After comfortably beating Seaford Town in the FA Vase, Fisher recorded back to back wins for the first time since November 2013 when they travelled to Sevenoaks Town on Saturday.
Fisher’s preparations for the game indicated a competitive match was on the cards when they announced the return of defender Cedric Abraham, and although the imposing defender only made the bench, he made a fantastic contribution to the game when he came on and proved the Fish were right to bring him back.
A once again new-look Sevenoaks side (featuring four ex-Fish) enjoyed a bright start but Fisher looked composed at the back and managed to deal with what threat the Oaks provided. At the other end, Junior James and Kieron Campbell began to cause problems for the hosts early on. Harvey Hanifan enjoyed a solid display at right back, cutting out several dangerous looking breaks and making numerous well timed blocks.
Fisher grabbed the only goal of the game after just 16 minutes. Sevenoaks failed to deal with a corner and the ball fell perfectly for Campbell who volleyed home from the edge of the box. Sevenoaks’ goalkeeper Luke Rankin injured himself attempting to save the shot when he collided with his post but was, luckily for the hosts, able to continue.
As the half went on, play became much more scrappy with a few players from both sides guilty of unnecessary fouls. Billy Walton picked up an injury which saw him needing to be replaced in the heart of the Fish backline, which gifted Abraham a chance to make his second Fish debut. He had an instant impact, and limited Sevenoaks well as they tried to get forward. What looked like a fair challenge in which he had won the ball, Abraham was booked which saw the already tense atmosphere become more heated.
Although the Oaks did create some chances, a commanding display from Adam Highsted ensured there was no danger of Fisher relinquishing their lead. In particular the in-form keeper made two saves from Damien Ramsamy, who was consistently the hosts’ most dangerous attacking threat.
As Fisher went in hunt of a second goal, Junior James was taken down just outside the box by Timi Osibody. The foul, which could easily have resulted in a red card, saw the left back booked. Fisher couldn’t take advantage of the resulting free kick and the scores remained at 1-0 going in to the half time break.
The second half saw both sides go out in hunt for goals, and it was Fisher that created the better of the chances. Mark Chiverton, Junior James and Kieron Campbell all continued to ask questions of the Sevenoaks back line (which included the vastly experienced Ben Judge) and it was only though some errant passing and a few saves from Rankin that Fisher couldn’t add to their lead.
Sevenoaks began to run out of ideas as the game entered its final stages, and threw on well-travelled veteran Andy Constable in search of an equaliser, former Fish Luke Coleman being replaced after playing in an unfamiliar withdrawn role behind the strikers. Constable wasn’t given the service he required and had little to no effect in the time he was on the pitch. The same can be said for fellow substitute Stephen Camacho, who struggled to get into the game when he was introduced.
Fisher’s substitute was a little more active. Troy Abbey was introduced, seemingly in an attempt to seal the win with another goal. Abbey caused problems late on but saw two similar efforts scamper narrowly wide of the target.
As the final whistle finally sounded just before 5PM, Fisher were finally able to celebrate a well-deserved three points which sees them move into 17th place in the SCEFL table with 11 points.
Fisher: Highsted, H Hanifan, Webber, McGeehan, Walton (Abraham 33), Oshilaja, Campbell, Uings, Chiverton (Abbey 84), James (P Hanifan 90), Rothwell. Unused Subs: Bell, Roche
