Saturday 17th October saw an experienced Icarus Vets Team turn out at RAF Uxbridge against new opposition in the form of the Guildford Saints Vets. The day didn’t start out in the best fashion when it became clear that the opposition had turned up with only 9 players. In the best spirit of sportsmanship, Pete Beer the Icarus Manager decided to give 2 players to the opposition to ensure the game was competitive; many thanks go to Jez Swann and Mike Bowditch for being so supportive and turning out for Guildford (although they didn’t have to play so well).

The first half was a close affair with the majority of the chances falling to Icarus. Both Centre forwards and Foxy in the centre of midfield had good chances stopped by the opposition keeper who was keeping his Team in it. As the half went on the pressure increased from all over the pitch but without breaking the stalemate. After a stirring speech from the Manager forecasting better things in the second half, a noticeably deflated Icarus Team started the second half. However after only 5 mins, the stalemate was broken from an unlikely source. JP in the unfamiliar role of Left Back ran the full length of the pitch to receive an inch perfect ball from Foxy epitomising his man of the match performance which he adroitly slotted past the withering keeper. From here, the Guildford Saints heads dropped and the flood gates openend. The second goal was Bondie’s fourth of the campaign slotting the ball home after his quick feet took the ball past the keeper before passing it into an empty net. Guildford replied with a deft chip from their Centre Forward Graham Tancock from outside of the Icarus Penalty area beating Jonesy who could only watch it sale over his head. Their hope of a recovery was short lived; 3-1 came from the strike of the day from Butts who had somehow found himself in the centre of midfield with the goal in his sights; releasing a thunderbolt of a shot from 27 yards that the besieged Guidlford keeper could only stand by and watch as it stretched the back of the net. The inevitable fourth came from Woodie who scored from an unfeasibly tight angle after taking the ball around the bemused keeper leaving him floundering like a beached barracuda. The final insult came after bondie was felled by the opposition Centre Half on entering the penalty area earning himself a sore shin and the Team a penalty. Up he stepped to with confidence to claim his 5th goal in 4 games, however the goalkeeper had other ideas saving both the penalty and Bondie’s shot from the rebound before leaving it to Pete Beer to finish the days action. The forthcoming rumours that Bondie was trying to secure his place by gifting the manager a goal and that a traffic cone would have saved the penalty are entirely unfounded.

This was a strange game. There were some notable performances both good and bad with particular mention going to Foxy for who dominated the midfield throughout rightly earning him the man of the match and PB who wore the captain’s armband for the first time since they took the laces out of footballs. 5 goals from 5 different players not including the man of the match player is clearly extremely satisfying. On the down side, Icarus never really gelled and the flat atmosphere at the end of the 5-1 victory clearly told a story. One noticeable positive was the opposition who were a great bunch of lads and clearly enjoyed playing against us, all of whom came back to the Mess and socialised easily with the Icarus Team. Overall a workmanlike performance that saw the Team now averaging 5 goals per game but with so much more in the tank.