Fisher put some much needed breathing space between themselves and the bottom two in SCEFL with an impressive 4-1 win over league new-boys Crowborough at Champion Hill on Saturday.
The Fish were on the front foot right from kick off, piling pressure onto the Crows defence within two minutes of kick off, and earning no less than four corners in the first ten minutes. Crowborough created a few chances of their own in the early stages but failed to trouble Justin Lee in the Fish goal. An impressively organised Fisher midfield and defence meant Crowborough struggled to get forward and create meaningful opportunities, with Al-Hassan Oshilaja impressing in the middle of the park while debutant Luke Haidarovic led the line well up-front.
Despite the impressive build-up play from the Fish, with credit going to Alfie Roche and Jordan Adekunle who caused chaos down the wings, the visitors held strong throughout the early pressure to keep the scores level, with goalkeeper Nick Collick pulling off a couple of great saves when he was called upon.
As Fisher continued to press forward, looking for a much deserved goal to take the lead, a defensive lapse during a rare Crowborough attack saw captain Jason Barton tuck home the first goal of the afternoon to give his side the lead against the run of play in the 36th minute.
The score remained at 1-0 until the break. When the teams re-emerged for the second half, it was clear Fisher were hungry to get what their first half performance deserved, and went out in hunt of a goal, which Max Rothwell fired home in the 53rd minute (with more than a little help from at least two deflections) to level the scores.
Jordan Adekunle continued to cause problems for the Crows’ defence in the second half, and broke forward on the hour mark before firing the Fish ahead with a well-placed finish. Adekunle played an important part in the hosts’ third goal, firing in a dangerous cross which was tucked away by luckless defender Calum Ridley.
Crowborough tried to drag themselves back in to the contest, but Fisher’s backline held strong to limit the opponents chances to just a couple a decent chances, which ultimately came to nothing.
Fisher capped a great team display in the closing minutes when Alfie Roche, who had worked hard all afternoon down the right wing, found his way in to the box before setting up substitute Keanu Williams who tucked home Fisher’s fourth goal of the afternoon in a move which sealed the man of the match award for Roche.
Although the impressive win was not enough to move the Fish up the SCEFL table, it has given them a five point cushion over Deal Town (who the Fish visit on Tuesday) and an eight point cushion over bottom side Erith Town.
Fisher: Lee, Ibrahim, Tarbie, Oshilaha, McIntyre, Janneh, Roche, Rothwell (Musa 77), Haidarovic (Davis 82), Akinwande, Adekunle (Williams 82). Unused Subs: Seales, Borode
