A dominant first half performance against Rusthall, paved the way for Fisher to ease to their fourth league win of the season and pull two points clear at the top of the SCEFL Premier Division.
Changes to the side after Monday’s draw with Glebe were required, with Luke Thomas away and injury ruling out Julian Kuhr, giving an opportunity for a first start of the season to Andres Tobon and a return to the starting line up to Tyron Mbuenimo.
Fisher started very positively with Charles Yiadom-Konadu in tantalising form, eager to get on the ball and gliding his way through the midfield. Clever footwork from the midfield maestro earned Fisher an early free kick just outside the area, but the effort was charged down by the Rustics wall.
Fisher did not have to wait long though for a breakthrough, as on eight minutes a loose Rusthall pass was picked off by the pressing of Yiadom-Konadu and he fed Manny Shoderu, who in turn slipped the ball into the path of Andre Tobon, overlapping on the left, who managed to force his way into the box and shot low and hard across former Fish Tommy Taylor, in the Rusthall goal, to tuck the ball into the far corner.
Taylor was by far the busier of the keepers and he pulled off a magnificent fingertip save to just push the ball onto the bar from a pile driver twenty yards out from Yiadom-Konadu, after he had made space for the shot with a sublime drop of the shoulder.
A moment of sloppiness at the back gifted Rusthall a half chance, but Justice Owusu pushed the powerful shot away for corner, before Fisher very quickly put themselves back on the front foot as Eniye Amgbaduba saw a blistering volley from outside the box just fly over the bar.
Just past the half hour mark Fisher doubled their advantage. Andres Tobon was again slipped in down the left and drawing Taylor out of his goal he tucked the ball back to Charles Yaidom-Konadu who swept the ball past the covering defenders into the far side of the goal.
Minutes later things got worse for the visitors as Jojo Kinzonzi looked to break clear down the right and was upended by an unwise challenge leaving the referee with a decision to make as to whether it had denied a goalscoring opportunity. After consultation with his assistant, he decided it had, and sent off the Rusthall defender amidst much protest from his fellow players.
Rusthall were finding Yaidom-Kondau almost impossible to play against and another dangerous free kick saw Taylor shovel the low effort onto his post whereupon he gratefully grabbed it as it bounced back towards him.
Shortly before the break Fisher almost added a third as some quick one touch passing down the left saw Amgbaduba just fail to get his shot away when teed up in the box.
After the scintillating first half performance, Fisher took their foot of the gas in the second spell and whilst dominating possession became a little aimless and lacked forward movement. With the players unaccustomed to the warmer weather a ten minute spell resembled walking football rather than the usual intensity of SCEFL action.
Fisher were made to play for their lethargy midway through the half when a needlessly given away free kick was then carelessly headed out for a corner under no pressure and the resulting deep delivery form another former Fish, Tariq Ibrahim, was bundled home at the back post by Callum Taylor to give Rusthall an unexpected glimmer of hope.
The goal woke Fisher up from their stupor, helped by the industry of substitutes Billy Brown and Brandy Makuendi and they upped the tempo and pushed for a third goal.
It came ten minutes from time when Billy Brown was played in by Ezekiel Miller and in a move similar to Gazza’s against Scotland in the nineties, he lifted the ball over his marker before calmly slipping it past Taylor.
Jamie Brown, Inesh Sumithran and Thomas Ngegba were all introduced off the bench and Ngegba almost added a fourth when the ball to fell to him from a corner, but his snatched effort just went wide of the post.
Sumithran and Brown both sent over dangerous balls late on, but no one could quite get on the end of them and the match ended without any further chances.
Fisher will now face their sternest test of the season when they travel to meet many peoples title favourites in big spending Faversham Town next week, but if they can repeat the flowing football of the first forty five minutes today they may well be up to it.
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