Our Under 8s had a fantastic day at the FAW National Festival, playing 7 games in total and finishing 2nd overall. The players showed great teamwork, energy, and improvement throughout the day.

Game 1 – vs Pontypridd (Lost 2–1)
We started slowly with players a bit out of shape and not in their usual positions. Despite that, the team worked hard and stayed positive.

Game 2 – vs Pontardawe (won 2-0) Much Improved Performance
The boys came out much better this time! Our shape looked strong, and we kept the ball really well with great short passing. Charlie worked well at the back, allowing Gio to push higher up the pitch and press the opposition, putting them under more pressure.

Game 3 – vs Llanelli Town (Won 7–0)
A fantastic performance! We moved the ball smoothly and finished our chances really well.
Goals: Gio (2), Charlie, Oscar, Harri
Brilliant team play and great confidence all round.

Game 4 – vs Newtown (Won 5–1)
Our toughest test so far, but the boys played exceptional football. Oscar and Alfie were on fire, making great runs and scoring some lovely goals.
Goals: Oscar (2), others shared around

Game 5 – vs Britton Ferry (Won 2–0)
Britton Ferry were top of the table, but the boys rose to the challenge! It was a physical, end-to-end game, but we stayed strong and took our chances.

Game 6 – vs Caernarfon Town (Drew 2–2)
A very close game that showed our fighting spirit. The draw secured us second place in the table. The boys never gave up and worked hard right until the end.

Game 7 – vs FAW Girls (Won 7–2)
The final game of the day and what a finish! The team played with confidence, energy, and great teamwork to round off the festival in style.

The boys showed massive improvement from the first to the last game — great passing, strong defending, and fantastic finishing. Every player played their part and should be proud of their efforts

Player of the week
Alfie Halley

Under 9's

Our Under 9s made the treacherous journey through Storm Amy to the FAW national Foundation festival played in Newtown.

The long journey must have took its toll on the Young Wingmakers as they didn't start too well in their first game against Pontypridd, losing 2-0. The team then had an unfortunate wait of an hour till the next game against Pontardawe, in which the lads played well but just couldn't find the net and the South Wales team pinched a one nil win.

However, the lads had now warmed up and went into the next game against Llanelli looking to get the first win of the day. Theo Sarath and Isaac Manley were a constant threat attacking with Elliot Fawcett stopping any Llanelli breaks. An excellent win for Airbus 2-0.

This sparked the boys and for the rest of the day remained unbeaten. Zack Shields produced some excellent saves throughout the day, only conceding one goal in the remaining five games. Henry Challoner and George Gray worked tirelessly up and down in an excellent performance against league winners on the day, Briton Ferry, to earn a draw. Performance of the day came against Caernarfon with a one nil win, with Jack Macpartland causing them lots of issues in the wide areas.

The lads finished the day with an excellent 5-1 win against the FAW girls to eventually finish a pleasing third in the league.

Player of the week
Elliot Fawcett

Elliot gave the team good defensive balance, playing on the front foot to step in when the opportunities came.

Under 10's

Festival Delight for the Wingmakers

Airbus started the festival with a very solid 1-0 win vs Pontypridd. Harry and Eddie combining on the counter attack and a smart finish from Eddie to give us the 3 points.

2nd game saw us take another point in a 0-0 draw with Pontardawe. The Wingmakers created plenty of chances but a good performance from the opposition keeper kept the game level.

Another Dominant Performance in the 3rd game saw us take another 1-0 win and 3 points vs Llanelli. Eddie again was the scorer with a calm finish to beat the keeper.

4th game saw us play Newtown and take another 3 points with a 2-0 win. Ru scoring a screamer before Ronnie adding a 2nd goal to complete the scoring.

In the 5th game we conceded our only goal of the day with Britton Ferry scoring off their only attack of the game following some confusion over a quick free kick from Airbus.

6th game saw us get back to winning ways with a solid 2-0 win over Caernarfon. Harry Jarvis scoring 2 quick fire goals to take the game away from Caernarfon.

Going into the last game the lads knew they only needed a point to be named a champions. The pressure didn’t get to them as they recorded their biggest win of the tournament, a 7-0 vs The FAW girls. Harry scoring 4 along with Louie, Ru and Ronnie.

Overall the whole team was superb, Max and the defence only conceding one goal all tournament and in attack we scored the most goals in the age group. Well deserved after some of the performances we have seen to begin the season.

Player of the week
Max Whittle

Max was superb in goal during the festival, making some crucial saves and only conceding 1 goal in the whole tournament (the best defensive record across all 4 age groups)

Under 11's

A windy day down in Newtown!

A frustrating day at the office for the Under 11s as we displayed some great performances but unfortunately, didn’t get the rub of the green on this occasion.

Each game felt like a winnable one, our only downfall coming in the final 1/3. With the quick 15 min games, if you didn’t score first, it was hard to get back into the game.

The boys stayed positive throughout and were aware of how well they were playing so weren’t too disheartened by the end result.

Performances across the park were superb! Stand out and MoM was Jax - causing constant threat on the wing and creating many scoring opportunities.

Player of the week
Jax Charters

Under 12's

Airbus Academy U12 – 8
Newtown Academy U12 – 1

Today we welcomed Newtown to Hollingsworth Stadium for what was a crucial fixture. After a run of unlucky results under challenging circumstances, the message before kick off was simple — this was a must-win game. The boys took that on board, showed great focus, and executed the game plan brilliantly to secure a convincing 8–1 victory.

First Half

With the wind behind us, we started on the front foot, moving the ball well and pressing high. However, Newtown took the lead early on with a long-range strike that caught our keeper off his line and was helped by the wind.

The response was excellent. We pressed aggressively and quickly found the equaliser when Mason Rimmer finished a clever pass from Will. Soon after, Will turned scorer himself with a fine strike after a neat pass from Tyler. In the 22nd minute, Mason Rimmer added his second of the game to put us 3–1 ahead at the break.

Although the scoreline was positive, we knew the performance could be sharper. At half-time, we reminded the boys to keep the ball moving, play our passing game, and control the tempo.

Second Half

The reaction was outstanding. The boys dominated the second half, combining well, playing forward with confidence, and finishing their chances clinically.

Just moments after the restart, George made it 4–1 after a precise pass from Blake. Then Will scored twice more — assisted by Mason Davey and Max — to complete a well-deserved hat-trick. Mason Rimmer followed suit by completing his own hat-trick, and Blake capped off a strong team performance with a well-taken goal from a good assist from Tyler to make it 8–1.

It was fantastic to see the boys bounce back with such confidence and enjoy their football, especially with the fluid attacking play and teamwork in the second half.

Player of the week
Arlo Gilbert-Kawai

Arlo was excellent throughout the game. He won his individual duels, showed composure on the ball, and his passing played a big part in our build-up play. A complete performance from him.

Under 13's

Airbus Academy U13s 6-2 Newtown Academy U13s

Airbus 13s hosted Newtown in the 10am ko in very windy conditions. The young wingmakers won the toss and decided to defend against the strong winds in first half. We struggled to pass and play out but defended aggressively and effectively wave after wave of pressure from our opposition and went into the break 0-0.

After the break we planned to increase the intensity levels and ball speed. Two quality passes through their midfield saw Sam Makin score two goals on the 37th & 38th min. Airbus had full control of game now but a lack of concentration from our throw in saw Newtown bring the game back to 2-1. There energy levels rose but Airbus passing detail improved of which led to Ted McFarlane scoring from the left side on the 51st min.

We attacked aggressively from this point and passing plays lead to Freddie Rawson adding a goal on the 60min then Hari Morris precision free kick on 63min made it comfortable once again. On the 67th min a switch of play at pace led to Zach Dean scoring a close range header.

A good team performance from all leading to a successful 6-2 win.

Player of the week
Sam Makin

Sam received the award this week for his endless running/pressure in the first half and two quality finishes after the break lead to our success on the day.

Under 14

Airbus Academy U14's 2-2 Newtown Academy U14's

We hosted Newtown in a mid-day kick-off, hoping to win the toss and take advantage of the wind. However, Newtown won the toss and chose to kick with the wind in the first half.

We started brightly, looking to move the ball wide and build through the thirds. In the 9th minute, we were awarded a free kick just inside the halfway line. Sam struck it brilliantly – aided by the strong wind – and the ball flew over everyone, including the Newtown keeper, and ended up in the back of the net. 1-0 to Airbus.

We continued to play well, pressing high and keeping Newtown pinned back. They struggled to deal with the conditions, and we went into halftime with a deserved 1-0 lead.

In the second half, Newtown switched their approach, going more direct and playing long balls over the top. The wind carried these balls deep into our half, and we found it difficult to play out. Ten minutes in, they capitalised on a long ball and brought the score level at 1-1.

Despite the pressure, we had some bright moments down the left through Seb, but with 15 minutes remaining, a mix-up at the back allowed Newtown to take the lead, 2-1. Credit to Fletcher for a crucial defensive block shortly after, stopping what looked like a certain third goal.

We showed great character in the closing stages. The boys kept pushing, and in the final minutes, Leo struck a well-taken shot to bring us level at 2-2. We had a couple more chances to snatch the win, but some tired legs showed, and we couldn't quite finish it off.

Player of the week
Arjan Singh

A big shoutout to Arjan from the Under 13s, who stepped up in goal for us today. He made two outstanding 1v1 saves in the first half and gave a composed performance throughout.

Well done to the boys for their resilience and never giving up!

Under 15's

Newtown Academy U15 1-3 Airbus Academy U15

The young wingmakers made the long trip to Newtown on Sunday morning - most lads leaving their houses when it was still dark.

The lads have been learning new formations within our principles and after a good warm up took the game to Newtown and went 1-0 up when Harry Delap played a nice ball through to Jack Owen who scored at the near post...a fine finish from the lad.

Airbus had a couple of chances but unfortunately we weren't able to capitalise.

Thus, as can happen - a soft free kick was awarded by the Newtown official and they equalised against the run of play.

The lads heads didn't drop and they put the opposition goal under pressure. Thus, from the 2nd phase of a corner Charlie Wild set Ethan Jones who curled the ball delightfully into the top corner. 2-1 and It stayed that way until half time.

2nd half and the lads were in control and really started to enjoy possession of the ball, however we knew in the back of our minds that we needed to get the third goal to ensure we didn't get caught out. We swapped our wide players and both had success in providing the width that hurt the opposition defensive structure. It was Sam Williams on this occasion who broke forward and played a nice through ball to Mason Sieminski who showed nice footwork and a fine finish into the bottom corner.

The lads managed the rest of the game well in a controlled manner and were happy with their morning's work by gaining a positive 3-1 result.

Player of the week

Charlie Smith

A very consistent week in week out and has played in central areas in the last 2 matches providing stability and composure in defensive areas. His decision making today was excellent and very encouraging to see. A nice lad who trains well, is developing week by week and it is great to see him progressing into a fine Under 15 player.

Under 16's

Newtown Academy U16 1-1 Airbus Academy U16

The lads started well and enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages of the match. We made a number of good chances and Joseph Pridding was upended in the box for a stonewall penalty, however the official failed to see the offence.

Callum Reynolds replaced the injured Joe and looked to get in behind the opposition defence.

Thus we scored an excellent team goal which started with GK Bailey Davies playing out from a free kick by our own corner flag - we switched play twice through Sam Ibbitson, Bailey Davies, Fin Hayes & Alex Moody. We then found our way inside centrally to which Jake Pendlebury's movement allowed him to pass the ball into Alex Mossman, who in turn played the forward ball out to the left hand side and a perfectly weighted through ball from Jack Davies was finished well at the front post by Callum Reynolds.

Football to be admired.

1-0 @ half time and in control of the game - the opposition keeper making 3 excellent saves.

2nd half the referee played a big part in proceedings and unfortunately numerous decisions went against us which cost us dearly and we left with a point.

Player of the week
Jack Davies

Jack has been very consistent through the early parts of the season. Looks to get forward from deep lying areas and creates opportunities for others. Another excellent assist in this fixture which set us on our way. Well done JD

Under 19's

Newtown Academy U19's 2-1 Airbus Academy U19's

Airbus travelled to Newtown for an away fixture at Latham Park

Airbus started the stronger of the two teams controlling much of the possession, however against the run of play Newtown break away and take an early lead. Airbus seemed to then lose their focus and battled the majority of the half however sadly concede at the end of the half to a corner. HT 2-0 Newtown

Second half we had the chance to level it up on a number of occasions but sadly were unable to secure the ball in the opposition box. Airbus created chance after chance but could not capitalise. Game finished 2-1 Newtown

Player of the week
Harry Davies

Harry has been through his battles in previous weeks but come out swinging. Taken some important detail on board and applied it very well. Happy for you Harry, keep it up