Following a series of away ties in cup competitions, the Towners have been drawn at home in the first round proper of this season’s FA Trophy.

We will welcome high-flying Hanworth Villa to the Dave Bryant Stadium, on Saturday 24th October.

The Hounslow-based side have made a very solid start to the season following their promotion via the Isthmian South Central play-offs last term. Still in both the FA Cup and Trophy, they currently occupy third spot in the Southern League South, having only suffered two defeats so far.

Hanwell Town 2 Enfield Town 4

Report by Paul Manel

Photo: Michael Michalia

His loan signing from Leyton Orient was only confirmed on Friday evening, but Tariq Al-Sadi wasted little time in introducing himself to Towners fans. The speedy winger came off the bench to score two late second half goals to settle this rumbustious FA Trophy 3^rd qualifying tie against fellow step 3 side Hanwell Town.

Towners came into this match full of confidence following last week’s amazing FA cup victory by a much-depleted side at step 2 Billericay Town.

Hanwell were also buoyed by FA cup success, putting aside their league woes (20^th Southern League Premier South) by defeating Burgess Hill.

Towners made three changes from the side that produced that wonderful win in Essex last week. Franklin Domi came in for the unavailable Mickey Parcell, EJ Mensah replaced the injured Junior Valasquez and Nana Kyei was in for Shiloh Remy. With no Mickey Parcell and Sam Youngs and Adam Thompson on the bench, Billy Leonard skippered the Towners for the first time.     

It was the home side who started on the front foot. The muscular Henry Snee and Jordan Esprit making life uncomfortable for the Towners back line. In the 7^th minute a cross from the left, found an unmarked Snee who could only direct his header straight at Dylan Thompson.

As the game settled down, Town started to find their passing rhythm. Often it was just the final ball that wasn’t quite precise enough. Town’s best chance of the half was from a quick break after their West London hosts gave the ball away in midfield. Amrit Bansal -McNulty fed Tommy Avgoustidis. His cross just failed to find the on-rushing Nana Kyei. Tommy’s best option seemed to be to have a shot, but it is an easy game from the stands!

Hanwell responded with the game becoming stretched. Snee cut in from the right to shoot, Thompson parried and EJ Mensah cleared off the line.

HT: 0-0

Town exploded into action at the start of the second period. A great move culminated in Franklin Domi’s low cross inviting a finish but neither Avgoustidis nor Luke May-Parrott could make contact.

As so often happens in football, the opposition broke away to the other end and opened the scoring. Espirit cut in from the left unchallenged and his right foot shot beat Thompson at the near post.

We had an all-action cup tie on our hands! On 50 minutes Hanwell goalkeeper and captain Sam Beasant (son of FA cup final hero Dave) fouled May-Parrott in the box but the flag went up for offside.

There was nothing Beasant could do two minutes later. Avgoustidis broke down the left, the Hanwell keeper managed to parry but Nana Kyei twisted and adjusted his body to tuck the ball away to make it 1-1.

This was now end to end  with both sets of fans in fine voice. Smee showed great pace to break away but Mensah stayed with him and timed a perfect tackle to get the ball away for a corner.

It looked like there would be more goals in this open encounter and on 58 minutes Towners went in front. Amrit fed May-Parrott and his cross found Nana who produced a fine powerful finish out of the reach of Beasant.

On 60 minutes new man Tariq Al-Sadi entered the fray replacing Avgoustidis. The loanee from the O’s made an immediate impact. He showed great pace to burst down the right. His cross was met by May – Parrott who forced Beasant into a super reaction save.

The ‘Geordies’ playing in their trademark black and white stripes, were still knocking on the door and Dylan had to race from his goal and perfectly time his interception. Espirit then shot straight at Thompson from the edge of the box.

A Hanwell equaliser looked to be on the cards, and it arrived via a free kick. Dan Carr delivered it with his left peg. It floated across the box and Dwayne Marlon Duncan was the quickest to react, stretching to get his foot on the ball and finish to make it 2 -2.

The home side now had the impetus. Thompson made several crucial stops and Towners fans started to wonder if their side could hang on for penalties.

Enter super – sub-Tariq! He showed electric pace once again to burst down the left. He cut in and his shot was blocked by a defender. May – Parrott seized on the rebound and his shot was also intercepted. The ball seemed to strike Tariq and in it went! A touch of luck maybe  but Towners fans were not complaining!

With time running out, Hanwell now had to commit numbers in search of an equalizer. Town broke away in added time. The impressive Jez Davies fed Nana out on the left. Beasant could not hold his cross and there was that man Tariq Al-Sadi to fire into the corner.

A wonderful cup tie and four more goals for our EN1 entertainers. It also looks like we have another gem in the form of Tariq. What an introduction! We now start to dream of further cup success as we travel to the city of those dreaming spires!

Town: Thompson, Tanimowo, Hart, Mensah, Domi (Tarima 89)/ Bansal – McNulty, May – Parrott, Leonard (Rydings), Kyei, Davies, Avgoustidis ( Al – Sadi 60)

We are very pleased to welcome winger Tariq Al-Sadi, who joins us on a month’s loan from Leyton Orient.

Oman international Tariq, 20, is an agile wide player who has been with the O’s since 2024, notching an assist in Orient’s victory at the Dave Bryant Stadium during pre-season. He has also gained senior experience with Southall, and UE Sant Andreu (Spain). Tariq joins on a short-term basis and is eligible in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy.

Welcome, Tariq!

It will be more step 2 opposition for Enfield Town in the FA Cup, as the draw for the third qualifying round handed us an away trip to Oxford City.

The tie will take place on Saturday 3rd October.

The Hoops have started their National League North campaign in fine form and are currently in second spot, ahead of the likes of Macclesfield, Morecambe, and Chester. They comfortably saw off step 4 side Dorchester Town in the last round. Not that Town will be fazed after Saturday’s tremendous performance at Billericay, with Billy Holland’s side themselves yet to be beaten on their travels this season.

Billericay 1 Enfield Town 3

Report by Andrew Warshaw (photo by Michael Michalia)

Wow, wow, wow! Shorn of six first-team players –make that seven according to Billy Holland – Enfield Town came from behind to stun Step 2 Billericay 3-1 and reach the third qualifying round of the FA Cup as well as banking a tidy £3,375 in prize money.

Despite missing a string of regulars, Town put on a scintillating display that was up there with some of their most memorable cup exploits of recent years, sending the travelling fans home proud as punch and putting us in the hat for Monday’s eagerly anticipated draw.

The management team have often talked about squad depth but this was one occasion where we were so stretched that the bench included two academy players and a newly acquired free agent in defender Sean Tarima.

A free hit then perhaps, but few could have predicted the extent to which we took the game to promoted Billericay and their established dangermen even if a couple of them were rested.  In fact, for large periods of the game, it was Town who looked more like the team from a higher division.

Even when we tired in the last 15 minutes, a rearguard action marshalled superbly by the impenetrable Junior Velasquez, making his first full start for club, kept our National League South opponents out.

 Playing without fear and with confidence in each other’s contribution, Town were anything but overawed by the occasion, relying on their trademark interplay and creating the best of the early opportunities, two of them falling to Amrit Bansal-McNulty – relishing the No. 10 role on the day — and one to Ayo Tanimowo.

Joe Wright in the home goal was by far the busier of the two keepers though Dylan Thompson produced arguably the save of the half, sticking out a strong left hand while falling backwards to keep out deflected Ricay attack.

That came on 25 minutes but moments later, Town were almost rewarded for their enterprise when the ball was pulled back to Bansal-McNulty who rattled the crossbar.

An away goal then would have been fully merited so it was all the more irksome when Billericay grabbed the lead in the last minute of first-half normal time, Jon Benton given too much space to rifle the ball home.

A halftime deficit appeared on the cards but no. Three minutes into stoppage time the home defence didn’t deal with Mickey Parcell’s cross and Tommy Avgoustidis was on hand to equalise.

H-T 1-1

A different halftime team talk? Who knows but Tommy’s tally quickly became a brace. Within three minutes of the restart he took advantage of a hesitant defence by reacting quickest to a chip into the box to put us in front.

Ricay’s response was to throw on their big guns – three of them – but it was starter Callum Watts who almost made us pay for a misplaced corner by running almost the full length of the pitch, only to shoot narrowly wide.

The next goal was always going to be crucial and it went Town’s way on 63 minutes as substitute Nana Kyei, who had replaced the limping Shiloh Remy, finished off a typical Town move of flicks and tricks by expertly shooting beyond Wright and into the corner. Cue pandemonium in the away end.

Town now had daylight between them and a place in the next round and the gap should have got wider as an Avgoustidis thunderbolt – worth of any hat-trick goal – crashed against the woodwork.

True we got lucky when Parcell, in trying to clear the ball with a Ricay forward breathing down his neck for a tap-in, only succeeded in hooking it against his own bar. The home fans protested it had crossed the line but referee deemed otherwise.

It could have been a turning point but Town breathed again and for all Billericay’s forward probing in the latter stages, we held firm.

Good value for the win? Just a bit – exemplified by the celebrations on the field and among the Town fans at the final whistle. Now let’s hope for that home draw for the third qualifying round on Oct 3 when the scheduled Chatham league game will be moved.

Town

Thompson; Parcell, Hart, Valasquez (Tarima 93), Tanimowo; Leonard,Davies, Remy; May-Parrott (Ackeson 82), Bansal-McNulty (Corrigan 71), Avgoustidis (Domi 85)

We are very pleased to announce Gates Geely – Waltham Cross as our new media partners for the next two seasons.

Gates, established in 1920, has been an established family-owned centre for automotive expertise for North London, Essex and beyond, and now offer Geely’s range of hybrid SUVs and electric vehicles.

In partnering with Enfield Town FC, their logo will appear on our matchday graphics, YouTube content, and interview backdrop, and Geely vehicles will visit the Dave Bryant Stadium on selected matchdays.

Visit them here: Gates Geely

As part of our celebrations marking 25 years of ETFC, we are releasing a special-edition jersey, celebrating our silver anniversary by recognising the lifeblood of our football club: our members.

The silver shirt with white detailing will feature a striking Enfield beast graphic comprised of the names of every owner of the club this season. 

Make sure your name is recognised! If you haven’t renewed your membership, or would like to sign someone up to own a piece of the club and include their name on a piece of ETFC history, you have until next week to do so. Please also ensure that you have not opted out of the public register if you would like to be included.

Membership | Renew / Sign Up as an owner of Enfield Town FC

Those of you who have contributed upwards of £25/month to the Boost the Budget scheme will receive the shirt as part of your rewards packages. 

The image displayed is a digital render, though please note that this is not necessarily the final version.

Congratulations to Thomas Avgoustidis, who was selected as Vanderpump & Sykes Player of the Month after some excellent performances in August.

Thomas finished the month in fine form, chipping in with four goals and four assists as we ended August at the top of the Isthmian Premier Division. He was presented with the award by director Geoff Lee, prior to our league game with Dartford.

Enfield Town 0 Dartford 2

Report by Paul Manel

Photo: Tom Scott

‘They were the better team tonight. They were quicker to the ball, more aggressive, more of a threat, they were defensively more solid. They deserved what they got’ The words of a reflective Enfield Town boss Billy Holland following Towners’ defeat under the lights at the Dave Bryant against a physically strong and tactically astute Dartford side.

Towners might have had an inkling that this possibly was not going to be their night even before the match kicked off. News filtered through that Adam Thompson had felt a tweak in his Achilles in the pre match warm up. Ayo Tanimowo moved to right back so that Mickey Parcell could fill in the left centre back slot. Other changes from our come-back win over Cray Wanderers saw Jez Davies make his full Towners debut, replacing Finlay Corrigan. Luke May-Parrott came in for Shiloh Remy  Sony Hart in for the injured EJ Mensah and Frankie Domi in at left back.

Dartford also came into this game on the back of an impressive win at the weekend, Three – nil victors at Carshalton Athletic. And it was the visitors who made the brighter start. In the third minute a break down the right found Max Fiddes in the box who looked set to score until his effort took a slight deflection and went out for a corner.

Town began to settle into the game and found their passing rhythm. A quick Amrit Bansal McNulty free kick found Frankie Domi who missed his kick. A clever Amrit flick then released Tommy Avgoustidis who shot wide. Luke May-Parrott saw his strike from just outside the box, flick the bar. The evening may have panned out very differently had Town scored at this point.

Instead, it was the team from Kent who got the opening goal. Dartford had looked dangerous when winning the ball in midfield and going direct. One such long ball saw stand in centre half Mickey Parcell miss his header on the edge of the Towners box. Striker Dan Smith ran onto the ball. As he turned, Parcell attempted to win the ball and the Dartford man went down. It looked like there was the slightest contact but the referee pointed to the spot. Smith got up, dusted himself off and dispatched down the middle. One nil Dartford. Goals change games is the truism, and for the rest of the half Town had more of the ball but Dartford’s quick breaks carried more of a threat. A cross by player – manager Ben Greenhalgh saw a header go over the bar and then Greenhalgh himself saw the same result from a 25-yard screamer.

HT 0- 1

Town were unchanged after the interval and came quickly out of the blocks. An Avgoustidis, May-Parrott one – two saw Tommy’s cross fall for Sam Youngs but his effort was straight at the keeper. Minutes before this Domi had seen his daisy cutter from 25 yards go wide. This was an intriguing battle of different styles. Town’s passing football vs Dartford’s more route one method. One such Dartford ball into the box saw a header back across the penalty area reach the impressive Jeremiah Pinder but Town stopper Dylan Thompson made a brave save at his feet.

It felt like the next goal, if it came, would prove to be crucial. A ball down the right caught out the home defence. The ball was pulled back for Tyler Ibe to slot home. Cue Dartford delirium behind the goal. A mountain to climb for the league leaders.

Town continued to push but Dartford deserve huge credit for the way they defended. Amrit moved into a more central role, but he was denied space, particularly by the athletic Pinder.

Town manoeuvred themselves into some promising positions but too often the final ball lacked quality. The nearest Town came was in the last minute when a fizzed Parcell cross found Youngs and he was unlucky to see his header take a deflection.

A disappointing last league game of the month. The first time that Town have failed to score this season. A sense of perspective is needed though. Considering the changes over the summer, all Towners would have taken being top of the league in September and playing wonderful attractive football.

Attention now turns to our FA cup visit to Billericay. A much-anticipated match. Tough enough against step two opponents, even tougher with injuries mounting and one or two players unavailable.

Town: D Thompson, Tanimowo, Hart, Parcell, Domi, Leonard, Davies ( Rydings 58), Avgoustidis ( Kyei 72), Youngs, Bansal-McNulty, May-Parrott ( Remy 58)

The draw for the FA Trophy third qualifying round took place this afternoon, handing us an away trip to Hanwell Town.

The tie will take place on Saturday 26th September.

Hanwell currently compete at step 3 in the Southern League Premier South, where they have made a mixed start to the season, taking six points from their opening seven games while progressing through to the second qualifying round of the FA Cup. It won’t be our first visit to the Powerday Stadium in this competition; we met the Geordies in the second round of the Trophy back in 2021, when two Muhammadu Faal strikes set us on our way to a 2-0 win.