Fisher welcomed SCEFL rivals Deal to Champion Hill on Saturday. Following two heavy defeats in the league, Fisher looked to the FA Cup to provide a kick start to their campaign.
Fisher settled into the game well and looked confident on the ball right from kick off. It didn’t take long for the Fish to get the ball forward but Deal were solid at the back and controlled any threat Fisher posed with ease.
Deal best chance of the early play was a looping effort which beat Fisher keeper Hensman before going over the bar. A while later Deal got forward again and won a corner. A high ball was whipped in, cleared off the line and put behind for a second corner. The second corner was a little deeper than the first but again, Fisher couldn’t clear the danger and conceded a third corner. At the third time of asking, Deal managed a shot which was put wide and at last Fisher could get the ball away from Hensman’s goal.
As the first half went on, the game became more balanced with both sides creating a few chances. Chris Hubbard had the best of Fisher’s first half chances when he broke forward and sent a powerful shot high and wide of the target.
Fisher managed a few chances in the following minutes but nothing that troubled Deal’s defence. With 35 minutes on the clock, Fisher were forced to make a substitution. Kieron Campbell appeared to be carrying an injury so Fish boss Billy Walton sent James Hawkins on to replace him.
Hensman didn’t have a lot to do in the closing stages of the first half, although he did manage to make a save from what could have been a threatening cross. His save launched another Fisher attack which Deal managed to block, before more creative passing from the Fish released Danny Tipple who got to the edge of the box before sending his shot into the car park.
Deal immediately broke, the Fisher defence was stretched and Billy Hensman came off his line to try to clear up. He clattered into a Deal attacker and conceded a penalty, which Liam Quinn quickly converted to put the visitors 1-0 with 3 minutes of the first half left to play. Just seconds after the restart Deal broke again and Fisher were very lucky not to fall further behind. They held on and made it to half time with just a one goal deficit.
Just minutes in to the second period, Deal got forward again, Hensman came to the edge of the box and managed to block the ball and sent it behind for a Deal corner.
In the following ten minutes the game went a bit flat and other than a few free kicks not much really happened. That was until Deal were awarded a free kick. The free kick was taken directly and Hensman pulled off a superb save to deny Deal what would have been a cracker of a second goal.
Fisher then settled back in to their trademark passing game and began to get forward. The best chance they were able to create was a high, long ball which lacked direction and sailed behind, relieving the pressure and surrendering possession.
On the hour mark Duke Binitie picked up possession, began to break forward and was taken down just outside the box. Danny Maguire stepped up, clipped the ball over the wall, past the keeper and in to level the score-line.
The goal brought Fisher to life and they could have taken the lead on a few occasions with the best chance coming from Chris Hubbard who hit his effort a little too well (and straight at Deal keeper Nick Shaw).
Both defences did their share of work as both sides created chances, although neither side created anything clear cut. As Fisher’s football improved, Deal started to become a little clumsy and gave up possession a little easier than they had done earlier in the game.
Fisher had chances to get in front throughout the closing stages and were made to regret being so wasteful when Deal made one final push forward in the 86th minute. Several Deal players found themselves in the box; Hensman appeared to make a great save, which was followed by a goal line block before Deal’s Jake Gess scrambled to ball across the line to put Deal ahead with just a few minutes left to play. That goal proved to be enough for the visitors as Fisher never looked like coming back a second time and Deal progress to the next round.
Fisher: Hensman, P Hanifan, Tipple, Taylor, Hopkins, Walton, Campbell (Hawkins), Carr, Binitie (Milton), Maguire, Hubbard (H Hanifan). Unused Subs: Akers, Daramola, Bell
Attendance: 80
