Attn: 110

Fisher’s interest in the FA Cup ended at the first stage, as they went down 3-1 to a well drilled and confident Cobham side in the Extra Preliminary Round. Fisher knew they would face a tough test against last season’s Combined Counties League runaway champions, but bar a disastrous first half hour there was little between the teams and on another day Fisher’s attacking play in the second period might well have earned them a draw.
Fisher made two changes from the side that started the opening league programme last Saturday with Rafa Garcia swapping with Jake Lovell and former Nottingham Forest youngster, Franck Amekortu, coming in for the injured Jack Gibbons. With grass pitches suffering badly in the extended dry spell both sides were relieved to be playing on a good artificial surface allowing them to move the ball around at pace from the outset. Cobham caused early alarm from the first attack, having forced a corner a back post header was cleared off the line with the shot on the rebound blocked as it looked to be heading into the net. Fisher showed some early promise as well with Garcia’s effort at the near post turned away for a corner as the game started at good pace.
On five minutes though the hosts took the lead, as Fisher failed to get enough distance on a clearance and it was picked up five yards outside the penalty area by Dean Rule who slammed a low drive just inside the post, having not been closed down quickly enough. Fisher responded well to going behind and a neat interchange of passing worked the ball to Flavio Jumo who from 25 yards out forced to fine save from the Cobham keeper, diving to his left to beat away a ferocious strike. Cobham’s movement in the final third was continuing to cause Fisher problems and on the quarter of an hour mark they doubled their lead as a break on the right was fed inside and a clever reverse pass released Rule to the left of the goal, where his quick footwork sent him around Akinde to roll the ball into an empty net. Fisher were now in desperate need of the next goal to stop the game getting away from them. Festos Kamara almost supplied that when battling against a powerful centre half he managed to get the upper hand and turned his way into the area but his shot on the half volley drifted just wide of the post. Already facing a tough task Fisher were then virtually put out the game as with half an hour played Cobham slipped the ball in behind the Fisher back line and a last ditch tackle from Skhoyimue didn’t find the ball allowing Rule to step up and complete his hat trick from the penalty spot.
Fisher finally got themselves on the scoresheet just before the break when a quickly taken short corner allowed Alex Kozak to dink his way into the box where he had his feet clipped and he picked himself up to slam the resulting penalty kick down the middle of the goal to reduce the arrears. They almost cut that deficit down to one in added first half time when Garcia was put in down the right channel but his low shot was turned away at the near post by the keeper and the resulting corner came to nothing.
The second half saw Fisher playing higher up the pitch. James Bessey Saldanha came on to add some control at the back and an impressive debut in senior football from former Southend United youngster Ibrahim Lima saw better ball rotation in midfield as Fisher stretched play with some raking cross field passes allowing their wingers to get into the game far more than in the first half. Only a magnificent one handed save high to his right from the keeper denied Alex Kozak a second goal from a superb strike from the edge of the box and the continued work of Festos Kamara saw him twist and turn to make an opening, but his shot on the swivel just didn’t bend enough to find the top corner. The introduction of former Dundee youngster Euan Mutale added more impetus to the Fisher frontline in an impressive cameo with pace or power, but Fisher couldn’t find a way through a very well organised Cobham back line. The hosts still looked a threat going forward seeing a couple of headers flash across the Fisher goal.
There was definitely a feeling that one may have bought two for Fisher and earned them a replay, but that goal just wouldn’t come and that first half hour was to cost them dearly giving them far too much to do, as they exited the cup.