MATCH REPORT: Whitstable Town 5-1 Fisher

Whitstable Town 5-1 Fisher
Saturday 31st January
Kent Senior Trophy Third Round

Attn: 622
Scorer: Michael Sarpong (14 min)

A tired Fisher performance, saw a powerful Whitstable Town sweep past them into the semi-final of the Kent Senior Trophy after a one sided game at the Belmont in front of a healthy crowd of 641. Despite the rigours of two tough games in the past seven days, Fisher were largely unchanged with Jack Gibbons ruled out at right back, replaced by Michael Sarpong, with Nas Crespo starting in midfield. Whitstable included new signing Ronald Sithole, who joined in the week from Step 2 side FC United of Manchester, and he was to lead Fisher a merry dance all afternoon, with a man of the match performance.
The early pressure all came from the home side, with a succession of balls delivered into the Fisher area. The hosts thought the bombardment paid off on ten minutes when, Javaun Splatt hooked on a header across the box, but as the ball nestled in the back of the net the offside flag was raised. However, with their first chance at goal Fisher took an unexpected lead completely against the run of play. Festos Kamara was fouled on right side and Tom Jones curled in a well flighted free kick that saw Michael Sarpong ghost into the area, beating the Whitstable offside line to neatly volley home unopposed from the edge of the six yard box. That was to be as good as the afternoon got for Fisher though as Whitstable continued a relentless siege on the Fisher penalty area, although some good defending and safe hands from Isaac Ogunseri were just keeping the Oysters at bay.
On the half hour mark the resistance broke. A cross from the right appeared to have gone out of play at the back post but was hooked back across the goal by Splatt for Sithole to bury from close range as Fisher stopped waiting for the flag. Fisher were then almost given the lead back immediately as Kamara chased down a long ball and Colmer’s attempted clearance bounced off him and looped just wide of the unguarded goal. If Fisher had managed to get into the break still level then they may have been able to come up with a plan to counter the hosts dominance, but two minutes before the break Whitstable took the lead as a cross from the right was powerfully met by Splatt at the back post who headed across Ogunseri into the far corner.
Fisher needed something to spark them in the second half and Tyron Mbuenimo almost provided that when sending in a ferocious right footed effort form twenty five yards that Colmer just managed to beat away. However, the usual energetic Fisher press was missing, allowing Whitstable to play from front to back quicky and long and as a promising Fisher attack broke down Whitstable flooded forward allowing Schafer to slip the ball home from ten yards as Fisher were outnumbered at the back.
Good work from Esteban Salgado almost allowed Fisher to halve the deficit as his ball into the box was met by Rafael Garcia but as he went ground the referee waved away appeals for a penalty deciding it was an act of simulation. At the other end there was more certainty about the award of penalty to Whitstable as Crespo clipped a Whitstable heel after another lightning break down the left by Sithole had pulled Fisher out of shape with Schafer stepping up to slam the penalty home and then ten minutes later completed his hat trick by heading home at the back post from yet another fine cross from Sithole.
Stephan Richard Kingson was forced off in the later stages after a collision with Colmer in the Whitstable goal, which left Fisher a man short, having used all of their available substitutes and requiring a lengthy stoppage break of five or more minutes for treatment to both, none of which, curiously, were added on to the game with the final whistle blown at 89 minutes and 45 seconds, not that Fisher were likely to stage any sort of comeback, though the Whitstable bench were rightly vexed and clearly expecting to be able to give few more minutes on the pitch to their late substitutes. A case of a game too far for Fisher’s squad and having put in two tremendous energy sapping performances in the Vase and Londo Cup can be excused this tame exit from the Kent Senior Trophy, albeit against a side that would not out of place two leagues higher in the pyramid.

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