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Wed 05 Jul 2017
ACSC 20
Icarus Masters/Vets Squad
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Icarus Vets Squad v ACSC 20
Icarus FC5 Jul 2017 - 18:00
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Match report
On a blisteringly hot July evening the recently renamed Icarus Masters took on the might of the world’s future military leadership at Shrivenham. Despite never having previously played an 11 a-side match John Hetherington had assembled a well drilled and well organised ACSC team.
Icarus started well moving the ball around with fluidity and purpose, the central partnership of Knott and Schofield dominated midfield proving more than a match for the energetic opposition. The first half saw the majority of chances fall to Icarus although the ACSC offside trap proved difficult to overcome. The back line (4 from 5) of Beck, Merritt, Swinney, Constable and Farrell coped well with the ACSC attack and the teams went into half time with the score level at 0-0.
The second half saw more of the same; predictably the rotational changes meant the Icarus performance became a little disjointed, not helped by a game ending injury to Kev Knott. The College took advantage of the reorganisation resulting in a rare shot on goal and despite an excellent save from the Icarus replacement goalkeeper, Ian Pallace, the defence were helpless as the ball rebounded off the cross bar and an ACSC head (Dave Bond) was in place to nod home. The goal galvanised Icarus and numerous chances were squandered, Bradley went nearest, having beaten two defenders he was denied by a fingertip save which saw the ball drift outside the far post. The ACSC all-stars had fielded a smattering of international talent and the tackling was at times more New York Raiders than New York Cosmos, indeed a hefty grid iron style challenge on the edge of the box brought free kick specialist and manager Si Hays into the fray. However ACSC remained resolute and Icarus could not find a way past the College keeper(Neil Smith).
The final score 1-0, despite a good performance from Icarus an inability to convert chances to goals meant they were on the wrong side of the result in a hard fought competitive game.
Post Script from Si Hays:
The Icarus Master’s Manager had several names in the hat for MOTM with outstanding performances on the day especially from newcomers to the team such as Taff Evans and Jim Schofield with a fantastic first half performance by Vinnie Jackson (the new keeper in the form of Ian Pallace bodes well for the future too!), but it was the full backs that impressed the manager the most. Andy Constable’s ability to read and anticipate has never been in question but it was Andy’s positional sense and cool calm passing under pressure that was a joy to watch. Just edging Andy by the smallest of margins however, was the volunteer drafter of this fine match report, Nick Beck. Nick has always displayed amazing levels of fitness but in this game he was ‘Johnny on the Spot’ and level with the play throughout whilst really forcing the play and making some great tackles. Although the adrenalin must have been flowing in order to retrieve the ball when all else thought it was a lost cause, he then calmly played the percentage pass to retain possession in line with the ‘team talk’ strategy. Well done everyone but especially well done to Andy Constable and the Man of the Match Nick Beck.
Icarus started well moving the ball around with fluidity and purpose, the central partnership of Knott and Schofield dominated midfield proving more than a match for the energetic opposition. The first half saw the majority of chances fall to Icarus although the ACSC offside trap proved difficult to overcome. The back line (4 from 5) of Beck, Merritt, Swinney, Constable and Farrell coped well with the ACSC attack and the teams went into half time with the score level at 0-0.
The second half saw more of the same; predictably the rotational changes meant the Icarus performance became a little disjointed, not helped by a game ending injury to Kev Knott. The College took advantage of the reorganisation resulting in a rare shot on goal and despite an excellent save from the Icarus replacement goalkeeper, Ian Pallace, the defence were helpless as the ball rebounded off the cross bar and an ACSC head (Dave Bond) was in place to nod home. The goal galvanised Icarus and numerous chances were squandered, Bradley went nearest, having beaten two defenders he was denied by a fingertip save which saw the ball drift outside the far post. The ACSC all-stars had fielded a smattering of international talent and the tackling was at times more New York Raiders than New York Cosmos, indeed a hefty grid iron style challenge on the edge of the box brought free kick specialist and manager Si Hays into the fray. However ACSC remained resolute and Icarus could not find a way past the College keeper(Neil Smith).
The final score 1-0, despite a good performance from Icarus an inability to convert chances to goals meant they were on the wrong side of the result in a hard fought competitive game.
Post Script from Si Hays:
The Icarus Master’s Manager had several names in the hat for MOTM with outstanding performances on the day especially from newcomers to the team such as Taff Evans and Jim Schofield with a fantastic first half performance by Vinnie Jackson (the new keeper in the form of Ian Pallace bodes well for the future too!), but it was the full backs that impressed the manager the most. Andy Constable’s ability to read and anticipate has never been in question but it was Andy’s positional sense and cool calm passing under pressure that was a joy to watch. Just edging Andy by the smallest of margins however, was the volunteer drafter of this fine match report, Nick Beck. Nick has always displayed amazing levels of fitness but in this game he was ‘Johnny on the Spot’ and level with the play throughout whilst really forcing the play and making some great tackles. Although the adrenalin must have been flowing in order to retrieve the ball when all else thought it was a lost cause, he then calmly played the percentage pass to retain possession in line with the ‘team talk’ strategy. Well done everyone but especially well done to Andy Constable and the Man of the Match Nick Beck.
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