Tomorrow (Tuesday), with no midweek league game,  we have arranged a friendly at Ware, kickoff 7.45.

Looking ahead, our recently postponed game away to Hastings has now been re-arranged for Tuesday, March 7, kickoff 7.45

Enfield Town 4 Carshalton Athletic 1

Report by Ken Brazier

Town moved into pole position on goal difference in the Isthmian Premier table with an emphatic win against the Robins who played their full part.

Manager Andy Leese opted to stick with the same starting XI that had been so impressive against Billericay Town four days earlier, and the hosts got off to the best possible start in the first minute when a dipping cross from the right from man-of-the-match Marcus Wyllie was headed home by Andre Coker.

The ball just crept over the line despite the efforts of keeper Danny Bracken to claw it out.  Curiously, Coker had achieved the same feat of scoring in the first minute at Bowers & Pitsea a fortnight previously.  

The visitors’ early reverse kick-started a decent spell of possession for them, and they would have counted themselves unlucky when Nathan McDonald, making his 302^nd Enfield appearance between the sticks, thwarted former Towner Kurtis Cumberbatch with a fine save.

Adam Cunnington headed wide from Wyllie’s cross and Coker attempted an overhead kick from a good position inside the Carshalton box, but Enfield gave themselves some breathing space when quick feet from Coker produced a great cross for Lewis Knight to head home after 26 minutes.

Carshalton, who had been in good form coming into the game, continued to press and caught the eye with some accurate deliveries in the final third which kept McDonald on his toes under his crossbar, but overall Town were probably worth their half-time lead.

HT: 2-0

Carshalton emerged from the break in determined mood and, after fashioning a couple of chances which were either saved or blocked, deservedly reduced the arrears when Tommy Bradford was quickest to react to and convert a loose ball which had come back to him off the post.

There followed a 15-minute spell for the Surrey outfit which looked ominous from a home perspective, and there were a number of blocks and deflections but the introduction of Jake Cass as a 68^th minute substitute ultimately triggered a Town response.

 In the 76^th minute, Cass managed to squeeze the ball home amongst a sea of legs following a Joe Payne throw on the left.

Substitutes Lewis Taaffe and Lyle Della-Verde both fired over the top as the game became increasingly stretched but in added time Sam Youngs set up a hungry-looking Cass to get past Arthur Lee and Bradley Williams and finish emphatically low into the far corner past the diving Bracken (pictured).

No-one is getting carried away with such a long way to go but after five wins in six outings, it’s all getting very exciting in the race for automatic promotion with no single runaway team. With a settled side, Town are certainly in the mix.

 “It’s been a tough week. Following on from the Billericay game Carshalton made us work extremely hard for this win, and I thought it was another complete all-round performance like we had on Tuesday,” said a beaming Andy Leese. “Defensively, we look better than we did last season and the goals are being spread around the team. I couldn’t be more delighted. A big shout out to our supporters who were again top class.”

Team:  McDonald; Spencer, Knight, Richmond, Payne; Youngs, Isaac, Thomas, Wyllie (Della-Verde, 81); Coker (Cass, 68), Cunnington (Taaffe, 75).

After four wins in our last five games, Enfield Town attempt to maintain the momentum tomorrow by adding in-form Carshalton Athletic to our recent list of scalps.

With our hugely impressive midweek win over Billericay still fresh in  the mind, Town go into the home game against the Robins with understandable confidence but will certainly not take the opposition lightly.

Carshalton are currently 6th in the table with 44 points, one behind Town but having played two games more.

Back in November we won 3-1 in the corresponding fixture with goals from Sam Youngs, Jake Cass and a Bradley Williams own goal.

But since then, Carshalton, emerging as a surprise package this season, have put together an excellent run with only one other defeat in 11 league games, including an away draw at Hornchurch.

Their top goal scorers are Tom Beere with 10 goals and Fem Akinwande with nine.

Saturday’s game has been designated a Woolly Hat/Scarves Day and we ask all supporters to wear either a Town Hat or Scarf to create a sea of blue and white around the QE II Stadium.

The event was warmly embraced last season and the club have stocked up on items to meet demand. So if you don’t already have a Town hat or scarf visit the club shop before kickoff.

As well as Saturday’s excellent programme you will be able to buy a paper copy of the Billericay Programme from the Club Shop.

Enfield Town 2 Billericay Town 0

 Report by Andrew Warshaw

Backed by raucous support from first whistle to last, Enfield Town produced one of their best performances of the season – if not THE best – on a freezing but highly satisfying night that pushed us up to third on goal difference.

Against a side who were in Step 2 last season and were unbeaten in their last six games, Town produced a quality display – capped by two glorious goals — to delight a more than decent midweek attendance of 415, especially given the conditions. Hats off to the ground staff for getting the game on.

As an advert for Step 3 football, it was right up there, with much of the game played on the deck on a surface that was not easy to cope with.

It was hard to pick out any one player, with everyone putting in a shift and, crucially, covering for each other when necessary.

 Town were defensively strong with bodies on the line when needed,  aggressive in midfield and lively up front – all important factors against dangerous opponents who posed a genuine threat in the first half but didn’t lay a glove on us in the second.

With our last two games having been postponed, Town were eager to get straight on the front foot.  Andre Coker twice went close while at the other end we managed to clear a Ricay effort off the line, followed by Nathan McDonald making a superb double save.

In an end to end opening period, Marcus Wyllie twice blasted over and both Coker and Adam Cunnington had further chances while for Ricay, at times slick on the ball,  dangerman Bradley Stevenson and Alfie Cerulli were narrowly off-target.

The deadlock was broken on 36 minutes courtesy of a sublime Joe Payne freekick. Billericay were furious at Marvel Ekpiteta being penalised for holding down Cunnington and Payne made them pay with the sweetest of strikes.

In the final move of a highly entertaining opening half, Stevenson weaved his way into the box, only for Nathan to preserve our lead.

H-T 1-0

Billericay have invariably been a second half team but not this time as we took complete control.

Wyllie so nearly doubled our lead from Chez Isaac’s glorious pass, only for Harry Seaden to pull off a fine stop, and the Ricay keeper was quickly on hand again to push away Joe Payne’s effort.

All it needed to round of a terrific display was a second goal – and what it goal it was.

Shortly after coming on as a sub for the evergreen Scott Thomas, Lewis Taaffe jinked his way into the box on 82 minutes, left two defenders floundering (pictured) and picked his spot with a fabulous finish.

There was still time for the luckless Wyllie to misplace a header from six yards out but Andy Leese was understandably delighted with the display.

“We got the goals at the good times and the second half performance was outstanding,” said Andy who is building formidable teamwork and camaraderie as we enter the second half of the season – as well as competition for places.

“Billericay are a very good possession team so the players deserve all the credit.  It’s not easy leaving out good players. The hardest part of the job is keeping everyone happy.”

“Mo’s goals last season were huge but perhaps disguised some of our weaknesses elsewhere on the pitch which we no longer have. I’m not sure we’d have got that result in the second half of last season.”

Town:

McDonald; Spencer, Knight, Richmond, Payne (Wilson-Braithwaite, 86); Youngs, Isaac, Thomas (Taaffe, 79), Wyllie; Coker (Cass, 82), Cunnington

The Club has made great strides since its formation but the board recognise it cannot stand still and that the infrastructure has to therefore support the ambition of playing at the highest sustainable level.

 It is an indication of the progress made that attendances have improved to the degree where our facilities at times struggle with providing supporters with the services they deserve.

On the pitch we are knocking on the door of Step 2 football and our community activities have expanded enormously extending the awareness of the club within the borough. 

Our academy has been very popular and demand for places exceeds classroom space. Recent planning permission for further cabins to house much needed additional classrooms require us to provide a permanent provision within the next 5 years. The main building at the stadium is iconic and loved by us all but it simply does not have the room to allow the club to grow further.

The directors have therefore decided to explore the possibility of an additional facility within the stadium that will allow us to provide improved matchday facilities, additional classrooms for the academy and a centre for our community activities.

The first step has been to commission the drawing of plans to utilise the area adjacent to the turnstiles and behind the current cabins used by the academy. The club is extremely grateful to Pellings for their support in providing the drawings for the potential new facility to get this exciting project off the ground. 

Chair Paul Reed said: “It essential for our future success that we align our growth both on and off the pitch. Given the progress of our football and community activities it is vital that we have the right infrastructure in place to support the development of our club moving forward. With aspirations for our first team to be playing at Step 2 and with a thriving education programme, youth, ladies and community development sections, we feel that now is the right time for new facilities to enable the club to continue to thrive.  It’s fantastic to be working with such professional and enthusiastic partners in Pellings and the board have been incredibly impressed with the plans drawn up for us and appreciative of their support. Whilst it’s still early days we’re hopeful that with the support of our local council and other partners we can make this dream a reality”

Pellings’ support has also extended to sponsoring our Community Sports Development specialised coaching sessions for children working with our local NHS Community Paediatric Physiotherapy Teams.

Mark Brown, Managing Director at Pellings, said: “We are extremely proud to have had the opportunity to support such a fantastic charity and to work with Enfield Town Football Club. At Pellings, we thoroughly enjoy delivering projects that positively impact local communities, which is why we are pleased to help provide football sessions that make a difference to young people in Enfield. We look forward to continuing to fundraise for the team at our upcoming events and promoting the team and their work via our social media channels”. 

Trustee of ETFC Community Sports Development Paul Millington said: “Pellings support for these sessions is very welcome. Providing the opportunity for children of all abilities to enjoy the game is so important. We have seen at first hand the benefits these sessions have”.

The club will be showing the plans for this exciting new venture at its AGM for Society members on Thursday 2 February at 7.30pm. Membership is open to all supporters and can be purchased on the night.

The match referee has deemed the pitch playable for tonight’s home game against Billericay Town, and the game will go ahead as planned; 7:45pm kickoff.

Our league game with Folkestone, originally scheduled for Jan 17 but postponed because of a frozen pitch, has now been officially re-arranged for Tuesday Feb 21, kickoff 7.45

Travel arrangements and further details to come

After successive away postponements against Folkestone and Hastings, Town are hoping for third time lucky tomorrow, Tuesday, at home to Billericay, kickoff 7.45.

The temperature forecast doesn’t look great in terms of the pitch being passed fit (watch for news on that) but fingers crossed.

Town could certainly do with a competitive fixture after all the recent frustrations, the latest being Saturday’s late postponement in East Sussex despite Hastings doing their best to get the game on.

Billericay lie seventh in the table after 26 games having been relegated to Step 3 last season. But they are in a rich vein of form having won four and drawn two of their last six games

Their most recent encounter was a 5-1 trouncing of Kingstonian on Saturday, one of five games to beat the freeze.

They always travel with a healthy following so if the game is on, it is certainly one not to miss with fourth-placed Town looking to consolidate their place among the leading teams.

After the frustration of having our midweek fixture with Folkestone called off, Enfield Town return to competitive action tomorrow with what should an enthralling battle at Hastings United, kickoff 3pm

Promoted from step 4 last summer, Hastings are one of the best supported sides in the division and a bumper crowd is expected for the visit of Town with just four points and three places separating the teams.

Considered very much one of the league’s dark horses, Hastings may have lost their last home game against Hornchurch but the fact that it was their only defeat in nine league matches says everything about how dangerous they can be.

In fact before Hornchurch we were the last side to beat them in the league with a 1-0 victory in November.

With Town in confident mood and good form – three wins from four games and players back and fighting for selection – it promises to be a mouth-watering occasion at the TGS Pilot Field in East Sussex as we attempt to secure the double over our hosts.

A reminder that the club are running a coach so if you haven’t sorted travel for Saturday, and would like a return ticket for just £18, please contact Les Gold on 07979 727 563 – or email lesgold@btinternet.com to book.

A reminder that the club are running a coach to our next Isthmian Premier Division match away at Hastings United this Saturday, 21st January 2023.
There are still a few spaces on board, so if you haven’t sorted travel for Saturday, and would like a return ticket from door to door for under £20, please call Les Gold on 07979 727 563 – or email lesgold@btinternet.com to book.

The coach details are:

• Destination – Hastings United FC, Elphinstone Road, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 2AX
• Departure – Leaving 11AM SHARP from the QEII Stadium, Donkey Lane
• Tickets – £18.00 each [payable in cash on the journey]