Enfield Town embark on the second of three successive away games tomorrow Saturday with a visit to the uniquely named Dripping Pan to face Lewes, one of our bogey teams.

Sam Youngs misses out due to a one-match suspension but Wednesday’s win at Kingstonian will certainly have boosted morale for what should be a highly entertaining fixture in front of a big crowd at one of the most popular away fixtures despite it being among our less happy hunting grounds.

Lewes have had a mixed start to the season and lie 13^th in the table but like us have only played eight games because of cup commitments.

Significantly, they have only lost once at home in the league and ran Hornchurch close in a 2-2 draw earlier in the campaign.

Goalscoring has indeed been their forte on home soil, running in 10 in the last three games — two in the various cups and one in the league.

With so many games to come in such a short space of time, Gavin Macpherson and the management team need as many fit players as possible

With Sam missing tomorrow and Ollie Knight for three games after Billericay, Gavin is still cautiously optimistic.

“Of course you don’t want to be without either but it gives others a chance to go and stake their claim for a place but I suppose the proof will be in performances and results without them,” he said.

“I’d urge the players coming in to take the chance and really give me problems with selection as we move forward. As a manager, it makes your job harder, but in truth it’s what you want because it tells you everyone is hitting the correct levels.

“There hasn’t been a lot of rotation so far. However that now needs to be a consideration based around keeping people fresh. Non-league football is different to it was 20 years ago and players get through an awful lot of work now so it’s important as manager I keep my options open and make adjustments accordingly.”

Just a reminder that the club will be running a coach that will be setting off from the QEII at 10am, with a door-to-door service to the Dripping Pan and back costing £20. Tickets are available below: 

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/event/coach4/coach-travel-to-lewes-fc-

Kingstonian 2 Enfield Town 3

Report by Glyn Smith

After dominating for 75 minutes,  10-man Enfield Town survived a late comeback from a spirited Kingstonian side to pick up three crucial points as we returned to league action following a sobering week of cup football.

At a wet and windy Imperial fields, Town had Ollie Knight sent off with a straight red – the second consecutive game we have had a player dismissed – but managed to hang on and move up to fourth in the table with games in hand.

Kingstonian featured ex-Towner Tom Collins in their starting eleven whilst Town began the game with two changes from Saturday’s FA Cup exit at Cray Valley PM, Ekow Coker and Louis Birch replacing Kyle Bailey and Reece Beckles-Richards.

After being very much on the front foot on a slick surface, Enfield took the lead in the 16^th minute. Kingstonian failed to clear their lines following a corner and the ball fell to Marcus Wyllie who stroked it home with a trademark finish. Although Tolfrey hadn’t been troubled up until that point the lead was fully deserved.

One nearly became two a few minutes later as Sam Youngs’ low drive from the edge of the box was deflected and saved low down by the K’s keeper.

Enfield continued to dominate possession, with Kingstonian restricted to long balls as they tried to release their pacey forwards.

H-T 0-1

The second half started much as the first ended, with Town in charge. Tolfrey saved from Wyllie who had been put through by Youngs before Town went two up in the 52^nd minute. A good move ended with Youngs finding Keeya, who turned his marker and fired home from the edge of the box.

Kingstonian responded with a low shot saved by Forster and Town’s third then came six minutes later. A cross from Mickey Parcell ended up in the six-yard box, Keeya’s initial effect was saved by Tolfrey, but the ball bounced straight back and ricocheted into the net with Keeya taking the congratulations.

After replacing Youngs, George Sykes produced a good finish from a pass from Payne, but the goal was disallowed as he had strayed into an offside position.

At this stage Town were cruising and seemingly set for an easy victory, but the game changed with 20 minutes remaining.

Zack Chislett of Kingstonian was booked for a heavy challenge on Knight on the halfway line but six minutes later Knight received a straight red for returning the favour.

In truth the first challenge could have warranted a red by a less lenient referee but the Kingstonian players’ reaction to Knight’s challenge probably influenced him to produce a red for Knight.

There then followed five minutes of madness. Jude Mason pulled a goal back in the 79^th minute, shooting high into the net as Town failed to clear a free kick. Two minutes later a shot from just outside the box by Rudy Allen took a deflection off Coker to totally wrongfoot Forster and nestle in the net.

K’s tails were now and truly up, and they exerted huge pressure on Town, who were restricted to isolated break outs. Luckily though, Kingstonian were unable to produce any clear-cut chances and the last action of note was Forster receiving a yellow card for taking too long over taking a goal kick.

“Really pleased with our performance coming off the back of Saturday’s disappointment,” said Gavin Macpherson afterwards. “I thought we were excellent in difficult conditions and credit to the players, they responded superbly in so many different ways. I didn’t see that scoreline at 70 minutes. In truth we looked like we’d run away with it. We played some really good stuff and looked more like the Enfield I want us to be. As manager, you want to see a reaction but you also want to see that our identity is still part of the process of winning football matches.”

 Gavin was distinctly unhappy, however, at the sending-off.

“I’m disappointed with Ollie’s response after being heavily fouled and clearly it helped change the direction of the game. But the important thing is he learns that we need our best players on the pitch and I’m sure he will do that. Initially I thought it looked harsh but if you’re deemed to be out of control you always run the risk of being sent off.”

“At this stage I’d rather be 4th than 14th but it’s still early days. We’ve got some difficult games coming up and we should look forward to those because some are against the clubs making huge statements in this league and in all honesty where the pressure really lies. With our magnificent support behind us and the team wanting to maintain a good return in the league, we should look forward to having a go.”

 Enfield Town – Forster, Parcell, Payne, Thomas ( Soulya-Osekanongo 79), Coker, Richmond, Knight,Youngs (Sykes 66), Keeya,  Wyllie (Adjei-Hersey 83 min), Louis Birch.

After the nightmare scenario of being knocked out of both main cup competitions within a week, Enfield Town resume their league campaign tonight (Wednesday) with a visit to Kingstonian hoping to get back to winning ways.

The game is the first of three successive away encounters, with Lewes and Billericay to come – an extremely tough programme as we look to bounce back following the gut-wrenching FA Cup exit at Cray Valley PM.

Because of our FA cup commitments, we have slipped to eighth in the table but have a number of games in hand on our rivals – this being one of the rearranged fixtures. Victory would push us back up to fourth and into the playoff places.

Gavin Macpherson kept the players on the pitch for a good 20 minutes at fulltime last Saturday and will expect a strong reaction against a side currently in the bottom three but who won their last home league game comfortably and recently went to Hastings and knocked them out of the Trophy.

Cup-tied last Saturday, recent signing George Sykes will available for selection at the start of a challenging period for the entire squad, with six league games in 16 days.

Just a reminder for travelling fans that  Kingstonian play at Imperial Fields where they groundshare with Tooting and Mitcham.

Just a reminder about an unmissable evening with  Gary Mabbutt and Ossie Ardiles, two legends of the game, up close and live at Butlers Bar.

Relive the glory days of Tottenham Hotspur as we bring together two of the greatest players in the club’s history.

You’ll have the chance to meet and greet Gary and Ossie, hear their stories and ask them questions in a Q&A session.

When: Thursday 19 October at 7.30pm

Where: Butlers Bar, Enfield Town FC, Queen Elizabeth II Stadium, Donkey Lane EN1 3PL

Book your tickets, priced £35, on the following link for a night filled with entertainment, nostalgia and humour.

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/event/legendsnight/an-evening-with-spurs-legends

Cray Valley PM 5 Enfield Town 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Gut-wrenching, devastating, massive missed opportunity.

Just a few of the words to sum up Saturday’s inglorious FA Cup fourth qualifying round exit at Cray Valley PM when, for the third time in eight years, we missed out on making history by reaching the first round proper.

To say we didn’t get the rub of the green with some of the decisions is an under-statement, having been denied at least one stonewall penalty at a crucial time and ending up with 10 men after Sam Youngs was sent off.

Virtually anything that could go wrong did go wrong and now, in the space of seven days, we are out of both main cup competitions.

Gavin Macpherson was magnanimous enough to apologise to the hoardes of travelling Towners fans who turned the occasion into virtually a home tie. And the fact we would have been drawn away at Charlton Athletic makes the pill even more bitter to swallow.

Yet few in the crowd of 579 could have imagined at halftime that we would be on the end of such a sobering scoreline, having twice gone in front.

Marcus Wyllie got us off to the perfect start after just six minutes, lashing home a half-volley to finish off a lovely move involving Mickey Parcell and Ollie Knight.

James Richmond almost doubled our lead with a bullet header and there was a stroke of good fortune about Cray’s equaliser, Kyrell Lisbie’s scuffed effort finding the corner of the net.

Moments earlier Rhys Forster had made a point-blank save from Lisbie who posed problems for us all afternoon until limping off injured.

Indeed, crosses from both flanks ultimately proved to be our downfall but we were arguably the better side in the first half and on 31 minutes we were back in front courtesy of Reece Beckes-Richards’ turn and shot.

 Once again we were pegged back, however, though in highly controversial circumstances.

Instead of adding on the allotted four minutes, the referee somehow decided on six and with the last action of the half, the ball was recycled from left to right and back again, Lisbie rising to nod into the far corner. To make matters worse, Gavin was booked for protesting at the amount of time added on.

H-T 2-2

It totally changed the respective dressing room moods and the second half was a different story as the Millers stormed out of the blocks, stretching us in wide positions, dominating midfield for large periods and twice testing Forster before Matthew Vigor’s left-foot drive crashed against our crossbar.

When Lisbie limped off soon afterwards, we might have hoped to re-impose our advantage.  Far from it.

Parcell saved us with a last-ditch block when a goal seemed certain and the home pressure soon told,  Freddie Parker firing beyond the helpless Forster.

As we rallied, Sam Youngs and Beckles-Richards both went desperately close before substitute Dylan Adjei-Hersey was blatantly up-ended in the box, only for the obvious penalty to be waved away (pictured).

Youngs’ dismissal for a second yellow on 85 minutes shattered our hopes and the tie was effectively settled when Parker fired home  from close range.

Our misery was then compounded in stoppage time as another cross found Adam  Coombes who slid in to tuck away number five.

Just as against Chesham in the Trophy when we conceded four, we were largely undone by crosses and Gavin now has a job on his hands raising morale ahead of two away league games in the next six days at Kingstonian and Lewes.

“I’ve got so many complaints about what happened in the game but it’s not why we lost and I want to apologise to the fans who travel in their numbers,” said Gavin who kept the players on the pitch for a good 20 minutes afterwards. “Believe me, I’m super gutted.”

“There were some poor performances and some of them have to have a hard look at themselves. I include myself in that because the buck stops with me.  I know how much it would have meant to this football club.”

“The game was always going to run away from us once Sam got sent off but we had two stonewall penalties, one with Josh in the first half and the other at a crucial time in the second when even their bench were grimacing thinking it was going to be given.”

“But that’s no excuse and I have to look the supporters in the eye and say I’m sorry for us falling short. It was nowhere near good enough.”

Forster, Bailey, Payne, Thomas, Richmond, Knight, Youngs, Wyllie, Keeya (Adjoin-Hersey 65), Beckles-Richards (Onyeagwara 80), Parcell.

We are thrilled to finally announce our first fixture in the Fenix Trophy, with our opening match at home to Danish side BK Skjold; the current tournament holders.

We will welcome the Copenhagen-based club to North London on the evening of Tuesday 28th November 2023, with the return game – as well as our two fixtures against Llantwit Major – likely to take place in early spring 2024.

Tickets will be released in due course… in the meantime, we hope you are looking forward to European Football in Enfield as much as we are! We will bring you any further updates on the tournament as soon as we confirm them.

Preview by Andrew Warshaw

The anticipation and excitement is mounting. This Saturday Enfield Town attempt to make history by reaching the first round proper of the FA Cup, the world’s oldest and most prestigious domestic knockout competition.

For the first time since we were seconds away from beating National League Maidstone in the fourth qualifying round in 2017 before losing the replay at home, Town – who suffered the same fate at Chesham in 2015/16  —  go to Cray Valley PM hoping to make it third time lucky.

Whilst this presents a glorious opportunity having avoided all the big boys and former league clubs in the draw, Step 4 Cray, who play in the Isthmian League south-east division, will be feeling the same as us and have been on terrific form.

On paper, it’s another of those ties that has banana skin written all over it. We seem to get drawn against unbeaten sides and Eltham-based Cray Valley PM are another of them, having scored a staggering number of goals this season and knocked out Carshalton – who we know all about – in the previous round after a replay, proving how dangerous they can be.

In the league, because of several cup replays, Cray lie in eighth place but have only played four games, roughly half that of their rivals, and have bags of experience within their ranks.

Plus they have already achieved something we haven’t – tasting the euphoria of the FA Cup first round proper three years ago when they narrowly lost at Havant and Waterlooville having fought back from two goals to win at National League Maidenhead in the fourth qualifying round.

After narrowly missing out on a play-off spot at the back end of last season, a new era has started with a complete managerial change following the appointment of Steve McKimm.

Gavin Macpherson says there is no way our players will be complacent, especially following the heartbreaking Trophy defeat at Chesham last Saturday, and is hoping for a repeat of our fantastic victory at high-flying Halesowen in the previous round.

“To get through this would be a game-changer for us,” said Gavin. “I’ve been a great lover of the competition since I was a child. At our level, it’s like making the final to get to  the first round.”

“Make no mistake, Cray Valley PM are an extremely difficult side, pacey and combative, plus we are away. They may be a Step 4 team but they are Step 3 in respect of their players. I want our supporters to have the experience of the first round and for the club to enjoy generating National media interest, not least because of our fan-owned ethos.”

VENUE:- THE ARTIC STADIUM, BADGERS SPORTS, MIDDLE PARK AVENUE, ELTHAM, LONDON, SE9 5HP

Please be aware the ground is situated within the new ULEZ zone so certain vehicles could be subject to charge.

Nearest train station: Eltham approx 20 minutes walk to the ground.

ADMISSION PRICES : – PAY BY CASH OR CARD AT THE TURNSTILE
ADULTS – £10, CONCESSIONS (+65 & Students, with ID) – £6, CHILDREN 11-17 £2. CHILDREN U11 Free

If the scores are level after normal time there will be a replay on Tuesday 17th October 

Because of our continued involvement in the FA Cup, our scheduled home Isthmian League match against Whitehawk on Saturday 14th October has now been moved to the evening of Tuesday 21st November, 7:45pm kickoff.

Please note that there are no men’s first team matches in midweek, as our timetable has been cleared in preparation for our FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie with Cray Valley PM. As such, our away game against Kingstonian will take place next Wednesday 18th October, 7:45pm kickoff.

A decision will be made very shortly whether there is sufficient take-up to organise a supporters’ coach for Saturday’s all important FA Cup tie at Cray Valley PM.

Please purchase your tickets asap on the link below so that we can gauge interest.

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

Chesham United 4 Enfield Town 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw

The Chesham United curse struck again on Saturday as Town crashed out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle after being on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller.

Just like last season, the Generals — where we also lost in the FA Cup a few years ago — put us out of non-league football’s main cup competition though this time it was a far closer affair than that 4-0 drubbing.

Three times we came from behind to equalise, showing commendable spirit and character, only to succumb to an 89^th-minute Chesham winner as the game was heading for penalties.

To make matters worse for players, management and fans alike, a highly competitive encounter was settled by a totally avoidable defensive mix-up, an agonising way to go out after battling so hard against our high-flying Southern League opponents.

Things didn’t go out way right from the off. Starting brightly, Sam Youngs was a coat of paint away from giving us a fifth-minute lead, only for Chesham to go in front 60 seconds later with a sweetly struck first-time volley from Jordan Edwards.

Sam wasn’t to be denied, however, and quickly pulled us level with a glorious strike into the corner from 20 yards.

It wasn’t long either before the next goal arrived, Generals skipper Steve Brown finishing from close range after a mistimed header back across our own box from a corner.

Whilst we needed to get closer to Chesham’s wide players, Town continued to look dangerous going forward and levelled again when Kyle Bailey controlled an Ollie Knight cross with his shoulder before prodding the ball home (pictured).

Town could have snatched the lead when debutant George Sykes’ flick-on was almost converted by Marcus Wyllie while at the other end Lucas Sinclair – the scourge of the second half – forced Rhys Forster into a smart save and almost converted the rebound.

HT: 2-2

With a card-happy referee and our all-important FA Cup tie to come next weekend, we made a change at halftime as Marcus – who had already been booked – made way for Obi Onyeagwara.

The 19-year-old made an instant impact, whipping in a dangerous cross with virtually his first touch and causing the Generals’ backline all kinds of problems.

A lovely Chesham passing movement through midfield ended with Bruno Andrade lashing wide but we were giving as much as we got — if not more.

Youngs shot straight at home keeper Zaki Oualah when either side of him would have produced a goal but once again, Chesham made us pay for hesitancy when Sinclair stayed onside to restore their lead.

Back we came for a third time, however, as Onyeagwara was up-ended by former Towner Scott Shulton and Youngs buried the penalty.

As the game entered its final stages, spotkicks looked increasingly likely, only for Chesham to put the proverbial nail in the coffin right at the death. Forster and Bailey got in a terrible tangle as to who would clear a routine ball out of defence and Sinclair took advantage by nipping in to seal a place in the next round.

“There’s been a few hard truths in the dressing room,” conceded Gavin afterwards. “Kyle had control of the situation for the last goal but the others we conceded were terrible too and it’s a game we’ve let through our grasp and I’m hugely disappointed.”

“We’ve gone away from home, scored three goals against a good side and still lost. I wonder when the last time that happened here was. Having to score five to win tells me we made rudimentary mistakes. It was a result that was totally avoidable. Now we’ve got a hell of a lot of hard work to do before Cray Valley next weekend.”

Town: Forster; Parcell, Bailey, Richmond, Payne; Knight, Youngs, Thomas (Soulya-Osekanongo, 64), Beckles-Richards; Wyllie (Onyeagwara, 46), Sykes (Keeya, 84)