After the excitement of the second half turnaround three days earlier, Fisher against Corinthian had a lot to live up to in the entertainment stakes on Saturday afternoon.
Somewhat unsurprisingly, with both teams in the middle of two-legged Cup Semi-Final ties, the match was far from an exciting affair.
It took six minutes for Fisher to create a chance, when Jay Garrick got the ball into the box, before seeing his cross deflected behind for a corner, which Corinthian goalkeeper Richard Stroud claimed unchallenged.
Corinthian looked dangerous on the break and opened the scoring in the 14th minute, courtesy of a short range header from an unmarked Peter Afolayan which breezed past the outstretched right arm of Oshane Brown.
Fisher continued to push forward but time and time again failed to retain possession when they got the ball in the box. Corinthian defended well when they were called upon and continued to carry a threat on the break. The visitors could have extended their lead in the 27th minute, but Brown pulled off a good save.
Steven Ita then broke forward but couldn’t find Richard Morgan with a pass in the box and again Corinthian survived the danger. The chances continued to come for Fisher, with Harry Draper heading over an effort from a corner and Jay Garrick firing a tame shot straight at Stroud in the closing stages of the half.
The second half started more brightly for Fisher with Garrick producing an effort within the first two minutes, although it lacked power and was saved by Stroud.
After a rather flat spell where neither side really threatened, Fisher levelled in the 66th minute. A fine example of their trademark fluent passing eventually found captain Danny Maguire who fired home to make it 1-1, much to the delight of the home support.
With both sides looking for a winner, the game started to come to life and both sides started to create chances, and although the game remained rather disjointed, it became a much more watchable affair.
Substitute Piers Hanifan picked up a booking in the last ten minutes for a foul as Corinthian tried to get forward. The resulting free-kick lacked conviction and Brown was able to collect it unchallenged. Corinthian were awarded another free kick, although this one was more controversial, minutes later. This time it caused Fisher problems at the back and left Hoops substitute Oscar Saxton with an easy tap-in which eventually proved to be the visitors winning goal.
Things could have got worse for the Fish when a lazy pass out from Brown lost possession, but luckily he managed to save the resulting shot and then managed to clear the danger properly. The referee finally brought the game to a close with the scores still 2-1 in favour of the visitors.
Fisher: Brown, Damarola (P Hanifan 49), Henry-Brown, Fleming, Francis, Walton, Morgan, Draper (Campbell 69), Garrick, Maguire, Ita (Burrell 75). Unused Subs: Barton, James
Attendance: 72
