FISHER suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Deal Town despite taking an early lead, as a stunning 22-minute hat-trick from Ryan Philpott inspired an emphatic second-half turnaround for the visitors at Champion Hill on Saturday.
The away side have now scored an impressive 27 goals in their last seven games – with 11 of those strikes coming from the red-hot Philpott.
His second and Deal’s third was the pick of lot here – a superb half-volley from distance which crashed into the top corner.
For Fisher though, this was another case of a missed opportunity. Their first half display made a mockery of the form book as they completely nullified Deal’s attack but were eventually made to pay for a lack of killer instinct up front.
It had all started so well for the home side. Local boxing champion Johhny Garton was in attendance and he gave Fisher a pre-match pep-talk that worked wonders as it took less than one hundred seconds for the Fish to break the visitors’ resistance.
Femi Akinwande’s fancy footwork drew a foul from opposing full-back Luke Bigginton on the left-hand side. Deal appeared to have coped with Jake McIntyre’s delivery from the resulting free-kick, but the clearance fell to Kieron Tarbie who swung the ball back into the box for Luke Haidarovic to finish from close range.
Brimming with confidence, Fisher only had themselves to blame for not doubling the lead as Alfie Roche was afforded ample space to orchestrate play from midfield, but his passing was too wayward. With Deal fielding centre-back Alex Coyne in goal due to a lack of back-up options, a few more long range pot shots wouldn’t have gone amiss either.
While Fisher dominated, Deal lacked ideas and looked as threatening as a poodle puppy. Pumping long balls from the back was the extent of their creativity – which meant Fish goalkeeper Charlie Payne had a quiet opening half-hour.
Payne was called into action in the 35th minute though, matching Philpott’s headed attempt with a well-timed effort from his own bonce to clear the danger.
Ten minutes later Fisher spurned a gilt-edged chance to increase their advantage. Roche’s inviting corner was somehow headed wide by Ali Musa – a moment that would prove pivotal as Deal came storming back after the break.
The Kent side felt they should have been awarded a penalty as early as the second minute of the half when debutant centre-back Dave Waters appeared to bring down striker Connor Coyne in the penalty area.
Another warning came for Fisher as Coyne was almost slid though on goal by Rene Rivera, but Waters stopped his run with a crunching tackle.
When the equalizer did arrive, it was hardly a thing of beauty. Substitute Charlie Dickens – who had come on for injured midfielder Mitch Knight midway through the first half – was left unmarked to tap in from a corner. If you don’t take your chances, you will be made to pay. It is that simple.
All of Fisher’s first half work had been undone in the blink of an eye and the nerves started to creep in. Roche continued to waste possession – he looked out of sorts so it was no surprise to see him replaced by Jordan Adekunle in the 54th minute. Kieron Campbell also made his long-awaited return from injury, as the midfielder came on in place of Musa.
The Fish were then hit by the cruellest of sucker punches in the 68th minute. Akinwande thought he had won a penalty after being brought down by Deal’s makeshift stopper Alex Coyne, but the officials waved play on. Coyne proceeded to pump the ball up field past a static Fish defence, and Rivera found an offside Philpott who waited for Payne to dive before slotting into the bottom corner.
It had all gone to pot for Fisher. Or to be more precise, it had all gone to Philpott. If the midfielder’s first goal smacked of good fortune, there was no element of luck involved in his second – just brilliant skill.
Most players end up on the receiving end of stick from their teammates and fans if they try to hit a bouncing ball towards goal from 30 yards out. But Philpott is a man in supreme form, so he knew exactly what he was doing when he took aim in the 70th minute – and his screeching effort flew into the roof of the net.
Fisher – like pretty much everyone else in the ground – were amazed by the goal and failed to recover from it. The remaining twenty minutes served as shooting practice for the away side. First Philpott almost claimed the match ball with an audacious attempt from near the by-line which shaved the side netting with Payne stranded in no-mans-land outside his own area. Dickens then came inches away from his second of the afternoon when he saw his curling shot dip just wide of the right-hand post.
The home side at least somewhat stemmed the wave of Deal attacks with five minutes remaining, after they won several corners in succession.
Yet it got even worse at the other end for Fisher as Philpott grabbed his hat-trick at the death thanks to another stylish effort and some standoffish defending. Left all alone 18 yards from goal, the midfielder coolly placed a volley past Payne. It had nothing on his earlier wonder strike, but was still a finish of the highest order. Philpott would not look out of place in the Ryman Premier League.
And if the scoreline itself wasn’t enough evidence that Fisher’s plans for the day had gone up in smoke, an unruly fan threw an actual smoke bomb onto the pitch in injury time to cap off a surreal afternoon. Safe to say it wasn’t an ideal day at the office for the Fish.
Fisher remain in 19th place in the SCEFL, but are now only five points clear of the bottom after basement side Erith drew 1-1 with neighbours Erith & Belvedere.
Up next for the Fish is a trip to Rochester on Tuesday night. Kick-off is 7:45pm.
Fisher FC: Payne, Tarbie, McIntyre, Musa (Adekunle 54), Aziaya, Waters, Roche (Campbell 54), Janneh (Bent 72), Haidarovic, Rothwell, Akinwande. Unused Substitutes: Eze, Borode
Attendance: 108
