MATCH REPORT: Fisher 3-1 Tunbridge Wells

Fisher 3-1Tunbridge Wells
Tuesday 24 September 2024
SCEFL Premier Division

Match Sponsors: Critical Research
Matchball Sponsor: Millwall Community Trust

Attn: 188
Scorers: Diego Maseka (16 mins), Armani-Jordan Martin (pen 40 mins), Salim Nassor (90+3mins)

Goal Footage: Fisher Film Crew – Here
Photo Credit: Dave Anderson – Full Album

Fisher moved up to sixth place in the SCEFL Premier Division table after a fine 3-1 victory over an in form Tunbridge Wells side under the floodlights at St Paul’s.
Jack Gibbons, Ed Sata and Jake Lovell all returned to the starting line up after missing Saturday’s cup win over Elmstead, with Billy Brown taking a well-earned rest on the substitutes bench, demonstrating the current strength in depth of the Fisher squad.
A well matched opening to the game saw both sides looking to attack, and whilst Fisher looked the more promising, forcing some early corners, it took a good tackle by Ange Djadja to stop Tunbridge’s dangerous wide man, Festus Kamara, from getting his shot away, as he broke into the box. However, Jack Gibbons saw an early volley fly just over the bar and Courtney Barrington started to find good space on the left flank as Fisher looked take the upper hand.
On sixteen minutes the opening goal arrived. Barrington’s good work down the left won a corner and Armani-Jordan Martin’s flighted delivery was met by Diego Makesa’s glanced header, which just crossed the line before the defender could hack it away. An eagle eyed assistant referee spotted it had crossed the line and the goal was awarded. However, Fisher’s lead was to last barely three minutes, after the ball was lost deep in the Fisher half and Reagan Corke was able to square the ball for Festus Kamara to tap home from close range and level the game up.
Whilst both sides continued to attack, clear sights of goal were few and far between. Djadja, headed over at the back post from another great delivery by Armani-Jordan Martin, but it wasn’t until six minutes before half time there was a further goal. Some good Fisher pressure, found Makesa in the penalty area and in trying to make space for a shot he had his leg clipped by a defender for a clear penalty. Armani-Jordan Martin stepped up and confidently sent the keeper the wrong way to put Fisher back in front.
The second half saw both defences come out on top and neither side were able to get close to goal despite some impressive build up play from both. For Fisher Ange Djadja and Mayvin Vigneswaran both excelled at the heart of the defence as Tunbridge Wells pushed hard for an equaliser. As the half wore on the Fisher back line came under increasing pressure, with the ball spending a lot of time in Fisher’s defensive third. Fisher defended superbly though, getting a head on to everything thrown into the box and some thunderous clearances sending the ball far into the other half, but a failure to hold the ball up higher up the field meant it kept coming back. With ten minutes remaining goalkeeper Isaac Ogunseri made an excellent block at his near post to deny what looked like a certain equaliser, before gratefully catching the rebound.
Fisher continued to repel everything Wells threw at them, with some determined defending, and as the game moved into added on time, they made the game safe by adding a third. If some off the play in the second half could be described as ‘winning a game ugly’ the goal that wrapped the game up was a thing of voluptuous beauty. Courtney Barrington picked the ball up on the left flank having been fed by Ed Sata and coming in off the flank sent over a delightful cross-field pass, evading the left back and falling into the path of substitute Halim Bakre. His pace and power took him inside his marker and allowed him to send in a low pass across the edge of the penalty area where Barrington had reappeared, but rather than take on a difficult shot he sold the perfect dummy to the defence, stepping over the ball allowing it to travel further across the area where Salim Nassor was on hand to elegantly sweep the ball beyond the keeper’s reach curling into the far corner of the goal. The goal sparked great scenes between the players and the assembled crowd in the Dockers End who had appreciated the gutsy performance from the squad.