The Fish fell to their first defeat in pre-season against Ryman Premier side Cray Wanderers, in what was very much a game of two teams in two halves.
Steve Firkins sent out a strong starting XI, and a good crowd of 107 finally enjoyed some real pre-season weather as Champion Hill basked in the sunshine. A strong Cray Wanderers side, boasting 6 or 7 first team regulars, started well and Danny Firkins was forced into two good early saves, although the Wands’ Chris Saunders will be disappointed to have directed his free header from 5 yards our directly at the Fisher keeper.
But it was all Fisher after that, and Michael Jones scored a wonder goal to give Fisher the lead. Picking the ball up on the halfway line, Jones cut in from the left and beat at least four Wanderers players as he carved a route to goal through the centre of the pitch. With only the keeper left to beat, Jones finished with a neat chip into the bottom corner to score a goal that will be hard to beat for quality this season.
Further chances followed, and Jones blasted wide before Danny Hunt was put through for a one-on-one, but his attempted chip finish missed the goal. The Fish went in at half-time 1-0, having put in another very impressive half of football.
With decisions still to make with his squad, the manager made 10 changes at half-time leaving only Danny Firkins in goal from the starting line-up. The Fish added to their lead shortly after half-time, Jamie Turner scoring direct from a corner as the ball beat Andy Walker in the Wanderers goal.
The Wands put on former Fish Luke Coleman and Tony Dolby, and Coleman looked sharp against his former side. Wanderers got a goal back as Chris Saunders made up for his earlier miss by firing an unstoppable left foot shot into the top corner. Four minutes later, Wanderers won a penalty and Coleman made no mistake as he levelled the score.
Fisher were unable to get going again after this setback, and it was no surprise when Cray took the lead with another fine finish from Saunders. Tommy Whitnell added a fourth just before the finish, but the Fish will be pleased with the way pre-season has gone overall with eleven goals scored in four games.
Fisher 1st half: Firkins, Banton, Tipple, Warren, DeGraft-Johnson, Walton, Hubbard, Bangura, Sisson, Hunt, Jones
Fisher 2nd half: Firkins, Wadmore, Jarrett-Elliott, Wilson-Joseph, Helps, Hanley, Monan (Quan 83), Turner (Akala 90), Afolayan, Bell, Taylor
Attendance: 107
