Kentish Football 
Fisher 3-2 Dagenham & Redbridge - We would dearly like to keep Dan Young here, says Lisney
Wednesday 21st July 2010
FISHER 3-2 DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 21st July 2010
Stephen McCartney reports from Champion Hill Stadium
FISHER embarrassed the youth team players at Dagenham & Redbridge - a club that are SIX league’s higher - with an impressive success at Champion Hill tonight, pleasing their manager Gary Lisney.
It appeared that the Kent League AMATEURS were playing for the newly promoted Npower League One side during the first half, where goals from player-coach Bryan Glover and lone striker Dexter Babalola put the hosts in front.
But the Essex side fought back and drew level courtesy of goals from two players that were wearing the number ten shirt through left-sided midfielder Joe Oates and striker Jay Nash, before Fisher grabbed a late winner through substitute left-back, Louis Rosen.
This means that Fisher have defeated two Football League clubs in their opening two warm-up games, having defeated Championship newcomers Millwall in their opening warm-up.
Landlords Dulwich Hamlet have certainly worked hard on their playing surface during the close season, and this allowed both sides to play some good football on the lush surface, a vast improvement to the poor conditions that Fisher had to endure at Champion Hill last season.
“It’s great to have League clubs down here,” Lisney told www.kentishfootball.co.uk afterwards.
“It would have been nicer to get more people through the gate to try to generate a bit of revenue out of it, but that’s for the football club, but the most important thing from my point of view as a manager of a football team is getting players out on the pitch and get some benefit out of it, get some work out of it and that’s what it was all about.
“The game was played in a very good spirit and I’m very, very grateful to Dagenham & Redbridge to send a team down.
“Wayne Burnett is a friend of mine but he’s still at a professional football club an I’m very grateful they could send a team down.”
Dagenham & Redbridge’s first-half keeper, Danny Sambridge made a comfortable save from Jamie Lawrence’s right-footed free-kick from 25-yards, before Fisher keeper Adam Lisney excelled.
Left-back Denzil Gale released Oates down the left wing and his centre was met on the turn by striker Louis Dennis and his shot was destined for the far corner, but highly-rated Lisney stuck out a strong arm to turn the ball around the post.
Fisher stunned their opponents by taking a 26th minute lead.
Lawrence did well down the inside right channel to ride Jack Jefferies’ challenge before whipping in a cross towards the far post for Glover to beat the keeper with a low drive at his near post.
Things got even better for Fisher, as they doubled their lead just seven minutes later.
New boy Babalola’s smile could be seen all around Champion Hill after he picked the ball up some 35-yards from goal and his right-footed daisy cutter left Sambridge red-faced as he drilled the ball into the back of the net.
A disappointing Daggers side did respond after that set-back and pulled a goal back just five minutes later when Oates applied the finish from six-yards, after Fisher went asleep following a Dennis corner from the left.
Oates and Fisher right-back, Kris Hollidge, were relishing some juicy challenges between the pair of them during the first half.
Dagenham almost went in at the break on level terms when Lewis Frost struck a half-volley from inside the penalty box, which looped just past the far post.
Fisher made eight changes at the break and they found themselves pegged back as the Daggers levelled just three minutes into the second half.
Goalkeeper Lisney did get a hand to Nash’s angled drive (after he was played in by Dennis), but the shot had enough on it to creep into the bottom far corner.
Fisher wingers, Joe Goodwin and Raphael Akala enjoyed plenty of possession on the counter attack during the second half, and Goodwin showed quick feet to get a shot underway, which bounced into the arms of Daggers’ substitute keeper James Dudley.
Daggers’ squandered a gilt-edged chance when Dennis released Nash once more and after evading Dan Young’s challenge, he squared the ball back to Dennis in acres of space at the far post, but the striker swept his shot just past the far post.
Fisher created another chance on the hour-mark when Young’s long pass was flicked on by Joe Oatley and this released the impressive Akala down the right and after cutting along the by-line, he lost the ball and won it back again and his cross was met by a far post header by striker Masayki Ohata, but the ball bounced into Dudley’s arms.
At the other end, Rosen allowed a deep cross to bounce over his head inside the penalty box, so he was relieved to see Nash find Lisney.
Lisney, however, was beaten in the 73rd minute when Dennis released Tom Davie through on goal, and despite appearing to be offside, his low shot struck the foot of the left-hand post.
But poor goalkeeping from Dudley gifted Fisher a late winner, with only three minutes remaining.
Goodwin floated in a free-kick from the right touchline and Dudley allowed the ball to slip through his fingers and the ball dropped kindly for Rosen, who excepted the gift by nodding the ball into an empty net.
On the quality of the goals, Lisney said: “I’ve never seen so many weird goals to be honest with you. There were a few mistakes for the goals but that’s what pre-season is all about as well. Everybody’s feeling a little bit rusty.”
Despite their two impressive wins, Lisney warned his Kent League rivals, “I think we can play a lot better than we did. We played a lot more football against Millwall then we did tonight, but Dagenham have sent down a very young, hungry and eager squad, who are putting themselves in the shop window as well. They want to impress their management team (Wayne Burnett and Warren Hackett).
“It was never going to be easy, they’ve got a lot of enthusiasm, lots of energy in the youngsters, so we’ve done alright.”
But he added that the serious stuff starts against local rivals Greenwich Borough on 7 August in their opening Kent League fixture of the new season.,
“Let’s not get carried away, we played pretty well against Millwall and we got a good result against Dagenham, not that the result means anything in friendlies,” explained Lisney.
“In friendlies it’s all about preparation for the season coming and we could win all of our pre-season friendlies and look a very good team, but the acid test comes on the 7th August.”
Only three players played longer than an hour, one of them was central defender Young.
Lisney says he wants to keep Young at the club, someone that made 27 appearances in the Ryman Premier League for Margate last season.
“He’s played at a much higher standard than we’re playing at the moment,” Lisney said. “His class showed to be frank and we’d dearly like to keep him, but we don’t have a playing budget at all. He’s a young man, I don’t know what his financial circumstances are, but we would like to keep him at the club because he’s a real big asset for us. He stood out for me.”
Fisher: Adam Lisney (George Kamurasi 70), Kris Hollidge (Larry Atamato 46), Mark Lewis (Louis Rosen 46), Bryan Glover (Hulusi Mustafa 70), Dan Young (Charlie Pearce 73), Callum Roberts (James Pope 46), George Savage (Joe Oatley 46), Jamie Lawrence (Masayki Ohata 46), Dexter Babalola (Raphael Akala 46), Einar Benediktson (Noel Battle 46), Didi Zahui (Joe Goodwin 46).
Goals: Bryan Glover 26, Dexter Babalola 33, Louis Rosen 87
Dagenham & Redbridge: Danny Sambridge (James Dudley 46), Liam Foster (Joe Sheldon 76), Luke Macdonald (Alex Dowker 52), Jack Jefferies (Emmanuel Nwanze 56), Ian Gale, Joe Sheldon (Alvin Obongo 64), Louis Dennis, Denzil Gale (Levi Fernandez 46), Jay Nash (Billy Densham 64), Joe Oates (Tom Davie 64), Lewis Frost.
Goals: Joe Oates 38, Jay Nash 48
Attendance: 81
Referee: Mr Rob Baker (Welling)
Assistants: Mr Jamie Broughton (Deptford) & Mr Andrew Okoch (Peckham)
Red Dragon I.T. Ltd