For those who made the long trip in the traffic to East Dulwich for this fixture an air of optimism given the hosts current position was understandable.
But as we have found out before in this tough league , there are no easy games and all teams will fight for the points .
Crows depleted squad missing the suspended Sam Carrington and Wayne Clark and Michael Death only fit for the bench added new signing Will Jagger and 16 year old Jason Hinkson as substitutes .
Fish started on the front foot and put Crows under some real early pressure , in particular the pacy number eleven Jorden Adekundie down the left .
Some good defending and brave goalkeeping by Collick kept the eager hosts at bay , but not without some difficult moments .
Crows have their first chance as Rich gets down the left and finds Ridley with a measured inside ball , but his first time sidefooted shot goes just wide .
Tom Cameron gets past two on the right but is obstructed before he can get a cross in , the free kick is well defended and Fish break and Crows do well to defend against Adekundie at the expense of a corner .
The kick is swung in and Collick is forced into a great save clawing the ball out under the crossbar with several players challenging in a packed area .
Ryan Hinkson gives away a free kick and the Rothwell heads over but well challenged by Trotter .
Crows are getting the ball down and passing the ball and this leads to a moment of controversy , as Ridley is released and in on goal and the home keeper Justin Lee upends the midfielder outside the box , in all probability not a red card offence as covering defenders may well have got back , after a delay not even a yellow card was shown , a little surprising g in the circumstances .
Alex Rich takes the kick left footed and it dips just over the bar .
Jason Barton gets in a strong tackle but again in fairness the referee keeps his cards in his pockets , preferring to give the benefit of the doubt .
Rothwell gets in a shot which is deflected wide , Nick gets in another good block as the number eleven threatens again .
On the half hour mark , the first card of the day as Waterman is penalised for an infringement that looked worse than what it was .
Jack Funnell gets away down the right but his great cross just evades all the Crows players .
Finally on thirty six minutes Crows make the breakthrough, the excellent Ridley released by Rich on the left plays in to Barton who gratefully places his shot past the stranded Lee for the games first goal .
Half time arrives and Crows would be very pleased to be ahead after a sticky start.
The second half was something of a transformation for the hosts who came out with all guns blazing and after a couple of Crows attacks broke down and following a goalmouth scramble and a deflection the number eight Rothwell is credited with the equaliser , the ball looping past the despairing Collick. .
Crows respond and Jon Trotter up for a corner sees his headed attempt bounce off the top of the crossbar .
It did not take long for Fish to take the lead as following some concerted pressure Crows failed to clear their lines and Adenkunle spines and fires in a great shot from an angle that gives Collick no chance as it nestles just inside the far post on the hour mark. Michael Death comes on for Ryan Waterman who has a knock.
Crows perhaps should of levelled the score as following a goalmouth scramble the goal seemed to lead a charmed life as a combination of Lee in goal and defenders kept the ball out from point blank range before finally being cleared .
Alex Rich is replaced for his debut by Jason Hinkson .
On seventy minutes from a Crows point of view disaster struck as the visitors lost the ball on the halfway mark and left short at the back Fish broke in numbers , at pace and although young Ryan Hinkson deflected the cross past Collick for an own goal there were players around who would have put the ball away had he not intervened .
Paul Butler is replaced by Will Jagger , for his Crows debut .
Crows throw caution to the wind and attack in numbers , Michael Death blasts over and another Crows freekick goes just over the bar .
Jagger and Death combine well as Crows seek to reduce the arrears but Lee makes a great save at the second attempt .
With time running out and Crows upfield Fish break again with pace and purpose and substitute Keanu Williams gets on the score sheet to complete Crows misery. It is left to Nick Collick to make a couple of late saves to prevent the score being increased.
Fish will be delighted with the points , the score slightly flattering but the result well deserved .
Crows will pick themselves up for Deal next week in another long away day.