Enfield Town 0 Kingstonian 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Gavin Macpherson cut a frustrated figure admitting  he was embarrassed and apologising to fans after an sluggish off-night against the league’s bottom club.

At times it looked like we were the side battling against relegation and they were the team in playoff contention as we lacked drive and cohesion across the pitch and composure in front of goal.

That’s the downside. The fact remains that despite our first goalless draw of the season, we are still fifth in the league and very much in the mix though the dangerous Horsham are only one point behind having played three games fewer.

And we didn’t lose the game, unlike cash-rich Billericay at Concord Rangers, a stark illustration that nothing can be taken for granted in this league.

Town made three changes from the starting line-up at Carshalton, with Ollie Knight returning from suspension, Josh Okocha in central defence with both Jimbo and Taylor McKenzie injured, the latter on the bench, and Lewis Taaffe coming into midfield.

From the opening minutes it was clear Kingstonian, fresh from their first league win since October at the weekend and under new management, had not just come to sit back.

Using the left flank in particular to their advantage, they were quick on the break and had several excellent early chances, one of which fell to former Towner Tom Collins who was a whisker away from converting Freddie Price’s centre.

With the shackles off despite their perilous position, the visitors should have gone in front on 15 minutes, only for Sam German’s bullet header from a corner to be superbly headed off the line by Taaffe.

Eddie D’Sane was another player who troubled us with pace as two goalbound shots were blocked.

Town were far too predictable without the vision of the injured Manny Harvest and took an age to get going, our first shot on target not coming until the 35^th minute as Kingstonian’s debutant keeper Daniel Cruz Domench held on to a Sam Youngs shot.

Things began to improve as halftime approached with back-to-back Marcus Wyllie efforts. First his half-volley was just the wrong side of the crossbar, then he got even closer as Mark Waters cleared off the line.

H-T 0-0

Town needed a radical shake-up but Kingstonian had the first big chance of the second half, Collins thankfully only managing to roll a pull-back into the arms of Rhys Forster.

Only now did we push Kingstonian back as a flurry of substitutions gave us fresh legs and greater impetus. But we still couldn’t get past man of the match German, on-loan from Bromley and a powerhouse at the back for the K’s.

A brilliant cross from Mickey Parcell found the boot of Wyllie who volleyed over and although there were further half-chances for Okotcha (pictured) and, twice, Jonathan Hippolyte, there was no happy ending to round off the first game at the newly-named Dave Bryant stadium.

“The first 30 minutes was without doubt the worst I’ve ever seen us play,” said Gavin who kept the players inside the dressing room for almost 30 minutes afterwards. “We just had a frank chat and agreed we couldn’t make the playoffs if our form doesn’t get better.”

“As a manager you rely on the players to bring some quality to the table but that was severely lacking.  We couldn’t pass the ball five yards which is hard for me to legislate for. It’s unrecognisable from earlier in the season.”

“The second half was better but I actually feel quite embarrassed and absolutely sympathise with the supporters who know the side is capable of a lot more. It’s not what they pay their money to see.”

Town: Foster, Parcell, Okotcha, Tanner, Payne; Thomas (Alves, 75) , Youngs,  Taaffe (Onyeagwara, 66), Knight, Wyllie,  Beckles-Richards (Hippolyte, 66)

Our recently postponed home fixture against Kingstonian takes place tomorrow night, Tuesday, kick-off 7.45.

Kingstonian are bottom of the league but gave themselves a mighty confidence boost with a 3-2 home win over Bognor Regis on Saturday under interim manager Tutu Henriques —  their first  league success since  October.

The K’s parted company with Simon Lane earlier this month, the two sides issuing somewhat conflicting statements.

No-one will underestimate our opponents on Tuesday but the fixture gives us a terrific chance to cement our playoff position with another home game to come against Wingate and Finchley on Saturday.

Carshalton Athletic 1 Enfield Town 1

Town snatched a point at fellow play-off hopefuls Carshalton Athletic in a game of few chances.

We were looking for revenge after the Robins took the points in a 3-0 win earlier in the season but went into the game without Taylor McKenzie and Manny Harvest, both injured, as well as Ollie Knight who was still suspended.

It left us with only four on the bench but changing our usual formation to 3-5-2 with the impressive Bernie Tanner making his debut in defence (pictured) and Mickey Parcell on the right of a three, we began on the front foot.

Reece Beckles-Richards blazed over after being set up by Marcus Wyllie, then Sam Youngs dragged a shot wide but it was promising play from Town.

Joe Payne’s hopeful punt was the only other chance of note for Town in the first half and as the home side grew into the game, a header over the bar was the Robins’ first attempt on goal.

As if our injury problems weren’t enough, Josh Okotcha had to replace James Richmond who suffered a freak injury on 37 minutes.

To make matters worse, in added time, the deadlock was broken with the first shot on target of the match. 

From a Carshalton freekick, the ball bounced around in the box before Oluwabunmi Babajide swept it into the bottom right corner when our defence switched off.

It was perhaps harsh on Town but in truth we hadn’t created enough.

HT 0-1

Carshalton started the second half how they ended the first, on front foot, with Kwaku Frimpong shooting just wide.

Babajide continued to cause problems for Town, forcing Rhys Forster into a low save from the edge of the box.

Town now started to apply more pressure, but still hadn’t sufficiently tested Aaron Jones in the Robins goal.

Then out of nowhere, Wyllie delivered as he has done so many times this season, losing his marker to head home at the back post from a rare Town corner for his 19th goal of the season.

Obi Onyeagwara’s introduction injected life into a pretty flat game, giving the home defence more to think about.

And just as it looked destined for a draw, Town substitute Jonathan Hippolyte’s cross fell to Beckles-Richards in the six-yard box, but he couldn’t sort his feet out at the vital moment.

With the Hastings game called off, we moved back into playoff places on goal difference ahead of a rearranged home game against Kingstonian on Tuesday night.

“We were without three of our very important players so overall you have to pleased with a point though in a way I was slightly disappointed it wasn’t all three because they hardly caused us any problems,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“The system change was planned a week ago to deal with the way Carshalton exploit certain areas of the pitch. It was very a tight game but on clearcut chances – and there weren’t many — we might have won it.”

Town: Forster, Parcell, Richmond (Okotcha, 37), Tanner, Payne, Alves (Hippolyte, 74), Thomas, Adjei-Hersey (Obi Onyeagwara, 63), Youngs, Beckles-Richards, Wyllie

Charlie Baker/Andrew Warshaw

After two weeks without a fixture, Enfield Town visit Carshalton Athletic tomorrow hoping to maintain a return to the kind of form shown in our excellent 3-0 win at Canvey Island following somewhat of a downturn.

Carshalton surrendered a two-goal lead at Hashtag last Saturday and although their last home game resulted in a 2-1 defeat to Cray, the previous two yielded four points from Hornchurch and Hastings.

Four points behind Town having played two games more, the Robins are nevertheless dangerous opponents on their day – as their 3-0 win at our place earlier in the season illustrated.

And the fact that they have lost only one of their last nine games says everything you need to know about the challenge ahead.

 “Having two weeks without a game is not ideal but we’ve worked hard in training,” said Gavin Macpherson.

“ Carshalton will be tough, especially on their own patch which is not our natural surface. But after a good solid win at Canvey we should be in good spirits, I’ve asked the players to increase their levels and I’ve been pleased with how they are applying themselves.”

AW

We are delighted to bring the brilliant singer/songwriter Charlotte Campbell to Enfield Town FC in the latest of our musical evenings.

Often found busking along the river Thames and in London’s busiest train stations, Charlotte’s street performances have led to sold out shows across the capital and slots at Henley and Glastonbury festivals. 

She will be making her third appearance at Butler’s Bar but her first for several years.

​Building an online fanbase through street art, Charlotte recently performed at Twickenham at the Six Nations tournament and can also be seen playing at Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Brentford, on matchdays as well as at some of London’s most prestigious clubs and bars.

As a teenager, she attended the prestigious BRIT School in South London and went on to study songwriting at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance.

She soon fell in love with the art of street performance and continues to use London’s pavements as her main platform for promoting her music to new audiences.

Charlotte now has a loyal and growing following as an independent singer-songwriter and in 2023 she celebrated 10 years since her first album, ‘Blue Eyed Soul’, with an innovative show at St Pancras Old Church, imitating her beloved Taylor Swift.

When: Friday 15th March

Where: Butler’s Bar

Time: Doors 7.30, On Stage 8pm

Tickets: £10 in advance using the following link

https://enfieldtownfc.ktckts.com/event/concert2/charlotte-campbell-live-butlers-bar

Alternatively, on the door pending availability.

Contact Christine Hamilton 07949 071587, email: ianchrisham@hotmail.com

We are pleased to confirm the addition of centre-back Bernie Tanner. A versatile, left-footed defender, he is no stranger to the management team having spent a couple of years under their tutelage at Met Police, where he also picked up their Club Player of the Year award for the 21-22 season. The 23-year-old has also previously featured for Farnborough, the former Walton Casuals, and most recently Hanwell Town.

“Bernie will certainly add to our defensive options”, explained Gavin. “He’s left footed which provides a balance that we haven’t had. He’s a good defender with pace and is a really good character so for me I’m really happy he’s decided to come over to Enfield.”

Welcome, Bernie!

We are pleased to announce that our postponed home game against Kingstonian has now been re-arranged for Tuesday, Feb 20, kickoff 7.45.

We regret that following a pitch inspection, today’s match against Kingstonian has had to be postponed.

A replacement date will be announced as soon as possible

There was hardly a dry eye in the house at our annual agm when Dave Bryant, the club’s first ever chairman, stepped down as a director and board member.

After it was announced that we would be naming our stadium after Dave for the rest of the season, he gave an emotional, heartfelt farewell speech covering the formation of the club right up until the present day.

The AGM agenda notably included the election of six board members. Re-elected by the membership were John Dolan, Christine Hamilton, Geoff Lee and Andrew Warshaw, all of whom were standing again after their terms had expired. Added to the board were Neil Lutwyche and Graham Dodd who replaced Dave and Les Gold who is also stepping down after years of invaluable and loyal commitment.

There was standing room only at Butler’s Bar for what chairman Paul Reed said was probably the best ever agm attendance, a testament to the growing membership and the work being done on and off the pitch by Gavin Macpherson and his backroom staff and our wonderful team of volunteers.

Paul said 114 members had voted in the election ballot and that Neil and Graham would give “fresh impetus” to the board as we move forward.

Paul admitted there had been a hugely disappointing  end to last season but paid tribute to Andy Leese for all his hard work over six seasons. Four candidates were interviewed for the manager’s job with Gavin being the unanimous choice, joining us despite fighting off interest from another club. Crowds are already up 20 percent under Gavin on the same period last season.

Paul paid special tribute to Dave and Les, to the late Michael Lowe and to ETFC physio John Abbott who recently retired after a generation of service to move to Suffolk.

Paul explained some of the logistics involved trying to balance being competitive with financial realities and also the viability of installing an artificial pitch which was almost certainly unaffordable without external funding.

Before the Q and A session with Gavin, the agm heard from Clare Donovan, ceo of Cooking Champions, our popular new matchday food partner.

Clare revealed how the charity helps 200 people per week with food packages and how much the company aligns itself with our fan-owned ethos.

The audience also heard from John Doyle, who is stepping down as head of our youth section. In his time in charge, the youth section has burgeoned to 24 teams and John invited any would-be successors to get in touch.

Then came Dave Bryant’s emotion-packed address which covered how the club came about, the highs and lows, the passion of creating our own club and the work that went into securing our own stadium.

When he had finished, Dave (pictured), without whom Enfield Town FC as a club almost certainly wouldn’t exist today, received a lengthy and richly deserved standing ovation.

The final session featured a good-natured, respectful and often humourous Q and A with Gavin, accompanied by Sam Youngs.

Gavin paid tribute to the fan base as he did his best to answer a series of probing exchanges about tactics, formations and individual players.

Admitting that losing Jake Cass early in the season was a major body blow, he nevertheless painted a positive picture of where we stand.

“We are in very good place although it’s not lost on me that the last month hasn’t been what we would have expected,” said Gavin, ahead of course of our 3-0 win at Canvey Island.

 “We have a team in the playoff places that’s working very hard to regain our momentum.  I think from a betting perspective we were destined to finish 14^th but I don’t mind defying the odds. My mindset is extremely positive.”

Andrew Warshaw

Canvey Island 0 Enfield Town 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw

That’s more like it! After a cagey first half, Town showed their true colours as we hit Canvey Island with a second-half goal blitz on Saturday to finally get back to winning ways.

In the 11^th hour absence of Gavin Macpherson for personal reasons, Jon Nurse took over the main managerial duties with a starting eleven that saw James Richmond dropped to the bench in favour of Josh Okotcha – albeit for only 41 minutes.

And on a ground that is traditionally unkind to us — not least last season when were well beaten in the league and FA Cup — we ended up worthy winners to remain the playoff places and hopefully re-ignite our campaign after the recent wobble.

Canvey arguably had the better of the first-half exchanges and almost went in front with the first meaningful attack of the game as Conor Hubble struck the crossbar with a 25-yard freekick, the followup also rebounding off the woodwork.

Town responded with Reece Beckles-Richards denied by keeper Sam Jackson but in a scrappy opening period we looked somewhat devoid of ideas, caught for long periods in a game of head tennis.

For Canvey, who lost by the same score at our place in November, Jadon Crowhurst played the ball behind our backline but the dangerous Bradley Sach fortunately scuffed his shot wide.

Ten minutes before the break Okotcha came off second best under pressure from Rio Davidson-Phipps who fired into the side netting from an acute angle.

In trying to shepherd the ball out of play, Josh collided with the metal fencing and after lengthy treatment had to be subbed by Richmond with a nasty facial gash.

H-T 0-0

Talk about a sea change after the break. As we changed shape, made the pitch bigger and radically improved our movement on and off the ball, Beckles-Richards put a sublime Mickey Parcell cross over the bar and at the midway point,  we hit the front.

The on-loan Manny Harvest, becoming an important cog in our midfield with his vision and industry, saw a powerful effort parried by Sam Jackson and Sam Youngs followed up from close range.

Youngs was denied what he thought should have been a penalty, Harvest was forced off with a hip issue and when Sam Higgins, notorious scourge of Enfield Town, came off the Gulls bench with 17 minutes left, Towners fans held their breath.

Within seconds of his introduction, however, we doubled our lead with a classic Marcus Wyllie individual effort, gliding past three opponents before finding space to drill his shot into the corner.

Higgins flashed a header just wide but Town were now very the team in the ascendency and put the game to bed in the 89th minute as the ball fell kindly to Lewis Taaffe who put Marcus through to provide another cool finish for his 18^th league goal of the season (pictured).

“It was difficult pitch to play on and we knew it would be a battle,” said Jon Nurse. “It was hard at first to gain any foothold but we’re a team that is capable of going on to win games when we stay in it and things open up.”

“We worked hard in training to try and cut out mistakes. The last few results were hard to take and this is just what we needed to change the tide.”

Town:

Forster; Parcell, Okotcha (Richmond, 41), Mackenzie, Payne; Taaffe (Adjei-Hersey, 89) , Thomas, Harvest (Alves, 68), Youngs; Beckles-Richards, Wyllie