Fisher players and fans, old and new, paid their respects to Paul Collins before kick-off against league leaders Herne Bay. And the Fish could have done with some of Paul’s trademark no-nonsense defending as errors and hesitation at the back allowed Bay to run rampant.
A minute’s silence was held as the club remembered long serving former player Paul Collins, who died last weekend aged just 48, impeccably observed by both sets of supporters. The game started well for the Fish, who had Peter Afolayan back in the starting line-up. Bay pushed forward, but Fisher looked dangerous on the break and were rewarded on five minutes after Afolayan won the ball in the midfield with a strong challenge. Ellis Wilson-Joseph had broken forward and he received the ball and fired at goal. His hot was blocked but it fell to Chris Hubbard who sent a sharp finish past Dan Eason in the Bay goal.
Herne Bay responded by piling on the pressure, and the early cracks were starting to appear in the Fisher defence. Bay hit the post, and then Ben Brown shot wide as the alarm bells began ringing for Fish fans. It wasn’t all one way traffic: Mark Sisson shot wide from a chance on the break, then Hubbard had a shot blocked. But Bay made the breakthrough when a Byron Walker shot from the edge of the box took an awkward bounce in front of Billy Hensman and squirmed past him into the net.
Just a minute later it got worse: confusion at the back saw Hensman clash with a Bay forward and the referee pointed to the spot. Walker made no mistake to put the Bay 2-1 ahead. The pressure continued to come, and Bay hit the post again before Charlie Helps saw a Darren Marsden cross bounce off his shin and past Hensman for the third goal.
Fisher did come back into the game in the closing stages of the first half, with Afolayan and Sisson lively up front. Jamie Turner fizzed a superb free-kick across the box but Ken Jarrett-Elliott’s header went wide.
The second period was dominated by Herne Bay, and Walker completed his hat-trick as he slotted home from an unopposed cross from Marsden, although there was more than a hint of offside as the ball was played through to Marsden. Walker, who was the outstanding player on the pitch and has apparently been the subject of much transfer interest this week, grabbed a fourth on 66 minutes after a Helps slip and the Fish faithful were grateful to see him substituted shortly afterwards.
With the game gone, the Fish played some decent stuff towards the end but this was a comprehensive defeat, albeit against a team who are clearly the class of the division. Bay received bad news this week with the withdrawal of sponsorship from Safety Net Associates, but their team have bonded together in adversity and for as long as that continues they will be very difficult to beat this season.
The Fish have a Saturday off from competitive action next week, giving Steve Firkins and his coaching team the chance to try and reverse the recent poor form before we face Erith Town at Champion Hill on December 10th.
Fisher: Hensman, Demetrius, Tipple, Wilson-Joseph, Jarrett-Elliott, Helps, Monan, Turner, Sisson (Humphris 70), Afolayan (Hunt 68), Hubbard (Bell 68). Unused Subs: Taylor, Walton
Attendance: 116
