Enfield Town FC

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TOWN EASE UP TO FOURTH

Enfield Town 3 Corinthian-Casuals 1

Town continued their bright start to the season, now one defeat in eight matches, with a welcome 3-1 win over Corinthian-Casuals last Saturday writes Jack Quantrill.

The first fifteen minutes of the game were tight, with neither keeper truly being tested, but Casuals squandered an early chance four minutes in. A quick break progressed down the right, Shaun Okojie did well to beat his man and pull the ball back to the edge of the box where Nathaniel Pinney looked set to strike, but Town man of the match Jon Muleba, playing at centre back, applied sufficient pressure to ensure that the striker fluffed his lines.

After the initial quiet opening quarter of an hour Town, who had begun to enjoy a spell of possession, took the lead in the 18^th minute when Billy Bicknell picked the ball up centrally, some twenty yards out, and was allowed to shoot; a minor deflection off a Casuals defender appearing to wrong-foot Danny Bracken in goal, who may also have seen the ball late.

Town appealed for a penalty in the 21st minute after Muhammadu Faal broke down the right-hand side, cut inside his full back and went to ground, but referee Jack Oxenham was unmoved. In the 28^th minute Town had their second. Ryan Blackman headed on a long diagonal ball and the onrushing Faal bundled in his first of the game.

The two-goal lead didn’t last long; however, as Casuals continual to be a threat on the break. And it was from an Enfield free kick that they broke swiftly, Mathias Bakare fed Shaun Okojie running down the left-hand side and he finished neatly past the onrushing Nathan McDonald. Shortly afterwards McDonald kept his side in the game with a fine tip round the post from a deflected Okojie effort.

As the half drew to a close, Charles did fantastically well down the left-hand side, beating his full back twice, before unleashing a venomous shot onto the crossbar. Then, on the stroke of half time, Joe Payne crossed from the left, Sam Youngs latched onto it before being taken down in the box by Casuals’ centre-back Robert Jamison. Bricknell stepped up with a view to doubling his tally, but his strike low to Bracken’s right was well anticipated, and the Casuals’ skipper completed a fine double save by also turning the rebound wide to keep his side in the game.

Half-time: Enfield Town 2 Corinthian-Casuals 1

After the break Town looked more composed, controlling possession well, coinciding with the visitors’ press beginning to subside. Bakare drove at the hosts’ defence, causing Joe Payne some problems with his movement, and he did particularly well with a good low effort in the 50^th minute, shooting narrowly wide after cutting inside. However, the Enfield front three combined well throughout the second period, and the lead could have been extended on several occasions.

The third goal arrived just beyond the hour mark when Sam Hatton lofted a ball into the right-hand channel, Casuals appealed for an offside but, as they did so, Faal was through, Bracken came out to meet him, but the tall front man elegantly chipped over the onrushing keeper, with his accurate finish at an angle nestling neatly in the bottom corner.

With twenty minutes left, Charles, outpacing Jamison to bear down on goal, was manhandled by the defender, but the referee opted to brandish a yellow card rather than a red. Bricknell’s subsequent free kick flew just over. With 83 minutes on the clock, Scott Thomas found Blackman, but Bracken was out to smother his shot. Then, in the final minute, Marc Weatherstone clashed with Okojoie on the edge of the home penalty area, and both players were yellow carded.

Enfield Town: Nathan McDonald, Sam Hatton, Joe Payne, Scott Thomas, Marc Weatherstone, Jon Muleba, Ken Charles (Charles Brown 79), Ryan Blackman, Billy Bricknell (Junior Mubiayi 84), Sam Youngs (Nathan Livings 82), Muhammadu Faal.  Unused subs:  Sam Adams, Callum Ellesley. Booked: Weatherstone.

Corinthian-Casuals: Danny Bracken, Juevan Spencer, Jack Tucker, Robert Jamison, Jack Strange, Coskun Ekim, Matty Bakare (Leon Laylor-Dell 77), Mu Maan, Shaun Okojie, Nathaniel Pinney (Oliver Sitch 70), Kevat Serbonij (Ben Cheklit 79).  Unused subs: Andrew Mills, Mike Dixon, Leon Lalor-Dell.

Booked: Jamison, Okojie.

Attendance: 310.