MATCH REPORT: Fisher 3-2 Erith & Belvedere

Fisher 3-2 Erith & Belvedere
Saturday 27th December
SCEFL Premier Division

Matchball Sponsor: Millwall Community Trust

Photo Credit: Dave Anderson – Full Album here

Attn: 202
Scorers: Lorenzo Duncan (1 min, 13 min, 45 min)

A fantastic first half performance paved the way to wrap up a perfect festive period for Fisher, with a second victory, despite a spirited second half comeback from Erith and Belvedere. There was just one change from the side that won the pre-Christmas fixture against Rusthall as Alex Kozak retuned in place of David Mata as Fisher started where they left off from the goal studded win over Rusthall, opening their account inside the second minute. Tom Jones was the architect as he spun away down the right and outpaced his marker before drilling over a low cross that saw stand in left back Lorenzo Duncan arriving at the back off the box to drive home the ball from twelve yards out.
Fisher looked to quickly double the advantage, as the Deres seemed slow to start, with their attacking play down both flanks delighting the crowd. Festos Kamara and Tom Jones freely rotated out of their central roles to link with wide men Alex Kozak and Rafael Garcia joined by both full backs, Duncan and Jack Gibbons in a fluid display of attacking football. It therefore came as no surprise when Fisher doubled their lead although the scorer was a little unexpected as Lorenzo Duncan again popped up in the box to add his second, racing onto Garcia’s neat inside through ball and slipping the ball past the advancing Alexander in the Erith and Belvedere goal. Fisher were rampant and Jones saw an effort fizz just wide of the post and Kozak and Garcia continued to send over a number of dangerous low crosses that flashed across the Deres’ goal. However just past the half hour mark, as Fisher were starting to look like they may be in for a relatively routine win, they gifted the Deres a route back into the game with a clumsy challenge for a header seeing Tyron Mbuenimo adjudged to have climbed on a visiting forward and despite Isaac Ogunseri getting a strong hand on the ball low to his left, Freddie Baker’s kick had just enough on it to see it roll over the line.
Fisher didn’t let the goal reduce their own attacking intent and set about restoring their two goal cushion straight away, with Jones again firing narrowly wide and then seeing a good effort from a free kick, after being fouled on the edge of the box, just failing to curl into the top corner with the keeper looking beaten. On the stroke of halftime Fisher had their two goal lead back as Kozak was fed the ball wide on the right and twisted and turned his marker before firing in a low shot that got two deflections off defenders before falling to Lorenzo Duncan, somehow finding himself has Fisher’s forward most player in the move, who smashed the ball home low on the turn from eight yards out, to complete an unexpected but totally deserved first half hat trick.
The second spell saw the visitors come out of the blocks the stronger and again if Fisher were expecting to coast through the half protecting their lead they were rudely awakened when a couple of minutes in the Deres reduced the arrears as substitute Thomas Boarders nipped in ahead of a static defence to flick the ball over Ogunseri at the near post. The goal spurred the visitors into their best spell of the match as they pressed the Fisher back line and reduced Fisher’s free flowing football of the first half to long balls forward to Kamara and hopeful counter attacks. However, the Fisher back line was in no mood to surrender the points, although it took a fine save from Ogunseri to tip a rasping effort form Danny Lear onto the bar and away to safety and another effort ricocheted off the outside of the post as the Deres continued to probe. Having already been the hero with his goals, Lorenzo Dincan then made a match winning tackle as he slid to take the ball off Baker’s feet when the forward looked set to shoot from twelve yards out, having bustled past the centre backs into the box. The return from injury off the bench of Flavio Jumo gave Fisher just enough control in the midfield to see the game out, with some surging runs down the right from skipper Jack Gibbons making the last ten minutes a little easier than much of the half had been as Fisher started to look likely to add a fourth themselves but eventually settled for a 3-2 win as the final whistle brought a very entertaining game to a close.