MATCH REPORT: Fisher 3-1 Lordswood

Fisher 3-1 Lordswood
Saturday 29 March 2025
SCEFL Premier Division

Matchball Sponsor: Millwall Community Trust

Attn: 204
Scorers: Jack Gibbons (4 min), Kesna Clarke (36 mins), Billy Brown (86 mins)

Goal Highlights: Fisher Film Crew – watch here
Photo Credit: Dave Anderson – full album here

Fisher climbed back up to fourth spot after taking all three points against relegation threatened Lordswood as the SCEFL Premier Division play-off race moves towards a thrilling conclusion. With manager Ajay Ashanike serving a one match ground suspension for picking up three cautions, Assistant Manager, Luke With, oversaw the side which included returnee Conor Darwish at left back and new signing Siao Blackwood debuting on a bench that was boosted by the welcomed return of Billy Brown after a five month absence.
Fisher started the game strongly and inside four minutes had the lead. Right back Jack Gibbons swapped passes with Flavio Jumo from a throw in and slipped past the first tackle with a path into the area opening up for him. The skipper had no hesitation in driving into the box evading two more tackles with a quick drop of the shoulder and firing low shot across keeper Aarron Wharton Lee, which nestled just inside the far post.
Hopes that the goal would settle Fisher and lead to a comprehensive win were dashed just three minutes later as a long ball smashed out of the Lordswood defence saw former Fisher forward Tunde Aderonmu, looking suspiciously offside, race clear from halfway and instinctively lift a perfectly executed lob from wide on the right thirty five yards out, leaving the back peddling Isaac Ogunseri no chance of keeping it out the net. Aderonmu was a handful throughout the first half and only a smart grab from a low save by Ogunseri stopped him adding a second, after a low free kick was rifled under the wall. In the main though Fisher handled the route one football well, despite being frustrated by some curious fouls being called against them as they competed for the aerial duals.
With the game getting scrappier, Fisher really needed to get the ball down and play and finally started doing this in the final stages of the half, culminating in a fine move to retake the lead. Fisher switched the ball from left to right, passing it through several players before feeding Jake Lovell on the touchline. He burst past his marker and with the byline approaching swept over a fine low cross which Kesna Clarke showed speed and determination to get on the end of ahead of his marker and tuck the ball home with a first time strike, for his fourteenth goal in twenty eight games.
The second half was tight affair, with Lordswood desperate for points, throwing players forward and Fisher keen to hang on to their lead. Jack Lovell saw a curled effort just rise over the top corner after Barrington and Clarke had worked well to tee him up in Fisher’s best moment. The need for a third goal was evident as Lordswood pushed on. A free kick crashed off the corner of the goal frame with the follow up chance squandered, and a back post header was placed into the side netting when a lot of goal looked available, as Fisher were penned back. Fortunately, Fisher had strength on the bench and the introduction of Tyron Mbuenimo and Siao Blackwood for the impressive Salim Nassor and Jake Lovell kept Fisher resilient.
It was Billy Brown who was to steal the plaudits through. Answering an SOS call to join the bench, despite not having kicked ball for five months while he supported his partner through severe illness. He celebrated the good news of her improving prognosis with a goal inside four minutes of his introduction. Some sustained Fisher pressure saw him pick the ball up in the D of the penalty area and he carried it wide where from an improbable angle he drove it low across the keeper, where in similar fashion to the opener it nestled in at the far post. St Paul’s erupted, as Brown was mobbed by his delighted teammates for one of the most emotional goals seen at the ground. The points were in the bag and Fisher played out the remaining minutes with little alarm to set up a thrilling last month of the season.