Enfield Town 0 Hemel Hempstead Town 0
Report by Andrew Warshaw
There may have been a sense of inevitability but the hurt was no less deeply felt.
After two seasons in National League South, Town were relegated on Easter Monday with three games to spare and now have to prepare for a return to Step 3 next season, rejoining a league which, ominously, is far more competitive than when we left it.
The goalless draw against Hemel Hempstead, coupled with Farnborough’s win, sealed our fate and while there is bound to be an inquest among players, management, fans and board alike, the fact is we were punching above our weight for the best part of two years.
Not surprisingly there were tears, mixed with anger and gut-wrenching disappointment, in the dressing room as the pain and repercussions of going down began to sink in.
Ultimately, it was a step too far and clearly there are bound to be changes but it’s too early to speculate what these might be. The fact is we have an opportunity to end the campaign on a positive note and avoid finishing bottom of the table. As Gavin Macpherson , who has never been relegated, said afterwards, the fans deserve no less.
As far as the Hemel game itself is concerned, it was arguably one of our least eventful games of the season and with Jake Cass suffering from an abductor strain and Eli Ackeson on trial at Wycombe, we had scant few attacking options on the bench to turn the game in our favour when we needed a breakthrough.
After Paul Appiah was awarded with the player of the month award for March, play-off chasing but injury-hit Hemel largely had the better of the exchanges but found Joe Wright in excellent form, helped by some solid defending (pictured).
Yet it was Sam Youngs, more used to popping up at the other end, who first rescued Town with an acrobatic clearance off the line with his back to goal.
It took almost half an hour for Town to register their first worthwhile effort on target as Lemar Reynolds brought a smart save out of Michael Johnson. But Joe Wright was by far the busier of the two keepers, pulling off a superb stop from a Hemel corner, then watching Mauro Vilhete’s long-range drive flash wide.
H-T 0-0
Straight form the restart, Hayden Bullas went down in the box and when nothing was given, Hemel raced up the other end and Joe produced a magnificent double save. Moments later only his outstretched leg again prevented goal-shy Hemel going in front when they beat the offside trap.
Whether or not news filtered through to the players that Farnborough had taken the lead against Horsham, Town suddenly picked up the pace.
Youngs showed great technique as he forced Johnson into a smart stop after fine work by Bullas. Then a neat interchange between Billy Leonard and Nino Adom-Malaki threatened to cut Hemel open, only for the move to fizzle out at the vital moment – a hallmark of our season.
Former Towner Olly Davies thankfully didn’t hurt us off the bench but when seven minutes were added on, Joe was called into action again to keep out Darion Dorwich’s effort as Hemel came again.
“Emotions are running high in the dressing room,” said a crestfallen Gavin. “It’s the first one I’ve been in that’s been relegated. In truth, it wasn’t today that relegated us but a series of games.”
The adventure may be over but while Gavin was understandably bitterly disappointed, he has given this club some of the most euphoric and exciting moments in its recent history. Apart from the occasional embarrassing heavy defeat, we haven’t disgraced ourselves and it was no surprise when the players, who cannot be faulted for desire or effort for most of the season, were given a warm and sympathetic reception afterwards.
“Obviously it’s hard at this level but that doesn’t mean you accept being an also-ran,” said Gavin. “We worked a miracle before and we felt we could do it again. It’s my responsibility but we have an obligation to the supporters to get as many points as we can from the last three games, however difficult that might be in the circumstances.”
Town
Wright; Benjamin, Appiah, Hawkins, Adom-Malaki; Bullas (Traore 77), Donaldson, Youngs, Knight (Brown 77); Reynolds, Andrews (Leonard 60)