MATCH REPORT: Erith & Belvedere 1-3 Fisher

Erith & Belvedere 1-3 Fisher
Saturday 19 September 2026
SCEFL Premier Division

Attn: 195
Scorers: Don Macaulay (25 min pen), Euan Mutale (83 min), James Bessey-Saldanha (90+4 min)

Fisher put in a hard working performance to pick up all three points against a resilient Erith & Belvedere side at Park View Road, with two late goals seeing them to a 3-1 win. Fisher were able to name an unchanged starting line-up for the first time this season although the rigours of Tuesday night’s win at SE Dons may have been a factor in a slightly leggy first half performance as both sides struggled with a difficult pitch with long grass belying the rock hard bumpy surface beneath.
Erith & Belvedere adapted the better with an aerial approach and with several new signings coming into the side on the eve of the game did not play like a side currently at the bottom of the table. However, for the first twenty minutes neither side really managed much of threat on goal as balls into the box were at a premium despite both sides looking lively on either flank and the hosts firing a coupe of long range efforts over the stand into the road troubling the passing buses more than Zach Akinde in the Fisher goal. That all changed on midway through the half as Jack Gibbons fed a ball down the right for Temi Alaka whose pace took him into the penalty area where a clumsy challenge saw him felled and the referee pointing straight to the spot. After some confusion over who should take the kick, Don Macaulay stepped up to dispatch his third penalty of the season slipping the ball under Bushell’s dive. Any hope that the goal would settle Fisher down and see them build was dispelled inside three minutes as the hosts got back on level terms. A quickly taken corner was returned back out wide and a deep cross found Billy French at the back post unchallenged to head powerfully inside the near post for what should have been an easily defendable goal. Fisher almost retook the lead seconds later as a Kaylam Burgess and Tyrese Briscoe combined on the left and Briscoe’s teasing cross saw Alaka just fail to get a decisive touch at the back post. The half could have ended with more trouble for Fisher though as they allowed Jack Sammoutis to run far too deep into their own half and ended up very relieved to see his low reverse shot from outside the box bounce away off the inside of the far post.
The second spell saw Fisher slowly start to get a a more measured style of play together as aided by the slope the pace of Kamara and Alaka they started to stretch the game. An early chance for Kamara saw him denied by a fantastic close range save as he rifled in an instinctive shot as the ball broke to him following good work on the left and as series of Fisher corners were met with some determined defending. At the other end Akinde was forced to save well at his near post as the Dere’s lively wingers caused problems. It was the strength of the bench though that seemed to be the decisive factor as in previous weeks allowing Fisher to make changes to keep the energy high without weakening the balance of strength of the side. Jake Lovell became as bigger thorn on the wing as Alaka had been, and Euan Mutale gave as bigger threat up top at Briscoe and with just under then minutes to play Fisher’s pressure paid off. Kamara picked up the ball out wide on the left and backed his marker into the box, getting to the byline before pulling the ball back to Euan Mutale who had cleverly pulled away to find a a pocket of space and with a touch to control he then quickly slipped the ball inside the near post with a side footed effort for a sixth goal in six games for the former Dundee youngster.
A crunching late tackle on Tyron Mbuenimo saw tempers flare as the midfielder had to limp out of the final minutes with Macaulay picking up a booking for his reaction along with the miscreant of the tackle who on a different day may have seen red. However, the energy of Mekhi Clarke also joining the fray from the bench ensured Fisher had enough in the tank to see the game out and deep in added time they got the now customary late goal as Mutale span away from two markers with some clever footwork and fed James Bessey Saldanha on the left, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle to seal the points.