MATCH REPORT: Hollands & Blair 1-0 Fisher

Hollands & Blair 1-0 Fisher
Saturday 13th December
SCEFL Premier Division

Attn: 79

Fisher fell to defeat by a single goal in a scrappy game at Star Meadow against Hollands and Blair. Fisher arrived at the game with illness running through the camp, requiring a number of late changes and so a first start for Addae Paponette and a debut on the bench for Ekow Amaquandoh, with Daniel Carpanini deputising for Isaac Ogunseri in goal. Missing were Jack Gibbons, Tom Jones and Lorenzo Duncan.
Fisher’s woes got worse seven minutes into the game when Sha’mar Lawson was forced off with a groin issue giving Amaquandoh an early debut. It was no surprise that the hosts made the better start and should have opened the scoring on the quarter of an hour mark when a high ball into the box bounced off several players and seemingly just needed pushing over the line before Don Macaulay managed to smuggle the ball away as the striker looks set to convert. Blair went even closer five minutes later when a forward was sent free down the right and Carpanini did very well to push his low shot on to the post and was relieved as it came back into his arms rather than deflecting into the net. When Ofari-Acheampong scooped over from close range with the goal at hiss mercy, Fisher’s goal was leading a charmed life and they could quite easily have been two or three down inside the first twenty five minutes.
Fisher managed to slowly build their way into the game with Amaquandoh an eager runner up front and Kamara seeing A good effort charged out inside the box. Shortly before the break Fisher created their best chance of the half as Conor Darwish sent in a deep free kick that was recycled back into the box, after being headed clear, finding Darwish himself arriving at the far post, but he couldn’t quite keep his shot down and it flew off the crossbar and away for a goal kick. Festus Kamara also saw a late chance in the half but pulled his shot from the edge of the box just wide of the goal as the two sides went into the break still deadlocked with neither finding much fluency in their play.
The second spell saw Fisher fall behind just three minutes in. Fisher contested the award of a corner, feeling it had come off a Blair player, but then wasted several opportunities to clear the delivery into the box, with the ball finally falling to Charlie Weston who stabbed home from eight yards out. There was almost an immediate reply by Fisher as good play in midfield allowed them to slip Alex Kozak in down the right wing and he cut in towards the goal unleashing a fierce shot as he reached the penalty area that unfortunately flew into the side netting when a neat inside pass may have allowed Kamara a tap in. Addae Paponette then went close having managed to find a pocket of space just outside the penalty area, but saw his shot lift just over the bar.
Fisher made changes from their limited bench with Chris Ojemen and Kelvin Bakare both coming on and both had late chances to grab an equaliser with Ojemen seeing a shot charged down in the area and Bakare forcing a good save from Dan Ellis in the Blair goal, away to his left, after firing through a crowded area. Kozak again found the side netting when put in down the right as Fisher tried in vain to get back on level terms without really managing to create any clear cut chances. Blair wasted a final opportunity to wrap up the game miscalculating a three on one break with the ball rolling past the post at the end of it, when they really should have scored. With just four minutes of added time Fisher were unable to launch any significant bombardment of the Blair goal and the final whistle ended a frustrating afternoon on the Medway, with Plenty of endeavour not compensating for a lack of quality.