Army Under 23s end RAF's hopes of an Inter Services win with a 3-0 victory in Aldershot

The British Army have ended the Royal Air Force's chances of winning the U23 Inter Services title after a dominant 3-0 win in the second game of the championships. 

Goals by the Army's Owen James, Arran Moore and Ryan Fagan, as well as a well-organised team defence, were the clear deciding factor in a display of dominance by the team in red.

After drawing the Navy last week, the RAF's loss against the Army means they can no longer win the U23 Inter Services title. 

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The first half saw the Army and the RAF's clear determination to take the advantage in a championship that is still wide open, with many chances to score goals not coming to fruition for both sides.

A huge, missed opportunity for the Army after the reds thought their own Josh Rogerson scored the first goal of the match, until the referee disallowed it and the score remained as it started at 0-0.

The Army looked to put that right as Arran Moore muscled to keep hold of the ball in light of the RAF's strong defence, and the Army's Owen James found himself in the right place to receive the ball from Moore, and there he scored the Army's first valid goal of the game to put them in front of the RAF at 1-0.

It's 1-0 at half-time here in Aldershot and the @ArmyU23 are ahead of the @RAFFootballMDS .

Watch the moment the Army's Owen James, with help from teammate Arran Moore, put the reds in front! 🪖⚽️

Watch LIVE 👇https://t.co/ukPaWLcqTppic.twitter.com/DYbvU4w0jV

— BFBS Sport (@BFBSSport) February 15, 2023

In the second half, the RAF came back looking more motivated to score an equaliser as they looked to turn the game around, but the light blues found themselves unable to defend against the Army's Arran Moore who cruised his way to scoring his first goal of the match, bringing the Army up 2-0.

The Army soon substituted Asim Ale for Ryan Fagan, and it didn't take long for him to make an impression as he went on to score the Army's third goal of the game to give the red shirts a clear 3-0 lead.

The RAF tried to bounce back, as attempts by Logan Buick and Matt Hendry to bring the light blues back into the game didn't come to fruition as both missed the goalpost in two missed opportunities for the RAF.

But at the full-time whistle, the Army come away with a dominant 3-0 win to end the RAF's chances of winning the U23 Inter Services title.  

The Army, who are looking to put to right not winning the title last year after they were deducted points for fielding an ineligible player, will play the Navy in Portsmouth on 22 February in what will be the title-deciding game.

WATCH: The moment the @ArmyU23's Ryan Fagan scored the third goal of the match to give the reds a 3-0 lead over the @RAFFootballMDS

Watch the conclusion of the Army v RAF U23 Inter Services match here 👇https://t.co/ukPaWLcqTppic.twitter.com/z9ZtpbQOTT

— BFBS Sport (@BFBSSport) February 15, 2023