MATCH REPORT: Fisher 5-0 Tunbridge Wells

Fisher 5-0 Tunbridge Wells
Saturday 25th April
SCEFL Premier Division
Match Sponsors: Paul Heaton – click for details about Paul’s music, gigs and merchadise
Matchball Sponsor: Millwall Community Trust

Attn: 377
Scorers: Rafael Garcia (3 min, 12 min), Lorenzo Duncan (13 min), Chibueze Echem (77 min), Festos Kamara (86 min)

Photo Credit: Dave Anderson – Full Album here

Second placed Fisher ended the regular league season in emphatic fashion, to enter the play offs on the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Tunbridge Wells in front of a bumper 377 crowd at a sun kissed St Paul’s. Fisher made six changes to the starting line up with Dan Carpanini coming in between the sticks and starts outfield for Sha’mar Lawson, Sam Owusu, Jake Lovell, Rafael Garcia and Armani Jordan Martin, with the squad depth evident, as it has been all season.
It took just three minutes for Fisher to take the lead, when a bursting run from Jake Lovell down the right wing saw him beat the left back on the outside for pace and centre low into the area where Rafael Garcia had nipped in at the front post to guide the ball home. The lead might have been cancelled straight away as a similar charge down the Tunbridge Wells right wing saw a low cross turned across goal from close range with ball slowly nudging the inside of the post and back into the grateful hands of Carpanini. Fisher were soon back on the front foot though and on eleven minutes doubled the advantage as Armani Jordan Martin skipped past several defenders when cutting in from the right and tucked a little reverse pass inside for Rafael Garcia to advance deep into the area before clipping a low shot across the goal wide of Bentley and inside the far post. A minute later the game was pretty much up for Tunbridge Wells as two became three. Lorenzo Duncan found space going down the left flank and picking up a neat back heel from Garcia after a one-two turned inside and fired off a pearl of a shot that arced pleasingly into the top far corner to amazingly seal the Golden Boot for the left back with his twenty third goal of the season.
After such a blistering start and three to the good, Fisher took their foot off the gas a little but still pushed the ball around well, forcing many corners and keeping Wells pinned in their own half. Garcia almost completed a first half hat trick but saw his close range effort blocked on the line. Lawson dragged a good chance wide of the near post and Kozak and Martin saw efforts fly just wide as Fisher made hay in the sun.
The second spell saw Wells tighten up and for the first twenty minutes had their best spell of the game. Dangerman Regan Corke looked set to score when he seemed to have got behind the Fisher defence, but Jola Lahan did enough to hurry the shot wide and Dan Carpanini confidently dealt with some longer range efforts. Fisher always looked likely to add to their tally though and a powerful Michael Sarpong header was clawed away by Bentley amidst some claims it was over the line, with the keeper also saving well at the near post from Garcia and Duncan shots after they cut into the area from the left. Tunbridge still showed some attacking intent rattling the outside of the goal framework with a snapshot from the left, but Fisher always seemed to have gears in hand. With just under a quarter of an hour to go Fisher brought on Chibueze Echem and Festos Kamara and with the pairs first involvement seeing Kamara’s run and cross turned home at the near post by Echem to huge acclaim in the Dockers End for his first goal since returning from serious injury. With four minutes left Kamara then got himself on the scoresheet, running down the right channel before unleashing a fierce drive that evaded Bentle’s grasp at the near post for Fisher’s fifth. Shortly after Echem had the ball in the net but was denied his second as an offside flag brought play back.
The final whistle brought an end to the regular season with an incredible 54 goals scored in 18 home games enroute to a highest ever second place finish in the table as the side head into the promotion play off games starting with a visit from Punjab United on Tuesday.