Fisher 1-4 Bridon Ropes - I think it's a very special night for the club, says proud Ben Kotey

 FISHER  1-4  BRIDON ROPES
Kent Senior Trophy Sponsored by Spire Alexandra Hospital First Round
Monday 7^th October 2013
Stephen McCartney reports from Champion Hill Stadium

BRIDON ROPES manager Ben Kotey described their shock Kent Senior Trophy win over struggling Fisher as a very special night for the Charlton-based club.

Bridon Ropes can now look forward to a Second Round tie against landlords Meridian VP after piling more misery on Fisher, who have now gone six games without a win and have now leaked 38 goals in their first thirteen games of the season which sees only Woodstock Sports below them in the Southern Counties East Football League table.

Fisher deserved their lead at the break, courtesy of Troy Abbey’s looping 30-yard angled drive, before things went downhill for them during the second half.

Bridon Ropes skipper Ricky Hepburn equalised for the ninth-placed Kent Invicta League side early in the second half before Bridon Ropes scored three goals in the final fifteen minutes.

Striker James Doherty smashed in two goals in a clinical 210 seconds to put Bridon Ropes in the driving seat before Steffan Beckford finished off a fine four-man move to ensure the visitors’ pulled off arguably their best result in their history.

“Really, really pleased with the performance, smiled Kotey, 46, afterwards.

“First half I felt that Fisher dominated. We couldn’t really get close to them to stop them playing. They scored a good goal and I just wanted to get the players’ in at half-time and just get them together and sort out a few problems.

“We changed the system a little bit and we went out there and showed the potential I felt we’ve had all season.

“We haven’t done ourselves justice in the league at the moment but I’m really hopeful that this will be a start for the rest of the season, but I’m very, very proud of the players today.  It was a really good team performance.”

For Fisher, this was their second embarrassing cup exit to a lower league team after AFC Croydon Athletic thrashed them 6-0 at home in The FA Vase Second Qualifying Round on 22 September.

“I was happy yesterday when West Ham beat Tottenham,” said beleaguered Fisher boss Billy Walton.

“I don’t really think 4-1 reflected the game to be honest with you. I thought first half 1-0 up, totally in control, just bossed the game, played some really nice football.  The people here could see we played some nice football in that period.

“The thing is, 1-0 you’re always nervy. We had a great chance to make it 2-0. I think if we had gone 2-0 up we would have won quite comfortably to be honest with you. Typical!

“But give them their due. They changed their formation second half. We tried to counter act it but I thought they took over in the second half really and they scored some cracking goals.”

Walton handed debuts to striker pairing Junior Fatai-Somuyiwa and Richard Morgan, who have arrived on dual-registrations from Ryman League clubs Cray Wanderers and Erith & Belvedere respectively.

In fact it was to be the final act made by Erith & Belvedere co-manager Martin Ford, who revealed in the players’ tunnel here after the game that was sacked by the club tonight. - with coach son Joe Ford deciding to leave the Park View Road outfit following the news.
 
The Deres were dumped out of The FA Trophy in the Preliminary Round on Saturday, going down to a 4-1 defeat away to Dunstable Town, which followed being knocked out of The FA Cup at the first attempt by Chatham Town earlier on in the season.

The pair leave the Deres sitting in thirteenth-place in the Ryman League Division One North table, having collected four wins and three draws from their opening 13 games.

Fisher should have opened the scoring after only 45 seconds.

Right-back Danny Akers whipped in a cross and left-winger Chris Hubbard was left unmarked and his downward header from ten-yards brought a fine diving save from Bridon Ropes’ goalkeeper Charlie Martin, who flung himself to his left to turn around the post.

Walton admitted that was an excellent chance to ease the doom and gloom around Champion Hill.

“It was still a good start, we still had a good start,” said Walton.

“To be honest with you it weren’t a great header! I’ve never seen Chrissy head the ball in my life!  It was a bit of a panzy bottle header really! It sort of wrong footed the keeper. I don’t think it was ever going to go in, trouble him.”

Kotey added: “He made a fantastic save!  We’ve got two quality goalkeepers at the club at the moment. I think that’s helped him in his performances.  The last game we played we lost heavily against Hollands & Blair so fair play to him to go and play tonight and perform the way he did. It will give him a lot of confidence so I’m really pleased with him tonight.”

Bridon Ropes created a decent opportunity to score when a short back pass from Fisher central defender Tom Carr was latched onto by Doherty but Fisher keeper Billy Hensman raced off his line and made a brave close range save to deny the striker scoring from fifteen-yards.

Kotey said: “The goalkeeper was very, very brave there. I was thinking if Jimmy could have dinked that over him. We might have got something there but the keeper was very brave and made an excellent save there.”

Fisher’s problems were all too clear – they cannot defend to save their lives and they don’t tuck away easy chances.

They should have scored in the 13^th minute when Carr’s ball over the top released Morgan down the left and his right-footed shot was blocked by Martin at the near post.  The ball came out to Hubbard, who scuffed the ball across the goal and Fatai-Somuyiwa sent his right-footed shot over the bar from 12-yards.

Bridon Ropes immediately went up the other end and Leighton Thomas stroked a left-footed drive straight at Hensman.

For Fisher, Hubbard cut a corner back to Morgan, who flashed his left-footed drive just past the foot of the near post from 20-yards, before Danny Maguire swung in the home side’s fifth corner from the left, which Martin failed to gather and Carr’s downward header bounced just wide.

Fisher squandered another chance when Harry Draper’s diagonal pass released Fatai-Somuyiwa down the left before the striker cut the ball back to Hubbard who cut inside before curling a right-footed shot narrowly over the crossbar.

Bridon Ropes were denied a goal when they hit Fisher on the break and Brady Powell played a sublime pass, which sliced open Danny Tipple and Carr to release Beckford, who danced his way towards the by-line before having his shot blocked by Hensman at the near post and Powell couldn’t apply the finish with the rebound.

But Fisher deservedly opened the scoring through Abbey’s second goal of the season in the 31^st minute.

The winger cut in from the right and cracked a left-footed angled drive from 30-yards, which looped over Martin’s right shoulder and dropped into the bottom far corner.

The goal pleased the Fisher manager, who said: “We switched the two wingers. I said to them come in on your favourite foot and have a dig and it paid dividends for us, so that was the pleasing part. Everything was going to plan. That was one of the most pleasing part for a manager. We asked them to do that and he’s done it so that was good.”

Kotey added: “The problem was we lost the ball further up the pitch from a throw in. You think about the goal they scored it looks like a 30-yarder but we didn’t do well higher up the pitch. We lost the ball in an area where we could have closed them down and that’s where the goal came from initially.

“They got into our final third and it was a great strike by the individual but we should have done a lot better to stop if getting to that situation!”

Fisher played the first half with a very high tempo and Walton explained: “I went to watch Greenwich Borough play Glebe over the weekend.  When either team pass the ball really quick they killed the other side and that’s what we talked about tonight is to try to pass the ball quick and play at a high tempo.

“I suppose at this level you can’t keep that up for 90 minutes and when we did we caused them all sorts of trouble.”

Bridon Ropes were forced to shoot from outside the box when Sam O’Keefe played the ball into Doherty’s feet, who laid the ball off to Powell, who stroked a left-footed drive from 22-yards, which Hensman kept his eyes on the bouncing ball to make a comfortable save.

Both managers were asked what was said inside their dressing rooms at the interval.

A happy Walton said: “I came in at half-time and I said that’s the best we’ve played for a long time!

“I had to work on a couple more things for the second half.  I talked about how they will react. They’ve got to come at us. It’s a cup game. They’ve got to come out to try and get a goal back.  I said don’t drop off too deep and keep pressing and working hard and doing the same things as the first half.”

Kotey said: “Just a few things!  I just felt we sort of let them play around us a little bit too easily. I felt we didn’t keep the ball well enough. I felt we got it into our midfield and tried to play hard passes into our forwards and we didn’t really get it to them.

“We made a technical change with our system slightly and that was the major difference.

“I think we felt the pace of the game a little bit in the first half and we got them in the changing room and we touched on a few issues, sort those out and it helped us go out for the second half and show a better performance.”

But Bridon Ropes changed things around during the second half and scored four goals to stun Fisher.

Bridon Ropes equalised with the first action of the second half in the 56^th minute.

Man-of-the-match Doherty ran down the left before cutting the ball across the box to the unmarked Hepburn, who allowed the ball to roll across his body before unleashing a blistering right-footed drive into the roof of the net from fourteen-yards to score his first goal of the season.

Kotey was full of praise for his goalscoring captain.

“Very good finish!  Ricky Hepburn is our skipper and my criticism of him is he doesn’t score enough goals for me. He’s got a great strike on him and he’s a good footballer. He’s strong in the tackle but for a central midfielder he should be scoring more goals.  I’m pleased for him that he got it in such an important game and such an important moment.”

Walton wants his side to turn dirty.

“A bit disappointing for us defensively,” he said.  “I always say if you get turned be a bit professional, you’ve got to give away a free-kick! Don’t let them get a cross in! We let him turn, get a cross in and they scored from it. You’ve just got to learn to take a booking. Don’t get the lad get away from you, bring him down and defend the free-kick.”

The next chance arrived in the 22^nd minute of the second half and Walton rued the golden opportunity to win only their second game of the season.

Morgan’s clever pass put debutant Fatai-Somuyiwa through on goal and his drilled shot flashed across goalkeeper Martin but Adam Onasanya was at the right place at the right time to hook the ball off the line.

Walton added: “Junior will tell you himself he should have scored and put us 2-1 in front.  I think on another day he’ll score those goals.” 

Walton was concerned with the way his side lost their fitness towards the end of the game, which proved to be their downfall as they went on to ship in three more goals.

“The two centre halves, it’s their first game back. I though they showed towards the end of the game that they was quite tired,” admitted Walton.

Powell swung in a corner from the right and Doherty’s near post header was cleared off the line by Tipple. 

The ball came out to Bridon Ropes’ left-back Dominic Websdale, who swung in a cross towards the far post where an unmarked Doherty cracked a stunning volley across Hensman for the ball to nestle into the bottom far corner with fifteen minutes left.

“Fantastic volley from James,” hailed Kotey.  “We know he’s got it in him. Again, he works so hard for the team. Creates a lot of chances for his team mates and he should be scoring more goals. Tonight he got two, two good goals so pleasing for him.”

When asked his thoughts on Bridon Ropes’ second goal, the Fisher boss replied wanted to talk about West Ham’s 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane yesterday!

“It was nearly as good as (Ricardo) Vaz Te’s goal yesterday against Tottenham,” came Walton’s strange response.

“I keep mentioning that because we (West Ham United) haven’t beaten Tottenham for a long time!  Can we talk about West Ham versus Tottenham?”

Bridon Ropes’ third goal swiftly arrived when Doherty played the ball into Hepburn, who slid the ball beyond Carr to put Doherty through on goal and his right-footed shot found the bottom left-hand corner from fifteen-yards.

Kotey added: “I felt 2-1 wasn’t going to win us the game. I think we needed to get another goal just to give us a chance to put it to bed so the third goal was a killer.”

Walton added: “Same thing!  A good goal from their point of view. It’s just not dealt with us again. The defending ain’t just good enough. It’s not good enough. It’s not acceptable!

Bridon Ropes cut open Fisher again, this time Powell was released down the left and his left-footed shot was blocked by Hensman at his near post.

Bridon Ropes wrapped up the scoring in the final five minutes, courtesy of a fine four-man move.

Powell took a quick throw and Doherty played the ball inside to Hepburn, who laid the ball off to the unmarked Beckford, who drilled his right-footed shot across Hensman for the ball to nestle into the bottom far corner.

Walton said: “My players’ are saying to me their guy kicked it out for a throw in and the referee’s given it to them and they’ve taken a quick throw and scored from it and then listening to one of their players’ running back he said he was miles offside!

“We were 3-1 down by then so I’m not going to moan about that!”

Kotey said: “Steffan’s got the final goal. I think their bench was a bit upset. I think they thought it was offside but I’m not sure but he put it in and it’s up to the officials’ to make a decision.”

Kotey added: “I was very pleased with the team play, especially in the second half. We played and we kept the ball a lot better. We passed the ball a lot better and that was key for our second half performance.  I don’t feel we kept the ball well enough in the first half.  To keep it at 1-0 down I think gave us a chance in the second half to turn it around.”

Visiting keeper Martin made a smart save at the death when he dived to tip the ball over his crossbar to deny substitute Bryan Zepo from scoring with a back-header, which was looping towards the roof of the net.

Kotey was a very proud man at the final whistle and when asked whether this was his club’s best victory in their history, he replied: “The club will have to tell me that. I don’t know!  I think it’s a very special night, very special night for the club.

“Last season we played Beckenham Town in the London Senior Cup and we got beat 6-3, so to have another opportunity to play a team above us and to perform like this…

“I don’t think there’s much difference between the Kent Invicta League and the Kent League and hopefully a result like this shows that’s the case.  Hollands & Blair are doing really well. Lydd are flying as well. It’s a good advertisement for the Kent Invicta League.”

Looking ahead to their Second Round tie against their landlords, Kotey said: “I’m not sure if we’re home or away?  Who’s the home side?

“It will be a little derby. We’re looking forward to it. We’ve got a chance so it’s a good opportunity for the team to go to the next round so I’m looking forward to that.

“We played them in the league a few weeks ago and we drew 0-0 and to be honest we were fortunate to draw 0-0 with them.  They were the better side on the day but hopefully this result and performance will give us a bit of belief and confidence for the rest of the season.”

This was Fisher’s tenth defeat of the season and if capitulations like this, especially at home to lower league sides, cannot continue.

“As I keep saying, these things ain’t acceptable,” said Walton on his side’s woeful run of form.

“I know it’s not acceptable. The players’ know it’s not acceptable but we’ve just got to try our hardest.

“I do believe somewhere along the line and soon we will turn someone over big time!  We will produce a performance and spank a team. I don’t think we’re a million, million miles away!

“People look at the results and see we’re getting whacked every week. I don’t think we’re that bad. I don’t think we’re bad as the results. We seem we make a mistake and we get punished.”

Fisher: Billy Hensman, Danny Akers, Danny Tipple, Tom Hopkins (Bryan Zepo 81), Tom Carr, Harry Draper, Danny Maguire, Chris Hubbard (Shaquille Edwards 69), Junior Fatai-Somuyiwa (Nathaniel Bell 69), Richard Morgan, Troy Abbey.
Subs: Billy Walton, Keiron Campbell

Goal: Troy Abbey 31

Booked: Shaquille Richards 90

Bridon Ropes: Charlie Martin, Tom Dennington, Dominic Websdale, Dean Elliott (Craig Penfold 72), Adam Onasanya, Ricky Hepburn, Sam O’Keefe, Steffan Beckford, Brady Powell, James Doherty, Leighton Thomas (Gary Phillimore 46).
Subs: Jack Turner, Kane Jefferies

Goals: Ricky Hepburn 56, James Doherty 75, 77, Steffan Beckford 85

Booked: Brady Powell 52

Attendance: 76
Referee: Mr Thomas Marshall (Eltham, London SE9)
Assistants: Mr Olly Fyfe (Lewisham, London SE13) & Mr Derek Peck (Bexleyheath)