Icarus Senior Squad v London Football League 7's

In its 2nd year, although slightly altered format, the RAF London Football League pre-season 7 a-side tournament was held at RAF Brize Norton.  Although not a member of the London League, Icarus was once again invited by the tournaments organisers due to their outstanding reputation in Service football.  Drawn in a tough group alongside Brize Norton 1st, Odiham, Benson 2nd and Brize Norton 3rd, Icarus still aimed to win.  Despite a strong first half display in their opening game against Odiham, a defensive error saw them lose 1-0.  In their second game Icarus once again fell behind from some direct play by Brize Norton 1st, only for Dixon to level for Icarus almost immediately.  After playing a period of the 2nd half with only 6 men Icarus held out for the draw. Benson 2nd were up next and 3 quick fire goals from Dixon, Wain and Turnbull saw Icarus finally click into top gear, eventually winning the match 5-0.  This excellent form continued into the next match as the slick passing of Wilson, Fleming and Arnison continued to trouble the Brize Norton 3rd defence.  After going into the break 1 up following a Dixon goal, Icarus appeared to relax and lose their way. Another piece of direct play by a Brize Norton team left the Icarus defence in disarray resulting in an equaliser being scored at the death of the game.  This meant that Icarus finished 3rd in the group and would contest the Plate rather than the Cup.  Some galvanising words from Club Captain Bowden stirred the team into a response and a perfect hat-trick from Turnbull, thunderbolt from Wain and free kick from Arnison (yes I’ll type that again ARNISON!!!) saw Icarus dispatch Halton in the Semi-Final 5-0.  The final of the Plate would be a re-run of the group match against Benson 2nd.  Once again Icarus started confident with Fleming scoring a stunning goal on the counter attack after some sublime skill from Turnbull.  1-0 at half time and Icarus were on for the win, but once again the self-destruction button was pressed and they quickly found themselves 2-1 down with moments to spare.  Keeping their cool, Icarus continued to play short, tidy football in an attempt to create an opening.  After a wave of 4 successive attacks it was Turnbull as provider again as he skipped passed his marker before supplying a delightful cross for Cope to smash home, 2-2 and another Icarus final penalty shoot-out.  Both teams dispatched 2 of their 3 initial penalties before sudden death. Success after success continued until it was the goalkeepers turn.  Bowden saved from the Benson keeper before he then returned the favour.  As the initial takers once again lined up, Benson scored but Icarus didn’t.  Not the victory Icarus was aiming for but a valuable day in preparing for the forthcoming season.  The incorporation of new faces such as Wilson and Sinclair and the return from OOA of Cope to the Icarus set up was a huge plus.  Icarus is due to face 3 tough tests against Cranwell, Waddington and the Lincolnshire Police in August before departing for their pre-season training camp in Guernsey, with competition for places in the 1st team at an all-time high the 16-17 season is shaping up to be both an exciting and (hopefully) successful one.