Match Report: Fisher 2-1 K Sports

Fisher 2-1 K Sports
Saturday 19 November 2022
SCEFL Premier Division

Scorers: Luke With (60 mins), Luke Thomas (88 mins)
Attn: 187

Photo credit: Dave Anderson https://www.flickr.com/photos/brockleylion/albums/72177720303826421

Fisher picked up three very valuable league points with battling win after a feisty encounter against K Sports at St Paul’s.
A tight opening saw few clear cut chances though Fisher were playing with plenty of attacking intent and Luke With was thwarted a couple of times by offside flags when fed through by Michael Sarpong. The game’s first real chance saw the K Sports keeper save well from Darnelle Bailey-King’s powerful shot after he had outsprinted his marker down the right. Shortly after Fisher cam even closer when Michael Sarpong rifled back a half cleared ball but the keeper managed to tip the rising effort over the bar. Shortly before half time Bailey-King saw a curled effort just pass over the bar but the deadlock remained despite the Fisher defence being relatively untroubled.
The second half saw the game come to life when Manny Shoderu received a red card for an innocuous looking tackle well inside the K Sports half, in competing for a loose ball. However, as has been the case in most games were Fisher have been reduced to ten the extra space in midfield allowed quicker movement of the ball and saw Fisher play better football. In particular this brought Lewis Duberry and Billy Brown onto the game far more.
The tension stepped up a notch when Luke With was felled in a very similar tackle to Shoderu’s but the K sports defender received only a yellow card, but the assistant manager picked himself up after treatment and minutes later provided the opening goal. A surging run by Billy Brown down the right flank saw him a race to keep the ball in play and pulling it back from the by line his delivery found With to sweep the ball in off the near post to give Fisher a sixtieth minute lead.
With was then replaced by Henry Adeniran, who in a five minute cameo before he had to be carried off, rifled in a powerful drive that just flew over the bar and then powered into the K Sports box before being felled with the referee frustrating the Dockers Ed by pointing for a goal kick when all the indicators were the decision had to be a corner if the ball was played or a penalty if Adeniran got the touch. Either way the exciting young striker was left in heap by the fence and his brief appearance in the game was at and end with Isaac Thompson on return from his own injury troubles coming on.
Fisher continued to push on eager to not fall into the trap of sitting deep to protect the lead as they did against Jersey in the Vase, with Duberry, in particular, keeping the side in the front foot with some powerful running at the heart of the k Sports defence.
With eighty minutes on the clock, Bailey- King chased a ball forward but his attempt to nick the ball off the last defender saw him pick up a knock that required extensive treatment and has he too hobbled off and Fisher preparing to bring on a further substitute K Sports found space to equalise as the ball was moved well from left to right and with the nine men unable to cover all the forwards the experienced Luke Medley slipped the ball past Owusu from the right channel of the penalty area.
Fisher may well at this point of settled for a point, but in a tactical masterstroke manager Ajay Ashanike pushed his team on for the win and the tactic paid off when with two minutes of time left, having tracked back to tackle the K Sports full back as he advanced into the Fisher half, Billy Brown won the ball and set off on a surging run down the right, a quick interchange of passes with Thompson saw the ball fed into the path of Luke Thomas and the saw somewhat unusual sight of the skipper surging in the box and planting his shot into the far corner of the net for a sublime goal, sparking mayhem in the Dockers End.
With six minutes of added time put up on the board Fisher then had to dig deep but with Duberry always taking the pressure off the back four with his excellent distribution and ball carrying capping an impressive display and seeing Fisher home with little alarm.