Enfield Town FC

Report

Town eclipsed by hard-working Bowers

Enfield Town 0 Bowers & Pitsea 4

This was Town’s worst performance of the season by some margin and was far from ideal preparation for the FA Trophy tie against Ebbsfleet United. Marc Weatherstone was nursing an ankle problem (on which he was due to have a scan this week) while Joe Payne was unavailable.

It was 5th v 17th prior to kick-off, but the visitors grew in confidence early on in the game and they looked increasingly like the home side to any uninformed onlookers, with Town’s painfully pedestrian start allowing the opposition plenty of time and space to cause them all sorts of problems throughout.

After Quentin Monville had fired in an early warning shot from the right which Nathan McDonald did well to turn behind and a Billy Bricknell effort had been blocked by Callum Leahy, Lewis Manor – wearing number 5 but playing in a more fluid attacking role – opened the scoring in the 12th minute, finding himself with plenty of room to apply a carefully placed left foot shot past McDonald.

Sam Hatton’s header from a corner sailed over the top while, at the other end, Brad Warner’s left foot shot flew similarly off target. Muhammadu Faal had a powerful effort from an angle well kept out by Bowers stopper Callum Chafer and the follow up from Bricknell was cleared. But that was about as good as it got for the hosts. After 27 minutes a poor pass out from the home back line was picked up, and a quick move down the Bowers right ended with a cross initially blocked but then turned in by Monville to give the visitors a deserved two goal cushion.

Manor should have increased the visitors’ lead when he shot straight at McDonald, who had earlier kept out another goalbound effort with his legs, while Faal shot far too high from Hatton’s pass.

Half-time: Enfield Town 0 Bowers & Pitsea 2

The anticipated second half onslaught from the hosts never materialised. A Bricknell free kick was blocked and then cleared by a number of admirably determined red and white shirts and, although Chafer denied Faal, after he had sprung the offside trap, with another fine stop as he came off his line, it was, worryingly, Bowers all the way from this point onwards.

When a cross from the left was rifled into the roof of the net by Manor, their stand-out performer on the day, just beyond the hour mark it was all over. Salt was then applied to Town’s wounds six minutes later with a fourth goal, following another pacy breakaway move down the left and Warner making no mistake. The home horror show continued, and it could easily have been five when Tom Stephen tried an audacious lob over McDonald which didn’t miss the far upright by a great deal.

Faal went on a mazy run at the death but his weak effort was easily collected by Chafer.

Enfield Town: Nathan McDonald, Junior Mubiayi, Sam Hatton, Scott Thomas, Jon Muleba, Glenn Wilson, Sam Youngs (Charles Brown 78), Ryan Blackman, Billy Bricknell, Muhammadu Faal, Bobson Bawling (Ken Charles 60). Unused subs: Marc Weatherstone, Lewis King, Steve Wales. Booked: Blackman.

Bowers & Pitsea: Callum Chafer, Tom Hine, Tom Stephen, Max Cornhill, Lewis Manor, Callum Leahy, Quentin Monville (Dan Trendall 75), Benjamin Sartain, James Thomas, Brad Warner, Jamie Dicks. Unused subs: Adetayo Osifuwa, Luke McCoy, Ollie Sims, Tyrone Baker. Booked: Sartain, Cornhill.

Attendance: 307.