Fisher 0-0 Cray Valley (Paper Mills) - Our decision making in the final third is lacking - Chapman

FISHER  0-0 CRAY VALLEY (PAPER MILLS)
Kent Hurlimann Football League
Monday 26^th September 2011
Stephen McCartney reports from Champion Hill Stadium

CRAY VALLEY (Paper Mills) manager Steve Chapman hopes the return of winger Callum O’Shea will provide the ammunition for his goal-shy side after they played out a goalless draw at Fisher tonight.

The newboys from Eltham have now gone 360 minutes since scoring their last goal and only one player in tonight’s sixteen-man squad (long-serving striker Matt Knuckey) has got his name on the score sheet in any of their eleven games this season.

But they could have come away from Champion Hill with more than a point had they ended their miserable run in front of goal.  Six goals in eleven games is a concern for Chapman, who has been with the club since 1982, as player, secretary and now manager.

“I think it’s one area where we’re lacking at the moment,” admitted the 48-year-old.

“That’s the fourth game running that we’ve failed to score a goal.  We’re creating quite a bit but our decision making in the last third is where we’re coming a cropper really.”

When asked how he’s going to improve matters, Chapman hopes the return of O’Shea from rivals Erith & Belvedere will prove to be a success.

“I’ve known Callum for a long while and what we don’t have is no width so we do play a flat 4-4-2 (formation) on occasions.  If we do play 4-4-2, I like to have someone who can play wide on the left.  I think he gives you that width and he delivers the ball well.  When you’ve got centre forwards who are not scoring, sometimes the delivery to them is a little bit short and they still have to work too hard for their chances.

“If you analyse the goals that we’ve scored there’s only one from midfield and that was Drew Watkins with our first goal.

“I’m looking for more from our midfield as well.  Paul Springett has just come back in tonight.   He’s a leader and he’s had a lot of work issues in pre-season and he’s been away.  He’s committed to the club now from tonight and you’ll see Paul back in the heart of the midfield and Jamie Miller has got such an engine on him. 

“We can battle in midfield but you can see tonight we can play football as well.”

Fisher, who suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat away to bitter-rivals Beckenham Town in the FA Carlsberg Vase at the weekend, were suffering a crippling injury crisis.

“Well, we’re obviously disappointed that we haven’t got three points, but with the horrific injury list that we’ve got at the moment, I’m quite happy to take a draw at the end of it,” said Fisher boss Steve Firkins  after his first goal-less stalemate of the season.

Firkins lost striker Danny Hunt to a groin strain during the warm-up and also lost three players through injury before the start of the second half - right-back Kyle Demetris (dead leg), striker Junior James (hamstring) and Danny Hubbard (dead leg).

Skipper, Jamie Turner battled on with a hamstring problem he sustained during the second half, and Firkins also had Kobi DeGraft-Johnson (broken nose), Billy Walton (broken wrist), George Kendall (ankle ligaments), Charlie Helps (ligament), Steve O’Donnell (broken fibula/dislocated ankle/ligament damage) all unavailable.

Cray Valley, meanwhile, were without striker Aaron Firth, due to a hamstring injury.

Despite their growing injury problems, Fisher created the first chance of the game when Isa Bangura released James through on goal but his right-footed shot (which was bouncing wide of the near post) was easily gathered by visiting keeper Jack Carthy.

Cray Valley should have ended their goalscoring draught inside the opening four minutes of this derby when Fisher centre half Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott inexplicably gave the ball away to Knuckey inside the penalty area and Sam Prett (who was caught offside on four occasions during the first half) fired a low shot into Danny Firkins’ gloves at the near post.

Fisher called Carthy into action when Danny Tipple swung in a corner from the right which found Micah Banton lurking at the far post, but he swept a right-footed shot straight at Carthy from 12-yards, and the keeper advanced swiftly off his line two minutes later to thwart James after Banton released him with a through ball from midfield.

However, Cray Valley’s best chance to break the deadlock came in the 28^th minute.

Once again, Jarrett-Elliott gifted possession away to their visitors’ and Prett released Knuckey through on goal but the striker couldn’t score his sixth goal of the season as his right-footed dink over the keeper was blocked by Firkins, low to his left.

Jarrett-Elliott almost made amends for his earlier poor defensive play when his free header at the far post (following Tipple’s corner from the right) sailed wide.

Fisher keeper Danny Firkins prevented Cray Valley from opening the scoring six minutes before the break.

Full marks must go to Steve Springett for a fair challenge on Jarrett-Elliott to win possession before releasing Prett, who turned his marker inside out, before turning and unleashing a rasping right-footed drive on the angle, which was expertly tipped over the bar, high above his head, by keeper Firkins.

Firkins was called into action again, seven minutes into the second half, when skipper Jason Dolby laid the ball off to Steve Springett, whose low left-footed drive was saved by Firkins, low to his right.

Fisher then created a couple of decent chances to break the stalemate.

Substitute Richie Monan cut in from the right and cracked a right-footed shot, which was saved by Carthy, high to his left and from the resulting corner, Tipple cut the ball back and Turner’s first time shot from 30-yards brought a fine save from the Cray Valley stopper.

Another chance came Fisher’s way on the hour-mark when Banton cut the ball back to Monan, whose initial left-footed centre was blocked, before cracking an curling shot from 35-yards, which was superbly tipped over by Carthy, high to his left.

Cray Valley squandered a chance when Paul Springett whipped in a cross from the left flank and Prett sent a glancing header into Firkins’ grateful arms in the 63^rd minute.

Tipple, who had picked the ball up from Bangura’s crossfield pass, tried his luck from 35-yards, the ball whistling past the near post before Turner curled an ambitious 40-yard free-kick into the keeper’s gloves from the left flank.

Cray Valley squandered an even better chance in the 69^th minute when Frankie Warren gifted possession straight to Prett, who played in Knuckey, who dragged a low, left-footed shot across the keeper and also agonisingly wide of the far post.

With the home faithful’s shouting becoming more desperate as time wore on, Fisher should have grabbed victory with two minutes left.

Jarrett-Elliott’s fine through ball released Turner through the heart of the Cray Valley defence, but the midfielder dragged a right-footed shot across the face of goal and agonisingly past the far post.

Substitute Robbie Bryant could have snatched victory for Cray Valley, but he sent a header straight into Firkins’ gloves inside stoppage time, as both sides had to settle for a point.

Fisher boss Firkins said: “I’ll say I’m pleased, I’m pleased that we never conceded, put it that way.  I would’ve been proper narked if we had done, but saying that we’ve dug in and tried to win the game.

“The best chance was obviously when Jamie broke through and he put it wide but we’re a little bit down at the moment what with the Beckenham defeat and the injuries we’ve suffered. It just seems that everything, where we started off quite bright, everything seems to be coming on top of us at the moment.”

Despite playing the most games than any of their rivals, Chapman is pleased with his side’s start to their inaugural Kent League campaign.

“As the new boys, everyone was looking as us as the team everyone would beat, but even if you go back to our early games we’ve given everyone a game, apart from two that we haven’t turned up on, in the other nine the results could’ve gone either way,” said the Cray Valley boss.

“In some respects I’m a little bit disappointed that we haven’t got four more points.”

Club officials from Fisher attended the Bermondsey Street Festival at the weekend and they were rewarded when their largest Monday night crowd turned up at Champion Hill.

Firkins said: “They’re all working hard to get more people in to come down to watch us.  It’s a shame we couldn’t give them the win but it was a decent game by the looks of it.  Cray Valley caused us a few problems and hopefully we caused them a few problems.  I think it was an entertaining game, if nothing else.”

Fisher: Danny Firkins, Kyle Demetrius (Adam Wadmore 46), Danny Tipple, Frankie Warren, Kennickson Jarrett-Elliott, Ellis Wilson-Joseph, Micah Banton, Jamie Turner, Junior James (Nathaniel Bell 45), Isa Bangura, Chris Hubbard (Richie Monan 46).
Subs: Jamie Taylor, Ismail Baker.

Booked: Jamie Turner 48

Cray Valley (Paper Mills): Jack Carthy, Kris Hollidge (Ben Healey 76), Steve Springett, Joe Matthews, Jamie Miller, Tom Martin, Paul Springett, Joe Fitzpatrick, Matt Knuckey, Sam Prett (Robbie Bryant 73), Jason Dolby (Darren Nash 70).
Subs: Jack Baines, Stuart Back

Booked: Kris Hollidge 72, Jamie Miller 75

Attendance: 104
Referee: Mr Valentine Anekwe (Bromley)
Assistants: Mr David Lunani (Bromley) & Mr Sikiru Idris (Denmark Hill, London SE5)