For a game which looked like it might fizzle out before it had even started, this ended up being pretty eventful.
Taking into account the clubs’ respective positions in the SCEFL table prior to kick-off, the neutral would have scrolled through the fixture list and thought ‘oh, just another dead rubber’. How wrong they would have been. This was an incident-packed, end-to-end encounter: 3 red cards (2 for Fisher, the other for Lingfield), a penalty miss per side and a sensational winning goal from midfielder Sam Clements. In the end, the scoreline was just about the only thing that made any sense after a crazy second half.
Fish Boss Dean Harrison gave some of his squad players a chance to prove themselves as he made 8 changes to the side which brushed aside Tunbridge Wells 3-0 on Saturday. Dave Waters, Michael Aziaya and Ikechi Eze were the only players to retain a place in the starting XI.
Despite the unfamiliar line-up, Fisher started well and Frazer Bent’s 7th minute cross found its way to Kieran Scantlebury who missed the target from just inside the penalty area.
Fish goalkeeper Denzel Kobia then got his gloves dirty for the first time in the 13th minute as he pushed away a low drive from winger Harry Sintim before reacting well to save striker Simon Wallace’s shot from the follow-up
The Fish fell behind 30 seconds later when Sintim went on a marauding run down the right-hand side and squared for Wallace to tap into an empty net.
Lingfield doubled their lead on the 18 minute mark and although they scored through a phenomenal strike, Fisher could’ve done more to prevent the chance coming about.
Colin Folkes lost possession in the centre-circle, and a mix-up between Eze and skipper Aaron Seales allowed a cross to fall at the feet of an unmarked Clements, who lashed a half-volley into the top corner from 20 yards.
Wallace thought he had made it 3-0 in the 23rd minute as he sent a shot goalwards from 10 yards, however luckily for Fisher Seales stretched to clear the ball off the line.
2 minutes later, Seales played a long ball over the top for Bent who was taken down by home defender Alfie Dean. It looked as though the foul may have been committed just outside the Lingfield area, but referee Elad Amir awarded Fisher a penalty.
There was an argument between Ashley-Paul Sinclair and Folkes over who would take the spot-kick and Sinclair eventually stepped up but home goalkeeper Callum Hampson made a smart double save to his right, thwarting the midfielder from 12 yards before managing to get a hand on the rebound from the same player.
The miss resulted in a loss of momentum for the away side. They could not string more than a few passes together and were almost punished for their sloppiness in the 42nd minute when Lingfield squandered a golden opportunity to score a third goal.
A superb cross-field pass from midfielder Matt Warren opened up space for Sintim, whose cutback was inexplicably turned wide by Wallace from a yard out.
The Surrey side were rampant and only a last-ditch challenge from Waters denied Sintim a one-on-one chance with Kobia just before half-time.
Dean Harrison rung the changes at the interval, replacing Joe Roche with brother Alfie and bringing on Kieron Campbell in place of Folkes.
The double substitution worked as Fisher looked much better after the break and they felt Lingfield defender Marco Mwanza should’ve been given his marching orders in the first minute of the half after he committed a dangerous, high challenge on Scantlebury.
Campbell’s 54th minute pass then sent Alfie Roche through on goal, and he was unfortunate to be adjudged offside by the finest of margins.
In the 56th minute, the same combination left an onside Roche with just Hampson to beat again, but the midfielder looked on in disbelief as the stopper diverted the ball wide with his fingertips.
When Fisher pulled a goal back in the 62nd minute, they did so with the help of an unlikely source. Kobia provided an assist for Kieron Scantlebury as his long clearance was converted with aplomb by the winger. It was a good spot by the goalkeeper, and an even better finish from Scantlebury whose venomous shot bounced off the right-hand post and the body of Hampson before rolling over the goal line.
Next came a moment of real controversy that set up a frenetic final half-hour as a player from either side was sent off in the 65th minute. On the far side of the pitch, Lingers midfielder Chan Quan kicked out at Fisher’s Besfort Sadiku and saw red for the act of petulance. A scuffle between both sets of players ensued and Quan was heavily involved, provoking what looked like a head-butt from Sadiku – so the Fish player was also dismissed.
Sadiku had to be restrained from Quan as he left the field incensed. The Fish midfielder felt that he was the victim rather than the aggressor, pointing to a split lip as evidence.
This incident made for a spikier affair, and referee Amir did not help to quell tempers by awarding a series of bookings.
First Amir cautioned Michael Aziaya for a 73rd minute challenge on Sintim which looked innocuous and Bent was next to go into the book for a similarly harmless tackle.
Kieron Tarbie then came on in place of Bent, as the Fish employed a 4-3-2 formation with Roche and Scantlebury spearheading the attack.
Scantlebury nearly grabbed an equalizer in the 82nd minute when he gave chase to Campbell’s ball over the top, but Hampson sprinted out of his area to head the ball away from the winger.
The clearance was pumped back into the box with Scantlebury and Roche ready to pounce, yet Amir called for offside.
Both sides had good chances to score as full-time approached. Scantlebury could not organize his body in time to despatch Tarbie’s looping cross at the far post, before Warren blazed a shot well over when unmarked on the edge of the Fisher box.
With gaps appearing all over the pitch, there was always the likelihood that more players could get sent off. The inevitable happened in the second minute of stoppage time when Aziaya saw red for tripping Sintim in the Fisher area.
Lingers captain Alfie Dean has an impeccable record from the spot – he scored 2 penalties against the Fish in the reverse fixture earlier this season – but Kobia guessed correctly to make a great save and saw the loose ball ballooned over by striker Adam Kendric.
The final whistle was blown shortly afterwards, bringing Fisher’s four-match unbeaten run to an end. At least they managed to make a fist of it in the second half here, after a less-than-impressive first half showing.
The Bermondsey side remain in 15th place after a first loss on the road since the 3-0 reverse at Deal Town on March 3rd. Fisher have the chance to get back to winning ways on Saturday when they visit 5th-placed Greenwich Borough.
Fisher: Kobia, Eze, Aziaya, Sadiku, Waters, Seales, Scantlebury, Sinclair, Bent (Tarbie 74), Folkes (Campbell 46), Joe Roche (Alfie Roche 46). Unused Substitute: Wise
