Penalty heartbreak at Stag Meadow ends Windsor & Eton's FA Vase dream

Jabir Laraba celebrates his equaliser against Fisher. Photo: Richard Milam

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Windsor & Eton 1, Fisher 1 (Fisher progress 4-3 on penalties)

Windsor & Eton’s run in this season’s FA Vase came to an end in dramatic circumstances on Saturday as the Royalists were beaten on penalties by Fisher FC.

Ninety minutes plus stoppage time couldn’t separate the two step five sides in front a crowd of nearly 600 people at Stag Meadow on Saturday, so the tie went straight to spotkicks.

The hosts missed their first and fourth spotkicks and visitors Fisher managed to edge through 4-3 in the shootout.

Rob Webb’s Royalists were far from their best on a heavy pitch at Stag Meadow, and their lack of competitive action recently may have counted against them against a technically strong Fisher side.

The home side had played just twice in the league since December 20, and they looked a little rusty as they fell behind to Festos Kamara’s goal for Fisher in the ninth minute.

Roared on by one of the biggest step 5 crowds for many a season, the hosts grabbed a leveller shortly before half-time when Jabir Laraba swept the ball across the Fisher keeper and into the far corner of the net.

But despite making a string of second half substitutions to try and unsettle their Southern Counties East Premier Division visitors, Windsor & Eton couldn’t come up with a winner.

They also saw their influential midfielder Leo Decabo sent off in stoppage time and his name would surely have been in the mix to be one of the Royalists’ penalty takers.

Fisher progress to the final 16 of the competition, while Windsor now turn their attention back to their league campaign. Having seen games postponed due to frozen and waterlogged pitches, and others called off due to their continued participation in the Vase, the Royalists have plenty of games to make up on their promotion rivals.

They currently sit sixth in the Combined Counties Premier Division North, 14 points behind leaders Burnham, though they have eight games in hand on the Blues. They will return to action at Reading City tomorrow evening (Tuesday). The game at Rivermooor, Scours Lane, Reading (RG30 6AY) gets underway at 7.45pm.