Icarus Vets Squad v Wittering Harriers Vets

Icarus Masters turned up for their second game of the season against what was supposed to be Wittering Harriers Veterans.  When seeing the opposition and noting that that they looked like they were all in their 20s, it was obvious that this was not their veterans side.  Icarus, with the youngest player being 36, knew they were in for a challenging evening.  Spirits were high though and the players were determined to carry on the positive possession football that saw the Masters have a very enjoyable and successful season last year.
 
The game began as it would continue with Wittering having the majority of possession.  However, through some resolute defending from the back 4, led by an excellent Paul Merritt, particularly in terms of their positioning and ability to transition across together, the opposition were restricted to some long range and speculative shots which did not trouble Vinnie Jackson in goal.  In fact the greater pressure in the box was created by Icarus who got down the flanks and played some good football through the middle to create a few half chances and put the pressure on the opposition goalkeeper.
 
Icarus could easily have taken the lead early on as Jim Schofield broke from midfield to attempt to get on to a good looking ball from Ian ‘Taff’ Evans.  Unfortunately, having chased hard but expecting the goalkeeper to gather the ball easily when sliding out, he did not anticipate the goalkeeper spilling the ball and had just over run it leaving him holding his head in his hands thinking about what a good start to the game that could have been.
 
Icarus began to settle into the game and knocked the ball around well across the back and into the midfield.  There were some good balls into the strikers’ feet too and on another day, with a bit of a sharper touch and against similarly aged players, we could have been in a few more times.  Barry Laws was all over the pitch and showing a confidence on the ball that stood him out during the early stages.  Dean Brown and Albert Finney were working well out wide but Wittering’s youth and extra numbers in midfield made it hard for Icarus to hold on to the ball for long, often being outnumbered in a matter of moments.
 
That said, the pattern continued for the remainder of the half with Wittering being restricted to long range shots and Icarus creating the better chances.  Nearing half time, Icarus opened up the Wittering defence with some excellent one touch play between Barry laws and Taff Evans but with neither appearing to want to take the shot, the moment seemed to have passed when Taff finally took his chance only to see the ball go narrowly wide of the right hand post.
 
Scoreless at half time was a good result and Icarus took to the field full of hope in the second half.  Changes had been made throughout the first half by the Manager, one of which saw Si Stafford sadly limp off as a result of a pulled hamstring.  One of the new players, Tony Spurle had come on part way through the first half and played for the remainder of the game.  He slotted in excellently at left back due to the players available and Si’s injury.  Despite it being the first time he had ever played there, he fulfilled the role with ease defending confidently and playing the ball to feet whenever the opportunity arose leading to a man of the match performance on debut.
 
As the second half progressed, it became more and more difficult for Icarus with Wittering’s youth beginning to pay dividends.  Their 3 in midfield often felt like 5 or 6 with their movement as well as the wing backs and strikers dropping in and joining in the link up play.  This resulted in the first goal for Wittering as Si Hays was dragged out of position by some excellent movement up top and then a misplaced pass saw a quick break for Wittering and the through on goal striker slotted the ball home comfortably under the outrushing Vinnie.
 
It was not that long afterwards that Icarus fell 2 behind and this time it was a very sloppy goal to concede.  Again, the movement Wittering created aided in their cause as Icarus didn’t close down their left winger who had cut inside and advanced towards the box; however, a long a speculative shot caught Vinnie off guard as he realised the ball was not going wide of his left hand post.  He dived late to save the ball, only to parry it straight to their striker who had followed it in well and side footed the ball home leaving Vinnie no chance to recover.
 
Despite the scoreline, Icarus did not let their heads go down which is a credit to all the players and the Manager for instilling the necessary belief in everyone.  Although Icarus’ energy levels were running low due to the distance covered and effort put in throughout, they kept pushing forward and trying to get in behind with some good link up play.  Mark ‘Gilly’ Gilligan had dropped into midfield and rolled back the years working extremely hard up and down and John Pullen had come on to create a different option of a target and hold up man.
 
Icarus got in behind a number of times in quick succession with Jim, Taff and Andy Moore all breaking into the channels to cross but unfortunately they all resulted in balls in to the box falling agonisingly away from those rushing forward in support or in last minute clearances.  Nevertheless, Icarus continued to push forward and keep the ball moving quickly and it was through this outstanding work ethic that they got their deserved, albeit fortunate, breakthrough. 
 
An accurate ball forward to Gilly, who had now taken up his more familiar forward role once again, saw him confidently help the ball on from a clear offside position.  The ball was played to Jim Schofield who was even further offside but as a consequence of the opposition assistant referee keeping the line on that half of the pitch having a chat to his teammates on the half way line, the referee had no help and allowed play to continue. Jim Schofield sheepishly continued towards goal and despite the goalkeeper moving out to narrow the angle and spreading himself well, Jim managed to place the ball confidently to the side and into the back of the net for a deserved consolation goal.
 
Although obviously not the outcome Icarus had wanted, it was a great result considering the quality of the opposition and another big step forward towards the style of play and effort required to ensure some quality results throughout the rest of the season.  Congratulations and a big thank you to those new players who turned out and gave a very good account of themselves in challenging circumstances.  An exciting season awaits Icarus Masters and this performance will instil greater confidence that something special can be achieved.