Fisher miss out on SCEFL promotion after late VCD Athletic play-off winner
BY MARK DOIG
Dan Bradshaw scored a late winner in the Southern Counties East Football League play-off decider to earn VCD Athletic promotion at the expense of Fisher.
Following Fisher Athletic’s demise, Fisher FC (initially AFC Fisher) was formed in 2009 by the Fisher Supporters Trust. They were accepted into the Kent League, ground sharing at Dulwich Hamlet. They became founder members of the SCEFL Premier Division upon the reorganisation of leagues.
Other than one season in Division One, they have remained there ever since as they have gradually built on their infrastructure, returning to Salter Street, Bermondsey in 2015. This season’s fourth-place finish gave them their first taste of play-off football.
Crayford-based VCD Athletic finished as runners-up in the SCEFL Premier, having been relegated to the league two years ago after losing an inter-league play-off to neighbours Phoenix Sports. They have challenged champions Faversham all the way during the season and finished the season fourteen points above the Fish.
It took the Vickers just six minutes to go ahead when Ollie Freeman squared to Lee Bird and he side-footed it home.
Kesna Clarke had Fisher’s first chance when heading towards the far post, but George Whitelock showed the value of having a defender on the post from a corner, and he rose to nod it away. Former Welling United and Cray Valley PM midfielder, Connor Dymond, did well to win a tackle, hold off his man, and shoot powerfully but Fisher goalkeeper Isaac Ogunseri got behind it and held it well.
Seven minutes before half time, the Fish levelled. Clarke found Flávio Jumo on the edge of the penalty area and he drilled his shot into the bottom corner.
In the second half, and with the wind behind them, the visitors probed for a second goal and Jake Lovell got himself into a good position only to slice his shot wide. However, VCD had their chances too, and were unfortunate when Freeman got on the end of Dymond’s corner only to see it come back out off the crossbar.
Both teams continued to spar for openings without landing a clean punch until the latter stages of the game, when Tyron Mbuenimo drew an excellent block save out of Vickers goalkeeper Andy Walker. Brilliant defending by Dexter Peter then kept Jumo out.
There was one minute left on the clock when Bradshaw won it for the hosts. Bird hit a long-range drive that Ogunseri could only push out, and Bradshaw beat team-mate Francis Babalola to the rebound, and he bundled it home.
As a result, VCD and Phoenix Sports will again swap leagues, while once the disappointment for Ajay Ashanike and his Fisher team subsides, they will be able to look back on a strong campaign and start to build on it.
PICTURES: ALAN COOMBES
