airbus were also showing excellent game management and composure, with some excellent breaking lines and switching play phases. The first chance in the game came on the ten minute mark, after some good work from Airbus centre forward Mauro Afonso, allowed Henry Jones to get a shot from distance that forced the TNS keeper into a save. Shortly after, TNS had their first chance when a break down the right hand side, eventually found the TNS striker in the area, but Airbus GK Alfie Gibson dealt with the shot confidently. The New Saints were now having a period of pressure, creating a number of chances and corners but the Airbus defence were holding up, with Hamzeh Jumaa and Shae Flitcroft putting in some vital blocks. Unfortunately, a goal did eventually come for the visitors, after a misplaced pass in midfield was seized upon by TNS, who played forward quickly and the TNS winger finished well from outside the box. However, Airbus were still in the game and in the closing stages of the half, Arthur Williams was unlucky not to level the game with a couple of chances.

The early stages of the half were again competitive with good football being played by both sides, but again it was the visitors who had the best chance when a cross was not dealt with correctly but the TNS striker hit his shot against the crossbar. This break lifted Airbus and were now starting to put pressure on the visitors, and Adam Alsaadi did well to get a shot off and force another save from the TNS keeper. This good period for Airbus eventually saw them get their rewards after some excellent play from Arthur Williams, where he counter pressed to win the ball and then threaded a fantastic pass through to Mauro, who powered a shot passed the TNS keeper to level the game.

It was now a very competitive game with both teams looking to break each other down. The next goal came twenty minutes in when a lack of concentration from Airbus allowed a free-kick to be played quickly over the top of our defence and the TNS player battled to squeeze the ball in at near post. The game was now coming into it’s final stages and Airbus were doing what they could to find the equaliser but not quite able to find that vital final pass for the breakthrough. With Airbus pushing for the goal, TNS exploited some gaps in the Airbus defence to finish the game with a third goal.

In summary, a much improved performance from the players as they competed well in all aspects of the game, which the coaches can continue to build upon.

Player of the week

George Xiong

George defended well with good positioning and reading of the game. Also improved with his decisions when on the ball and looked to support well whilst in attack. Well done George!

Under 16

A tough test against an excellent TNS side for our Under 16 squad.

We set up to frustrate the opposition but unfortunately a lucky deflected TNS effort put us 0-1 down.

The lads battled well but unfortunately an error cost us just before half time and we were 2 down.

In the 2nd half it was again tough for the young wingmakers as they conceded 3 more without reply.

TNS are an excellent side at this age group and the lads will strive to close the gap on them by the time we play them again in November by working hard and continuing to improve.

Player of the week

Charlie Wild

It was noted that even in tough circumstances, players can still gain individual success. He defended well and gave excellent detail to his fellow defenders. A bright future ahead for Charlie

Under 19

Airbus 5–0 Connah’s Quay Nomads

Airbus delivered a commanding performance against Nomads, securing a convincing 5–0 victory.

The young Wingmakers controlled the opening stages and took the lead in the 19th minute when Oliver Gilbert converted Will Hewitt’s assist. Airbus created further opportunities before half-time but went into the interval with a narrow one-goal advantage.

They extended their lead five minutes after the restart, Alex Allcock finishing from another Will Hewitt assist. Will Hewitt then turned provider himself in the 55th minute, setting up Oliver Gilbert for his second and Airbus’ third.

The hosts remained in control, combining attacking intent with defensive discipline. Kacper Bury added a fourth in the 86th minute, completing Hewitt’s hat-trick of assists, before Sam Phoenix completed the scoring in stoppage time assisted by Oskar Dymowski

Five goals, a clean sheet and a thoroughly professional display secured a deserved victory for Airbus.

⚽️⚽️Oliver Gilbert
⚽️Alex Allcock
⚽️Kacper Bury
⚽️Sam Phoenix

?️?️?️Will Hewitt
?️Alex Allcock
?️Oskar Dymowski

Player of the week

Will Hewitt

Will is in an incredible vein of form and has been outstanding in training and games. Such a lovely young man, always got a smile on his face. Well done Will