MATCH REPORT: Fisher 0-1 Lordswood

Fisher 0-1 Lordswood
Saturday 28 October
SCEFL Premier Division

Match Sponsors: CVH Accountants – www.cvhaccountants.co.uk
Matchball Sponsors: Millwall Community Trust

Attn: 166
Photo Credit: Angie Monid

Fisher lost their unbeaten home league record after a subdued performance on a dank Autumnal afternoon, conceding a second half penalty which saw them slip to a 1-0 defeat against Lordswood.
Fisher welcomed back Mark Chidi after injury and Bily Brown, returning on the wing, with Jospeh Koroma and Jojo Kinzonzi also both added to the starting line up as attacking options. However, the front play lacked any bite as Fisher rarely tested the visiting keeper through a frustrating ninety minutes.
Fisher moved the ball around well in the opening exchanges, with Charles Yiadom-Konadu, as usual at the heart of most interplay, linking well with Billy Brown. An early cross from Brown saw Thomas Ngegba head wide.
Lordswood had the ball in the Fisher net with their first real sight of goal, but a flag was up for offside well before the shot came in, as the Fisher back line moved up well after clearing a corner. From Lordswood’s next chance a fantastic save from Arthur Leblond, on his home debut, denied hotshot James Jeffery, with a strong hand low to his left keeping out the seemingly goal bound shot. Fisher almost conspired to waste his efforts though, as immediately a misplaced clearance from the rebound gave Lordswood a second chance at goal, but the effort went wide.
With Fisher struggling to find any decent delivery into the box or get their wingers high enough up the field to threaten, chances became few and far between and Lordswood looked the more likely to break the deadlock. A wild shot from a promising position for the visitors cleared the Dockers Stand by some distance and some scrambled Fisher defending was needed to clear a corner as the game headed into the break still goalless.
The second spell again saw the visitors denied by an offside flag as they overplayed in a break on goal, with Quadri Green, one on one with Leblond, opting to lay it wide for Jeffrey to slip the ball into the empty net, rather than shooting himself and in doing so played his strike partner offside.
Fisher seemed to heed the let off as a warning and upped their play a little forcing a couple of corners of their own with the introduction of Flavio Jumo giving more drive from midfield and Teddy Jones coming on to give more creativity on the left. However, the spell of Fisher pressure only produced a few corners and Thomas Crump in the Lordswood goal claimed most deliveries with authority and was rarely needed for any shot saving.
Midway through the half Lordswood finally opened the scoring as Luke Thomas got caught out trying to shield the ball out of play and in trying to recover tripped the Lordswood forward as he made his way along the byline into the box. James Jeffrery sent the resulting spot kick straight down the middle once Leblond had dived for his fifteenth goal of the season – what Fisher would do for such a marksman. With this being the third time, this season, Fisher have needlessly conceded whilst failing to shield a ball out of play, a trait also seen last season, it really is time they just conceded a throw and reset in such situations.
Lordswood managed the remaining twenty five minutes or so well, though Fisher may feel that some darker arts of shirt-pulling and time-wasting were rather leniently treated. In truth though as much as they huffed and puffed Fisher never really looked like getting back into the game with little in the way of clear cut chances created, bar a few over hit crosses. Tyron Mbuenimo worked tirelessly in midfield trying to keep Fisher on the front foot, but it was in vain as Lordswood had clearly done their homework and doubling up on Yiadom-Konadu ensured the midfield play maker had little space in which to operate thus cutting off Fisher’s supply to goal.
Kevin Toualeu and Inesh Sumithran came on as late substitutes as Fisher legs tired but could not influence the result as Fisher slipped to seventh in table losing ground on the division pace setters for the play off positions, with on paper some tricky games to come against Corinthian, Erith Town and Whitstable Town. They have chance to find from with a League Cup trip to Holmesdale on Tuesday night.