PONTLLANFRAITH Comprehensive School Year 11 pupil Liam Angel and his Wales under-16s teammates were honoured at the Senedd today after their Victory Shield success.

The 15-year-old defender was a key part of the team that won the prestigious competition in November last year – the first time Wales had lifted the trophy outright since 1949.

Angel, who is captain of the Cardiff City under-16s side, scored the winning goal in the first game against England in Bangor, a 1-0 win.

Wales then went on to beat Scotland 2-1 in Perth and Northern Ireland 2-0 in Ballymena.

The historic win was celebrated by the Football Association of Wales, the Welsh Football Trust and the Welsh Assembly in a special ceremony this afternoon.

“We’re very happy and days like this, meeting the minister, make it all the more special,” said Angel.

“My parents, Rob and Andrea, are very proud of me and they have had some long nights travelling around the country to watch me play.”

The youngster added: “Scoring against England was great, even though it was just a tap-in, but watching the video I wish I could do my celebration again because I went the other way from our fans!”

Angel will find out next week if he has earned a scholarship with the Bluebirds.

“It’s going well at Cardiff,” he said. “I find out next Monday whether I’ve got a scholarship or not so it’s a big week for me.

“And we’ve got a game against QPR at the weekend as well and hopefully I play in that because I just like playing football.”

FAW technical director and Wales national team coach Osian Roberts said: “This is a proud day for the players and their families.

“To achieve at elite level it’s about excellent players with supportive families working in an elite environment with the right facilities and excellent coaches.

“And to win the Victory Shield outright is a remarkable achievement.”

Welsh Football Trust CEO Neil Ward added: “The structure behind Welsh football is showing real encouraging signs of success now.

“We’re seeing the women’s national team achieving their highest ever ranking and the men’s team having a great start to their qualification campaign and achieving their highest ranking for 20 years.

“We’re seeing the intermediate boys both qualifying for the elite round of the European Championships as well as the under-16s success.”

Ken Skates, deputy minister for culture, tourism and sport, said: “It’s an honour to be able to celebrate the success of these remarkable young men.

“Great players like Craig Bellamy and my own football hero Kevin Ratcliffe have played in this competition and failed to win it so that shows how astonishing this achievement is.”