MATCHDAY
PROGRAMME
AVRO U18 vs ABBEY HEY U18
WEDNESDAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER, KICK OFF 7.30PM
The FA Youth Cup
AVRO
Football Club
In accordance with FA Rule 2.15, Avro FC, officially registered as Avro FC First Team Limited (Company Number: 14931069), is structured as a Private Limited Company by Shares. The current directors of Avro FC First Team Limited are Charlie O’Brien, Robert Fuller, Kelly Fuller, Mark Hutton and Liam Bambridge. The majority shareholder of Avro FC is Avro Community Football Club Limited (100%)
HONOURS
- Manchester Football League Champions: 2009/10, 2017/18
- Manchester FA County Challenge Cup Winners: 1940, 1941,
1956, 1988, 1994, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018 (Record 10 times) - NWCFL Divison 1 North Runner-Up: 2018/19
- NWCFL Division 1 Cup Runners-Up: 2018/19
- NWCFL Premier Division Runners-Up: 2022/23
- Northern Premier League West : Runners-up 2025-26
- Northern Premier League West Play-Off : Winners 2025-26
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Vestacare Stadium for the start (and hopefully not the end!) of our FA Youth Cup campaign for the 26-27 season. This is a massive night for the lads, and the prize is of course exactly the same as it is for our first team in the FA Cup – if you win through enough rounds, sooner or later you are going to come up against a professional side. We wish the lads the very best of luck with what should be a cracking game against one of our most local rivals.
We are incredibly proud of our junior teams here at Avro, and over the years there have been numerous examples of players progressing through our youth system to play senior football at a high level. It seems like only yesterday that a teenager called Harry Salt was stealing the show in an FA Youth Cup tie at FC United of Manchester, and it must have been an amazing moment for him to score for the first team at the same venue in front of nearly 2,000 supporters on Monday. Harry is a wonderful example of what can be achieved with hard work and determination to back up his talent, and who knows, you may yet find yourself watching another star of tomorrow in tonight’s game – he has shown that it can be done!
One of the things that I have most enjoyed about the first few weeks of the first team’s campaign is the number of younger supporters who have signed up for the cause! We have had mascots at our home games, tens of junior team players in the stands at both home and away games, and of course that has only happened because many of our parents have also been prepared to get behind the team! I have travelled far and wide with Avro over the last five years, and I can promise you that this support which comes from within is rare indeed.
It feels like there has never been a better time to be part of this special community which we are building here in the heart of Oldham, and there is still room for plenty more growth as a club. If you are enjoying being a part of it as much as I am, please do continue to spread the word – I receive numerous enquiries every week through our social media channels from parents looking for a team for their children, and that is in many cases down to recommendations from you.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the game – up the Ro!
Liam Bambridge
Director of Communications and Public Relations
Director of Communications and Public Relations
A WORD FROM THE GAFFERS
Good evening and thanks for turning out to support the lads in what for some will be the biggest football match in which they have been involved up to now. We aim to make sure that there will be plenty of bigger ones in the future! The lads can see for themselves the path along which Salty has travelled since his days as a star of the under 18 team, and he is a fantastic example for them all to try and follow.
Whilst there is no doubt that the FA Cup has lost a bit of its shine over the years as the big clubs have seemed less interested in taking it seriously, this has thankfully not been the case with the FA Youth Cup, and so there is a massive incentive for our lads to progress in the competition. The chance to pit their wits against players who train full time in professional academies is an opportunity that everyone would love to have, and we will be doing everything we can tonight to move ourselves one step closer to that reality.
The lads have been training well and I expect them to leave it all out there tonight. We cannot guarantee a positive result as Abbey Hey have some excellent players, and they are certain to provide very tough opposition. However, if things do not end up going our way, it will definitely not be for want of trying.
Enjoy the game and thanks again for your support, it really does mean a lot to the lads and ourselves
Up the Ro!
Craig and Ryan
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
Wednesday 3rd September
FA Youth Cup preliminary qualifying round
Avro U18s 1 West Didsbury and Chorlton U18s 1 (5-6 pens)
Our U18s bowed out of the FA Youth Cup with their heads held high after a resilient performance which so nearly earned them a place in the next round of the competition.
A very early sending off for the home side looked likely to decide the outcome of the tie, but after West Didsbury and Chorlton had missed a couple of great opportunities, they were also reduced to ten men when a rash tackle led to a second yellow card.
The game remained goalless at the break, but as the rain teemed down in the second half, the breakthrough finally arrived when a corner from the left was headed home at the far post as the visitors edged in front.
With time running out, the referee awarded the home side a penalty, and it was duly converted to set up a tense spot kick shoot out at the end of the ninety minutes. However, it was West Didsbury and Chorlton who kept their nerve and thus prevailed after a titanic struggle between two excellent sides.
Upcoming 2026/27 Fixtures
WHO ARE YA?
HISTORY OF ABBEY HEY FC
Abbey Hey FC was formed in 1902 in the Abbey Hey district of Gorton, around three miles from Manchester city centre. After a number of periods of disbanding and reforming through the early years and two World Wars, the club began to establish itself in the 1960s following the arrival of players from the Admiralty Gunning Engineering Department (AGED). Under manager Ken Brown, Abbey enjoyed considerable success before joining the Manchester League in 1979 and winning promotion in their first season.
The club endured a difficult period searching for a permanent home before finally purchasing the disused Crossley Motors ground on Goredale Avenue in 1984. Through the dedication of its committee and volunteers, the site was transformed into a permanent home. Under long-serving manager Jim Clark, Abbey Hey became a major force in the Manchester League, winning the Premier Division Championship five times during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
CONTINUE READING
In 1997, Abbey applied successfully to join the North West Counties League after finishing runners-up in the Manchester Premier Division. Their first NWCFL season in 1998/99 ended in dramatic fashion, with a 3-2 victory at Darwen securing promotion to Division One. The club continued to develop its facilities, installing floodlights and constructing new clubhouse and dressing-room facilities largely through the efforts of its own members.
The early years in the top flight brought several respectable mid-table finishes before Jim Clark’s eighteen-year managerial reign ended in 2002. The following years proved more difficult, with the club gradually slipping down the table before reaching a low point in 2009/10. The appointment of Barrie Walker and Andrew Harris sparked a revival, although Abbey were relegated from the Premier Division. The season did finish with silverware, however, as Abbey defeated Winsford United 3-0 to lift the Vodkat League Challenge Cup.
Walker and Harris then began rebuilding around young local talent. Their work quickly paid dividends, with Abbey finishing third in Division One in 2011/12 before going one better the following season. The 2012/13 campaign saw Abbey Hey remain unbeaten for the first three months, enjoy an excellent FA Cup run and challenge consistently at the top of the division. In April, victory at Northwich Villa secured promotion back to the Premier Division. The success was also mirrored by the club’s Under-17 and Under-18 sides, both of whom topped their respective Youth Alliance divisions.
The return to the Premier Division proved challenging, but Abbey gradually established themselves at Step 5. The 2015/16 season was a particular highlight, with a 10th-place finish and an impressive FA Cup run reaching the Second Qualifying Round. After several seasons of consolidation, the club suffered relegation in 2018/19 following a difficult campaign. The rebuilding process began again in Division One South, although promising promotion challenges in 2019/20 and 2020/21 were curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abbey returned strongly in 2021/22, scoring 102 league goals and finishing fourth, before another rebuilding season followed. In 2023/24, the Red Rebels secured another play-off place, defeating Sandbach United before overcoming Stockport Town on penalties in a dramatic final at Stockport Sports Village. The victory secured a return to the Premier Division after five seasons away.
Abbey Hey finished a respectable 13th on their return in 2024/25, but the 2025/26 campaign proved considerably tougher, with the club finishing 21st. Despite the setbacks, the story of Abbey Hey FC remains one of resilience, community and determination. From its early days in the Manchester amateur leagues, through league championships, cup success, ground battles, promotions and relegations, the club has continually relied on the dedication of its players, volunteers and supporters to keep moving forward. The Red Rebels now look to the future and the next chapter of a footballing history stretching back more than 120 years.
Avro U18
SQUAD
Harry Smith ( GK & Captain )
Finton Short
Ollie Jarvis
Junior Bembo
Jobie Smith
Layton Hall
Noah Lawton
Lewis Melvin
Jaden Culpeper
Abyaal Shafiq
Harrison Riley
Subs
Eddie Morris
Marshall Gibson
Oliver Loughman
Oscar Hague
Samuel Haslam
Zac Austin
Alfie Derry
Abbey Hey U18
SQUAD
Ethan Barnett
Rhys Hopkins
Frankie Warburton
Avian Fennell
Adaya Fossi
Ray Ehikamen
Oliver Warburton
Oliver Burton
Ousman Suwareh
Sonnie Mitchell
Yoan Komitov
Lucas McMahon Brown
Ano Timire
Franklyn Kirkman
Viktor Kvasov
Michael Gbemisola
C’Jay Francis
Toby Ebbrell
Rhys Hopkins
Frankie Warburton
Avian Fennell
Adaya Fossi
Ray Ehikamen
Oliver Warburton
Oliver Burton
Ousman Suwareh
Sonnie Mitchell
Yoan Komitov
Lucas McMahon Brown
Ano Timire
Franklyn Kirkman
Viktor Kvasov
Michael Gbemisola
C’Jay Francis
Toby Ebbrell
