October Academy Fixtures Report

Another round of fixtures for our academy sides on the opening weekend of October. Some very exciting, competitive games against Caernarfon Town. Great to see the lads improving week on week and enjoying their football.

U10s

A tough game against Caernarfon but still many positives to take away and areas to continue working on. We starting with a really positive first quarter, on and off the ball the boys worked hard showing lots of confidence with the ball and great desire to win it back, which resulted in a well deserved goal. The second quarter started slow and sloppy in places, as soon as their first goal went in our confidence dropped which gave them more opportunities, leading to 3 goals. The low confidence carried into the next two quarters, although we created a good amount of chances we couldn’t score. The match ended 9-1 to Caernarfon, this is a game to learn from and use as motivation to better ourselves next week. Man of the match was Preston Cunnah, he was excellent at the back and provided the team with bright attacking transitions. Not to mention his assist to the goal putting us in the lead.

U11s

We came up against another good Caernarfon side. First 10 minutes of the 1st third we came out of the blocks and applied the pressure onto Caernarfon who dropped back which aloud us to push forward and create an overload which we ended up scoring from. Caernarfon then straight from kickoff just kept us on the back foot for the majority of the game as they were quicker and fitter than us, in the last two thirds we did create a couple of opportunities to have a shot at goal but just couldn’t convert. There were some dangerous tackles towards the end which we felt the referee should have handled better. Overall, the better side won on the day but there are still positives to take away and areas we have identified to work on in training. Man of the Match goes to Harry Threadgold.

U12s

A very encouraging, competitive game which Caernarfon ended up just winning 2-0. A much better performance today from the lads, just undone by two moments of quality. We unfortunately conceded from a corner in the first half and then conceded in the last minute when we threw bodies forward to chase the game. However, lots of positive signs and the lads enjoying their footy. We will keep working and improving on things in training.

U13s

Good performance from the lads against Caernarfon. A very close game that could have gone either way. We conceded a goal from a route one kick from their keeper but worked our way back into the game with a goal from Harri Edwards on 45 mins. Took control of the game then and should have taken advantage of our set pieces, but conceded two late goals from situations that could have been avoided. Hard to choose a man of the match, but for his improvement since he started with us and bravery in goal it was Max Lis.

U14s

A competitive game against a strong and organised Caernarfon side. The match was unfortunately lost by us in both boxes. We conceded an early goal from a corner which set us back, but we soon regained our control of the game. We showed our quality, beginning to play through the opposition in the middle of the pitch with confidence and precision however similar to last week, our play was breaking down in the final third. The pattern continued in the second half and we were then punished for it, conceding from another corner. We are improving a lot, playing some great football and competing well – we just need to find more composure and aggression in both boxes to take that next step. MOM – Josh Smith

U15s

A tight 3-2 loss to Caernarfon but very encouraging second half. We were 3-0 down at half time but were the better side. On top for most of the 2nd half and created the better chances. We got it back to 3-2 with a superb 25 yard strike from Fenton Williams, and good finish from Deacon Hughes. Missed a penalty late on. Good togetherness to get back into game against a tough Caernarfon side. Referee was very one sided which was frustrating but we will work on things this week ahead of another tough game Sunday against Connah’s Quay. Malakia Thomas was Man of the Match, outstanding in central defence.

U16s

A very entertaining game which finished 3-3. Goals from Will Cooke, Theo and Ashton Valentine. Huge improvements over last few weeks with this group, started believing in themselves and as a group, real togetherness throughout the game even when difficult decisions went against us. Going down to 10 men with 15 mins to go which wasn’t a red card, the lads stuck together and created the better chances late on. Played some great football, always looking a threat on the break, but were solid and compact not to concede. Ashton Valentine was instrumental in midfield, dictating the play. But Ashley Rimmer was Man of the Match, superb at left back up against their winger who arguable was their biggest threat. Lots of positives to take and lots to work on.

U19s

A great experience and opportunity for our 19s coming up against Wrexham Youth. Overall it was a mixed game with both teams creating lots of chances. A crazy 8 minute spell let Wrexham go 3 goals up, however 2nd half we reacted well and were the dominant team for all of the half. At times Druids played some great football from back to front through the midfield, however it just wasn’t our day. Osian Williams and Joise Fernandes were the two stand out performers over the 90 minutes.

EDS

Our EDS lads travelled to Buckley Town last night. It ended 4-1 to Buckley but the scoreline didn’t reflect the game. There were a few first team lads playing for Buckley, however we were very happy to see us dominating the ball, the only thing that let us down was shots on goal while in possession. We were efficient and meaningful but unfortunately the experience of the first team number 9 Asa Hamilton caused us too many problems.

Overall a very competitive round of fixtures for our academy sides against a variety of quality opposition. Was great to see so many positives coming out of the matches and areas identified to continue working on in. We look forward to our next round of matches this weekend!

More than just a football club.