Match Report: Snodland Town 5-2 Fisher

Snodland Town 5-2 Fisher
Wednesday 28 February
SCEFL Premier Division

Scorers: Sam Sene-Richardson (51 mins), Eniye Amgbaduba (71 mins)
Attn: 95

Fisher slipped to defeat on a quagmire of a pitch at Snodland Town, despite scoring two high quality goals and more than matching their hosts for large parts of the game.
Teenager Josh Brown was given his first start up front, with sixteen year old Sam Sene-Richardson given a midfield slot in a young looking Fisher side. Prince Imoru came in at centre back to deputise for Slovenian second division bound, Mark Chidi.
Playing up the considerable slope at Snodland’s Pontyn’s ground, Fisher made a bright start and with defenders struggling for footing an early chance fell to Flavio Jumo, but from twelve yards out his sweetly struck hooked half-volley was palmed away by the keeper and the follow up header was smothered away by a covering defender. It seemed to sum up Fisher’s current luck as a scuffed effort would probably have found the net. Indeed, as if to prove the point six minutes in, Fisher fell behind. A high free kick down the middle was not dealt with well enough, and Francis Babalola, so often a thorn in Fisher’s side over the years, swivelled on the loose ball and despite a less than perfect connection with the ball his shot squirmed in at the far post.
Despite the difficult surface Fisher were playing some good football, with the movement of the front three of Jumo, Brown and Jones always looking a threat and Callum Flynn sending over a number of teasing crosses when joining the attack down the left. However, the hosts were making their football count in the box where it mattered and having nudged the base of the post from another high ball sent into the box that was not dealt with, they doubled their lead in a controversial manner in the twenty fifth minute. With Fisher trying to clear their lines in the boggiest corner of the pitch the ball was picked up by Babalola near the byline, with the Assistant’s flag being raised and staying up whilst the forward cut into the box, as the Fisher players stopped awaiting the whistle. Play progressed with Babalola squaring for Olawole to control and tap into an empty net with the Assistant still unmoved, flag a loft. After a lengthy consultation between him and the referee the goal stood, with the referee correctly judging the ball arrived at Babalola’s feet via a wayward pass from a Fisher player, although the flag had clearly caused the Fisher player’s to all stop. Whilst the maxim of play to the whistle echoed round the ground from the spectators in their defence there had been no clear ‘play on’ call that may have helped the situation.
Fisher tried to rally and get back into the game before the break. Sene-Richardson dragged a shot wide of the post and Teddy Jones saw an effort blocked as Fisher tried to open up a dogged Snodland defence. At times though the forward play was a little too clever for the conditions with little give and go’s falling short when giving it a whack might have been a better option. On the stroke of half time Adewunmi saw his header from a Flynn corner loop onto the bar.
Despite the two goal deficit Fisher were buoyed by playing down the slope in the second spell and made a good start to the half with Adewunmi seeing another good header beaten away, before on 51 minutes Fisher finally pulled a goal back. Good link up play in the middle of the park between Josh Brown and Sam Sene-Richardson allowed the latter to cut inside and curl a peach of finish into the top corner from just outside the box.
Fisher looked to press on and get level and saw plenty of ball in the Snodland half, however with pitch cutting up badly they were finding it hard to move the ball around to open up gaps and lacked an aerial presence to take the pitch out of the equation. Sene Richardson fiure din another low shot that was blocked by a massed defence, but with the game getting scrappier, Fisher legs tired and whilst still looking good going forward the tracking runs back uphill were becoming a slog and Snodland took advantage with a good counter attack seeing the ball sent into the Fisher area several times without being properly cleared and eventually finding Taylor Fisher for another tap into an empty net with three Fisher players on the floor as they had been pulled left and right before slipping over.
Fisher battled back again thought and once more reduced the arrears to single goal as Nathan Tshola was released down the right from a quick free kick. Driving to the byline he sent over a delicious cross that substitute Eniye Amgbaduba needed no second invitation to rise onto and emphatically head the ball into the net for a classic winger, centre forward combination goal.
Any hopes of the goal sparking a late comeback disappeared four minutes later from some calamitous defending, as a ball was allowed to bounce into the box and keeper Otuyo and Adewunmi collided, as they both jumped to clear leaving them in a heap and third tap into an empty net for the grateful Snodland frontline, who really hadn’t had to work as hard as they might for their goals.
In the final minute with players running like horses slogging up the home straight in a three and half mile novice chase, Snodland added a fifth as a long ball down the middle was met with little resistance allowing Taylor Fisher to complete a second half hat-trick.
As with the home game against Snodland the late goals gave the gave a scoreline not representative of the closer nature of an entertaining match, but Snodland took advantage of some poor defending and kept their feet better to deny Fisher the same easy sights of goal at the other end. Never easy to win a game of football with that formula.