We are delighted to announce the appointment of Callum Nevill as our Head of Performance Analysis.

Callum is currently employed by Leyton Orient where he analyses footage of their players during matches which includes clipping and coding individually.

His role at Enfield Town will follow a similar pattern, helping to find where we can strengthen the side tactically as well as physically, using match footage to assess where we can strengthen.

Callum’s work with ourselves and Orient will contribute to his MSc in Performance Analysis which he is studying with the University of Worcester.

Welcome, Callum!

Ware 1 Enfield Town 2

An experimental Enfield Town team ran out 2-1 winners in an enjoyable friendly at Wodson Park, with a number of academy players and triallists taking the opportunity to impress alongside members of the first-team squad.

With no competitive game scheduled until Cheshunt on Boxing Day, Gavin Macpherson gave vital game time to Josh Okotcha who skippered the side, Leo Donnellan, Obi Onyeagwara, Lewis Taaffe, Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo and Jonathan Hippolyte.

Both teams employed two wide players, which made for an entertaining and open encounter.

 Town enjoyed the better of the first half, and turned round two goals to the good courtesy of Lewis Taaffe’s well directed freekick, and a first Town goal for Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo follwing Obi Onyreagwara’s jet-propelled gallop down the right wing and low centre.

The best effort from Step 4 Ware thumped against the post midway through the half but Town were good value for their lead.

 The second half saw the customary fleet of substitutes being introduced, but the flow of the game was not affected.

The lively Onyeagwara had Town’s best chance of the half with another solo gallop ending in a decent save from the home keeper. The hosts pulled a goal back from a corner early in the half but Town’s youthful and blown-together defence succeeded in repelling all further efforts.

 A night on which several trialists and academy boys  could be proud of their efforts whilst some of the first-team squad who hadn’t had much action were given a chance to improve fitness levels.

Martin Bentley

With no further competitive action until Boxing Day, Enfield Town have arranged a friendly away at Step 4 Ware tomorrow, Tuesday, ko 7.45, with free entry.

Last Thursday’s training session had to be cut short because of technical issues and with only one league game in the three weeks between Margate and Cheshunt – Saturday’s win over Dulwich – the management team are keen  to get the players up to speed.

“We have no training facilities due to light failure and this will help keep everyone topped up with minutes,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“We will look carefully at who plays and who doesn’t.”

Enfield Town 3 Dulwich Hamlet 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Sometimes playing against 10 men can be a curse rather than a blessing.

Not this time as Enfield Town took advantage of numerical superiority for the last 35 minutes on Saturday, hitting back from two goals down to end Hamlet’s 10-match unbeaten league run and move into Christmas in third, a fantastic achievement and something to be proud of.

Tactical nous by the management team combined with a collective reaction from the players turned what looked like a potential defeat against strong opponents  into three massive points that set us up for the holiday programme.

Dulwich’s tall defenders gobbled up much of our early play whilst their long ball game kept us on our toes at the other end.

The spaces we usually find were hard to come by and on 37 minutes we fell behind. Mickey Parcell sold Rhys Forster short with an underhit  backpass and Josh Okotcha impeded Danny Mills as Hamlet’s danger man prepared to shoot on the turn. Luke Wanadio made no mistake from the spot.

We should have equalised straight away when Reece Beckles-Richards was clean through but slipped at the vital moment though Dulwich got lucky when a crude foul on Ollie Knight by Joshua Okpolokpo earlier in the same move went unpunished.

H-T 0-0

After an even first half, Town emerged with far more ideas and fluency and were immediately denied a stonewall penalty for a blatant handball by Okpolokpo that incensed players and management alike.

R’van Constable then pulled off two smart saves but on 54 minutes we were given the perfect encouragement when Okpolokpo, booked in the final minute of the first half, was finally sent off for a second yellow.

Yet it was Dulwich who struck again, doubling their lead as Mills’ strength took him into the area before unleashing a powerful drive beyond Rhys Forster.

Town needed a lifeline and Sam Youngs almost provided it, only for Constable to get his fingertips to a rasping drive.

Parcell then saw a volley flash wide while Marcus Wyllie, uncharacteristically, missed our second one-on-one of the afternoon as he poked the ball straight down Constable’s throat.

A change of formation saw us move to 3-5-2 with Parcell in central midfield and on 69 minutes we halved the deficit.  

Seemingly keen to atone for his previous blunder, the referee harshly pointed to the spot for a hardly visible handball and Youngs sent the otherwise commanding Constable the wrong way.

It was exactly the tonic we needed if only we could improve our finishing to round off our attacking play.

Youngs had a 25-yard volley tipped over but on 81 minutes, debutant Jonathan Hippolyte, signed only on Friday, levelled from close range just moments after coming off the bench when Wyllie’s soft shot was deflected into his path.

Even now it seemed Dulwich, despite being pegged back, might hold out with ten.

Instead,  in the last minute of normal time, Lewis Taaffe, another well-timed substitution, collected an uncleared corner and fed James Richmond who smashed the ball  home from the edge of the box (pictured, celebrating).

There was still time, after the final whistle, for Dulwich boss Hakan Hayrettin to be dismissed for what appeared to be some choice language to the referee after declining to shake hands with our dugout.

Gavin Macpherson had also fallen foul of the ref by being booked at halftime for seemingly simply standing up for his players but was delighted with the win, especially after training on Thursday had been disrupted by floodlight failure.

“I think our tactics were spot on,” said Gavin citing the change in system that arguably won us the game as we went wider when 10-man Dulwich played narrower.

 “All we were lacking early on was that bit of quality and sharpness in trying to break them down. We had got into good areas but then fluffed our lines.”

“Would we have won 11 against 11? I’ve no idea to be honest but I don’t think anyone can deny us the win. They’re an experienced side with Step 1 and 2 players.

“I wasn’t happy with the goals we conceded because it gave us a mountain to climb. It’s not every day you manage to come back from two goals down.

“But in terms of character and desire I can’t fault the players.”

Forster: Parcell, Okotcha, Richmond, Payne; Adjei-Hersey (Hippolyte 73), Youngs, Thomas, Knight; Beckles-Richards (Taaffe, 82), Wyllie (Donnellan 90)

We are delighted to announce that we have signed experienced forward Jonathan Hippolyte whose last club was Southall.

Jonathan, 28, began his career at Maidenhead United and is well known to Gavin Macpherson having played under him at Met Police. His other clubs include Beaconsfield Town and Bracknell Town.

“After George Sykes departed it’s important we added a forward,” said Gavin. “Additionally the signing is workable within our current structure.”

Not only that. Gavin has always gone for signings who fit into the dressing room.

“Hipps is versatile which is welcome when you have a small squad and he’s a great lad. He knows how pleased I am with Marcus and Rhys but it adds pace and competition as we enter a busy period.”

Welcome Jonathan

After a 10-day break, Enfield Town get back to league action tomorrow with a mouth-watering home fixture against Dulwich Hamlet.

Hamlet are by far the best supported team in the division and are expected to bring a sizeable contingent of fans, almost certainly resulting in our biggest league gate of the season.

They may sit ninth in the table after being relegated to Step 3 at the end of last season but our visitors have really hit their stride for the last two months.

Widely regarded at the start of the campaign to be among the promotion candidates, they are in a rich vein of form with a 10-match unbeaten league run that was extended last Saturday when over 200 supporters battled train strikes and the weather to beat Lewes 2-0 in Sussex.

The last time they slipped up  in the league was back in early October and since then  the only games they have lost have been cup ties.

“Dulwich are in good form which is not unexpected,” said Gavin Macpherson who will be hoping the boys can take advantage of a much-needed break and cement our hugely impressive top-three status.

 “They have an experienced management team and players who are more accustomed to playing at a higher level.”

“It’s once again another form test for us but one we look forward to especially since we are back in front of our own supporters.”

There is no problem with the pitch for those who wish to buy tickets in advance. The game will definitely be on.

On Saturday we will also be collecting for the North Enfield Foodbank . All donations welcome particularly:

Christmas food treats such as cakes, mince pies, biscuits etc

Gravy granules/cranberry Sauce/ Stuffing

Tinned potatoes and vegetables

Long Life Milk

Hot Chocolate/Coffee

Vegetarian/Gluten Free/ Dairy Free food items

Sweets and Savoury Snacks

Noodles and Ready Meals

Toiletries

Nappies (size 5 &6)/ Baby Food and wipes

COYT!

Gavin Macpherson sees this Saturday’s break in action as a blessing in disguise in an attempt to get the squad back to full fitness after so many recent enforced absentees due to injury niggles and illness.

With our game at Horsham postponed until mid-January because of their involvement in the FA Trophy, it’s a chance to recharge batteries and shake off any tiredness with our next game not scheduled until Dec 16 against Dulwich Hamlet.

“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” said Gavin. “We’ve got a couple of muscle injuries which we weren’t seeing earlier in the season and which perhaps tell you that your load is too much.”

Nevertheless we are third in the league, ahead of the likes of Billericay and other so-called big-hitters, a huge testament to all involved.

“We’ve been Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday and the squad is thin compared with some clubs,” said Gavin. “The modern game is a lot sharper than it used to be and there’s a lot more stamina involved.”

“It’s a chance to have a well-earned rest but from a management standpoint we have to keep their levels up and we’ll be working in training towards Dulwich to try and give us the best chance.”

Enfield Town 0 Brightlingsea Regent 1

Report By Andrew Warshaw

Those who were there couldn’t believe what they witnessed.

Total domination practically from first minute to last, no fewer than NINETEEN chances, the woodwork hit FOUR times, a missed penalty and an outfield player forced to go in goal but with nothing to do except pick the ball out his net once.

If you think we didn’t take the Velocity Cup seriously on Tuesday,  think again.

Yes, Gavin Macpherson made wholesale changes, some of them enforced. And yes we had no back-up goalkeeper on the bench with Reece Beckles-Richards forced to go between the sticks when Rhys Forster came off with concussion.

But hindsight is a wonderful thing and if you look at previous team sheets, only on one, perhaps two,  occasions this season have we had a goalkeeper on the bench. Not only that. You can count on two fingers the number of times our keeper has had to go off in recent campaigns.

The fact is we should have beaten Brightlingsea Regent by a landslide to reach the fourth round. Instead we are now out of all domestic cup competitions before Christmas.

With so many either still recovering from injury niggles or sickness, the management team quite understandably decided to look at some of our fringe players and in that respect it was a hugely worthwhile exercise.

Jordan Adeoye, only 17, looked assured and accomplished in a rarely employed back three while Obi Onyeahgwara and Gucchi Soulya-Osekanongo were just as eye-catching.

Mickey Parcell skippered the side and straight from kick-off the chances came thick and fast.

Soulya-Osekanongo sent a flying header just wide and Beckles-Richards thumped a shot against the post.

On 33 minutes, Reece volunteered to take over the goalkeeping gloves after Forster – who had earlier been unceremoniously flattened by Derek Asamoah and needed lengthy treatment – continued to feel the effects of the heavy challenge and had to come off.

The chances kept coming our way however, Soulya-Osekanongo and Lewis Taaffe having shots blocked before we were awarded a penalty on the stroke of halftime.

With Sam Youngs among the heavyweight subs, Marcus Wyllie – who had come off the bench to take Beckles-Richards’ place up front – stepped up but blasted the spotkick against the bar.

H-T 0-0

It seemed only a matter of time, however, before we would open our account as we carried on where we left off but Regent continued to ride their luck.

Marcus clipped the post, Taaffe somehow didn’t score from three yards but out of the blue, right on the hour, Regent delivered a sucker punch, scoring with their only effort on target through a Zack Littlejohn header from a freekick.

We should have been out of sight by then and continued to pepper the visitors’ goal but to no avail.

Kyle Bailey rattled the bar from a corner, only to for the ball to fortuitously bounce back into keeper Lewis Greene’s ’s arms. Greene then pulled off a miraculous one-handed save, Youngs drove over while a string of crosses continued to strike a visiting player first.

It wasn’t to be our night but Gavin Macpherson was philosophical in defeat.

 “That’s football but there were plenty of positives,” said Gavin. “A few players came in tonight, one or two from the academy,  and did themselves a power of good. That needs to be put out there.”

“We changed almost an entire side yet I’ve been more disappointed at times when we’ve won games.  It was probably the most chances we’ve created in any game this season.

“Did they do what they were asked and gave everything? Yes. Did we not quite have the quality in front of goal? Also yes. But sometimes you have to scratch your head and move on.”

Town:

Forster (Wyllie 33); Parcell (youngs, 70), Adeoye, Bailey; Knight, Birch, Donnellan, Soulya-Osekanongo, Onyeagwara (Davies, 75); Beckles-Richards, Taaffe.

Only one domestic knockout competition remains for Town to have a crack at this season as Brightlingsea Regent are the visitors to the QEII Stadium in the Third Round of the Velocity Cup tonight.

The winners will be away to Hashtag United in the Fourth Round.

Following relegation last season, Regent have made a strong start in the Isthmian Division One North and are currently fourth with 25 points from 14 games. On Saturday they downed Brentwood 2-0 at home, overtaking them in the process.

In the previous round of the Velocity, they defeated Grays Athletic 5-0 and there will be a definite result tonight as it’s straight to penalties if we are level at the end of normal time.

After being humbled by lower opposition in the Middlesex Senior Cup, you can bet the players will not be under-estimating tonight’s visitors.

“I don’t think anyone’s gonna hammer me for saying the priority is the league but it’s not a competition we want to just chuck away,” said Gavin Macpherson.

Tickets for tonight and our forthcoming home games are available here

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/brand/match-tickets

Enfield Town 2 Margate 0

Report From Andrew Warshaw

A first-half brace was enough for Enfield Town to see off lowly Margate and move into December in third spot, an encouraging eight points clear of the first side outside the playoff places.

But for the opening 15 minutes when the visitors threatened an upset, we ran out comfortable winners in front of 500-plus fans in freezing conditions despite several starters still suffering from the flu bug that has ripped through the camp.

After Margate wastefully failed to make their early promise count, fluffing a couple of presentable chances, Town took the lead against the run of play.

Birthday boy Mickey Parcell’s delicious cross was met by Sam Youngs who, with his back to goal, hooked the ball into the corner with an acrobatic finish (pictured).

Gate should have levelled when danger man Olly Box beat the offside trap but couldn’t beat Rhys Forster who made an outstanding stop.

It proved a decisive miss. On 25 minutes Reece Beckles-Richards rode three challenges as he needled his way into the box and toe-poked the ball home to double Town’s lead.

From then on, apart from a Ben Greenhalgh curling effort, we were rarely threatened, the pacey Box having gone off injured before halftime.

 H-T 2-0

Margate’s poor decision making in the final third had cost them dearly and they were fortunate not to fall further behind by the finish. To add to their woes, former Towner Lewis Knight was given the bird by those behind the goal when substituted midway through the second half.

Marcus Wyllie, one of those under the weather, appeared to have made the game by lashing in a third goal, only for the offside flag to be mysteriously raised.

And there were further attempts from Ollie Knight, whose curling effort was just off target, and a Joe Payne 20-yard screamer that was a whisker away.

In the dying moments, Parcell almost scored a birthday special as his jinxed his way into the area, only for Harry Seaden to ruin the script by pulling off a last-ditch save.

After seeing his side keep a much-needed clean sheet and, importantly, manage the game out, Gavin Macpherson was pleased with the application.

“Some of them were still suffering and Jimbo was ready to come off at halftime so I’m absolutely delighted,” said Gavin. “We were running on empty yet controlled the game for large periods.”

“After the couple of weeks we’ve had when the level  dropped, partly because we didn’t have the personnel in the right positions with square pegs in round holes, it was a good day at the office.”

Town

Forster; Parcell, Okotcha, Richmond, Payne (Bailey, 84); Adjei-Hersey (Taaffe, 64), Thomas, Youngs, Knight; Wyllie (birch, 87), Beckles-Richards