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 – a couple of minutes early in fact.

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.

(see Billy Holland’s post-match interview on ETFC’s social media channels)

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

The club have launched a “Boost The Budget” scheme that allows supporters to contribute to support our playing budget for the season ahead in exchange for club rewards.

As a fan-owned club, there is no overall benefactor and therefore we need to be self-sufficient financially. It is clear that to give us the best chance of a successful season we need to ensure Billy has players he needs in what is a very competitive market. We have already secured a very promising set of players as you will have seen from our pre-season performances but we are asking for your help for a boost to our budget to allow us to get a couple more signings over the line and ensure we are able to secure our best players throughout the season.

There are options to support either as a one of payment or through a regular monthly contribution through to May 2027 – monthly payments will be taken on the last day of each month. Whilst this scheme is popular at a number of other clubs, this will be the first time we have offered such an option and it was something that we put to a vote at our AGM back at the start of the year where those present voted almost unanimously to support such an initiative. We appreciate we are living in challenging economic times but if you are able to support us then we promise we will work with Billy and his staff to spend the money in the most beneficial way possible for the team and our club!

Up The Town!

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£10 per month

• Entry to a monthly draw for a unique ETFC prize such as your name appearing in the squad list in the programme, choosing the pre-match play-list, spend a game in the dugout etc.
  
• An exclusive “I boosted the budget” ETFC pin badge

£25 per month

• All previous tier benefits
  
• 26/7 – 25^th Anniversary Shirt – complete with your name and chosen number    

£50 per month

• All previous tier benefits
  
• Boardroom hospitality for two, twice during the season
  
• A ball signed by the 2026/27 squad

£100 per month

• All previous tier benefits
  
• Director for a day at an away game, including travel
  
• Free travel on all ETFC coaches to away games (those games where coaches are run)

Enfield Town 3 Spurs u21 0

Report by Andrew Warshaw

What a way to finish! Enfield Town’s final pre-season outing resulted in an emphatic victory in the annual friendly against a Spurs u21 side, with all the damage done inside 10 blistering first-half minutes.

As preparations go for the start of the season on Saturday, it couldn’t have turned out much better, racheting up the anticipation ahead of Saturday’s eagerly awaited trip to Lewes.

A few hours earlier, 18-year-old Spurs keeper Dylan Thompson committed himself to Town on a loan basis and made a couple of wonderful saves against his parent club which certainly augurs well for the weeks ahead.

By then, Town had virtually wrapped up victory courtesy of Ayo Tanimowo’s opener, followed by two Amrit Bansal-McNulty goals.

Wayne Burnett’s under-21 team haven’t had the best of pre-seasons themselves but when you consider that his team included the likes of Alfie Dorrington – not so long ago a cup winner with Aberdeen – and a couple of England youth internationals and you get some idea of how impressive Town’s performance was.

Before kickoff and with members of his family in attendance, there was a minute’s applause as a tribute to the late Les Gold. When the action got under way, the deadlock was broken as early as the 12^th minute when Tom Avgoustides found Bansal-McNulty  and when the flag stayed down, Amrit’s assist to Ayo Tanimowo was swept home by the fullback via a deflection.

Three minutes later we doubled our lead when Tottenham were again made to pay for slow thinking. Frankie Domi, another of our exciting new signings, played a beautiful ball into the path of Bansal-McNulty who still had plenty to do but lifted a delicious chip over the advancing Sam Archer (pictured celebrating, courtesy of Bob Sharman).

Town fans were already in raptures and had to pinch themselves when the game was put to bed with 22 minutes on the clock. Billy Leonard pounced on  a mistake and Bansal-McNulty provided a close-range finish despite a Spurs defender desperately trying to get to the ball first.

There was a worrying sight when Bansal-McNulty – surely destined to become a Town favourite – limped off but first-team coach Charlie Gregory later confirmed it was precautionary (see his post-match interview on social media).

Town had at least two more decent chances before Thompson brilliantly clawed away Maxwell Adedeji’s snapshot. On the verge of halftime, Thompson was on hand again to foil Ronny Moncur though Avgoustides could have made it 4-0 with virtually the last action  of the half but took the wrong option and allowed Archer to save with his legs.

Understandably the excitement waned after the break as we changed 10 players – including, notably, the newly signed Adam Thompson.

Spurs largely controlled possession, firing wide on three occasions. But Town supporters among the bumper 1,100-plus crowd still saw plenty to enthuse about, especially quick balls through midfield for runners to burst forward and collect.

It augurs well for the big kickoff on Saturday but we all know pre-season success means little unless you can follow it up when points are at stake.

Town

Team D Thompson (Setters), Tanimowo (Trialist B), Trialist A (May-Parrott), Domi (Moses), Mensah (A Thompson), Leonard (Corrigan), Rydings (Kyei), Bansal-McNulty (Parcell), Youngs (c) (Watson), Avgoustides (Ackeson), Deslandes (Remi

Prior to our annual fixture against Tottenham, we were extremely pleased to announce the addition of Spurs goalkeeper Dylan Thompson, on an initial short-term youth loan.

A regular for Spurs’ Under-18s last season, and now a member of the Lilywhites’ U21 squad, shot stopper Dylan featured for us earlier in pre-season during our 1-0 win against Stotfold before embarking on Spurs’ tour of Australia & New Zealand. He returned to face his parent club on Tuesday evening, enjoying a goalless first 45 minutes while making a string of impressive saves to preserve a clean sheet.

Welcome, Dylan!

We are delighted to welcome former Spurs and QPR academy graduate Shiloh Remy to the club, following his departure from Worthing.

A bustling winger who has also represented the likes of Chelmsford City, Eastbourne Borough, and Horsham, Shiloh has featured in our previous two pre-season outings and strengthens our attack ahead of next weekend’s league opener.

Welcome, Shiloh!