With Berkshire-based players on international duty last week, Imogen Fisher of Maidenhead United Women enjoyed a rather different – but no less prestigious – taste of representative football last week.
The 24 year old – who has scored seven times this season for the Magpies in the FA Women’s National League Division 1 South West – is a nurse in the Army and had the honour of representing her employers in the Inter-Services Tri-Tournament over the past few weeks.
Whilst Fisher and her team-mates failed to win either of their fixtures against the RAF or the Royal Navy, Fisher at least had the honour of being top-scorer for her team after her two-goal burst in the match against the Navy at Aldershot Town FC last Tuesday night.
Speaking after last Tuesday’s match, Fisher – a real team player – was disappointed with a 5-2 defeat on what was a good night for her personally, telling Football In Berkshire: “I think we took a while to get organised and composed. When we lack organisation we are going to get punished by the Navy, which they did. We had 10 minutes where everything went wrong and we conceded 3 goals which made the rest of the game an uphill battle. The rest of the game I really had belief that we could get it back level, especially after scoring one. Some changes at half time did help but the Navy were relentless and we didn’t up our game so, overall they deserved the win.”
“The second goal I was playing centre forward and just had (Magpies coaches) Robin and Ed’s voices in my head to fill the box”
Fisher operated wide on the left in the first half and in a more familiar central role in the second. And she proved her quality and her poachers instinct with two very different goals: “The first goal game from a through ball after the midfield won it back. Within two passes I was through on goal and I looked up and could see the keeper off the line so just thought I’ve got to go for it. I struck it. I thought it was going over but then it hit the back of the net and I think I surprised myself! The second goal I was playing centre forward and just had (Magpies coaches) Robin and Ed’s voices in my head to fill the box. The ball was crossed in from wide and I was lucky to be in the right place for a rebound off the crossbar.”
Modest Fisher is far too polite to say that her first goal was actually an exquisite lob, and – playing ninety minutes in between the two Army matches for Maidenhead Women in front of a MUWFC record York Road crowd at the weekend – Imogen is just delighted to take the opportunity to play for the Army FA: “It’s always a proud moment for me. Ever since I joined the army it was a dream of mine to be able to play for the army first team so I feel very lucky to be able to do this as part of my job! The girls and coaching team work so hard so it’s great to be able to learn from them.”
