Southern Counties East Football League

The Fish got back to winning ways on Saturday with 3 well earned points against a strong Lordswood side at Champion Hill.
Both sides had there share of chances but a wind assisted corner from Harry Bugden created the only goal of the game in the 24th minute, with Frazer Bent being credited for getting the ball over the line.
Lordswood’s chances were limited by a makeshift Fisher back line with new signing Jeff Allen stepping in to allow Rob Curtis to take a more central role. Deshane Dalling (the other debutant in the Fisher line up) also impressed the crowd, showing a good level of creativity and ability in midfield.
In second half, with the wind behind Lordswood, the visitors broke forward and on a few occasions. The travelling ‘Wood fans felt certain their side should have been awarded a penalty after a rather clumsy challenge from Rob Curtis. The referee deemed the foul to be outside the box and the resulting free kick sailed over Joel Hannington’s crossbar.
Alfie Roche was introduced in place of Danny McKone just before the hour mark as Dean Harrison looked to freshen things up in midfield. Fisher’s chances always looked the more threatening, with a superb weaving run from Frazer Bent almost allowing returning Luke Haidarovic a simple tap in, but for a well timed save from Ryan Nicholls.
Looking to maintain the slim lead, Reion McFarlane replaced Frazer Bent to shore up the defensive third. Minutes later Haidarovic ripped the Lordswood back line apart again just before the 80 minute mark, and again Nicholls spared his team-mates blushes with a good save before pushing Dalling’s rebound away.
The Fish then made their final change, with Shelton Gooden replacing Deshane Dalling for the last ten minutes. Gooden worked hard to try to get the ball through to forwards although his efforts were cut out as Lordswood switched to a more direct style. The final whistle eventually arrived at 4.53, securing a valuable three points.
The result sees the Fish move in to 14th place on 28 points (level with the four sides above them) in an ever tightening SCEFL league table.