23.03.10 - Fisher Hat Trick Secures Vital Foresters Win
What a difference a week makes! The Foresters put behind them the dire performance of the previous week to produce one of the team
performances of the season to guarantee themselves at least third place in the League.
The Foresters started at a cracking pace with Harry Kempe forcing the home keeper into a save within two minutes of the start. However, the respite was short lived as Matt Lewis coolly converted a short corner on 4 minutes (0 – 1). A minute later, Lewis forced another short corner save from the home keeper as the Foresters cranked up the pressure on Reading.
Reading themselves then started reflecting the pressure onto the
visitors and Murphy saved well from a home short corner on 10 minutes. Reading then enjoyed a passage of good possession and pressure on the Foresters with Murphy again being called into action on 17 minutes to deny a Reading strike on goal. Two minutes later, Reading were awarded a penalty flick which was skewed wide of Murphy’s post.
Reading maintained their pressure on the Foresters goal but failed to
convert another short corner on 21 minutes. A further Reading short
corner was magnificently saved by Murphy on 24 minutes. Having
weathered the Reading storm, the Foresters struck back towards the end of the first half with a Kempe short corner forcing a good save from the home keeper.
With a slender one goal lead to defend, the Foresters introduced Pat
Fisher into the fray on the restart, to immediate effect – within two
minutes Fisher had found the back of the home net with a sweet reverse strike (0 – 2). Tom Tudor was then unfortunate to see a fiery short corner strike deflected over for a long corner on 39 minutes.
Having seen a glorious sweeping move by the Foresters narrowly fail to deliver a goal, Fisher picked up the ball in the left wing position
just inside the Reading half. A mazy run followed beating at least
three Reading players before Fisher slotted home from a seemingly
impossible angle on 41 minutes. Cue a touchline jig…. (0 – 3).
If the Foresters thought that the game was over, the thought had not
crossed Reading minds as a lapse in the Foresters concentration allowed the ball to be turned in by a diving Reading player at the far post on 42 minutes (1 – 3). Pat Fisher nearly drilled the ball through the home keeper with a truly vicious reverse stick strike on 47 minutes
before both sides traded short corners for a period. Matters became
interesting on 55 minutes when Reading converted a short corner of
their own to close the gap to just one goal (2 – 3).
Another Matt Lewis short corner was cleared off the Reading line on 59 minutes before Lewis succeeded in extending the Foresters lead with another short corner strike on 64 minutes (2 – 4). The match was then effectively killed off a minute later as Pat Fisher wrapped up a well deserved hat trick (2 – 5) before the home side were awarded a goal at the dearth (3 – 5).
The final result was due to teamwork combined with a prodigious work rate and commitment from every single Foresters player but with Sam Spencer, TomWilson, Harry Kempe, Matt Lewis, Ed Tudor, James Procter, Ali Butcher, Fred Youldon and Dan Farnfield contributing noticeably in the middle of the Park.
And best of all, the rain which had curtailed the original fixture and
which also threatened to dampen this game too, failed to make an
appearance.
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