There were different goalscorers for the Fleet this afternoon as they sailed to victory against York City to climb up that table once again. Goals from Omari Sterling-James and Franklin Domi in the first half were capped off with finishes courtesy of Craig Tanner and Dominic Poleon in the second.
Dennis Kutrieb made four changes to the starting 11 that played on Bank Holiday Monday against Barnet, with Sterling-James, Craig Tanner, Franklin Domi and David Amoo back in.
The Fleet pushed for an early opener, Tanner’s initial shot blocked but Poleon was there for the rebound – his effort was deflected out for a corner. A dangerous ball was whipped in from the left which saw goalkeeper Ryan Whitley get his fingertips to the ball to clear from the byline – the York defence then subsequently cleared that out of danger. Moments later Domi thought he had found the breakthrough, patiently taking the shot on; however his effort clipped the outside of the post.
It took 19 minutes for the Fleet to break the deadlock courtesy of Sterling-James. A strike from the edge of the area caught Whitley and his defenders out, the keeper misjudging his timing with the dive and the ball curled into the back of the net.
However, Fleet’s lead only lasted a matter of minutes, Dipo Akinyemi’s strong run teeing up Zanda Siziba, who executed a decent strike into the top right corner, leaving Mark Cousins no chance of keeping that one out and the score was level.
There was minimal action for the next 10 minutes with both sides keeping the ball tight in possession. The Fleet were awarded a free kick when Sterling was fouled on the edge of the area. Domi stepped up to take but the York wall stood strong, blocking the delivery. Domi then sent a ball into the area on his second attempt which fell into the path of Joe Martin at the far post. He hit it first time but his effort was wayward.
The hosts did find themselves back in front before the break, this time through man of the match Domi. He picked up the ball in the midfield from Poleon’s lay-off and carried it forward with purpose until he was through on goal. He took his time with the shot once again, turning into space, and rifled it into the roof of the net for his second of the season.
Domi almost grabbed a second, a shot from the edge of the area resulted in a strong hand from Whitley to keep that one out. A corner was awarded but the delivery from Josh Wright was straight into the York City keeper’s gloves.
It took the Fleet only a matter of seconds to find a third goal in the second half. Sterling had a superb run down the right and placed a low ball into the area to pick out Tanner who was there to slot the ball past Whitley. The York keeper made an initial save but couldn’t find the strength to prevent the ball from rolling over the line. Fleet fans and players thought they had a fourth when Poleon carried the ball round the keeper and fired it into the back of the net but the Fleet top scorer was deemed in an offside position and the score stayed 3-1.
The visitors had the Fleet fans’ hearts in their mouths when Kai Kennedy’s headed effort tipped against the crossbar and York continued to apply some pressure in the penalty area but the ball eventually fell into the arms of Cousins.
The Fleet continued to boss the possession, edging closer to a fourth goal but York held out for a while. Poleon’s best chance of the match came in the 86th minute – substitute Nathan Odokonyero breaking through and slotting the ball into the path of Poleon. He took the shot on from close range but his effort was over.
Poleon did find that elusive and deserved goal two minutes from the end when Domi let him off the leash. Poleon continued the run, carrying the ball towards goal and it was only ever going in one direction after that as Fleet took the points to the tune of 4-1.
EUFC: Cousins, O’Neill, Martin, Solly, Wright, Domi, Chapman, Sterling-James (Odokonyero 72), Tanner (Clifford 77), Amoo (McQueen 60), Poleon. Subs: Cissé, Edser
YCFC: Whitley, Fallowfield, Cordner, McLauglin, Akinyemi, Kouhyar (Dyson 59), Howe, Batty (Castro 59), Kennedy, Siziba (Hancox 65), Latty-Fairweather. Subs: Watson, Stott
Attendance: 1,724 (288 York)
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