Airbus UK Broughton will be eyeing Welsh Cup glory as an alternative route into Europe after their hopes of automatic qualification were dealt a blow.

The Wingmakers lost 2-1 to one of their rivals for the Welsh Premier League runners-up spot, Bala Town, at the Airfield last weekend, leaving them five points off second with only nine games left.

Andy Preece’s side face a crunch clash with Aberystwyth next weekend, but for now their attention is focused on Saturday’s trip to Cardiff Met University (2.30pm) – with a cup quarter-final place up for grabs.

Playmaker Tom Field told The Chronicle: “We’re aiming to win the cup, and we can definitely do it.

“Obviously it’s always in your mind that it’s another way to get into the Europa League, but it’s a serious competition and of course we’d love to win it. Second is great, but a trophy would be fantastic for the club.”

Saturday’s lower-league hosts beat 2013 cup winners Prestatyn in the last round and the Wingmakers ‘won’t be taking them lightly’ according to Field, who scored a superb free-kick in Sunday’s loss to the Lakesiders.

The former Chester and Vauxhall Motors midfielder said: “They’ve obviously got something about them, so we can’t go there taking anything for granted. We’ve got to knuckle down and do our jobs.”

With targetman Chris Budrys suspended and new signing Ricky Evans cup-tied, Preece could start Wayne Riley up front or move skipper Andy Jones further forward and bring Jonny Spittle into central defence.

Airbus were yet again left disappointed by a controversial decision when 1-0 up through Field’s 56th-minute set-piece in last weekend’s televised game.

A 64th-minute left-wing corner was nodded into the air by Bala’s David Artell and then appeared to come off both Evans and Lakesiders striker Keiran Smith before an offside Lee Hunt hooked the ball into the net from close range.

The linesman on the far side raised his flag, but after a brief conversation referee Bryn Markham-Jones awarded a goal – to the fury of the Airbus bench.

Preece and assistant Andy Morrison were still fuming when, five minutes later, Smith lofted a shot from the edge of the penalty area over goalkeeper James Coates and into the far corner for what proved to be the winner.

Field said: “The way we lost is disappointing, because if we’d have taken our chances we’d have won easily. We’ve still got a good chance of getting second, so we’ll keep fighting.”