THE New Saints' youngsters are celebrating a double success after lifting important cup and league trophies that show the club has strength in depth.
Last Sunday at Latham Park, Newtown our U16 Academy Squad beat Bangor 1-0 in a closely contested final of the FAW Academy Cup..
After riding their luck with a battling semi-final performance against Neath which they won on penalties they turned on an excellent display to lift the trophy for the first time.
With the emphasis on a passing game that all our Academy teams are encouraged to play they ran out worthy winners over the 90 minutes.
This squad has been outstanding over the past season both in their performances and discipline both on and off the field. Their training attendance record has been amazing and this has obviously benefitted the squad tremendously. They are an example to all our other Academy Squads.
Whilst our emphasis is on player development first and foremost we also encourage a winning ethic when our players reach U15 and U16 level so any players who were disappointed with the amount of game time they got in the final must console themselves with the fact that they were part of the best Academy U16 squad in Wales.
I’m sure all the players will join us in thanking their coaches Scott Ruscoe and Steve Benyon for their work on the training ground and also special thanks to Steve for taking the main role during matches with help from Rob Smith and Richie Cross during the final.
Well done also to parents and supporters who are also a credit to the club with their attitude and behaviour.
We are consistently striving to improve our standards throughout all the squads in the Academy and this victory is proof that we are moving forward rapidly and the quality of our players is improving year on year.
On Tuesday night, the TNS Scholars clinched the Mid Wales Youth League with an emphatic 11-0 win at runners-up Caersws.
Dan Roberts and Scott Quigley both grabbed four goals with the others from Naim Arsan (2) and Tom Allan.
Photo: The Under-16s celebrate their FAW Academy Cup win.