Enfield Town 5 Whitehawk 1

Report by Paul Manel
Image: Tom Scott

Luke May-Parrott arrived in the summer with a highly impressive goal scoring record at two of his previous clubs Woodford Town and Hashtag United. In only his second competitive start for the Towners, he left the pitch at full time with the match ball and a big smile on his face.

Towners came into this game in fine form with three wins out of four and having scored more goals than any other side in the Isthmian Premier. Billy Holland started with the same side that won at Brentwood.  In contrast, our opponents from the south coast had registered only one point from their first four.

The last thing The Hawks therefore needed was to concede an early goal but that is exactly what they did. There is a sense of excitement every time Tom Avgoustidis is on the ball, and he supplied the cross on three minutes for Sam Youngs’s opener. The Town number eight’s shot deflected off a defender and looped over the goalkeeper Klevis Muca. It would not be the last moment of desperation for the Whitehawk number one.

On nine minutes Town regained possession, May-Parrott fed that man Avgoustidis and Tommy did the rest! He cut in from the left onto his right foot and curled the ball round Muca.

Whitehawk did come more into the game at 2- 0 as Towners energy levels dropped a little. Seok-Jae Lee could and probably should have brought them back into the game when his header missed the target.

Instead, it was some ‘Chuckle brothers’ defending at the other end that presented May–Parrott with his first goal of the season. The constantly pressing Towners number ten pounced on a loose back pass and rolled the ball past a bemused Muca.

Lee did get his goal when he pounced on Bowry’s cross on 32 minutes but exciting Enfield Town were very much in charge as the half time whistle blew.

HT Enfield Town 3 Whitehawk 1

The second half started slowly. This might have been a consequence of the Newcastle United fans decamping down the road to White Hart Lane (they were celebrating later!). A bus load had come along for the first half, and they made a lot of noise! A great bunch of fans.

On 62 minutes there was further calamity at the back for the visitors. The ever-alert May-Parrott closed down The Hawks keeper’s attempted clearance and the ball ricocheted past Muca before rolling slowly over the line. ‘Keeper, keeper give us a wave’ chanted the joyful Towners faithful behind the goal. Muca did not respond.

Further home chances came and went, notably a Sam Youngs shot hitting the underside of the bar after exquisite ball control.

May- Parrott’s hat-trick arrived three minutes from time. He calmly finished and the rout was complete – the EN1 entertainers had done it again!

Boss Billy Holland used all his substitutes in the second half. Rotation might be the name of the game as we travel to Summers Lane on bank holiday Monday for a much-anticipated North London derby with Wingate and Finchley.

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Town: D Thompson; Parcell, Mensah, A Thompson (Hart 75), Domi; Rydings (Corrigan 70), Leonard, Youngs (Bansal–McNulty 70); Remy (Kyei 55), May-Parrott, Avgoustidis (Tanimowo 61)

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We have been given an away tie to Haringey Borough or Frenford in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup.

The tie will take place on Saturday 5th September.

Boro [step 4, Isthmian Div 1 Central] drew 2-2 with Frenford [step 5, Essex Senior League] on Saturday afternoon, with the replay taking place this Tuesday evening at Frenford’s Jack Carter Centre ground in Ilford.

Brentwood Town 1 Enfield Town 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw

When Billy Holland described Enfield Town’s first four games of the season as being “thrown in the deep end”, he wasn’t at all sure how his new-look side would fare.

Nobody in their right mind is getting carried away but the way Town have gone about their business in the opening couple of weeks, moving up to second in the process, certainly puts down a marker going forward.

This was arguably the most impressive of our three wins to date, not because we were at our best. We weren’t as Billy freely acknowledged afterwards in his post-match interview, highlighting the fact that at times we were “stuck in two modes” and not sure of the best play.

But the quality of opposition and the fact Brentwood  reached the final of the playoffs last season, albeit with a totally different playing staff, spoke volumes about the spirit in the Town camp.

So did the fact that two of Town’s three changes were enforced because of suspension, illustrating the adaptability of the squad and their ability to move into unfamiliar positions, not least Billy Leonard at leftback for half of the second period.

Against a like-minded side who favour getting the ball down and playing, Town began cautiously on Brentwood’s artificial surface as Wylan Reid flashed a shot narrowly wide.

A rare distribution error by Dylan Thompson almost cost us, only for Mikey Berry to fire just over. And in the next home attack, his namesake Adam Thompson had to show all his defensive alertness by poking another effort wide.

But we also threatened early doors as Sam Youngs, playing in a deeper role with Luke May-Parrott fit enough to start up top, uncharacteristically headed wide after Tommy Avgoustidis’ cross was put on a plate for him.

Sam made no mistake, however, when presented with his next chance on 22 minutes from the penalty spot. After fine work by Mickey Parcell, who clearly enjoyed being back in the starting line-up, Avgoustidis was impeded by Reid who made no attempt to play the ball and Sam duly sent Aiden Prall the wrong way.

Chances at both ends ensued. The effervescent Avgoustidis cut inside and almost converted while Town’s net rippled after former Towner Manny Harvest let fly into the side netting.

Five minutes before the break, however, Town had daylight – if not for long. Parcell drove into the area and his chipped centre into a corridor of uncertainty was headed into his own net by Andy Freeman.

Cue Brentwood being awarded a spotkick of their own when Frankie Domi, have won the initial challenge, caught Malachi Linton at the second attempt and the in-form Bradley Sach did the rest.

H-T 1-2

The second half began in the same end-to-end vein, Dylan spreading himself like a starfish to thwart Sachs and May-Parrott pinching possession high up the pitch but not being able to beat Prall.

Then came the game-changer. Six minutes after the break, Reid received his second yellow for a crunching foul on Shiloh Remy and off he went.

To be fair to Brentwood, the 10 men battled for their lives and still posed a threat on the counter courtesy of the pacey Aaron Sterling.

But Town were now savouring their numerical advantage by exploiting the spaces, with substitute Amrit Bansul-McNulty in particular enjoying freedom to roam and Declan Rydings, who deserves a mention for an indefatigable box-to-box display, given more time on the ball.

And it was Amrit who delivered the killer blow with eight minutes remaining, a delicious strike into the roof of the net after gorgeous link-up play with Youngs.

Bank holiday fixtures against Whitehawk and Wingate will certainly be seen as winnable but steady as we go….  

Town

Thompson D; Domi (Akubuine 65), Thompson A, Mensah, Parcell (Velasquez 82); Leonard, Rydings (Corrigan 82), Remy (Kyei, 75); Avgoustidis, May-Parrott (Bansul-McNulty 65), Youngs

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Enfield Town 3 Ramsgate 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Enfield Town edged a highly entertaining encounter  to make it two wins out of three for Billy Holland and our new-look squad, capped by a couple of sublime goals.

The contrast in styles – Town’s one-touch, patient build-up versus Ramsgate’s direct approach – made for an intriguing afternoon.

Town made a couple of enforced changes with Declan Rydings and Jesse Akubuine coming into midfield in place of Amrit Bansal-McNulty and Luke Deslandes, at least one of whom should be available again for Brentwood next Saturday.

Town undoubtedly missed Amrit’s  speed of thought   and initially struggled to break down the visitors. Indeed it was Ramsgate who struck first. Sonny Hart had his pocket pinched in the middle third when he was guilty of overplaying and the Rams’ man of the moment , Callum Jones, fired high into the top of the net.

Town regrouped and Rydings, a bundle of energy all afternoon, produced a superb cross-field pass, Ramsgate just managing to smuggle away Tommy Avgoustidis’ subsequent cross.

 On 22 minutes, however, having not had a worthwhile effort on target, we were level with what can only be described as an early contender for goal of the season. Frankie Domi collected a throw-in and unleashed a spectacular 30-yard piledriver that left Johnny Henly floundering.

Town now clicked into more penetrative gear with Shilo Remy increasingly influential. Sam Youngs was a whisker away from getting a touch to a gorgeous Avgoustidis assist but the pressure finally told when Domi doubled his and our tally in a hugely watchable first half. Rather than push a Youngs header out of danger, Henly  could only parry it towards Domi who duly headed back across goal and into the net.

Ramsgate never let us relax, however, and when Alfie Paxman’s soaring drive came back off the bar, Benedict Bioletti lashed the ball home for 2-2 though the Town faithful were convinced there was a foul in the build-up.

Town had another let-off just before the break when Bioletti manoevred himself into a goalscoring position but scuffed his shot wide.

H-T  2-2

Whatever was said at halftime by Billy and his team, there was a noticeable change in approach when the players re-emerged, playing the ball longer out of defence especially to the wide areas.

Billy disclosed afterwards this was deliberate tactic to create more space and it certainly gave Ramsgate plenty more to think about.

Ayo Tanimowo and Youngs had good efforts blocked and saved respectively but on 63 minutes, Town moved back in front courtesy of Tommy Avgoustidis’ brilliant improvisation as he saw Kenly off his line and delivered the most exquisite of chips which at first looked like it was going wide but nestled just inside the post (pictured, courtesy of Tom Scott).

Just before the goal, Frankie Domi, who took a knock against Lewes a week ago, was not risked any longer and Mickey Parcell provided reliable cover off the bench for the two-goal defender.

For all our eye-catching, entertaining football – long may it continue – we are prone to being picked off when we take our eye off the ball and we were almost punished again after another turnover.

Luckily it came to nothing and at the other end, Luke May-Parrott, still regaining full fitness, again looked the part when off the bench for the last 25 minutes.

But Ramsgate weren’t finished and our hearts were in our mouths not once, but twice, in the dying moments.

Just like against St Albans, seven minutes were added on – this time in part due to the referee pulling up with what like a muscle strain. Rams sub Solomon Ogunwomoju’s bullet header looked to have secured a point, only to be chalked off by a linesman’s flag.

And with the last action of the game, EJ Mensah, a 77^th-minute sub and having already been cautioned, might well have been red-carded for a push on the dangerous Paxman.

Thankfully when the ref took the whistle to his mouth, it wasn’t to dismiss EJ but to call full time.

All in all a highly satisfying performance and now on to another massive test at Brentwood on Saturday when we will be without the suspended Tanimowo and Hart.

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Town: Thompson D; Tanimowo (Mensah 77), Thompson A, Hart, Domi (Parcell, 60); Akubuine, Rydings, Leonard (May-Parrott 64); Remy (Corrigan 90), Youngs, Avgoustidis (Kyei 71).

Enfield Town 1 St Albans City 2

Report by Andrew Warshaw

Self-inflicted, impetuous indiscipline or a card-happy, over-zealous referee? Everyone who was there will have an opinion one way or the other.

On a dramatic and ultimately hugely frustrating evening in front of a bumper 1,000-plus crowd, Town suffered last-gasp heartbreak in the fourth minute of stoppage time after playing the whole of the second half with nine men following the dismissals of Sonny Hart and Ayo Tanimowo, coupled with a string of other cautions.

Despite the result, there were plenty of positives to take away. While Saturday’s rout of Lewes illustrated Town’s creativity and movement, this showed another side of the team: taking one of the division’s heavily resourced promotion hopefuls right down to the wire with a backs-to-the-wall display that spoke volumes about the battling spirit and collective mentality that management team are trying to instill.

You can’t legislate for the sendings-off and we will now be without two massively important defenders for the visit to Brentwood on Saturday week – along with the highly influential Amrit Bansal-McNulty who appears to have tweaked an old injury and will likely miss a few games.

But the fact we were in control of the game when 11-v-11 suggested that with a fair wind we will be able to more than hold our own against supposedly superior teams during the long campaign ahead. And in 18-year-old Tottenham Hotspur loanee Dylan Thompson we have a goalkeeper whose handling for one so young was nothing short of impeccable.

Much has been made of St. Albans’ spending power this season but apart from a bright opening salvo, their main threat came from long throws and the first half largely belonged to Town.

A wonderful cross-field ball from Tom Avgoustides picked out Luke Deslandes who brought a sharp save from Sam Donkin. Even before that, St Albans had to defend four successive Town short corners , one of which was headed narrowly over by Adam Thompson. And from another one-touch move, Billy Leonard outpaced the St Albans defence with a surging 25 -yard run, only to blast the ball over.

Town were missing chances, Avgoustides the latest to see his goalbound shot blocked. But on 26 minutes, we got our reward. The referee spotted a clear handball and Sam Youngs, after being ordered to replace the ball on the spot,  didn’t let it worry him and sent Donkin the wrong way.

Bansal-McNulty sadly only lasted another 15 minutes but what happened just before and just after the halftime whistle defied belief.

Shortly before the interval , Sonny Hart was booked for the softest of fouls but reacted by kicking the ball away right in front of the St. Albans dugout.

Another yellow ensued and if that wasn’t damaging enough, 10 men quickly became nine. When Tanimowo – man of the match at Lewes and again imperious for 45 minutes – made his feelings known about Sonny’s dismissal, he was immediately cautioned. Instead of walking away, he sarcastically applauded the referee which meant a second yellow for him too and a second dismissal.

H-T 1-0

As game plans go, everything was suddenly thrown out of the window as Town scrapped for their lives in a 4-4-0 formation aided by an inspired rookie keeper (photo courtesy of Mark Walling).

Even he could do little about St. Albans’ equaliser on the hour as Alex Dyer almost burst the net with a wonder strike. And yet, and yet….Almost straight from the kickoff,  the nine men were a coat of paint away from restoring their lead, Billy Leonard plucking the ball out of the air and unleashing a sensational strike which somehow came back off the inside of the post, the rebound saved by the legs of Donkin.

How on earth it stayed out is anyone’s guess but now it was attack versus defence, with every Town clearance from every Saints raid roared to the rafters as the minutes ticked by.

But just as it appeared we would pick up the most unlikeliest of points, Saints substitute Inih Effiong’s outstretched leg at the back post won the game for the visitors to break Town hearts.

 Victims of our downfall? In part yes. But a cruel finale just the same. Now we go again on Saturday.

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Town: Thompson D; Tanimowo, Thompson A, Hart, Domi; Rydings, Leonard, Bansal-McNulty (Remi 41); Avgoustidis (Parcell 60), Youngs, Deslandes (Mensah 46).

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The club were concerned and disappointed to observe the behaviour of a number of our younger supporters on Saturday in Lewes.

This behaviour does not align to our values as a community, family-friendly club and is not something that the board will tolerate moving forward.

The board met on Sunday morning to discuss our actions and as a result we will be refusing entry to a number of the group at our games going forward, as well as engaging with some of our other younger fans to remind them of their responsibilities as Town supporters.

Thank you to the vast majority of Towners who travelled in numbers and conducted themselves in their normal impeccable way. We recognise that watching football should be fun and that noise and passion is a big part of this, however when the behaviour is unpleasant and anti-social it has a detrimental effect on the reputation of the club and all of our supporters.  

Lewes 0 Enfield Town 4

Report by Andrew Warshaw
Image by James Boyes

On one of their notorious bogey grounds, Enfield Town got their new Step 3 season off to a riproaring start as they banged in the goals in the Sussex sunshine.

Billy Holland could not have wished for a more impressive beginning to his management reign as Town cruised into a three-goal lead by halftime and completed the rout late on, much to the delight of the noisy travelling support.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer and we’ll find out a lot more about our capabilities when we host St. Albans – 3-1 winners over fully pro Chatham – on Tuesday.

But without a recognised centerforward, just like in pre-season Town showed they could find the net from several different positions as their dynamic interplay and quick thinking paid dividends across the pitch.

Before kickoff, Town completed the loan signing of Swindon defender Sonny Hart who hardly put a foot wrong. The same could be said of Adam Thompson alongside him and man-of-match Ayo Tanimowo at rightback but it was the forward players, in the first half at least, who caught the eye.

All the damage was done in the opening 35 minutes as Town burst out of the traps and left the Rooks shellshocked.

We were ahead after just three minutes with what looked like a training ground routine. A short corner was played to Amrit Bansal-McNulty who swiftly laid the ball into the path of the onrushing Tanimowo. His fierce strike from the edge of the box would have beaten any keeper as he brilliantly smashed home.

Lewes’ most dangerous player, Noel Fisher, almost made us pay for being caught in possession, only for his low shot to be pushed to safety by Dylan Thompson.

You could argue Dylan had more to do than the home keeper but it’s all about putting the ball in the net and Town were ruthlessly clinical.

On 21 minutes Bansal-McNulty threaded the ball through the heart of the Lewes defence and Tommy Avgoustidis couldn’t miss from two yards, albeit courtesy of a fortuitous ricochet.

As Lewes came again,  Josh Spinks glanced a header narrowly wide and when the hosts sprang the offside trap, Dylan made another vital stop before Billy Leonard was the saviour by coming from nowhere to tuck the ball behind for a corner.

But Town were the team with the superior goal threat, producing a series of dangerous turnovers and winning the ball high up the pitch.

 It was from one such movement that we scored our third as Luke Deslandes drilled home after great vision by Avgoustidies whose link-up play with Bansul-McNulty down our left looks like being an invaluable partnership.

H-T 3-0

After a mesmerising first half from Town, it was perhaps understandable that the pace would drop and that Lewes would have a spell.

But before they did, Bansal-McNulty showed great  awareness as he saw the goalie off his line and his shot whistle just wide.

A couple of rasping Lewes drives, combined with two or three careless moments from Town, threatened to reduce the deficit. But substitute Declan Ridings restored some energy in midfield and  any hope of Rocks comeback was extinguished after 82 minutes with a lightning counter-attack, Deslandes squaring to Shiloh Remy for a simple-tap in.

Attention now turns to Tuesday and that tasty encounter with big-spending St. Albans at the Dave Bryant followed by the visit of Ramsgate the following Saturday and then a tough-looking trip to Brentwood. Only then, perhaps, will we get a more realistic picture of how competitive we are. But the dressing room as strong and as opening fixtures go, this will do everyone’s confidence the world of good.

(see Billy Holland’s post-match interview on Town’s YouTube channel and elsewhere on social media)

Town: Thompson D; Domi, Hart, Thompson A, Tanimowo (Parcell 55); Leonard (Mensah 73), Akubuine, Bansal-McNaulty (Rydings, 63); Deslandes, Youngs (May-Parrott, 73) Avgoustidis (Remy 67).

Be patient. That’s the message to Enfield Town fans from manager Billy Holland as the new league campaign gets under way Saturday with the eagerly anticipated visit to Lewes after a highly encouraging pre-season.

Billy admits his team have been given a tough start after they were handed an away trip to the delightfully named Dripping Pan followed by a pair of home fixtures against heavily resourced St Albans and ambitious Ramsgate.

 “We certainly haven’t had it easy as far as August is concerned. Lewes may have had a bad season by their own high standards last season but I can’t see them replicating that,” said Billy for whom this is new territory but who is full of positivity for the journey ahead, coupled with an air of calm authority.

Town fans have certainly been mightily impressed with the exciting style of play the new management team have brought but nothing can be judged on pre-season success or otherwise.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the level is like and what we’re up against,” said Billy. “Pre-season was mainly to get the players to understand what’s being asked of them, get them to bond and find out who can do what.”

Billy concedes there will be players who will be disappointed at not being in the squad for Lewes, much depending on fitness levels.

“I’ve got 19 first-team players signed so to keep everyone happy is going to be very tricky. I don’t like letting people down but I tried to explain to the boys yesterday that the first month or so is when players can pick up injuries so please don’t just pack your bags and leave. Obviously it’s up to them but I try to be up front.”

Whilst the search for a second striker to join Luke May-Parrott is still ongoing, there is no sense of panic. “We scored eight goals in three games without one,” Billy argues. “Okay it was pre-season but the group is very together in terms of buying into what we want. I knew people would question some of those I brought in because of their previous level but I know what they can achieve. It was a question of mixing that with what we already had at the club.”

And the goal?  “The message is pretty clear. Our target is to finish in the top 10 and push for the playoffs. Yes we’ve had a good pre-season but we don’t really know what we’re up against. Lewes have four to five extremely dangerous players and are expecting big things this season. We won’t know until after 10 games or so what level the league is at.”

AW