It was a historic night for Fisher as they faced their first professional side as Brentford B came to St Pauls Stadium.
People came out in force to see the Fish take on the Premier League side with a huge attendance of 425 counted on the night.
Fisher Battle Hard
There were some understandable nerves in the opening exchanges as Fisher kicked-off, but those nerves were soon shaken off and Fisher set about stopping their opponents.
The opening 20 set the theme for the night, with Fisher setting up a superb defensive, offering no space or time for Brentford to find their rhythm.
This grit and determination from the Fisher defence was epitomised as Brentford swung in a free kick only to be met by a Fisher head three times as they cleared their lines.
In the 21st minute, the young Brentford side began to show that extra bit of quality they had over their opponents. Some clever work down the left from Brentford saw the winger swing in a cross which Fisher initially dealt with, before the ball fell to Dom Jefferies on the edge of the box who unleashed a rocket along the floor into the bottom corner – 1-0 Brentford.
Fisher didn’t let their heads drop and continued their impressive defensive display. A long-ball over the top was missed by a Fisher head which looked to have sent Brentford clean through before Fish captain Luke Thomas came flying across from right-back to make a superb last-ditch challenge.
The chances were rare for Brentford in the first half, with Fisher going in at the break just a goal down. A superb display at the back for the Fish but they struggled to make anything of their own when they had the ball.
Attacking Struggles
The same pattern continued in the second half, with Brentford seeing a lot of the ball and patiently probing while Fisher remained firm at the back.
10 minutes into the half Brentford nearly doubled their lead as Nico Jones rose superbly at the back post from a corner but saw his effort hit the post.
It was a frustrating evening going forward for the Fish, best demonstrated on the hour when they finally got a chance to put the ball into the box from a free-kick deep into Brentford’s half, only for left-back Cherradi to play it short to Swaby who was quickly closed down on the edge of the box and had his cross blocked.
Fisher finally created a chance, with around 25 minutes to play, when a ball swung in from the right wasn’t dealt with by the Brentford defence which lead to a scramble in the box with Swaby eventually getting on the end of it, only for his shot to fire over the bar.
This attack gave Fisher some confidence as they started to grow into the game.
Unfortunately, that confidence was swiftly taken from them as Brentford got their second goal and effectively kill the game with 15 to play.
A well worked free-kick from Brentford caught the Fisher defence out as a short free-kick routine found Tristam Crama who shot from a tight angle and saw his effort deflect off Thomas and in.
Brentford then showed their quality and killed the game for the final 15 minutes, keeping the ball and slowing the game down. They had a chance right at the death to get a third, as a defence splitting pass found forward Hercules one on one, but Carpanini spread himself well and saved with his feet.
The game ended 2-0 to the Premier League B team, but it was by no means a disappointment for the non-league side, who competed and battled for 90 minutes.
Manager Ajay Ashanike kept it brief after the game, saying “I’m ever so proud of the boys tonight. It’s now time to build on this.”
