RMFA Cyprus Tour 2005

RMFA Cyprus = Tour 2005

Dhekelia Garri= son

Player of the Cyprus = tour Mne Adam Fowler (right)

Receives the awa= rd from Manager Cpl Shaun Foster

Cyprus Tour 2005 Report

By Capt R T Price<= /p>

A virtually full st= rength RMFA Squad arrived at Dhekelia Garrison in = Cyprus on 28 June 2005 and we= re greeted by temperatures of around 30 degrees. After an uneventful flight th= e squad were itching to stretch their legs and get out a= nd kick a ball. The first session took place at around 7 pm but it was still h= ot and extremely humid and gave the Team Manager, Cpl Shaun Foster, and the players&#= 8217; an idea of the part the heat would play during matches. The squad trained t= wice a day, morning and evening and after some fine tuning the team was selected= to face Army (Cyprus) at Dhekelia Garrison.

The RM dominated fr= om the outset, claiming half a dozen corners in the first 10 minutes. = LCpl Shaun Nesbitt= and = LCpl Si Bochenski both went close fr= om set pieces and other players chose the wrong option when well placed. It wasn’t until the 25^th minute that the RM took the lead. Sgt Richie Hope once again got in = behind the square Army defence and kept his composure = to lift the ball over the keeper. This seemed to settle the RM team and it wasn’t long before Cpl Buster Brown scored with a controlled volley that shaved a post on the way in.

The second half car= ried on in much the same vein with the RM forcing regular openings and the Army trying to break as the game became stretched. After an hour the outstanding= Mne Adam Fowler scored with a great right footed strike after he had cut in and shortly after Cpl Jase Kilner then rifled home an excellent drive after be= ing set up by Cpl ‘Lockie’ Lockhart. There was no furt= her scoring and the RM settled for their 4-0 score line. Capt Terry Newman, the Army Manager, said that the RM squad was the best side his team had played = for 2 years and as such, he was happy his team only lost by 4 goals as they had been totally outplayed.

After a well earned= day off the squad once again trained hard for the RAF (Cyprus) fixture, with several players who hadn’t started the first fixture, keen to show what they could do. The RAF were a more capable side than = the Army and started the brighter, without causing too many problems. The strong coastal breeze rather spoiled the first half and the conditions contributed= to numerous unforced errors by both sides. The sides went into half time goall= ess and unfortunately Mne Sam Woodin had to be substitu= ted after receiving a knock, whilst Bochenski, Kilner and Sgt Richie Asson were introduced.

The RM started the = second half impressively and were camped around the RAF= goal. Several chances went begging with Hope, Bochenski, Asson and Marine Sean Fuller all going close. The RAF defended resolutely and were reduced to playing on the break, trying to releas= e one of their strikers into the channels. It was on one such break that the RM conceded a goal, via an unlucky deflection off Cpl Foster, which wrong footed goalkeeper Mne Kev Readings. After the goal the Corps made more changes introducing both Mne Nick Lord and Cpl Jase Kilner= in a bid to equalise. Once again several chances went missing and= two strong penalty claims were waived away by the referee. The game finished 1-0 and credit must go to the RAF defenders who made numerous desperate challen= ges to keep their goal in tact. Brigadier Robison RM (President RMFA), who had arrived prior to t= he RAF fixture, spoke to the dispirited RM players on the pitch during the warm down and said that the performance was not reflected in the result and he believed that it had been the best technical display he had seen by an RM t= eam for a number of years (The phrase ‘it’s a funny old game spring= s to mind!).

Once again the squa= d took a well earned day off and all travelled up to the capital Nicosia, for a sightseeing trip of the UN ‘Green Line’ and the inevitable visi= t to McDonald’s (the choice of champions?). Additionally, after an intense period of sun worship, Sgt Hope was given the name ‘Cuprinol Man’ by Sgt Johnny Byrne in honour of the tan he was sporting.

The team travelled = to the Happy Valley Stadium near Episkopi for their fi= nal fixture against the Combined Services (Cyprus), a team selected from= the best service footballers on the island. Although the Corps once again creat= ed several chances in an open first half, individual errors and excellent fini= shing by their opponents meant that the RM trailed 3-0 at half time. A few harsh words from Manager Shaun Foster during the break saw a different side take the field in the second half. Th= e RM laid siege to the CS goal for long periods and strikes from Sgt Hope and Cpl Rich Harley (2) enabled the Co= rps to complete a remarkable recovery. Cpl Foster made some well timed and effective substitut= ions that wrestled the initiative back from the CS and turned the match in the <= span class=3DSpellE>RM’s favour. The fi= nal 10 minutes saw both sides pushing forward although the fitness of the Corps te= am inevitably gave them the edge. The final whistle signa= lled the end of the game and left both sides relieved to have gained a draw from= a remarkable game.The tour was an unmitigated suc= cess and will hopefully lay the foundations for the squad to regain the RN Inter Commands Trophy in September.(Which we did convincingly)

On the playing side= some of the new additions to the squad, such as Mne’s Dan Boere and Sean Fuller, confirmed their p= romise, whilst new addition Mne Adam Fowler, was awarded the Player of the Tour after three outstand= ing performances in midfield. Elsewhere, Cpl ‘Scotty’ Nicholson displayed a promis= ing level of maturity in defence and Cpl Harley and L/Cpl Naisbitt were influential in midfield. The aim of the tour was to identify and prepare the squad for the forthcoming RN Inter Commands, which have been missing from the RMFA trophy cabinet for two long seasons. This was certainly achieved and this tour must now be used as a springboard for success against the other RN Commands.

The RM team went on to win the Inter Commands in October 2005 =