Icarus progressed to the Semi-Final of the Middlesex Cup on Saturday 6 February after a hard fought 1-0 win over William Fitt. Playing against a team that are second in their league and have only lost twice this season, Icarus knew it was going to be a close game, but in the first 20 minutes they struggled to come to terms with the highly physical nature of the William Fitt team.

With late tackles flying in, the Icarus midfield trio of Flt Lt Jim Schofield, Flt Lt Dave Scott and Flt Lt Andrew Martins-Tonks, could not get a hold of the ball and as a result Icarus found themselves beginning to resort to long balls in behind the William Fitt back four. It was from one of these balls by Wg Cdr Richard Pratley that the best chance of the first half came. Pratley hit a long pass behind the William Fitt fullback which Flt Lt Lee Hodgkinson won before crossing low across the penalty box. Unfortunately, top scorer Flt Lt Gino Portaluri could not convert the chance at the far post. Five minutes later Hodgkinson himself could not get his shot away when the ball fell to him just outside the 6 yard box.

Despite playing well below their best, Icarus were defending well and William Fitt failed to get a shot on target in the whole of the first half.

The half time score was 0-0 and Icarus returned for the second half determined to improve after some stinging words from manager Flt Lt John Hetherington and coach Flt Lt Joe Griffin.

The team were rewarded straight away as Martins-Tonks broke into the opposition box, only to be felled as he was about to shot. Surprisingly, the William Fitt defender remained on the pitch and Schofield stepped up to take the penalty. Under immense pressure he fired the ball into the top corner to give Icarus a hard earned lead.

Icarus, while still not at their very best, now began to dominate the game. Scott was flying into the tackles on the way to earning a well deserved man of the match award. His determination and drive were a fine example and he, along with Hodgkinson and Pratley lifted the whole team as the William Fitt team became more and more desperate and at times resulted to some over the top tackling. It was after yet another tackle from behind that temperatures finally boiled over as players confronted each other. The Icarus players maintained their discipline and after the referee had got control of the situation, the match continued, with William Fitt finally getting their first shot on target with a long range drive.

As the game entered the last 5 minutes Icarus hearts were in mouths as the big William Fitt centre half get his head on a corner. It was to the relief of the Icarus team to see the ball sail over the bar and goal keeper, Flt Lt Steve Taylor could celebrate a well earner clean sheet and a place in the Semi Final on Saturday 27 February.

Team: Fg Off Steve Taylor, Sqn Ldr Jase Parr, Flt Lt Andrew Arnison, Wg Cdr Rich Pratley, Flt Lt Greg Shutie, Flt Lt Gino Portaluri, Flt Lt Jim Schofield (Plt Off Andy Harris 75), Flt Lt Dave Scott, Flt Lt Andrew Martin-Tonks, Flt Lt Lee Hodgkinson, Dan Turner (Flt Lt John Hetherington 80) Subs Not Used: Ben Fisher, Rich Lewis