On-loan left wing-back Harley Mills has been recalled by parent club Peterborough United.
During his loan spell with us, Harley, 18, made eight appearances, keeping two clean sheets and registering an assist in our win over Weymouth.
“Thanks to the manager, staff, players and supporters for making me feel welcome”, added Harley. “I wish everyone all the best for the season.”
We thank Harley for his efforts with us and wish him all the best for the future.
Enfield Town 0 Athletic Newham 1
Report by Andrew Warshaw
Enfield Town reached arguably the low point of a challenging season when we were knocked out of the London Senior Cup at the first hurdle by Step 5 Athletic Newham.
Town may have made numerous changes but almost all the starting line-up were first-team squad members yet still went down to a side three divisions lower.
Well organised going forward and defending in numbers when they needed too, Newham’s victory was no fluke and served only to highlight how much work is still needed to turn our season round.
It may not have been the FA Cup or FA Trophy in terms of importance but it was a competition we aspired to win and the truth is that those hoping to send a message to Gavin Macpherson that they should be in the regular starting eleven came up woefully short.
To add to salt to our wounds, Newham’s winner was scored by on-loan Town academy prospect Abdul Khamis whilst their leading scorer this season was not even included in their squad.
Town survived a couple of early let-offs when Jack Smith had to clear off the line and Alex Kozak gobbled up a poor back header and rattled the underside of our bar.
Although we started to gain a modicum of composure, Newham continued to look comfortable. Until, that is, Lewis Taaffe – making a rare appearance following his loan move – rifled a 30-yard freekick against the bar just after halftime.
It prompted a couple of Town near-misses, including from Ollie Knight (pictured) but without us ever taking control. And on 74 minutes our visitors delivered the killer blow as Kozak found himself free in the box and fired home.
Right at the death, we came agonisingly close to taking the game to penalties, only for the woodwork to come to Newham’s rescue a second time, substitute Lennon Peake’s curling left-foot drive deserving better. All in all, however, we were well off the pace, a chastening evening for those involved.
With Gavin seating himself in the stands as a trial run for his forthcoming likely ban, John Nurse took over the chief role in the dugout.
“Credit to the opposition but from our perspective it wasn’t good enough from those wearing the Enfield shirt to put in that type of performance,” said John.
“Gavin’s had lots of choices to make this season and now he has some more. It was a great opportunity for many of them to show him what they could do.”
The one positive, perhaps, was an eye-catching display from academy defender Jay Lambert.
“Jay should be proud of the way he conducted himself but generally the team performance was unacceptable, especially for the fans,” added John.
Town
Forster: Oyenuga (Oliveria, 87), Parcell, Lambert, Payne; Adjei-Hersey, Leonard, Smith, Taaffe (Opuku, 65), Knight; Beckles-Richards (Peake, 87)
Just a reminder to all supporters that ticket prices for tonight’s London Senior Cup game against Athletic Newham are £10, £6 and £2 respectively – the only exception being Go to Town Gold members.
The roads in and around the stadium are heavily congested, partly due to roadworks at the M25, so supporters are advised to give themselves plenty of time
The draw for the second round of the Isuzu FA Trophy has handed us a home tie with fellow National League South side Hornchurch.
The match will take place at the Dave Bryant Stadium on Saturday 16th November (kickoff 15:00) and pits the Towners against Daryl McMahon’s Hornchurch, who famously won the competition in 2021. The Urchins bowed out of the FA Cup in a third qualifying round replay defeat at home to Leiston, and currently find themselves in 16th spot in the division, having won four, drawn five, and lost five so far this season.
Enfield Town 2 Chesham united 3
Report by Andrew Warshaw
The frustration and disappointment persist after a fourth straight defeat but this was an altogether different set of circumstances.
Not only were both Gavin Macpherson and Sam Youngs sent off highly controversially but the officiating throughout left a lot to be desired, a view shared by the management teams of both sides, as Town were sent plummeting into the bottom three.
In the end it mattered little to our fate but this was a far more encouraging display than our defeats to Aveley and Welling. Sure we conceded another three goals but it looks like we might at last have signed a much-needed defensive organiser in Adam Thompson, our best player on the pitch
Town have never beaten the Generals in a competitive fixture but on another day might easily have reversed that trend – or at least earn a point.
It didn’t help our cause when we lost Xavier Benjamin – who lined up alongside Thompson in the back three — after just 20 minutes. Xavier was injured when a sliding tackle by Mickey Parcell accidentally took out his own team-mate as well as clearing a dangerous Chesham attack.
Parcell, who had reverted to his regular role on the right in the starting line-up, duly moved across to replace the luckless Benjamin, with John Oyenuga coming off the bench.
Before too long we were behind in infuriating circumstances. Oyenuga had not been allowed back on the pitch after adjusting a boot when Youngs, in the position John would have occupied, was deemed to have brought down Connor Stevens with an over-zealous shoulder barge and Jack Cawley slammed home the penalty.
To be fair to our visitors, they had already seen a hooked volley blocked on the line but we had showed bags of spirit and energy, only for Gavin to be dismissed at halftime for the first time in his career for what he insisted was the most innocuous of incidents (of which more later).
H-T 0-1
Far from feeling sorry for ourselves, we re-emerged with vigour and purpose and within six minutes of the restart had not only equalised but gone in front.
First, Jake Hutchinson scored his first goal for the club off the underside of the bar as he headed home Thompson’s flick-on (pictured celebrating).
Chesham captain Steve Brown immediately had a great chance to restore the Generals’ lead when left unmarked at a freekick but headed over.
It was very much to Town’s advantage. In the next move of the game, Avan Jones was deemed (again harshly) to have used his arm to divert a Harley Mills flick and up stepped Youngs to bury the penalty against his old club.
That should have given us the incentive to get at least something from the game. But Chesham don’t score late goals for nothing (an incredible 14 after the 80th minute) and they came at us again courtesy of a triple substitution.
Bradley Clayton almost punished us for failing to clear our lines, then Mitchell Weiss missed his kick in front of goal before the pressure finally told. A cross from the right wasn’t cut out and Stevens swept the ball home.
As the clock ticked towards the 90-minute mark, a point apiece looked on the cards but with Gavin now watching from stands, Youngs was deemed to have handled in the box when he couldnt get out of the way of a fierce goalbound effort.
Double jeopardy, always a contentious issue, ensued with a second Crawley penalty, dispatched again by Cawley, and Sam shown a straight red despite vehement protests.
And there was still more drama to come as a Chesham handball at the other end from Harry Ottoway’s strike somehow wasn’t punished, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of most of the 802-strong crowd as we failed to get the rub of the green.
Explaining what happened at halftime, Gavin said: “I went across calmly to speak to the referee and apparently, though I never heard this, he told me I’d be sent off if I came within another 10 yards of him. I took one pace and was red-carded. I was totally astonished.”
“Their first penalty happens all over the pitch and is never penalised, it’s part of football. But by that stage in my opinion he’d already lost the plot and that continued in the second half to the nth degree. He has to hold his hands up and have a look at himself. To send Sam off as well as give the second penalty late on is a disgrace.”
Whilst we still lack cutting edge in the final third, Gavin’s frustration was palpable given he saw a marked improvement. “For long periods we made them look ordinary. I’m sick of losing football matches but there were loads of positives to take this time. I didn’t say much to the boys because we gave a good account of ourselves and deserved better. We now have two-week break from league action which may be a good thing because we can put in more work on the training pitch.”
Enfield (3-5-2) Benjamin (Oyenuga), Thompson, Cox; Mills, Youngs, Tuck, Leonard, Parcell (Knight, 91); Hutchinson (Ottaway, 87), Peake
Enfield Town go into tomorrow’s clash with Chesham United buoyed by experienced new signing Adam Thompson to bolster our struggling defence.
Adam, who trained on Thursday, goes straight into contention for the visit of the Generals who are exactly mid-table and have an FA Cup first round fixture to look forward to next weekend.
Town will hope the visitors have one eye on that, especially having lost our two so-called six-pointers against Aveley and Welling.
No-one is under any illusions about how important it is to get back to winning ways though there are still scores of points to play for with two thirds of the season still to go.
“I didn’t actually think we too bad against Welling but the goal we conceded has to be one of the worst this season,” said Gavin Macpherson who has been intensely studying our defensive problems.
“I’ve looked at the manner of the goals we’ve been letting in and although there doesn’t seem to be a pattern, there does seem to be poor decision making.”
Hopefully Town can now rectify some of that after acquiring 32-year-old Thompson, most recently with Leyton Orient. “Adam is not only a great influence on the pitch but is also an absolutely top-draw guy,” said Gavin.
Unlike Town, Chesham have been able to apply some stability in terms of recruitment. “They’ve got some big hitters after winning their league and I’ve great respect for their management team,” said Gavin. “But it’s taken them around six seasons to get up. I realise how tough a game this is but we’re going to have a really good go at them.”
Gavin has hinted that Thompson may not be our last major addition in the weeks ahead even if that means players need more time to get to know each other’s game.
“It’s not how I’ve ever worked, I admit that. I’ve always been one for continuity. However if people keep doing the same things they’ve been coached not to do, then I only have one solution.”
We are delighted to announce the signing of central defender Adam Thompson.
Most recently with Leyton Orient, where he had spent the previous three seasons and earned promotion from League Two, Adam has well over 200 appearances in the EFL and brings a wealth of experience to our back line. The 32-year-old began his career at Watford, earning a professional contract at Vicarage Road before embarking on spells with the likes of Brentford, Bury, Barnet, and Southend United. The Harlow-born centre back has also been capped by Northern Ireland from U17 to senior level.
“I think we can all see the team is in need of some extra experience and Adam certainly brings that”, added manager Gavin Macpherson. “He’s not only a great influence on the pitch but also in the dressing room. Centre back is an area that has seen changes and it’s important that area is allowed to settle down. His experience will give some of our younger lads much needed support and I’m delighted he’s signed.”
Welcome to the club, Adam!
Welling United 1 Enfield Town 0
Report by Martin Bentley
A single first-half goal was sufficient to give Welling three crucial three points against a disappointing Enfield Town, a result rendered all the more frustrating given that Welling managed to miss a penalty and have a player sent off on the hour.
Town were unable to capitalise on either and the result leaves us in 21st place in the league and four points from safety, with all of the clubs immediately above having games in hand.
Town gave a debut to on-loan defender Dan Cox from Derby, and recalled Dylan Adjei-Hersey and Sam Youngs to the starting line-up.
The first half saw the home side largely in control, with Rhys Forster called into action as early as the 6th minute, having to tip over Anointed Chukwu’s deflected effort. Town were only able to muster one effort, Youngs’ header drifting harmlessly wide.
Welling got their noses in front on 26 minutes with another maddeningly avoidable goal; Dan Martin’s inswinging corner from the right somehow passing beyond two defenders at the near post and a bewildered Forster.
The pattern of the game remained the same for the rest of the opening 45 minutes, but Town were given a massive let-off right at the end of the half, when Adjei-Hersey’s ill-judged tackle on Alex Lankshear (more of him later) saw the home side awarded a penalty. Martell Taylor-Crossdale proceeded to mishit his spot kick against the crossbar, and Town remained in the game at the interval.
Half Time, 0-1
Little of note happened in the 15 minutes after half time until Town were handed yet another lifeline when Lankshear, having earlier being cautioned for dragging back Adjei-Hersey, was shown a second yellow after flattening Harley Mills right in front of the dugouts.
The dismissal did change the pattern of the game, with Welling happy to concede possession in the middle third, but were able to snuff out the great majority of Town’s attacks. Only Youngs’ header from Lennon Peake’s right-wing cross troubled home keeper Rhys Lovett, and it was the home side who had the best chance of the half with four minutes remaining.
A breakaway found debutant Josh Redfearn in the clear; he rounded Forster only for Xavier Benjamin to block his shot, with Gene Kennedy’s follow-up also being blocked by Cox.
Yet again, a disappointing evening for Town. That mountain is getting steeper with every game.
Team: Forster, Parcell, Benjamin, Cox, Adjei-Hersey, Tuck, Smith, Youngs, Mills, Ottaway, Hutchinson
Subs: Peake (for Smith 66), Beckles-Richards (for Hutchinson 71), Leonard (for Adjei-Hersey 74), Knight (for Mills 84). Not used: Payne
Attendance: 492
Enfield Town 2 Aveley 4
Report by Andrew Warshaw
It may be a broken record but once again we were badly hurt by the same old problem though no-one can fault us for fight or effort.
The fact remains, however, that unlike at table-topping Farnborough, who will trouble many sides this season, conceding another four goals – this time at home against fellow strugglers who hadn’t won away — only further illustrates the need for quality defensive re-inforcements which, once they come, will surely put us back on the right track.
Just before the Aveley game, we brought in Welsh under-19 international Dan Cox from Derby County on loan. On the bench yesterday, Dan will hopefully play a key role in filling that much-needed position.
Gavin understandably cut a frustrating figure given it was one of our most eye-catching displays with the ball in terms of movement including two well-worked goals. But without it, we continue to struggle badly as we try and strike the right balance.
Town had an early let-off when Hamza Semakula rattled the bar from close range but for the most part our approach and link-up play gave us the edge in well-contested opening half.
On the half hour, we should have taken advantage of a terrible backpass, only for Jake Hutchinson to be caught in two minds whether to shoot or square to Harry Ottaway, allowing the Aveley defence to scramble the ball clear.
The game was then delayed for a number of minutes because of discriminatory language in the away end, resulting in the two captains being pulled together and a strong tannoy warning.
When it resumed, there was goalmouth action at both ends before Town broke the deadlock with a glorious goal. Jack Smith, back in the side after his long layoff, won the ball high up the pitch, fed Ottaway and ran on to convert Harry’s cross.
Two minutes later and back came that old sinking feeling as Ibby Akanbi burst unchallenged down the left and from his centre, Manny Ogunrinde got the last touch.
HT 1-1
It was tough on Town but twice we came within a whisker of restoring our lead, both from crosses by John Oyenuga – who put in arguably his best performance for Town apart from one lapse of concentration that cost us — and both a Hutchinson toe poke away from being converted.
And yet it was the visitors who stole the lead just after the hour mark as Josh Anifowose, who had just come off the bench, rifled a 25-yarder through the middle of the goal with Rhys Forster possibly unsighted.
Now it was our turn to hit straight back through a composed Ottoway finish that should have put us in the driving seat for the final quarter.
Instead, with the game on a knife edge, another Aveley sub, Razzaq Coleman, finished off a pull-back as our defence got in a familiar tangle.
This time, like a boxer who had taken one too many punches, the Towners’ tiring legs couldn’t get up off the floor and we were punished again through Charlie Hughes’ curling effort as we fluffed not one but two chances to clear our lines.
The result kept both sides in the bottom four but Aveley move ominously to within a point of us, having played a game less. And now comes another six-pointer at Welling on Tuesday.
“The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game and I’m slightly scratching my head because the boys actually played quite well,” said Gavin after our goals conceded column was extended to 32, the worst in the division.
“We could have scored five but unfortunately they were ruthless with their chances, we missed ours, and then it’s happened again to us defensively. It’s a massive blow because it was avoidable and a horrible pattern. We need to get points on the board but it’s still all to play for.”
Town
Forster; Parcell, Benjamin, Payne; Oyenuga, Peake (Loenard, 60) , Tuck, Smith (Knight 80), Mills; Ottaway, Hutchinson (Beckles-Richards 72)
By Andrew Warshaw
Enfield Town go into tomorrow’s crucial home clash with fellow strugglers Aveley with Gavin Macpherson admitting we have to stop shipping goals but citing mitigating circumstances in a refreshingly honest and insightful assessment of our current situation.
Town’s record of 28 goals conceded is the worst the division by some distance but Gavin and his staff are doing their level best to rectify the situation and pull us away from the danger zone.
“Does the situation worry me? Of course,” said Gavin. “Because while we’ve been very capable of grinding out results, as soon as we ship one goal, we tend to ship more.”
“Some people will look at Farnborough’s goals last Saturday and say they were good finishes. Not from our standpoint. I will never throw the players under a bus but a whole lot of work has gone into repairing the holes we’ve seen appear. There are themes that re-occur for us. We seem to make strides, then go back.”
Gavin admits it hasn’t been easy recruiting the right players to make a difference. While several stabs have been made to get the required quality at Step 2, frustration has become a byword.
“We are a magnificent football club but if I’m totally honest, it’s been a struggle. As a management team, myself and my staff have never before had such a revolving door. The fact is we are in a division with massively established clubs. We are built on almost unique foundations but that also means if you get into a bidding war, you more than not lose. Add to that the fact that we are punching above our weight anyway.”
Gavin has confirmed that three of the playing staff — Joash Nembhard, Carl Mensah and Khanya Leshabala – have left the club while Alex Solomon is currently on crutches following an accident at work.
“Khanya is likely to move to a National League club while Carl’s work situation has made it more difficult for him to commit to training with us on Thursdays.
“We wish all three well and thank them for their efforts. Combined with Alex’s situation whom I’m gutted for, we must now push on and look forward to some football.”
With the defence having seen numerous changes in personnel, efforts to secure the right balance remain a priority.
“It’s not only about the defence, that’s the easy thing to look at,” said Gavin. “Some of the goals we’ve conceded are from a long way out. Having said that, defending has becoming an art form, almost your first form of attack. Defenders have to be athletes as well as coping with quick centre-forwards and intelligent players who are sharp around the box. That’s the difference between Step 2 and 3. It’s a big jump. Some can make that adjustment, others can’t.”
It’s also easy to forget how hard it’s been replacing key players from last season. “We had a striker in Marcus who is now in the Football League and Taylor Mackenzie is a big miss too,” said Gavin who is not afraid to admit there may soon have to be more changes.
“I’ve stuck with some of the same players and yes some people have said to me I should have ripped the whole thing up and started again. It’s an unenviable task but maybe now I’m in the process of having to put a new team together, or at least part of a new team, because it needs reshaping. I’d love people to see the analysis and attention to detail we put in week after week. I’m very positive about getting it sorted but perhaps some people need to be realistic about the season as a whole.”
In terms of Aveley tomorrow and the equally critical tie at Welling on Tuesday, Gavin is looking further ahead than the two proverbial six-pointers.
“They’re obviously important because they’re both clubs in and around where we are and the whole place will get a lift if we can move away from them. But there’s a much bigger picture at stake. There’s no point in picking up points in our next two games and then going on a bad run. They’re all worth the same amount of points after all.”
