Enfield Town 3 BK Skjold 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

What a night, what an occasion, what an atmosphere!

On a freezing  midweek evening, just short of 600 fans embraced our European debut on Tuesday and were in full voice as we beat the holders BK Skjold in the Fenix trophy that generated huge media exposure across the capital and beyond.

Against a well organised Danish team that may have been understrength but still posed a considerable challenge, we were well worth the win that puts us in an ideal position with three matches to go in the group stage.

With key players again missing through illness – this time Rhys Forster and James Richmond – Mickey Parcell occupied yet another defensive role by switching to centrehalf  with the versatile Lewis Taaffe filling in at rightback and Adi Connolly in goal.

Yet throughout the 90 minutes, we limited Skjold to few clearcut chances which could end up as crucial since they are going to be a far tougher nut to crack in the reverse fixture in March.

Town had the better of the early exchanges, Josh Okotcha planting a header over the bar and Sam Youngs putting a header just wide while at the other end winger Marius Framnes – Skjold’s most dangerous player on the night – took advantage of misplaced pass by firing in a shot across goal though with no Danish player close enough to get a touch.

The deadlock was broken on 37 minutes as Town deservedly went in front. Skjold only half-cleared a Joe Payne freekick and the ball fell to Youngs who smashed it home.

Visiting keeper Thomas Thygesen then saved from Ollie Knight and Marcus Wyllie in quick succession as we looked assured and composed without necessarily playing the sparkling football we have seen in some of the recent home games.

H-T 1-0

The second half continued pretty much in the same though at times became somewhat scrappy.

Town continued to look a threat, however,  and when Wyllie’s pace took him past his marker, his cross just evaded Reece Beckles-Richards.

 While we only one goal ahead, however, the Danes were always in with a chance and so it proved with a sucker punch on 80 minutes as substitute Mattias Gorse lashed home an equalising volley with their only second-half shot on target.

Would we end up being frustrated and disappointed on our big night? Thankfully not. Four minutes later, Youngs restored our lead from the penalty spot after Thygesen was adjudged to have tripped Beckles-Richards.

There was still time during six minutes added on for Wyllie to make it three with a goal worthy of the Keystone Kops as he nicked the ball off Thygesen following a woeful defensive cross-field howler, sparking wild celebrations (pictured).

The only downside in otherwise memorable night and brilliant atmosphere was an injury to the excellent Adjei-Hersey that will have to be assessed.

“Really pleased with the performance, no-one could have denied us six which would have given us a goal difference cushion,” said a distinctly under the weather Gavin Macpherson who left much of the dugout duties to his coaching staff.

 “We had to adjust  yet again because of missing players and all in all the boys adapted themselves brilliantly. We had a real team ethic and it was more like the Enfield Town I know. The support was magnificent from first minute to last and really drove the boys on. If we can get two results against Llantwit Major, Copenhagen could be the decider.”

Town:

Connolly; Payne, Parcell, Okotcha, Taaffe (bailey, 86); Adjei-Hersey (Soulya-Osekanongo, 80), Thomas, youngs, Knight; Wyllie, Beckles-Richards (Donnellan, 90)

It’s finally here and you can almost touch the anticipation and excitement

On Tuesday night, Enfield Town take a break from the league season as we began our very first European campaign with our debut in the Fenix Trophy (kickoff 7.45).

Holders BK Skjold from Denmark are our visitors in Group A of the competition under the lights, generating phenomenal  media interest from across the capital and beyond.

Just to remind everyone, Fenix is a UEFA-approved European competition for non-professional clubs of exceptional social, historical, and cultural distinctiveness.

This is the third season of the tournament, with 12 teams taking part from right across the continent. BK Skjold beat Prague Raptors in the last final in Milan.

The format is four groups of three, with 2 home and 2 away games. The other side in our group is Llantwit Major of Wales

“I see the competition as more than just football. It’s a chance for us to play against teams that at their foundation have so much in common with Enfield Town,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“Of course there is a competitive football side and it’s a competition we would like to do well in, but I realise there is a much bigger picture with a common meaning for all taking part. On team selection, after some issues on Saturday around illness it remains to be seen what shape we’ll be in.”

If anyone is around during the day to help out with a number of tasks, it would be much appreciated.

And make sure you stick around in the bar after the game when we have the incredibly talented duo, Acoustic Fidelity, playing their own unique versions of all the hits you love.

Get your passports ready… we are very excited to finally confirm a date for our away fixture with Copenhagen side BK Skjold!

Our game in the Danish capital will take place on the evening of Tuesday 5th March 2024.

We will be offering a limited number of travel packages to include flights, accommodation, and meals. If you would be interested in taking up this offer, please register your interest in the Club Shop or contact a club representative by email or on a matchday.

Of course, we host BK Skjold this Tuesday evening at the QEII in our opening game of the tournament in Group A. Tickets for the game are still available here: Enfield Town v BK Skjold [FENIX] Tickets

We hope to see as many of you – home and away – as possible!

Chatham Town 3 Enfield Town 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Let’s start on a positive note. Straight after yesterday’s game, a Chatham fan came up to me and said we had the noisiest away fans in the division, even in defeat.

A couple of minutes later, Gavin Macpherson emerged from the dressing room and, before his post-match interview,  headed straight to the away end and made a point of thanking them in person.

“We have the best supporters in this league by a country mile and I’m humbled to be their manager,” Gavin explained.

It was perhaps the only plus point to take away from another chastening setback that saw us swap places with Chatham and drop to third.

It only served to exemplify what can happen when you have key players missing and, with a stretched squad, one or two others on the pitch struggling with health issues, a couple more forced to play out of position and only four on the bench, one of them from the academy.

That’s not making excuses but it’s certainly a factor to take into consideration. Having said that, Chatham were the better side in all areas of the pitch (few defences keep Marcus Wyllie quiet) and at the end of the day, we didn’t have enough guile or nous to deserve a point  and, once again, conceded goals for fun, now with the sixth worst stats in the division.

Without the suspended Joe Payne and the ill Ollie Knight and with one or two others below-par, Mickey Parcell was switched to the left with Kyle Bailey filling in at rightback and Lewis Taaffe playing out wide.

In truth, we struggled to contain an athletic Chatham side that had two quick wingers who were constant menaces and fell behind on 21 minutes. Ashley Nzala bamboozled Bailey whose late challenge on the edge of the box meant only one thing, deadball specialist  Jack Evans netting with a sumptuous freekick.

Within four minutes, however, we had levelled with a Sam Youngs header that looped into the net (pictured), only to fall behind again from the penalty spot when Jamie Yila got the better of Bailey who promptly brought him down.   Yila took the spotkick himself with a stuttering run-up and restored the Chats lead.

Cue a tactical substitution as Bailey, who had been given a torrid time,  was replaced by Obi Onyeagwara  with Taaffe moving to the right.

H-T 1-2

For a while, the move worked as the game became far more finely balanced and we stopped Chatham dictating play, posing a threat ourselves though without really testing a formidable home backline.

Youngs was pushed further forward as we tried to hit back but with 15 minutes to go, the hosts put the game to bed.  Wyllie lost possession in the opposition half and Nzala caught Josh Okotcha off guard, timing his run down the right to perfection to stay onside and Chris Dickson finished off the cross from close range. In the closing stages, Ben Allen almost made it four when hitting the post in a goalmouth scramble.

“They scored their third when we were perhaps having our most decent spell and it killed us,” said Gavin. “We didn’t create an awful lot but one of two wouldn’t have played with a fully fit squad.”

“That’s not making excuses. We tried hard but keep making the same mistakes. Perhaps I’m at a time when I need to analyse exactly where we are. The fans deserve far more than they got today.”

Town: Forster; Bailey (Onyeagwara, 37), Okotcha, Richmond, Parcell; Adjei-Hersey, Thomas, Youngs, Taaffe; Wyllie, Beckles-Richards (Donnellan, 73)

 As six-pointers go, they don’t come much more eagerly anticipated than tomorrow when we visit high-flying Chatham Town in a battle of third versus second.

The “Chats”, promoted to Step 3 last season and playing in front of huge crowds, are currently one point and one place behind us having played one game less.

They have only lost once at home in the league and in their last outing in midweek, on the same night we conceded two late goals to drop two points against Whitehawk, they beat Wingate and Finchley in the last minute to gain ground on us.

As if our task could not be tougher already, Joe Payne is out through suspension while a couple of other key regulars missed training on Thursday and are doubtful because of an illness in the camp.

“We’ve got one or two issues that aren’t ideal and a few decisions to make,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“I know it sounds like a broken record but this is a very, very difficult fixture. They are a club trying to step up to the next level and very quickly judging by the magnitude of their signings.”

“We are away from home on an unfamiliar artificial surface. So when you take all this into consideration it’s going to be a very challenging day. But a lot of work was done in training on Thursday and not for one minute do I think it’s a challenge we can’t overcome — even if we have to re-plan.”

After a short stay with the club, George Sykes has decided to leave Enfield Town and join Brentwood.

The management team would have preferred George to stay given his experience but he understandably wants to play regularly.

“We received an official approach for George from Brentwood and applying the seven-day rule George spoke to them and decided at this time it was best for him to move on,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“I made it clear I didn’t want George to leave but he felt he needed to get his season on track and of course I respect that. George wished Enfield Town all the very best. In turn, I wished George every success as he moves forward, we now need to regroup and probably recruit again.”

As a club we too wish George all the very best and thank him for his efforts which included one goal and one assist.

Enfield  Town 4 Whitehawk 4

Report by Andrew Warshaw

If you want breathtaking entertainment and end to end action, Enfield Town is certainly the place to be at the moment.  Just not when you throw away two points.

Which is what happened on Tuesday when Town were 3-1 up, then 4-2 up, only to concede twice in the last five minutes, leaving Gavin Macpherson understandably fuming.

While we continue to score goals for fun – and invariably more than we concede — defending is beginning to become a serious concern.  

It’s still early days in terms of the season as a whole and we remain in a terrific position, notwithstanding Chatham’s late win that only increases the anticipation ahead of Saturday’s clash.

But only eight teams in the division have let in more goals than us and closing out games will now surely be a priority.

A sublime hat-trick from Marcus Wyllie would on most occasions have got us well over the line but no game in this division is a given and Whitehawk , like us, had been on a decent run of form and certainly did not come to sit back on the balance of play.

Unchanged from the win over Hastings, Town once again got off to a great start after 11 minutes  as Marcus held his run before sweeping the ball home after an excellent move down the right.

The lead was short-lived, however, the luckless Josh Okotcha diverting the ball into his own net  as he tried to keep out dangerman Charlie Walker but got it all wrong.

It galvanised Whitehawk who started to dominate possession, skipper Jack Dixon especially eye-catching, and they almost went in front when Mickey Parcell’s back header was far too weak, Rhys Forster just managing to flick the ball away in front of Walker.

At the other end, Whitehawk cleared off the line from Marcus while Sam Youngs narrowly failed to get the final touch from a freekick as he burst into the box.

Now it was Town’s turn to clear off the line as Parcell redeemed himself but both defences were looking decidedly shaky and you kind of knew there would be goals aplenty.

So it proved as Town went into a quickfire lead. First Youngs, on the counter, capitalised on a Hawks error with a fabulous hit on the edge of the box. Then Marcus doubled our lead with a trademark turn and shot.

Concentration was in short supply, however, and Dixon’s header from a corner reduced the deficit on the stroke of halftime.

H-T 3-2

Cue a halftime change from the management team as Kyle Bailey moved into defence to replace Okotcha whose partnership with James Richmond had stood us in such good stead earlier in the season.

By all accounts, Josh was distinctly peeved but these are the kind of decisions coaching staff are at liberty to take and for a while you could argue it paid off.

Within a minute of the restart, Wyllie completed his hattrick with the best of his three, shooting home from wide on the left with pinpoint accuracy (Pictured).

He almost added two more, lashing the ball over after being played through by Reece Beckles-Richards, then hitting the woodwork and seeing the rebound by Dylan Adjei-Hersey saved.

What followed, however, was certainly not in the script.

On 85 minutes, Forster was adjudged to have clumsily impeded Joe Tennant and Dixon dispatched the penalty.

Still, we should have managed the game properly. Instead, right on 90 minutes, Forster found himself in no man’s land and Louis Collins delivered a masterful chip to deny us all three points.

“It was littered with individual errors and I feel sorry for Marcus in a way,” said Gavin who had strong words with the players at halftime and afterwards. “I’m quick to say when I’ve got it wrong but this one is firmly with them. “

“I don’t deny Whitehawk getting back level in the first half, they’re a difficult side. But overall we were just a giveaway tonight. The finish to the game was absolutely ridiculous.

“You see it out even if you haven’t played well but we didn’t. We’ve scored four goals at home and haven’t won the football match. The players have been doing far better than they did tonight. We must not see a continuation of that. I just hope they don’t come to regret the two points lost come the end of the season.”

Town:

Forster; Payne; Okotcha (Bailey, 46), Richmond, Parcell; Adjei-Hersey, Youngs, Thomas (Donnellan 77), Knight; Wyllie, Beckles-Richards (Sykes, 87).

Enfield Town attempt to continue their purple patch of form by taking on Whitehawk at home on Tuesday night (k-o 7.45).

Whitehawk may lie in ninth place on 20 points but they have only played 12 league games so far compared with our 15.

Shaun Saunders’ Hawks finished second in the Isthmian South East division last season and won promotion via the playoffs. They have taken to Step 3 like a duck to water and are another highly dangerous team on paper.

On Saturday they beat neighbours Lewes 3-1 to advance to the third round of the FA Trophy for the first time.

In fact they have only lost once in nine games in all competitions, a narrow 1-0 defeat at high-flying Chatham who we play on Saturday.

Town’s recent good form is a far cry from those two cup exits and it’s all down to hard work, says Gavin Macpherson.

“Last week, with the Brightlingsea game called off, we had two training sessions and worked religiously on certain aspects of our game,” explained Gavin. “When you play good sides, you have to have things worked out. My staff are worth their weight in gold.”

“We’ve got a different sort of problem against Whitehawk, and I’ll say the same against Chatham. They just keep coming and it’s important the boys remain grounded. We’re second right now but to achieve something, you have to constantly reset and refocus.”

One footnote. Our partners Cooking Champions have designated the Whitehawk game as curry night costing £8 for chicken curry and £7 for a vegetarian option.

So make sure you have an appetite!

Andrew Warshaw

A quick note to let everyone know that our away game at Horsham on Saturday Dec 9 has been postponed because of Horsham’s continuing involvement in the FA Trophy

A new date will be announced as soon as possible

Enfield Town 3 Hastings United 1

Report by Andrew Warshaw

What a fantastic advert this was for Step 3 football. Two in-form sides both going for it, thrills at both ends and one team ultimately being more clinical in front of goal.

On a day when there were no top-flight professional games due to the international programme, you couldn’t really have asked for a better quality spectacle at this level.

In the end, it was the hosts who ran out deserved winners to make it four wins out of five and cement our place in second spot after a classic team display watched by almost 650 fans.

Hastings certainly played their part and may claim they deserved more on the balance of play but then so did we at Hornchurch. These things tend to even out over the season.

Such was the gloom of the afternoon that the floodlights were on after just five minutes  but there was nothing gloomy about the action on the pitch.

Rhys Forster was called into action early doors, tipping over a speculative effort from Jack Bates  as the visitors began brightly, with John Ufoah a particular threat on the left.

Rhys was forced into action again to palm away an effort from Kian Moyes, put through by a defence-splitting Bates pass.

But Charlie Grainger gradually became the busier keeper, dealing with a string of Town corners, clutching a Sam Youngs volley after Joe Payne’s thunderbolt had been blocked, then pulling off a miraculous double save to keep the score goalless just as the crowd thought we had taken the lead.

The deadlock was finally broken right on halftime as Reece Beckles-Richards – finally evading having his shirt pulled – managed to fire home through a ruck of players following an Ollie Knight freekick.

H-T 1-0

Hastings were quick to respond as Ufuah rattled the bar in the first move of the second half and were soon level as Moynes rolled the ball in with a smart finish.

The U’s hardly had time to celebrate, however, before they were again indebted to Grainger, this time for a remarkable TRIPLE stop.

But even he could nothing about Enfield regaining the lead as Marcus Wyllie, running forward from an onside position, produced a wonderful first touch to bring Mickey Parcell’s ball out of defence under control and finish with aplomb.

It was perfect timing but it needed a third to put the visitors to bed and it duly arrived on 64 minutes. Two Hastings defenders got in each other’s way, allowing Wyllie to find Ollie Knight  who almost burst the net with a glorious low drive (pictured).

Hastings kept playing their football and it needed a timely block by substitute Lewis Taaffe to keep them out.

They also claimed they should have had a penalty but by now Town were smelling a fourth and almost got it, first when a Dylan Adjei-Hersey effort cannoned up and over the bar, then when Wyllie broke free again, only for Grainger to make an excellent covering stop.

“We knew it would be a very difficult game because they are well drilled and pass the ball well,” said Enfield boss Gavin Macpherson after a breathtaking encounter marred only by a booking for Payne which will keep him out of the Chatham clash next Saturday.

“At times we had to think outside the box, so to speak, and we’re not the finished article by any means. It wasn’t vintage but we’ve always got goals in us.

“Hastings are where they are for a reason, they make you work very hard especially when you’re out of possession and we needed to do our homework. I’m as pleased as I have been in any game this season because we’ve produced a performance against a very good side. I have to pay tribute not only to the players but all my management team.”

Town:

Forster; Parcell, Okotcha, Richmond, Payne; Adjei-Hersey (Donnallan 89), Thomas, Youngs, Knight (Onyeahgware, 81); Beccles-Richards (Taaffe, 81), Wyllie