MATCH REPORT: Fisher 2-0 Bearsted

Fisher 2-0 Bearsted
Saturday 8 February 2025
SCEFL Premier Division

Matchball Sponsor: Millwall Community Trust

Attn: 189
Scorers: Kesna Clarke (34 mins), Courtney Barrington (81 mins)

Highlights: Fisher Film Crew – watch here

Fisher returned to winning ways with a well deserved 2-0 victory over surprise league strugglers Bearsted at St Paul’s on a cold and wet afternoon.
With midfield lynchpins Charles Yiadom Konadu and Salim Nassor both absent, Fisher went with a five man midfield and three at the back with Jake Lovell joining Kesna Clarke in a two man attack. However, this afforded Bearsted too much space down the flanks and saw the visitors dominate the early exchanges. Fisher were luck to escape when Palmby rifled the first chance of the game over the bar and Isaac Ogunseri had to be well placed to keep out a well struck free kick, as the visitors continued to probe.
A tactical switch on ten minutes saw Fisher revert to a four man back line but having surrendered the early initiative they still took their time to feel their way back into the game. However, on twenty five minutes Fisher took the lead, with their first real attack of note. Having broken down a Bearsted attack Fisher swept the ball to the left where Courtne Barrington cut inside two men and pushed it inside where the ball passed through several players in a fine move to release Flavio Jumo down the right and his swept in cross allowed Kesna Clarke to bring the ball down with his first touch and swivel and fire home low across the Bearsted keeper with his second for a well-executed goal. Five minutes later Fisher had a great chance to extend their lead with Lovell finding Barrington in space but his shot from just outside the box flew over the bar. It was to be Lovell’s last involvement as he limped off with knee injury to be replaced by Jacob Katonia shortly before the break.
The game really opened up in the second spell with Fisher pushing hard for a second and creating a raft of chances but finding Bearsted’s custodian Frankie Leonard in fine form in goal. Determined pressing from Jack Gibbons. Saw him slip in Katonia, but Leonard read his shot as he opened up and saved low down. The keeper then made an impressive double save denying Clarke in a one on one, after Armani Jordan Martin slipped the forward in, and getting up to block Katina’s effort on the rebound. Fisher’s relentless quest for a second goal was then denied again as Barrington saw his near post effort beaten away for a corner as Black and white shorts queued up in the box for a cut back. When it wasn’t the keeper thwarting the Fish it was the cross bar as Armani Jordan Martin saw his clipped free kick slam off the underside of the bar and bounce awa off the goal line in what was starting to become a frustrating search for the second game to close the game out, more so when Katonia’s snap shot from inside the box rolled just wide of the post with Leonard for once looking beaten. The introduction of Connor French up top for Bearsted showed the danger of relying on the one goal cushion as he flashed a header over the bar in a rare sight of the Fisher goal.
With ten minutes to go Courtney Barrington settled the nerves with a second gaol. Tyron Mbuenimo, who had a fine game at the back, saw his clearing header picked up by Martin who in turn fed Barrington and the striker drive forward before firing off a low shot from twenty yards out which beat Leonard with the help of slight deflection off a Bearsted heel.
Bearsted tried to rally and created two good chances late on – both at the far post – but saw Ogunseri in determined mood to keep his clean sheet and the big keeper saved both well spreading himself to deny Hassan and Darko.
The victory lifts Fisher back into second place in the SCEFL Premier Division table but with no game for fourteen games that could change as the chasing teams play their games in hand.