THINGS TO BE DONE

CORPS INTER COMMAN= DS REPORT

Sun 24 Sep 06 R= 11; Wed 27 Sep 06

By WO2 Andy Macfarlane and Sgt Shaun Foster

At last the Inter Com= mands Tournament was upon us, the pinnacle of the football calendar as far as the Corps is concerned. The RMFA management team received its normal amount of = late withdrawals added to the already depleted squad due to deployments. For tho= se who did appear, there was the added bonus of the non-availability chit for accommodation at HMS Excellent. This just happened to work out in the lads = favour, for when the actual location for the week was announced, it wasn’t to= be believed for fear of it being part of some hideous ‘bite’ cooke= d up by the assistant Chairman Capt Paul Collinson. However, the lads were more = than gracious in accepting their room keys for the Portsmouth HILTON, even if slightly miffed that their return journey from any run ashore was a little further away than they had anticipated, thereby increasing any subsequent t= axi fares, proving the adage, ‘You just can’t keep the lads happy all of the time!’

After the lads had se= ttled in, we made our way down to HMS Temeraire and the pitches at Burnaby Road to watch the first mat= ch of the teams in our half of the draw, Plymouth Command and the Navy under 21 side. The Under 21’s made short work of a below average Plymouth side winn= ing comfortably 3 - 0. In the afternoon we endured Portsmouth Command throwing away the ch= ance of victory against the Naval Air Command as they capitulated 5 - 2 af= ter some good early promise. Acting Sgt Shaun Foster then took the lads for a l= ight training session before everyone returned to their abysmal accommodation at= the Hilton, with their sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room and gymnasium facilities lyin= g in wait for them. Oh, wasn’t I just delighted when I found out there was just enough room left at HMS Excellent for the SNCO= 217;s to stay in the mess! HOOFIN!.<= /b>

A quiet night was had by all in preparation of our first fixture against Plymouth Command at 1000hrs the following morning, as no one wanted to rule themselv= es out of the starting line up. On match day one, you could see the eagerness = and desire etched into the face of every member of the team and you just instinctively knew the Matelots were going to be up against it again this y= ear. It has been drilled into the squad how important it is to start strong in t= his tournament, and as such, the Manager and his Assistant put out what they believed to be their strongest eleven, they didn’t disappoint. The ga= me started as most do at this level, at a frantic pace, with everyone trying to win their own individual battles before some semblance of play can be established. Plymouth played their part, well, for about the first twenty f= ive minutes or so, until the pressure on the Corps was relieved by Mne Dan Boer= e (CTCRM), with a well taken breakaway goal. This opened the flood gates and the Corps side took full advantage as the Plymouth Command heads began to wilt, Goals from Cpl Si Bochenski (CTCRM), an own goal from Plymouth, one from Cpl Karl Lockhart (FPGRM), two from Cpl Richie Harley (RM POOLE) and another from Dan Boere made the game well and truly over by the break. Players were rightly rested in the second half, which understandably turned into a bit of an anti-climax, but, it still produced another three goals for the Corps, with= Cpl Jase Kilner (CTCRM), Mne Ryan Rule (RM Display Team) and the final goal, a penalty, completing Richie Harley’s hat-trick and the rout.

After the final whistle the Corps physio/veteran player Sgt Lee Weatherall made t= he decision that anyone with knocks or injuries would be transported to Souths= ea harbour where they would have to enter the OGGEN (Sea/water) for a minimum of 7 min= utes to initiate the healing process in the injured muscles. This seemed a good = idea at the time but on discovery of the sea temperature, it was some reluctant faces that entered the Solent.

That evening the team met for dinner in the Mary Rose pub adjacent to Burnaby Ro= ad with what should have been all of the other Inter Command teams but true to form the Matelots let themselves down, again, by their poor attendance, only the Royals, Scotland and the Naval Air Command attended. Later that evening= the Corps side converged on the Registry Public House to confer and discuss tac= tics and team selection for the next match against the under 21’s, before sitting back to watch the Portsmouth v Bolton match. It was during this time that a blast from the past arrived in the shape of Sgt George Carlon (HMS Excellent) and he wasted no time at all in laying into Assistant Manager Sgt Jason ‘Mags’ Margrett with a volley of one liners which Mags did well to recover from. Always nice to see you George, although I doubt Mags would say the same. After a head measuring contest featuring George “haybox head” Carlon and Karl “Chacon head” Lockhar= t, which Locky won no matter which way his head was measured, the team retreat= ed back to their shoddy accommodation.

After the thumping victory the day before, the Corps came back down to earth with= a bump as they came up against a good workman like Under 21 side, who were obviously out to prove a point against Royal and perhaps snatch a result. The Co= rps side never settled during the whole match and their play was scrappy and nervous throughout, with the Under 21 side givin= g them no time to settle on the ball and play their own game. The President of the RMFA and recently appointed CGRM Major General GS Robison RM was in attenda= nce along with the Corps RSM EA Conway RM and although the Corps eventually came out on top with a hard fought 1 - 0 win, it wasn’t the spectacle the management had envisaged for their honoured guests, but, nonetheless we= had made it to the final, yet again. &nbs= p;

After the match the sick ~~Magsy~~, lame ~~Magsy~~ and weary ~~Magsy~~ m= ade their way to the Solent again for their 7 minutes of hell, however, this ti= me they had some illustrious company in tow, in the form of the Corps RSM, who= led the assault into the OGGEN in full CS95 ensemble and once again left his ma= rk as a man who leads from the front. He did, however, quiz team members as to= the whereabouts of the management, after all, one in all in= , especially if one happens to be the Corps RSM, but I don’t believe th= eir location was ever divulged. However, I can now relate to him that the aforementioned management team of Capt Collinson, Sgt Foster, Sgt Margrett and Sgt Michels= on were relaxing in the Sportsman’s Arms, seeing off a Johnny Byrne sized portion of sausage and chips, Sir, (Once a copper always a copper!).

The team were given the afternoon off, but met up again in the evening for an a= ll you can eat Chinese buffet meal, down at Gun Wharf Quay. Once again the competitive edge of the lads was put to the test, with= Cpl Richie Harley coming out on top and putting to bed a serious amount of rati= ons, which could only be jealously admired from all those who looked on, includi= ng members of the Drivers branch, Sgt’s Foster & Michelson and Cpl Kilner. After the meal the lads dispersed and the management retired to a q= uiet corner of a bar to mull over team selection for the final, which would be played against Scotland Command, who had, by the narrowest of margins made = the final after being beaten 5 - 1 by Portsmouth Command that afternoon.<= o:p>

On the day of the fin= al the team met at 1030hrs in the foyer of the Hilton, however, a certain member of the team was adrift after spending too much time loitering in the area of t= he swimming pool whilst on a break from mowing the lawn (pictured left), whilst in civi= lian attire. Subsequently, he was picked off by the lads and unceremoniously ask= ed to help clean up the bottom of the deep end of the pool, Mags, you NOVICE! = Cpl Graham Carr (CTCRM) who had to come off during the match against the Under 21’s the day before, due to a knee injury, narrowly failed a late fit= ness test and found himself on the bench. He was not the only one to be disappoi= nted though, as the late arrival of Musn Jase O’Brien (CTCRM Band) meant t= hat Mags also started from the sidelines. As professional as the Corps set up n= ow is, it was an unconventional start to the final as the RMFA Manager Fozzy explained to the match officials that they would be starting the match with only ten men, as we awaited the arrival of centre back Jase O’Brien. After meeting the dignitaries and Ex RM football legend Trevor Ford, the te= ams took up positions around the centre circle in a minutes silence in memory of the recently passed away, former Royal Navy football legend, Tommy Johnson.=

The game then got und= er way with the Corps still down a man, however, they settled well and created a couple of early chances before the introduction of their eleventh man, Jase O’Brien. The first half, however, was instantly forgettable, but for = the increasingly annoying Scotland Command midfielder, Stevie O’Neill, who seemed to constantly nag and hound the referee, in a bid to influence his every decision. The second half got under way with no changes for either side, although the Corps had now u= pped the tempo of the match and were, by far, the more dominant side and the one= who looked most likely to score. So it was no surprise that in the 63^{rd
minute Jas O’Brien rose above the static Scottish defence to head the
opening goal from Cpl Si Bochenski’s (CTCRM) free kick after
Scotland’s Brigham Young had brought down Veteran Shaun Foster. It wa=
s no
more than their play deserved and from it their confidence grew and 7 minut=
es
later, our late arrival, Jase O’Brien, was at it again, this time aft=
er
confusion reigned in the Scotland penalty area, he was on hand to slot the =
ball
home with a sweet left foot volley. Scotland Command never looked like gett=
ing
themselves back into the match and their frustration at their lack of chanc=
es
and all round play, ended with the dismissal of public enemy No1, Stevie
O’Neill for an elbow on Richie Harley. With the man advantage the Cor=
ps
saw out the rest of the match and retained the title, which they have now w=
on
six times in the last eight years. With two goals to his credit Jase
O’Brien was rightly voted the Man of the Match, an accolade that had =
been
bestowed him in the same competition only 12months previously, well done,
Jason.}

That left only the presentation of the medals themselves. Scotland Command, were, as always, gracious in defeat and Corps Captain for the day Cpl Si Bochenski accepted = the trophy on behalf of all the Royal Marines players and staff, who had enjoye= d another thoroughly good week in Portsmouth.

Afterwards in the Sportsman’s Arm’s, former Assistant Chairman Capt Terry Price presented the RMFA with a Roll of Honour board for the outstanding achievem= ents to RM Football that will take residence in the Gymnasium at CTCRM, the first people to be entered onto it were Manager Shaun Foster and the RMFA President, CGRM Major General GS Robison RM.

RMFA 2006 Inter Commands Winners

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