The Fish celebrated this year’s Community Day in style with a thumping 4-0 win over Deal Town.
Debutant Billy Hensman excelled in goal, and strikes from Adam Wadmore, Danny Hunt, Danny Tipple and Jamie Turner saw Fisher move up to 3rd in the Kent Hurlimann Football League table. A bumper crowd of 152 witnessed the action as the Fish held our second annual Community Day and took part in Kick It Out‘s weeks of action.
With Danny Firkins out for at least 8 weeks with a broken finger, Steve Firkins handed 16 year old goalkeeper Billy Hensman his debut while Chan Quan started on the right with Nathaniel Bell supporting Danny Hunt up front. The Fish dominated the game from the opening kick off, and should have taken the lead 14 minutes into the game when Hunt found himself in a one-on-one with Deal keeper Brett Mills, but Mills went down smartly at the keeper’s feet to save.
The Fish got a goal just a minute later, as Mills missed an inswinging Danny Tipple corner, and Adam Wadmore was free to send a thumping header into the net. It could have been two as the lively Quan sent a diving header just wide after fantastic work on the right from Bell.
Bell menaced the Deal defence all afternoon until forced off by a knock, and he played a key part in creating the second Fisher goal on 26 minutes as again he jinked past a defender to deliver a fine low cross that was controlled well and tucked away by Hunt from the edge of the six yard box.
Hensman was called into action shortly afterwards, as first he made a smart save at the foot of the post and then bettered that stop with an acrobatic tip over the bar to keep out a fierce drive – a fantastic save, and an important one as Deal were looking for a way back into the game. Finding that route back got distinctly tougher for Deal just after the half hour mark, as left–back Ian Wallace clashed with Ken Jarrett-Elliott in the Fisher box. With Jarrett-Elliott felled, the referee consulted his assistant who confirmed that an arm had been raised, and Wallace saw a red card.
Fisher continued to create chances, and Ellis Wilson-Joseph got on the end of yet another Bell cross, but he could only direct the bouncing ball over the bar from a couple of yards out. Just before half-time, the Fish did score a third. Tipple, who stayed on the right after taking a corner, received the ball 40 yards from goal. Sensing an opportunity to drive forward, he cut inside and unleashed a fierce and unstoppable 30 yard drive to score a clear candidate for goal of the season.
The second half was one way traffic as Fisher’s trademark possession football allowed them to take advantage of the space offered by the extra man. When Hunt was pulled back in the box as he attempted to break through on goal, the Fish were awarded a penalty and Jamie Turner once again made no mistake to put the Fish four goals up.
Hunt, looking back to full fitness, continued to attack the Deal defence, and he created a great chance for Quan who stabbed just wide with the goal at his mercy. There were to be no more goals for the Fish, but a display of high quality attacking football sent the crowd home happy and with results elsewhere going in our favour Fisher move up to third place in the Kent Hurlimann Football League table.
The league takes a back seat for the next few weeks, as Fisher face Bethnal Green United in the London Senior Cup a week on Monday and then a two-legged Kent League Cup tie against Canterbury City with the first leg at Champion Hill on Saturday 29th October.
Fisher: Hensman, Banton, Tipple, Wilson-Joseph (Bangura 69), Jarrett-Elliott, Wadmore, Demetrius, Turner (Monan 60), Quan, Hunt, Bell (Taylor 55)
Attendance: 152
