Icarus Masters Vs Watlington Town Old Boys – 24 Jan 24

A poor night for Icarus Vets who fell to an unexpected defeat against Watlington Town Old Boys, 3-1 on the night. Icarus went into the game confident off the back of a win and having previous beaten the opposition, hoping to keep pressure on Rotherfield for 2nd spot in the the league.

That wasn't to be though as Icarus started poorly and struggled with the long ball over the top - Icarus were without the regular CB pairing of Adi P and Tom W - instead Taff and Rich P had to play out of position and for the first time together. The early pressure from Watlington OBs resulted in their first goal on about the 15th minute and Icarus reacted with another early change in formation, going from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3.

That quickly made a difference and with Taff and Rich P building a partnership, the game swung in Icarus' favour. For the rest of the half Icarus dominated possession and created multiple chances; maybe not clear cut chances but half chances or better, and at HT Watlington were on the ropes.

Icarus made subs at HT, Rich Proctor coming off injured and adding Pete R and Luke M to the mix. Confident from the way they finished the first half Icarus continued to play in Watlington's half, but disaster stuck when Watlington got their 2nd on the break. Icarus continued to press and saw a lot of the ball but the game was quite scrappy and Icarus' shape went wayward. Maybe the grass pitch wasn't helping Icarus' usual style of play, but Icarus' use of the long ball was poor and generally unproductive.

Despite this and after Gwynny's entry, Toogs pulled a lovely solo goal back by winning the ball in the channel and beautifully sending a curling chip over the out of position keeper; 2-1 and Icarus were definitely in it. Unfortunately another direct counter attack saw Watlington seal the 3-1 win with a penalty.

A disappointing and frustrating night for Icarus. One in which they can't really argue with the result despite dominating possession, pressure and changes for the majority of the game. With 3 league games and the Cup left in this 1st season, all focus is on finishing the season as strongly as possible.