Fisher 1-3 Bethnal Green United - We didn't perform on the night, admits Steve Firkins

FISHER  1-3  BETHNAL GREEN UNITED
London Senior Cup (Sponsored by Coventry Scaffolding) Second Round
Monday 24^th October 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Champion Hill Stadium

GOALKEEPER Nic Taylor’s future at Fisher remains uncertain after he was red-carded sixty minutes into his debut for swearing and allegedly spitting at an assistant referee as he contested Bethnal Green’s controversial third goal during tonight’s London Senior Cup tie at Champion Hill.


Bethnal Green, in sixth place in the Essex Senior League, booked a trip to Kent Hurlimann Football League side Beckenham Town in the third round with a 3-1 win over Fisher, who scored a consolation through influential skipper Jamie Turner with virtually the last kick of the game.

The Mile End based visitors’ opened the scoring through Jack Sawyer’s quality curling free-kick in the 33^rd minute before Ainsley Gasper punished some woeful Fisher defending four minutes before the break.

But the flashpoint came on the hour mark when Gasper (who appeared offside) latched onto a through ball and chipped the ball over keeper Taylor, who is on a dual-registration with Ryman League club Kingstonian, and the keeper was obviously angered by the decision to award the goal as Acton based assistant referee Raddius Reynolds came under attack, claiming in the boardroom afterwards that the 20-year-old goalkeeper swore at him and “spat” at him.

When asked his views on the alleged spitting incident, Fisher boss Steve Firkins said: “At the time I was in with the physio and Frankie (Warren), he’s got really bad concussion at the moment and we was trying to convince him to go to the hospital.

“We had the paramedics have a look at him and advised him to go to the hospital but he wouldn’t go.

“I heard a bit of a shout and I went out there and the next thing I know Nicky Taylor’s swearing and carrying on.  I said ‘what’s happened?’ and he said, ‘I’ve been sent off!”

“I was going to speak to the referee but to be honest it ain’t worth it!  Jamie (Turner) said to me earlier on he (referee Peter Crichlow) didn’t want to speak to the players.  It’s pointless me going arguing to ask him what happened.”

Taylor insisted afterwards that he didn’t spit at Mr Reynolds, who counter-claimed the keeper by saying that he twice swore at him and that he “spat at me.”

Firkins claimed: “I can’t comment because I weren’t in here (the technical area) but Mark Sisson was warming up along by the linesman.  He said ‘he’s (Taylor) turned round and he’s spat on the floor.  He was nowhere near the linesman when he done it.’

“I wasn’t too happy.  I heard a few comments down the line a few times from the officials and I thought it was a bit strange.  The FA go on about this respect and all that but these people have got to show a bit of respect to the players, they’re human beings after all.”

Firkins also complained about the performance from the match officials.

He said: “It was very frustrating and they (my players) were saying at half-time about the officials.  I did say to the lads’ about the officials ‘just don’t talk to them if you’re not going to get a decent response’.

When asked whether Taylor, if found guilty of such a vile act which in my opinion should carry a LIFE-TIME BAN for the offender, will ever play for the club again, Firkins replied, “I’d like to see the referee’s report.  I’ll have to speak to anybody in our management upstairs to see what went on and we’ll take it from there, but I can’t comment on the lad because I weren’t in here at the time.”

Firkins was clearly hurt by his side’s poor performance, which only perked up after Taylor’s red-card and central defender Adam Wadmore bravely took the green goalkeeper’s jersey for the remaining half-an-hour.

Fisher created the first chance inside the opening four minutes when Turner’s low right-footed drive from 30-yards forced visiting keeper Pape Ndiaye-Diagne into making a low save to his right.

Taylor, who was drafted in from Kingstonian as Fisher are currently having a goalkeeping crisis with injuries to Danny Firkins (hand) and Billy Hensman (foot ligament damage), was relieved to make a ninth minute save.

Paul Burnett floated in a free-kick from the right and a glancing header from just two-yards out by striker Danny Gabriel denied the east Londoners the lead as the keeper made a crucial low save.

Fisher’s next chance arrived when they caught their visitors’ on the break as Turner released Danny Tipple through on goal but the left-back turned left-winger saw his attempted left-footed lob from 12-yards caught by the visiting keeper.

Bethnal Green issued Fisher a warning when Gasper drilled the ball from right to left to pick out an unmarked Ben Protheroe, who flashed a left-footed drive just past the near post from 30-yards.

Turner almost embarrassed Ndiaye-Diagne when he noticed the keeper had left a gaping hole at the near post, so he tried his luck with a right-footed free-kick from 40-yards, which caressed the side-netting.

But two goals in eight devastating minutes ended Fisher’s hopes of sealing a trip to bitter-rivals Beckenham Town in the next round.

Faced with a three-man wall, Bethnal Green right-back Sawyer whipped a right-footed free-kick over the wall and into the top near corner with devastating affect from 20-yards, the corner of the penalty area.

“I felt it was a soft free-kick.  Give the lad he’s due, he’s scored a decent free-kick,” said Firkins.

And Firkins was bitterly disappointed in the manner that Bethnal Green doubled their advantage.

Junior Appiah cross from the right was inexplicably headed back onto his own crossbar by Fisher central defender Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott and the defence failed to react as the ball bounced down and Gasper nodded the ball in off the near post and into the net.

Firkins said: “Again, we had one similar like that, I think, against Erith & Belvedere at the start of the season.  Again, lessons ain’t learned! If the ball’s still around your area you still have to defend and we haven’t done that.  The lad’s seen it come back, he’s reacted quicker and knocked it in!

“I actually thought it went in the side netting and I realised what had happened but it was a poor goal.

“As far as I’m concerned the strike was good without a doubt but I thought the build-up to it, the free-kick was poor on our part. We shouldn’t have given away a cheap free-kick and then the second goal we haven’t defended it!”

Fisher were facing an uphill struggle and they lost Frankie Warren through concussion at the interval and Bethnal Green, who were wearing squad numbers, almost increased their lead further within 100 seconds of the restart.

Burnett exchanged a slick one-two with the impressive Gasper (a striker wearing the number six shirt) but he was denied by Taylor, who palmed the ball away to his right, as he drilled his shot across the keeper from just inside the six-yard box.

Fisher’s six-goal striker, Danny Hunt, was denied by the visiting keeper after Tipple drove the ball across the face of goal and substitute Ellis Wilson-Joseph carved open the chance for Hunt 20-yards from goal.

But Bethnal Green snatched a third on the hour-mark when Protheroe’s delightful through ball released the impressive Gasper through on goal and as Taylor advanced the striker chipped the ball into an empty net with his right-foot.

Faced with a defender in goal, Bethnal Green, took their foot off the gas, but Wadmore caught shots from outside of the penalty area by Protheroe and substitute striker Anton Stephenson, who brought disgrace to himself when he allegedly spat at Ashford-based referee Jonathan Stone after getting sent off for swearing whilst playing for Sevenoaks Town against Beckenham Town back in March 2009. 

Stephenson was fined £150 by the Kent County Football Association and collected a 35-day ban for the red-card offence, followed by a 182 day ban for the sickening offence.

Fisher rallied following the introduction of substitute Richie Monan and Turner’s right-footed swerving free-kick from 30-yards was blocked by Ndiaye-Diagne’s body before the ball was hacked clear by central defender Jay Leader, tidying up.

Turner then turned provider when he delivered one of Fisher’s fifteen corners but Hunt planted his header over when left unmarked at the near post.

As the game turned into stoppage time, Mark Sisson hooked the ball over after Monan knocked down Chan Quan’s right-wing cross, before Monan curled a right-footed shot over from 25-yards and Hunt’s right-footed rasping drive stung the keeper’s fingers.

Fisher pulled a goal back with virtually the last kick of the game through Turner’s ninth goal of the season, a right-footed drive from 25-yards beating Ndiaye-Diagne, proving to be a last-gasp consolation.

Firkins said: “It was a good strike.  He can hit a ball Jamie and at the moment he’s been probably our best player but we’ve just said in the changing room, there’s some more that have to step up to the plate.  We feel there’s a few of the lads’ not pulling their weight and if we have to make changes we will!”

Firkins admitted his side lacked the spark that they generally play with.

He said: “Not a lot to say really, never got at them.  I thought we played better when we went down to ten-men last 20 minutes.  We gave the ball away too cheap, players’ didn’t do what they were asked to do. 

“Bill (Walton, my assistant manager) said to me in the changing room, he said’ there’s a little bit of spark missing there tonight.’

“I don’t know what it was but we just never really got going.

“We bang on at them every week, we’ve started getting players coming back from injury, but it shouldn’t be complacency,” Firkins added.

“It’s something that we try to drive out with the threat of changes if people are not doing their job and I think we have to do that Saturday as well.”

Firkins added: “Good luck to Bethnal Green, they’re not a bad little side.  At the end of the day they took their chances and we didn’t perform on the day.  It’s as simple as that!  We’ve got no excuses.  We didn’t perform on the night.  Good luck to Bethnal Green in the next round.”

Fisher: Nic Taylor, Micah Banton, Danny Tipple (Richie Monan 74), Frankie Warren (Ellis Wilson-Joseph 46), Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott, Adam Wadmore, Chan Quan, Jamie Turner, Nathaniel Bell (Mark Sisson 68), Danny Hunt, Kyle Demetrius.
Subs: Jamie Taylor, Chris Hubbard

Goal: Jamie Turner 90

Sent Off: Nic Taylor 60

Bethnal Green United: Papa Ndiaye-Diagne, Jack Sawyer, Jay Leader, Karl Blake (Taylor Nathaniel 46), Jason Fox, Richard Johnson (Joel Gallimore 79), Ben Protheroe, Junior Appiah, Paul Burnett, Danny Gabriel (Anton Stephenson 67), Ainsley Gasper.
Subs: Kadir Jama, Riccardo Mazzon

Goals: Jack Sawyer 33, Ainsley Gasper 41, 60

Attendance: 88
Referee: Mr Peter Crichlow (Carshalton, Surrey)
Assistants: Mr Raddius Reynolds (Acton, London W3) & Mr James Keane (Tottenham, London N15)