Monday 26 November 2007

Third Qualifying Round: Fisher Athletic Vs Leamington

24th November 2007



This adventure is starting to turn into a farce! Leamington FC was supposed to be a small club, who would maybe make it through the first round or two, but would essentially be a stepping stone before we started watching all sorts of other clubs, up and down the country. We should have done more research. As it turns out, Leamington are some sort of sleeping giant (or maybe a slumbering, tall man) who deserve to be at least one, if not two divisions higher than their current position. If the matches I have watched so far didn't tell me that already, everything about this round shouted it in my face.

It seemed as if all of Fisher's fanbase had been scared away by the travelling Leamington faithful. The attendance was given as 390, of which I estimated about 300 to be from Warwickshire. I had never been to an away match quite like it. The Leamington gold and black army turned the tie into a home fixture, taking over three sides of the ground, to create what must have been an intimidating atmosphere for the home team to play in. Even in the clubhouse afterwards, I didn't bump into a single local fan, despite it being full to bursting.

The game was hosted at Champion Hill, an impressive stadium, home to Dulwich Hamlet FC, and temporary home to Fisher Athletic. The turnstiles treated Jake and I to a brief glimpse of fame. A few short emails between myself and Joe, the Fisher Athletic programme editor, had led to us doing an interview for the matchday programme. In return for our contribution, Joe had left complimentary tickets and programmes for us at the gates. It was a nice surprise after buying London priced pints of beer all afternoon!

We could not find Joe in the clubhouse as we had previously arranged, and unfortunately now never will meet him, as Leamington produced yet another fine performance, to cause yet another upset.

The kick-off was delayed ten minutes to accommodate the Leamington team buses late arrival at the ground, but this did not seem to effect the visitors. From the outset, it was difficult to separate the sides on ability alone. However, after an even first 15 minutes, Fisher took the lead through a well worked corner. A few one touch passes found Gavin Tomlin in space inside the penalty area, and he made no mistake, coolly slotting the ball into the top corner of the net.

The travelling fans didn't stop singing however, and the travelling team never let their heads drop. Leamington began to take control of possession and territory, creating two or three good goal scoring chances. On the other hand, Fisher always looked dangerous on the break, and the home sides strikers looked slightly the sharper of the two sides. Leamington's best chance of the half saw a defensive mix-up leave Fisher 'keeper Simon Overland way off his line. The ball fell kindly for impressive midfielder Stuart Herlihy, but his shot drifted wide. On 40 minutes, the Brakes deservedly equalised. A corner from the right found Josh Blake unmarked, and his looping header somehow found the top corner, and sent the visiting fans wild.

Leamington nearly snatched a half time lead a few minutes afterwards, when a curling shot from the superb Marcus Jackson was just flicked onto the crossbar by Overland.

Half time provided a very successful trip to the food hut, where £2.50 bought me an excellent bacon French stick. It was a rival to Leaminton's sausage, chips and curry sauce for best food so far, but it came up short due to the caterers being sold out of fried eggs. Very unfortunate.

The second half saw the Fish create more chances than they had in the first, but all went begging, as Leamington began to smell blood. The Brakes more than matched their opposition, despite being two divisions below them, and pinched a dramatic winner with just 10 minutes left on the clock. A long free-kick from Richard Morris should really have been taken by Overland as it passed over his defenders heads, but Josh Blake once again found himself unmarked, and once again his looping header found the top corner. The terraces erupted as he wheeled away in celebration. Most fans seemed to be celebrating with an air of disbelief as their club looked set to progress into the first round proper of the competition.

Leamington saw out the remaining 10 minutes comfortably, and the final whistle brought amazing scenes, as the victorious players received a standing ovation from all corners of the ground.

I had another excellent day on Saturday, and I thank Steve, Pete, Pete, Baz and Vince for welcoming us on their tour around London, both before and after the match. Vince has also kindly provided photographs of our day out this week, as my camera decided to cut out as soon as I stepped off the train. You can see them here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/docwharton/sets/72157603293361939/

Final Score: Fisher Athletic 1 Leamington 2
Attendance: 390

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How did you manage to tart your way round so much of London and still have time to watch a football match?? It will take more than their leaving the Trophy for you to escape the Brakes' clutches btw...not that we have any intention of that happening, of course!!